Walsh, Ronald (Oral history)

British schoolchild at Royal Hospital School, Ipswich, GB, 1933-1935; boy seaman served aboard HMS Iron Duke and HMS Glasgow in GB coastal waters, 1936-1938; deserter from Royal Navy in GB, 1938-1940; served aboard HMS Foylebank in GB coastal waters, 1940 including sinking in Portland Harbour, 7/1940; served as asdic operator aboard HMS Bulldog in Atlantic, 1940-1941; served aboard HMS Windsor in GB coastal waters and Arctic, 1941; served aboard HMS Acute, 12th Minesweeping Flotilla in Mediterranean, 1942-1943; served aboard HMS Kingsmill in US and during Normandy landings, 1943-1944. Various postings with Royal Navy and Fleet Air Arm, 1945-1950 and 1953-1969

REEL 1 Background in Lymington, 1920-1933: family; recreational activities. Recollections of education at Royal Hospital School, Ipswich, 1933-1935: character of school; clothing worn; meal times; accommodation in houses; discipline and punishment; daily routine; subjects taught including knots; instruction in rifle firing; use of mast for illicit smoking; training on mast; quality of food; leave and inspections; terms on which pupils were taken by school; reasons for medical discharge and employment options; attitude to not getting into Royal Navy; period as deck boy with Merchant Navy after leaving school; enlistment in Royal Navy. REEL 2 Continues: Enlistment and training as boy seaman with Royal Navy, 1936-1937: strictness of boy service aboard HMS Iron Duke; daily routine; instructors. Aspects of period as boy seaman aboard HMS Glasgow, 1937-1938: duties as captain's runner; running aground on Weymouth beach; relations with officers; story of buying car and attitude of captain to the purchase; punishment for returning late and decision to desert; story of deserting from Royal Navy, 1938. Period as deserter from Royal Navy, 1938-1940: obtaining farm work in Wincanton; employment for butcher/slaughterman in Yeovil; van driving for carpet firm; attempt to enlist in Royal Army Service Corps, 1940; return to Royal Navy at Portsmouth. REEL 3 Continues: treatment on return and receiving King's Pardon. Aspects of period aboard HMS Foylebank in GB coastal waters, 1940: role of ship as anti-aircraft ship at Portland Harbour; characteristics of ship; accommodation; action stations as range setter on 3.5 anti-aircraft; role maintaining and operating ship's motorboat; reasons for not wanting to operate motorboat; hearing Lord Haw Haw threats against ship; firing at German aircraft. Recollections of German Air Force attacks on HMS Foylebank and sinking, 4/7/1940: start of German Air Force attacks; casualties from German machine gun attacks and bombing of sick bay flat; 'Badger' Otley's firing at German aircraft; injury from jumping down onto deck to abandon ship; witnessing Leading Seaman Jack Mantle's actions leading to his award of posthumous Victoria Cross; removing Jack Mantle from his gun and evacuation to shore. REEL 4 Continues: survivors' leave; memories of Jack Mantle. Aspects of training to be asdic operator in GB, 1940-1941: role of Asdic operators; nature of Asdic; closing up of in Asdic cabinet; actions on receiving bearing on ship; loss of contacts; practising with submarines at Campbletown using pre-war yachts. Recollections of operations as asdic operator aboard HMS Bulldog in Atlantic, 1940-1941: escort duties in Atlantic; character of HMS Bulldog; duties in asdic cabinet; sweeping for submarines; effects of weather on operation; writing poetry in asdic cabinet to pass time; sleeping in hammock after watch duties in asdic cabinet. REEL 5 Continues: role of Americans in supplying escorts under lend lease; loss of merchantmen in convoys; ship's actions on loss of ship in convoy; second hand story of HMS Bulldog's recovery of Enigma machine from rammed U-boat; weather conditions in Atlantic; story of arrest in Liverpool for aiding looters and imprisonment on remind in Walton and Strangeways Prison; judge's removal of Walsh and shipmate from dock and sentence of looters; seriousness of looting in wartime. REEL 6 Continues: Aspects of operations as asdic operator HMS Windsor in GB coastal