Grandad's War Story

[This story was submitted to the People’s War site by Margaret Collinge of Leicestershire Library Services on behalf of Mr D Fulford, and has been added to the site with his permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.]

Q. How old were you when the war was declared and what were you doing?

A. I was 22. It was a beautiful Sunday and I was in Wiltshire in a village called Middle Wallop (now HQ of Army Air Corps). The radio message from the Prime Minister was expected and I was not scared or worried. All the Germans living in the Salisbury area (my home) had gone back to Germany and we started to build bunkers and air raid shelters.

Q. What were your reactions to the events causing the war?

A. I thought Germany was run by a mad man leading a naive nation.
“I’ll never forgive the bastards, not even now”.

Q. What was the first thing you did after the war was declared?

A. I went to the Recruiting Office to join the Royal Navy.

Q. Why did you choose the Navy?

A. “So I didn’t have to march often!” I was assured of a bed, little physical activity and fairly good food. But seriously, my grandfather had been in the Royal Marines, there was a family love of ships and we lived near Portsmouth, the Royal Navy HQ.

Q. How much training did you do and where?

A. I did 3 months basic training in Pwllheli at HMS Glendower (now a holiday camp!)

Q. Where did you go then?

A. To a French ship “FS Belfort” which had been commandeered after the Dunkirk evacuation. It was a parent ship for Coastal Forces.

Q. What were the first few months of the war like?

A. It was the “phony war” – very little happened until May 1940.

Q. Do you remember the Blitz?

A. I was at sea, but I remember that Plymouth was totally devastated by the bombing and I watched it from the sea. The town centre was flattened and I especially remember that Woolworths (then a big shop in town) was bombed but continued business by running a stall from the Devonport market. I can still remember the sound of the German aeroplanes.

Q. What was life like at sea?

A. I slept in a hammock and the food was fairly good. We had “herrings in” for breakfast, corned beef hash for lunch and often eggs, steak and chips for tea.
The work was hard and I was involved with the St Nazaire raid and then drafted to a British Battleship (HMS Anson) which was involved in escorting the Russian convoys in the Arctic.

Q. How often did you get home?

A. About twice a year.

Q. Did you have a girlfriend at home?

A. Yes, I had met her before the war and we married in 1943 in the Parish of HMS Anson when she was a serving member of the ATS. The wedding reception was organized by the parents of the bride. They all asked their friends and family for coupons and ration coupons to provide the wedding cake and sandwiches. My bride managed to get a wedding gown (which afterwards was passed on to other brides!) and it was a miracle that we managed to get 2 weeks leave together from the Royal Navy and the Army. After the wedding reception we went to my aunt’s house for our honeymoon. The first night of our marriage was spent on Liverpool Street Station in an air raid! After the 2 weeks honeymoon I returned to my ship in Iceland and my new wife returned to her Brigade HQ in St Anne’s on Sea.

Q. What was life like in the Arctic?

A. I served there for 2 years – it was very cold and you couldn’t touch anything because of the thick ice. I remember George VI visiting in 1944 (before D-Day) and also visits Field Marshall Montgomery and the singers Flanagan and Allen.

Q. What did you do for the rest of the war?

A. In the summer of 1944 I was drafted to HMS Kent and escorted the Queen Mary carrying Winston Churchill when he met President Roosevelt in the US. D-Day had arrived and the need for escorting convoys to Russia had minimized, so the home fleet was reduced and I went to Plymouth. We were still living off rations, and shops were trading from private houses (not many had survived).
VE Day in May 1945 – Germany was now defeated and the ships were re-fitted for Far East Service. We were still at war with Japan. After the atom bomb was dropped we all celebrated the end of war with dancing on Plymouth Hoe.

My wife was de-mobbed from the Army in September 1945 and was given £26 to spend on civilian clothes (she’s still got the coat she bought!) I had a fairly good “pay off” from the Navy because sailors were entitled to “Prize Money” and I had a Petty Officer’s share.

I was also given a new suit and de-mobbed in March 1946 and we both returned home to Salisbury, Wiltshire with nowhere to live!

By Chris Vine Form 3Q – Kimbolten School

(who was then 13 years old (1999) and this project was part of his English homework)

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