Interview with Victor Ould

British telegraphist served as radar operator aboard HMS Carron, 6th Destroyer Flotilla, Home Fleet in GB coastal waters and North Atlantic, 10/1944-8/1945; served aboard HMS Carron, Eastern Fleet in Far East, 8/1945-6/1946

REEL 1 Background in Hackney, Kilburn and Kingsbury, GB, 1926-1943: family circumstances; children's games; education; sporting activities; reaction to declaration of Second World War and false air raid alarm, 3/9/1939; closure of school due to location next to factory and consequent lack of educational qualifications; work at electrical instrument factory; aircraft crash at West Hendon, 1941; duties as messenger with Supplementary Fire Parties, Air Raid Precautions; story of narrow escape whilst delivering message during German Air Force raid; effects of German Air Force raids on local factories; first aid training with Boy Scouts; use of Morrison Shelter. REEL 2 Continues: nature of air raid shelters; blackout; effects of German Air Force parachute land mine hit on Colindale Underground Station; work at chemical factory in Cricklewood including fire watching duty and working as delivery van boy; food and clothing rationing. Aspects of enlistment as boy seaman with Royal Navy at Deansbrook Road Drill Hall, Edgware, GB, 3/1943: reasons; medical and required dental treatment; aptitude test; securing parental consent; prior training with Army Cadet Force and Air Training Corps; call-up for service with service with Royal Navy, 8/1943. Aspects of training as boy telegraphist at HMS Royal Arthur, Skegness, GB, 8/1943-9/1943: reception and kitting out; accommodation in chalets; rations; lectures; journey to Ayr. REEL 3 Continues: Aspects training as boy telegraphist at HMS Scotia, Ayr, GB, 9/1943-3/1944: morning routine; Morse Code training and reasons for failing course; relations with local civilians and recreational activities during visits to Ayr; relations with instructors, recruits and officers; discipline; rejection of opportunity to repeat course and consequent conversion to Seaman Branch; brief drafting to HMS Royal Arthur, Skegness, 4/1944-4/1944. Recollections of period training as seaman at HMS Ganges, Shotley, GB, 4/1944-7/1944: strict discipline and nature of course; gas mask training; hutted accommodation; cleaning hut and preparing for kit inspections; seamanship training including method of heaving lead. REEL 4 Continues: further details of seamanship training including boxing compass, knots and splices, rowing and sailing cutters; lectures; aircraft and ship recognition; night look out duty training; signal flags training; gunnery training and shell identification; torpedo training; climbing masthead, swimming and gymnastic tests; nights out in Harwich; relations with fellow recruits and instructors; selection for training as radar operator. Recollections of training as radar operator at HMS Valkyrie, Douglas Head, Isle of Man, 7/1944-8/1944: hotel accommodation; method of operating 273 Type Radar set. REEL 5 Continues: practical exercises; identifying nature of radar echoes. Aspects of period as seaman with Naval Barracks, HMS Pembroke, Chatham, GB, 8/1944-10/1944: discipline; minimal duties; drafting procedure. Recollections of service as radar operator aboard HMS Carren, 6th Destroyer Flotilla, Home Fleet in GB coastal waters and North Atlantic, 10/1944-8/1945: shore billets whilst ship was being commissioned at Greenock; age of crew; nature of messdeck; hammock; seasickness; discipline; relations with officers; role at action station in transmitting station; role with iron deck party; watch system; role as starboard bridge lookout. REEL 6 Continues: role as starboard bridge lookout; taking wheel in wheelhouse; off duty periods; rations and role of cooks of mess; sea and gunnery trials before acceptance of ship; difficulties in waking across decks at sea; latrines and reaction to lack of privacy; working up trials; story of being called out on sinking of HMS Bullen off Cape Wrath, 6/12/1944, including tannoy announcement, lowering scramble nets and booms, failure to sight Carley Float, asdic contact, dropping depth charges, period of silent routine above suspect German submarine, preparation of boarding party, sighting mine and return to Scapa Flow; background to writing book: 'Life and Death of HMS Bullen', 1998. REEL 7 Continues: mission escorting aircraft carrier force off coast of Norway, 12/1944, including effects of rough weather, zoot suit, sleeping on flooded messdeck and attempts to pick up crew of ditched aircraft; visits ashore at Scapa Flow; German miniature submarine alarm; participation in Operation Spellbinder off coast of Norway, 10/1/1945-12/1/1945, including plan, reports received in transmitting station, role covering minelaying of HMS Apollo, accidental discharge of ship's siren during covert operation and return to Scapa Flow; role escorting troopships through Western Approaches; dropping depth charges on suspected German submarines to prevent them attacking troopships; zig zagging; American service personnel carried aboard troopships; meeting troopships on return journey; story of submarine contact whilst escorting troopship into Liverpool; story of visit to Glasgow dancehall and being late back from shore leave. REEL 8 Continues: effects of storm whilst escorting HMT Queen Mary; story of difficulty in tying up to buoy at Greenock; unloading damaged depth charges; role of ship to stop torpedoes when escorting HMS Renown; refitting at Devonport service in Far East; shore leave, 8/1945. Recollections of period aboard HMS Carren, Eastern Fleet in Far East, 8/1945-6/1946: story of getting drunk on last night in Devonport; reactions to posting; voyage out through Mediterranean and Suez Canal; role on radar set; operations at Surabaya, Java, Dutch East Indies, 11/1945, including carrying British Indian Army troops, corpses in sea, disembarking British Indian Army troops, embarking Dutch civilians, warnings of imminent attacks by Indonesian insurgents; situation. REEL 9 Continues: operations at Surabaya, Java, Indies, 11/1945, including situation, posting as trainer on 'Y' gun and opening fire on Indonesian insurgent shore positions; embarkation of wounded British Indian Army troops and opening fire on Indonesian gun positions; crossing line ceremony; investigating smoke signal from marooned Japanese merchant seaman on Gaspar Island; 'showing flag' at Padang, Sumatra, Dutch East Indies; preparations for action and story of visit ashore following mutiny of Royal Indian Navy at Bombay, India, 2/1946; return voyage and decommissioning leave, 5/1946. Aspects of period in Naval Barracks, HMS Pembroke, Chatham, GB, 5/1946-2/1947: guard duties; demobilisation procedure. Post-war life and career: decision not to return to work at chemical factory; difficulty in finding work; work as mechanic; effects of war service and debt owed to servicemen.