Hall, John (Oral history)

British boy seaman served aboard HMS Royal Oak with Home Fleet, 1939 including sinking at Scapa Flow, 10/1939; served as boy seaman and seaman served aboard HMS Manchester in North Sea, North Atlantic and Mediterranean, 1939-1942; served aboard HMS Matchless in North Sea, North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean, 1942-1945

REEL 1 Recollections of background in Gibraltar and Freshwater Bay, 1923-1938: social circumstances and death of father; education; work as delivery boy, 1937; background to volunteering to join Royal Navy, 1937. Recollections of conditions of service, lifestyle and daily routine at HMS St Vincent Shore Station, Gosport, 5/1938-5/1939: kitting out and uniform; barrack accommodation; kit inspections; morning routine and divisions parade; mast drill; seamanship including sailing and rowing, knots and splices, anchors and cables and studying seamanship manual; signalling training; drill; 6" gun drill; rifle and Lewis gun training including buttes drill and firing on rifle range. REEL 2 Continues: swimming test; lectures; food rations; hair cut; preparing for kit inspections; relationship with boy recruits; question of homesickness; relationship with instructors, officers and padre; recreational visits to Gosport; discipline and punishments; passing out as boy seaman. Period at HMS Victory Barracks, Portsmouth, 5/1939-6/1939: home ports system; barrack accommodation and hammocks; duties; question of separation from men. REEL 3 Continues: Recollections of conditions of service, lifestyle and daily routine as boy seaman aboard HMS Royal Oak, 6/1939-10/1939: commissioning ceremony on new crew joining ship in Portsmouth harbour; first impressions of ship; commissioning card; nature of boys' messdeck including hammocks, lashing and stowing hammocks, lockers, ditty box, pay and mess tables; preparing fro captain's rounds; holystoning wooden decks; polishing brasswork; cleaning booms in harbour; painting ship; taking stores and ammunition aboard ship; general messing system and food; uniform. REEL 4 Continues: continuation of training; educational classes; PT; watch system; duties as commander's messenger and bridge lookout; role of duty watch; fire drill; boats' crew duties; send off on leaving Portsmouth; fleet review at Portland; arrival of reservists on mobilisation of fleet, 8/1939; ignorance of approach of war; first impressions on joining home Fleet at Scapa Flow, 8/1939; sea exercises; speech from Churchill and personal morale on outbreak of war, 3/9/1939; arrival of wartime supplies and additions to uniform; abandon ship stations and boat drill. REEL 5 Continues: speech from admiral on outbreak of war, 3/9/1939; patrol in rough weather accompanied by destroyer escort towards Iceland, 10/1939. Account of sinking of HMS Royal Oak at Scapa Flow, 14/10/1939: anchorage near Kirkwall as anti-aircraft gunship, 13/10/1939; taking stores aboard; taking post as anti-aircraft lookout on bridge; minimal effects of first torpedo strike, ca 13.00, 14/10/1939; effects of three torpedo strikes, ca 13.10; moving to boat deck; capsizing of ship; fifth torpedo strike; damage to boats; move to Daisy tender at rear of ship; entering water; climbing into boat and lapsing into unconsciousness; regaining consciousness in whaler; treatment aboard HMS Pegasus; transfer to hospital ship HMS Voltaire; debriefing; rowing ashore to Flotta Island with other survivors during German air raid; move aboard HMS Hebe and period in billets at Thurso; question of casualties; train journey. Period at Portsmouth, 10/1939-11/1939: partial re-equipment prior to survivors' leave; family reaction; full re-equipment; minimal duties; conversation with survivors of HMS Royal Oak. REEL 6 Recollections of period as boy and ordinary seaman aboard HMS Manchester, 11/1939-: first impressions on joining ship at Portsmouth; relationship with seamen; boys' messdeck; duties including acting as sideboy in harbour and assisting quartermaster in wheelhouse; move to join Home Fleet in Scapa Flow, 12/1939; nature of Northern patrols towards Norway; question of boredom; defence stations as loader on 4" anti-aircraft gun; action station on hydraulic loading machinery of 'A' 6" turret; move to Rosyth; Norwegian operations, 4/1940, including carrying troops to Molde, Norway, subsequent evacuation of troops, German air attacks and personal morale; period based at Immingham, 