waters and Arctic, 1941-1942: drafting to ship at Harwich; escort duties on east coast; collision with liberty boat in convoy in fog; dealing with damage from collision; visits to Iceland and Spitzbergen; clothing worn in poor weather conditions; patrols in English Channels; action station; amusing story of being covered in oil during action; threat of mines. Aspects of operations as asdic operator aboard HMS Acute 12th Minesweeping Flotilla in GB coastal waters and Mediterranean, 1942-1943: drafting to minesweeper in Belfast; joining huge convoy for North African landings, 11/1942; minesweeping duties off Algiers. REEL 7 Continues: forming landing party to search brothels in Algiers; method of minesweeping mines; incident of accidentally towing mine; method of sweeping an area of mines; story of rowing across minefield to pick up documents from ship; occasion when ship was struck by torpedo which did not explode; character of wartime Gibraltar; dealing with Italian survivors aboard ship. REEL 8 Continues: how he came to leave ship; taking charge of Italian POWs in Algiers; supplementing rations during train journey. Voyage from GB to US aboard Acquitania, 10/1943. Recollections of operations as asdic operator aboard HMS Kingsmill in US and during Normandy Landings, 1943-1944: standing by ship; action station; sight of invasion armada, 5/6/1944; bombardment on D-Day, 6/6/1944; role of ship as makeshift hospital ship on D-Day, 6/6/1944; presence of medical staff on board. REEL 9 Continues: loss of second headquarters ship HMS Lawford; patrolling against German one-man submarines; leave in Normandy beachhead including going ashore on Gold Beach, walking through minefield, discovery of mines and hand grenades and obtaining lift to Bayeux; sight of Mulberry Harbours. Recollections of various postings with Royal Navy and Fleet Air Arm, 1945-1950 and 1953-1967: naval promotional system; promotion to petty officer; terms and conditions on which he signed on; drafting to MTB base HMS Hornet; training as petty officer aircraft handler with Fleet Air Arm at Royal Naval Air Station HMS Siskin, 1947; period in command of fire crew at HMS Condor, Arbroath. REEL 10 Continues: background to leaving Fleet Air Arm for civilian employment with Dice Airport, c1950; transfer to Hurn Airport; decision to re-enlist in Royal Navy, 1953; drafting to HMS Boxer a communications training ship; drafting as coxswain ML 3512 in Hong Kong; patrolling against pirates and smugglers; voyage from GB to Hong Kong aboard Empire Fowey including meeting with William Speakman; incident of patrol boat ML 1323 being shot up by Chinese gunboat; armament of ML 3512; accommodation in Petty Officer's mess; supplementing income at China Fleet Club; impressions of Hong Kong; drafting to HMS Charity in dock; drafting to minesweeper depot ship, HMS Woodbridge Haven. REEL 11 Continues: attitude to service aboard ship; story of meeting Wren who later became his wife; story of organising shark fishing in Red Sea aboard HMS Woodbridge Haven; drafting to HMS St Brides Bay in Singapore; drafting as coxswain to minesweepers HMS Wisden and HMS Coniston; role of coxswain; drafting as seamanship instructor to wooden HMS Unicorn in Dundee; drafting to Tank Landing Ship Anzio in Bahrain; involvement in army exercises; story of not being recommended for rating up to chief petty officer and subsequent rating up; question of his record following him through his career; leaving ship in Malta, 1965. REEL 12 Continues: explanation of length of naval service; drafting to HMS Lynx in Caribbean; 1966-1967; role patrolling reserve fleet in Whale Island, 1967-1969; leaving Royal Navy, 3/1969; civilian employment with HMS Collingwood, 1970-1985. Aspects of service with Royal Navy, 1938-1969: watch system; role of master at arms; role of coxswain in supplying ship; discipline aboard ship; Sunday divisions; Make and Mend; seamen activities aboard ship; the rum ration. REEL 13 Continues: reasons for stopping rum ration; use of rum for bartering purposes; question of what makes a happy ship; attitude to having served with the Royal Navy, 1938-1969.