Description
Object description
British boy seaman trained at HMS Wildfire, Sheerness in GB and aboard HMS Iron Duke in GB coastal waters, 1937-1938; boy seaman served aboard HMS Cossack, 1st Tribal Destroyer Flotilla in Mediterranean, 1938-1939; seaman aboard HMS Cossack, 4th Destroyer Flotilla in Mediterranean, GB coastal waters and Norway, 1/1939-4/1940; seaman served on shore duties in GB, 5/1940-10/1940; attended anti-aircraft gunnery course at HMS Excellent, Whale Island, GB, 10/1940-12/1940; served aboard HMS Spiraea, 13th Anti-Submarine Flotilla in GB coastal waters and North Atlantic, 2/1941-1/1942; seaman and petty officer served aboard HMS Petard, 12th Destroyer Flotilla in GB coastal waters and Mediterranean, 6/1942-11/1943; petty officer served aboard HMS Narborough in GB coastal waters, 3/1944-12/1945; served on shore duties at HMS Victory, Portsmouth, GB, 1/1946-3/1946
Content description
REEL 1 Background in Chapel Brampton and Chesterfield, GB, 1921-1937: family; reasons for leaving Chapel Brampton; education; employment. Aspects of enlistment and training as boy seaman at HMS Wildfire, Sheerness, GB, 1937-1938: background to enlistment in Royal Navy; selection process; terms and conditions of enlistment; first meal on arrival; instruction; use of hammock; attitude to training; origins of recruits; messing arrangements; seamanship instruction including rowing; continuing education; opinion of instructors; shore leave and pay; issue of kit.
REEL 2 Continues: kit inspection; question of theft; attitude towards discipline; role as leading boy; assessment during course; passing out. Aspects of period as boy seaman aboard HMS Iron Duke in GB coastal waters, 5/1938-6/1938: joining boys' training ship; location of mess deck; pattern of training including collision mat training; scrubbing decks and cleaning brass; nature of sea training; general messing; attitude to training on HMS Iron Duke; inoculations. Recollections of period as boy seaman aboard HMS Cossack, 1st Tribal Destroyer Flotilla in GB coastal waters and Mediterranean, 1938-1939: drafting to ship; boys' mess deck; duties as signals boy/messenger; watches worked.
REEL 3 Continues: move to Mediterranean; lifestyle for boy seamen on board; emphasis on physical fitness; boxing activities; character of canteen messing; method of saving money with canteen messing; instructional role of leading seaman in mess; opinion of canteen messing as opposed to general messing; discipline for boy seamen; description of boys' mess; question of homosexuality; boat duties. Recollections of operations as seaman aboard HMS Cossack, 4th Destroyer Flotilla in Mediterranean and GB coastal waters, 1939-1940: promotion to seaman and moving mess, 1/1939.
REEL 4 Continues: duties carried out for Captain Daniel de Pass; character of destroyer captains; ships' officers; officers' divisional duties; ship's states of readiness; cruising stations; lookout duties; watch system worked as lookout; arms training; his action station; escorting ships during Spanish Civil War; presence of ship's photographer and Maltese contractor on board; prior recollection of mobilisation at time of Munich Crisis, 9/1938; return to GB coastal waters, 10/1939; opinion of Scapa Flow, GB; patrolling in North Sea; duties as Petty Officers' messman.
REEL 5 Continues: bad weather during convoy escort duties, 10/1939-11/1939; method of making way around ship in bad weather; collision with merchant vessel SS Borthwick off Firth of Forth, 7/11/1939; court of inquiry over collision; arrival of Captain Philip Vian. Recollections of operations as seaman aboard HMS Cossack, 4th Destroyer Flotilla during Altmark Incident in Jøssingfjord, Norway, 16/2/1940: background to incident; visit by Norwegian naval personnel; move down Jossingfjord and first sight of MV Altmark; boarding of MV Altmark by ship's boarding party; condition of Merchant Navy prisoners freed from MV Altmark; return to Leith,GB, 17/2/1940.
REEL 6 Continues: media reports of incident; Captain Philip Vian's method of dealing with Norwegian patrol boats; attitude toward Captain Philip Vian. Aspects of operations as seaman aboard HMS Cossack, 4th Destroyer Flotillal in GB coastal waters and Norway, 3/1940-4/1940: impressions of Commander Robert Sherbrooke; move to Ofotfjord, Norway, 13/4/1940; grounding of ship during Second Battle of Narvik, 13/4/1940; firing on German vessels and vehicles; work of damage control party; freeing ship from grounding and transfer of wounded to HMS Warspite; repairs to ship; burial at sea of casualties; reaction to first action; escorting tanker RFA British Lady to GB, 26/4/1940; reception in Southampton, GB; attitude to leaving ship, 4/1940. Aspects of period as seaman on shore duties in GB, 5/1940-10/1940: duties in barracks at HMS Victory, Portsmouth, 5/1940-6/1940.
REEL 7 Continues: drafting to Brighton, 6/1940; rations; beach defence duties at Brighton; move to Shoreham-by-Sea; duties at Shoreham-by-Sea. Aspects of period as seaman on anti-aircraft course at HMS Excellent at Whale Island in GB, 10/1940-12/1940: character of anti-aircraft training; method of aiming and firing anti-aircraft guns; course syllabus. Recollections of operations as seaman aboard HMS Spiraea, 13th Anti-Submarine Flotilla in GB coastal waters and Atlantic, 2/1941-1/1942: drafting to ship; anti-submarine training at Tobermory, GB; attitude to service aboard corvette.