5/1940-6/1940; relationship with boy semen, officers and padre; general messing system and food; cocoa. REEL 7 Continues: joining Force 'X' based at Alexandria, Egypt, 6/1940; composition of Force 'X'; duties in 'A' 6" turret during Battle of Spartivento, 7/1940; impressions of Alexandria including supervised recreational visits ashore and Egyptian tradesmen; role covering convoys to Malta; climate; story of getting drunk on becoming ordinary seaman at Gibraltar; messdeck; routine; return to join Home Fleet based at Scapa Flow, 5/1941; role tracking Bismarck in Denmark Straits; reactions to sinking of HMS Hood; visits to fleet canteen, Flotta Island; letters and parcel contacts with GB; recreations including 'ukkers'. REEL 8 Continues: hobbies; question of smoking and bartering cigarettes; showers; latrines; washing clothes; move to Mediterranean; role escorting convoys from Gibraltar to Malta; station on 4" AA gun during attacks by German and Italian bombers and torpedo bombers; effect of torpedo strike on stern and return to Gibraltar; period in dry dock at Gibraltar; period in dry dock undergoing permanent repairs at Philadelphia, US, 9/1941-4/1942; relationship with US civilians; reactions to racial segregation; shore patrols; reactions to Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbour, 7/12/1941; voyage back to GB, ca 4/1942-5/1942; accidental injury while loading ammunition at Bermuda; leaving ship at Portsmouth, 5/1942. Period at HMS Excellent, Gunnery School, Whale Island, 5/1942-7/1942: nature of discipline; drill; AA gunnery training at Eastney Barracks including pom-poms. REEL 9 Continues: AA gunnery training at Eastney Barracks including Bofors and Oerlicken guns, firing at drogues, method of aiming and Lewis gun; aircraft recognition; passing out. Recollections of period aboard HMS Matchless, 9/1942-2/1945: first impressions on joining ship in dry dock at Jarrow; status on promotion to able seamen; nature of messdecks; reactions to service on destroyer; relationship with ratings; nicknames; question of swearing; move to join Home Fleet at Scapa Flow; role as fleet destroyer; anti-submarine sweeps in North Atlantic; question of ship's seagoing qualities; action stations and role as captain of gun on amidships 8 barrel pom-pom; cleaning ship; canteen messing system. REEL 10 Continues: effects of rough weather during convoy to Iceland; nature of Russian convoys to Murmansk including extra clothing required to counter severe cold, mirages, problems with ice and consequent safety precautions, water on messdecks, submarine threat, depth charges, reconnaissance Focke Wulfs, German air attacks, pom-pom barrages, personal morale, convoy losses, threat of surface raiders and covering force, impressions of visits ashore at Murmansk, reprovisioning from cruisers, role of cooks of mess and food; return Russian convoys; question of fatigue; opinion of officers; crew morale. REEL 11 Continues: visits ashore at Reykavik, Iceland; cleaning ship and bedding; boiler cleaning and visits ashore at Rosyth; rum ration and story of getting drunk on birthday; story of sinking of Scharnhorst, 25/12/1943-26/12/1943, including situation, recall from convoy, contact with Scharnhorst, shadowing role, interception by HMS King George V, abortive attempt to launch torpedo attack in rough seas, confused situation and rescue of Scharnhorst survivors; role on promotion to leading seaman; reactions on leaving ship, 2/1945. Period in HMS Victory Barracks, Portsmouth, 2/1945-4/1945. Recollections of period as leading seamen aboard LST 380, 1945-1946: volunteering for service afloat, 4/1945; nature of Landing Ship Tank; duties as quartermaster; move to dry dock in Manchester; meeting future wife. REEL 12 Continues: role as coxswain aboard Landing Craft Assault carried aboard LST; voyage out to Far East; landings at Malaya, ca 8/1945; landing troops at Sumatra, Dutch East Indies and subsequent role in evacuation of Dutch civilians; movements prior to return to GB, 12/1947. Periods aboard HMS Mauritius, 1948-1951: duties as captain's coxswain; cruises 'showing flag' in Far East; return to GB. Periods aboard HMS Suvla and HMS Jupiter, 1951-1953. Background to demobilisation, 5/1953. Post-service career: initial work as postman; problems acclimatising to civilian lifestyle; question of enlisting in New Zealand Navy; career as purchasing officer for agricultural machinery manufacturer; question of effects of naval service.