Mulberry Harbour: Onboard the Tug Boat Kings Cross

In 1944, after many months of towing huge concrete and steel sections all around the British Isles and having no idea what any of these sections were for, we were attached to a buoy in the Solent for a number of weeks depending on a passenger ship anchored close by for such comforts as a hot shower etc. On 5th June we took a section of the harbour; only later did we understand they used to drive vehicles off the harbour when unloaded from a ship. We sailed into the night with a bell tent on the last section of this drive off contraption. In the bell tent were a number of soldiers. I remember we had no idea what any of these sections were for. Our tug-boat was called the "Kings Cross" and hailed from Middlesboro and chartered to the United Towing Company from Hull. The Skippers name was Stanley Wright. We made good progress during the night, but nearing the French coast we knew that something was wrong. But owing to a strict black-out code in force throughout the war we had no idea what was wrong until daylight when we saw all these soldiers waving like mad at us because the section that they were on with the bell tent had sunk! The Royal Navy arrived and took them off, we dropped our tow and the Navy put it to the bottom of the sea as target practise. I have never seen so many ships before in my life, and as we were on the seaward side of a few British battleships, you could see the shells leaving the barrels. We subsequently returned and took concrete barges full of aviation spirit over.

Once again I am very sad to notice that the Merchant Navy who lost around 2000 ships and whose loss in numbers during the war was greater than any of the other services percentage wise has been overlooked in the celebration. I was 18 at the the time and will never forget it. Particularly the devastation of such lovely cities as Caen and St Malo, when eventually we were allowed ashore there.

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