Fellingham, Henry Cedric (Oral history)

British officer served with Merchant Navy aboard SS Trefusis in Pacific, North Atlantic, North Sea and English Channel, 9/1939-11/1940; served aboard MV Chesapeake in GB coastal waters and North Atlantic, 1941-1942; served aboard MV D.L. Harper and SS Voco in North Atlantic, 1942-1944; served aboard SS Eclipse in North Atlantic, Persian Gulf, Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, 5/1944-2/1945; served aboard MV Misoa in North Atlantic, 1945

REEL 1 Recollections of period as officer with Merchant Navy aboard SS Trefusis in Pacific, North Atlantic, North Sea and English Channel, 1939-1940: conditions for apprentices with Merchant Navy prior to Second World War; attending Merchant Navy Defence course in Cardiff prior to joining ship, 1939; reaction to declaration of Second World War in Pacific, 3/9/1939; precautions taken on outbreak of Second World War, 3/9/1939; value of convoy system; use of fog buoy; travelling in convoy; problems during east coast convoys in North Sea; threat of mines in North Sea; kindness of Canadian civilians towards merchant seamen; presence of Australian gunner on board; German attacks on Convoy OA 178 in English Channel, 7/1940. REEL 2 Continues: use of ballast; amusing story of loss of Australian gunner's false teeth in Kingston upon Hull; loss of SS City of Simla to U-138 on Convoy OB 216 in North Atlantic, 20/9/1940; participation in Convoy HX 84 attacked by German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer, North Atlantic, 5/11/1940; sight of destruction of HMS Jervis Bay by Admiral Scheer, North Atlantic, 5/11/1940; scattering of Convoy HX 84; attempt to make for GB in aftermath of action; collision with coaster SS Duchess in The Minch, North Atlantic, 11/11/1940. REEL 3 Continues: attempts to rescue crew from SS The Duchess; second collision in mouth of River Clyde; reaction to sight of MV San Demetrio arriving in River Clyde, 16/11/1940. Aspects of period as officer with Merchant Navy aboard MV Chesapeake in GB coastal waters and North Atlantic, 1941-1942: decision to volunteer for tankers; effects of previous attack by German Air Force off Fishguard; state of ship when he joined it; incendiary raid on Avonmouth, 4/1941; condition of ship; German Air Force attack in GB coastal waters; breaking down in North Atlantic; reaction to laying up in Azores, winter 1941-1942. Recollection of period as officer with Merchant Navy aboard MV D.L. Harper in Atlantic, 1942-1943: spirit of comradeship in Merchant Navy. REEL 4 Continues: torpedoing of anti-torpedo boom equipped SS Empire Spencer by U-524, 8/12/1942; incident illustrating relationship between Merchant Navy and Royal Navy during war; attitude to Royal Navy control of convoys; rearming of ship; role of second mate as armaments officer; liaison between Royal Navy officer and second engineer's wife; question of allegations of lack of commitment on part of Merchant Navy personnel in Second World War; problems keeping station in convoys especially in motor vessels. Aspects of period as officer with Merchant Navy aboard SS Voco in North Atlantic, 1943-1944: why lubricant carrying tankers were safer; lack of enemy action; character of tanker; dislodging of depth charges in storm; suffering from cold on board; leaving ship and volunteering for potential D-Day work, 4/1944. Aspects of period as officer with Merchant Navy aboard SS Eclipse in North Atlantic, Persian Gulf, Mediterranean and Indian Ocean, 5/1944-2/1945: joining ship, 5/1944; inability to get rid of cargo of North American Mustang aircraft. REEL 5 Continues: running aground in River Shatt al-Arab, Iraq; death of seaman from burns from hot deck at Abadan, Iran; ferrying fuel from Sicily to front line near Naples, Italy; leaving ship for hospital treatment in New York, United States of America, 2/1945; return to GB aboard SS Gloucester City, 1945. Aspects of period as officer with Merchant Navy aboard SS Misoa in North Atlantic, 1945: background of tankers converted to tank landing craft; conversion back from Royal Navy ship to tanker; problems crossing the North Atlantic; reasons for laying up in St John's, Newfoundland, 8/1945-12/1945; dealing with trouble from crew in St John's, Newfoundland; leaving ship in New York, United States of America. Reflections on service as officer with Merchant Navy during Second World War, 1939-1945: logging offenders; payment of war bonus; contrast in American and British rates of pay; 'Asiatic' rates of pay; problems for older men in standing up to war conditions. REEL 6 Continues: question of theft of wartime cargoes by dock workers, naval officers and customs officers; behaviour of shipyard workers during ship repairs in Birkenhead, GB; theft from lifeboats in Belfast, Northern Ireland; contrast in attitude of shipyard workers in GB and United States of America; question of motivation of merchant seamen during Second World War.