REEL 8 Continues: ship's anti-aircraft armament; duties as leading hand of watch; joining 13th Anti-Submarine Flotilla at Gibraltar; promotion to leading seaman; duties as leading seaman; anti-submarine role of corvette; convoy escort duties; shadowing of convoy by German aircraft; attitude to convoy work; speed of corvette; harbouring in Gibraltar; discipline on board corvette; patrolling Straits of Gibraltar; ashore in Gibraltar; action stations; discovery of lifeboat; return to GB and leaving ship, 1/1942-2/1942; handling characteristics of corvette; relations with captain and ship's officers; crew.
REEL 9 Continues: attending anti-aircraft course at HMS Excellent, Whale Island on return to GB. Recollections of operations as seaman and petty officer aboard HMS Petard, 12th Destoryer Flotilla in GB coastal waters and Mediterranean, 6/1942-1943: drafting to ship, 6/1942; initial impressions of ship; ship's anti-aircraft armament; characteristics of QF 2 Pounder 'Pom Pom' Gun; watch and harbour stations; duties as coxswain of motor boat; reception on arrival on board; impressions of captain Lieutenant Mark Thornton's address; ratio between experienced and in-experienced on board; QF 2 Pounder 'Pom Pom' Gun crew; description of stand by crew; storing ship; contractors' trials; working up process; attitude towards captain Lieutenant Mark Thornton; escorting convoy WS 21 from GB to Durban, South Africa, 8/1942; ashore in South Africa.
REEL 10 Continues: degree of efficiency aboard on arrival at Aden, Aden Protectorate, 9/1942; move to Port Said, Egypt, 22/9/1942; ashore at Port Said, Egypt, 9/1942; advice on service in Egypt; depth charging of German submarine U-559, 30/10/1942; loss of Lieutenant Francis Fasson and Able Seaman Colin Grazier during recovery of Enigma machine code books from floundering U-559, 30/10/1942; memories of Lieutenant Francis Fasson and Able Seaman Colin Grazier; convoy escort duties to Mersa Matruh, Egypt; attitude towards Axis dive bombing attacks; character of German air attacks on ship; Italian Air Force torpedo attacks whilst towing HMS Arethusa to Alexandria, Egypt, 17/11/1942; long periods on action station; method of warning to get to action station.
REEL 11 Continues: shore visit at Tobruk, Libya; attitude towards army service; attack on Italian submarine Uarsciek and subsequent sinking, 15/12/1942; attitude towards active service; leave in Cairo, Egypt, 12/1942; de-bugging of ship in dry dock; Christmas on board in Alexandria, Egypt, 25/12/1942; reasons for Lieutenant Commander Mark Thornton leaving ship, 12/1943; arrival of Lieutenant Commander Rupert Egan to take command of ship, 1/1/1943; character of ship's engineering and gunnery officers; aiding inexperienced Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve officers; respect for commissioned officers; opinion of coxswain.
REEL 12 Continues: presence of regular and hostilities only personnel on board; relations with officers; basing at Malta; conditions on Malta including rations; description of the 'Club Run'; German Air Force attack on ship during a 'Club Run', 24/4/1943; protection for gunners; threat of mines and E-boats; accidental attack on submarine; reaction to sinking of ships in flotilla; relations with crew of Royal Hellenic Navy destroyer Vasilissa Olga; clash with Italian torpedo boats off Tunisia, 4/5/1943.
REEL 13 Continues: technique of dealing with air attacks; routine German Focke-Wulf Fw 190 attacks at Bizerta,Tunisia, 18/6/1943; Italian Air Force torpedo bomber attack; bombardment of targets on Sicily, Italy, 7/1943; relations with Maltese civilians; morale of ship's crew; personal morale; transporting General Dwight D Eisenhower to Sicily, Italy, 17/7/1943; role during bombardments of Italian coast and supporting HMS Warspite at Salerno, Italy, 15/9/1943; night patrols in Adriatic Sea; participation in operations in Dodecanese Islands, 9/1943.
REEL 14 Continues: sinking of Royal Hellenic Navy destroyer Vasilissa Olga in Portolago Harbour on Leros Island, Greece, 26/9/1943; air support providing for operations; German Air Force attacks; nature of operations in Dodecanese Islands; reaction to air attacks on ship; use of Turkish waters; story of admiral's reaction to Dodecanese operations; attitude towards participation in Dodecanese operations; performance of QF 2 Pounder 'Pom Pom' Gun; promotion to petty officer; period in rest camp; relations with Australians; attitude to leaving ship, 11/1943; return to GB. Aspects of period as petty officer on shore duties in GB, 1/1944-3/1944: initial drafting to HMS Excellent, Whale Island, 1/1944; attending gunnery course at HMS Queen Charlotte.
REEL 15 Continues: innovations witnessed on gunnery course. Recollections of operations as petty officer aboard HMS Narborough in GB coastal waters, 3/1944-12/1945: drafting to ship in Belfast; method of handing over ship; method of installing gun discipline; responsibility for ammunition; convoy escort duties; introduction of Hedgehog anti-submarine device; move from Belfast to Plymouth; operating as weather ship; messing arrangements; opinion of Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve; reaction to end of war in Europe, 5/1945; presence of war experienced senior rates on board. Aspects of period as petty officer at HMS Victory in Portsmouth, GB, 1946: background to drafting; duties. Aspects of period as reservist on Royal Fleet Reserve in GB, 1946-1957: transfer to Royal Fleet Reserve on demobilisation, 3/1946.
REEL 16 Continues: terms of reserve service; return to civilian life.