Waters, John (Oral history)

1421593687
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1237602983
Order this sound recording under fair dealing

All Rights Reserved except for Fair Dealing exceptions otherwise permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

Accepted Non-commercial Use

Permitted use for these purposes:
Personal use for non-commercial research and private study and other uses under the UK’s exceptions to copyright and those exceptions to copyright in place where the user is located.
Use on websites that are primarily information-led, research-oriented and not behind a paywall.
Use on personal social media accounts, provided the individuals are not promoting themselves commercially.
Non-Commercial educational use for the purpose of teaching and instruction, including internal training.
Downloading audio-visual for non-commercial offline listening or viewing.
Free exhibitions held in venues, which do not charge an entry fee.

If you would like to use IWM collections materials in a way that is not covered above, require a commercial licence, high-resolution copies, or have manipulation requests, please contact the Image and Film Licensing Team. Digital files of films and sound recordings are available at cost depending on intended use.

Description

Object description

British seaman served aboard HMS Wakeful in Atlantic, 1939-1940, HMS Warspite in North Atlantic and Mediterranean, 1940-1941, LST 9 in Atlantic and Mediterranean, 1942-1943 and with Naval Party 1730 in North West Europe, 1944-1946

Content description

REEL 1: Aspects of period in GB, 1921-1939: family background in Co. Durham; left school age 14 and worked as apprentice bricklayer; reasons for wanting to join the Royal Navy; description of basic training as seaman at Chatham, 3-9/1939. Aspects of operations aboard HMS Wakeful in Atlantic, 9/1939-1/1940: joined ship in Plymouth, 9/1939; messing arrangements; action station in B gun turret; watch system; reaction to outbreak of war, 3/Sep/1939; description of duties escorting convoys from Liverpool to mid-Atlantic; story about accident falling down ship stairway and medical treatment in GB,1/1940; drafted to HMS Warspite, 2/1940. Aspects of operations aboard HMS Warspite in North Atlantic and Mediterranean, 2/1940-4/1941: role in operations during Second Battle of Narvik, 5/1940; joined battle fleet at Alexandria, 7/1940; sea trials; duties escorting convoys to Malta; description of bombarding coast at Bardia; role in operations during Battle of Calabria, 7/1940 and Battle of Cape Matapan, 3/1941; story of attempting to rescue Italian sailors; problem of damage to hearing after ship bombed off Crete; description of medical treatment at hospital in Alexandria; posted to depot ship HMS Woolwich; description of duties as skimmer boat driver taking signals to destroyers; volunteered for Combined Operations and returned to GB, 1941. Aspects of operations aboard LST 9 in Atlantic and Mediterranean, 1942-1943: story of sailing LST 9 back from New Orleans via New York to Mediterranean, late 1942. REEL 2 Continues: role in carrying artillery and troops from 51st Highland Div to Sicily, 3/1943; description of landing tanks and troops at night; further trips to Catania and Messina; story of coming under fire while unloading LST 9 on beach and taking shelter in railway tunnel; moved to Syracuse; returned to GB. Aspects of period with Royal Navy in GB, 1943-1944: posted to HMS Ganges; passed out as leading seaman; role in training boy seamen; posted to Southport; rank; description of preparations for Normandy landings; issued with khaki uniform; arrived in Normandy two weeks after D-Day, 6/1944. Aspects of operations with Naval Party 1730 in North West Europe, 6/1944-5/1946: landed at Antwerp, Belgium; description of following army across Belgium and during advance to Hamburg, Germany; story of being based in Four Seasons Hotel in Hamburg; chain of command in Naval Party; opinion of conditions in hotel; posted to former SS barracks at Altersdorf; demobilized, 5/1946. Post-war life and employment in GB: description of work as bricklayer repairing bomb damage in London.

Object Details

Category: Sound
Related period: 1990 to the present day (production), Second World War (content), Second World War (association)
Creator: Forster, Bill (Production company)
Forster, Bill (recorder)
Waters, John (interviewee/speaker)
Production date: 2015-03-21
Dimensions: whole: Duration 66, Number Of Items 2
Catalogue number: 34089

Object associations

Associated people and organisations

Waters, John
Royal Navy, HMS Wakeful, Destroyer, (1943)
Royal Navy, HMS Warspite
Royal Navy, Landing Ship Tank, 9
Associated places

Atlantic
Mediterranean
AU.O & University, Melbourne
Normandy, France
North West Europe
VT

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Waters, John (Oral history)

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