91热爆

Wartime memories of an Able Seaman - Part One 鈥� Enlisting in the Navy. Posted to HMS Bulldog engaged in English Channel Patrols in early 1940.

Part one of an oral history interview with Mr. Arnold Hargreaves conducted by Jenny Ford on behalf of Bedford Museum.

鈥淚 was born in 1917 in Hull. I鈥檓 a Barnardo Boy, I929 we went into Barnardo鈥檚 91热爆s. I鈥檝e been to two or three schools and I learnt a trade. First of all I went to the Russell Cotes Nautical School in Poole, Dorset, that鈥檚 why I went to the Navy. After three years or so I went to the William Baker Technical School in Hertfordshire to join my brother where we learnt the 鈥榩rint鈥� trade. Then my other brother found out where we were and he put a request in and we all stopped together, so that was three brothers all in the same place and we all learnt print. We could have started a printing trade on our own. After I鈥檇 been there about three or four years they said, '鈥橧t鈥檚 about time you left this place.鈥� They find you a job, they do. Well I got a job down in Bedford. When I was in Bedford there were three other chaps from the same school working there as well because the boss must have found out there were some reliable chappies. I think there were three or four of us at the same place and I stopped there until the war broke out. I was in lodgings down Howbury Street. Nice landlady.

When war broke out I got to know this lady here (his wife, Mrs. Hargreaves). I had to pack up all my gear, no where to put it, couldn鈥檛 leave it at the lodgings so I thought, oh, well I鈥檝e got a sister up in Scarborough so I went up to Scarborough and left all the gear with her. My other brother, he did the same when he joined the Army, he left all his gear up with my sister. The other brother he went into the Army, he left all his gear up there.

When the war broke out, you got your calling up papers and you had to go to a different place to get a medical. I went to Northampton - so you all get in a queue, all stripped off, 鈥榶ou鈥檒l do鈥� A1, A2. I was A1 and they gave you a choice where you go. After a while you get a ticket. A ticket came through the post that you鈥檝e got to report to so and so and you want to join the Navy. So I went and joined at Skegness, Skegness holiday camp that was the training camp. After you had got the corners knocked off you I was sent to this place here, H.M.S. Royal Arthur. I knew all the ropes but I didn鈥檛 let them know all these things because you get roped in. You got 2 shillings, 2s 6d a day and an additional allowance of 3d a day to be taken in lieu of an issue of grog, that鈥檚 rum. They鈥檝e stopped that now. So you had a ration of rum if you were over a certain age, you used to get a drop of rum every day, which was how they used to do it, splice the main brace and all that. But we used to get 3d a day for that. So I got 2s and 9d.

And then after I鈥檇 been there a little while I went to Shotley which is in Harwich. Got some more corners knocked off there. That was like a prison camp really because there were small buildings, concrete, real drab, one here, one there, salute here, salute there. Then they showed you how to row the whalers in the harbour there in Harwich, 16 foot oars, rowing. So we got some more corners knocked off through that. I did my training and then after you鈥檇 been to Shotley you went back to Portsmouth which was my depot. When you joined the Forces you got an official number and PJX and Chatham and all the rest had different code numbers. Mine was a PJX so you knew you belonged to Portsmouth. Then the boats were - no kidding they were rough. In Portsmouth there you got some more corners knocked off. The reason why you where at Portsmouth was that you were waiting for a ship, for a posting. Some Admiral would say where he wanted so many Ratings. They called them Ratings, Able Seaman. But you weren鈥檛 Able Seaman then until you鈥檇 passed a few more exams, not exams as it goes but.

We were there for quite a few weeks and then they sent you what was called a draft chit, a ticket with your name on and where you are supposed to go. There wouldn鈥檛 be only you, there鈥檇 be another six men, sailors, you are going to join the Bulldog, a Destroyer. When it came into the Dock Yards there, the Police and railway lines and all that in the dark, you could see this ship all rusty and you thought, oh, have I got to live in that? So I joined that and I had to join the gun crew.

When we joined the ship they had to get you drilled and all that and get you used to the ship and the cooking. You used to have to get your cooking ready and they used to cook it for you. Like me, I could do anything - cooking and that. You get your cooking ready, so many potatoes, so many tins of carrots, so many tins of that and you get all the food ready. And there used to be about eight on each Mess deck and there used to be about four or five Messes - which are tables about so big. And it was your turn to get the food ready for everybody on this 鈥榚re deck, it was your turn to either get the food ready and you were the cook for the day. So you had to sort out the cups of teas in the morning, sort the dinner out at dinner time and if you were lucky you might get a cup of tea at supper time which was not very much, I鈥檒l tell you that nothing! All the tea, sugar and milk was always locked up more or less because they used to get an issue and when that鈥檚 gone you鈥檇 had it. Because you get an allowance, each Mess used to get an allowance, so much food they could have.

You lived on board. And washing out of a bucket, all the water was turned off. You couldn鈥檛 have the water because they had to keep the water locked up so that you couldn鈥檛 go and run the water for washing. You had a bucket to do your washing in, pants and vest or anything like that. To have a bath you鈥檇 have a bucket, that鈥檚 if you had a bucket or borrowed it off your mate, and the Galley room, they never had any showers in a little place like that, toilets with no doors on with water splashing about, like that.

When it was in harbour you could sling your hammock up but it was that close together when it used to be rocking, the hammocks were banging like that. You used to have condensation coming off the doings. On your lockers there, as I say if you could sleep on your lockers or sleep on the floor you used to have a rack along there with all the dampness your boots would go mouldy. When they do the cooking, you were only allowed if you were out of the harbour, any more than three days you wouldn鈥檛 get any bread because that would go mouldy too! So you wouldn鈥檛 get no bread not like these big ships now, you have it cooked for you now. But that鈥檚 how they鈥檇 go.

Morale was good, we were either going to live or die together, see what I mean. Never see many falling out or anything like. But when you used to come ashore you might get one or two want to borrow a couple of bob to go and have a pint. But the run ashore, if you went ashore say from four o'clock because they wouldn't let you off before that, four o鈥檆lock until about 10 o鈥檆lock, you鈥檇 have to be back on board. The run ashore would be down to the Salvation Army, have a bun or go and have a pint and then go to the pictures and that was your run ashore. This was the routine anywhere, any of the barracks, in any of the places. If you were aboard a ship that was your run ashore.

Sometimes they鈥檇 have leave, what they called a 鈥榤ake and mend鈥� where you mend or do your washing and let it dry and have like half a day off but you didn鈥檛 get that very often, a 鈥榤ake and mend鈥� once a week probably. Mend your socks or do your washing or have a bath or shower or wash your hammock or wash your blankets even. That鈥檚 how they used to do it but they had no drying rooms. You couldn鈥檛 have it on the deck because the Captain would say, 鈥榃hat鈥檚 all these flags doing flying up here?鈥� They used to have a boiler room which was a bit warmer but sometimes you would have to go and watch it dry because it was warm, watch it dry because somebody else would be wearing it next day! Because everything was marked, on your collar or on your shoes, everything was marked with your name or number. But if a chap died and all his stuff there they鈥檇 sell all that stuff to somebody and all the money they鈥檇 send off to his next of kin. So if a bloke died or got killed, all his kit, instead of sending it home because it would be no good at home they鈥檇 sell it to the chaps and they have it stamped again so it was recycled more or less. Shoes, collars, shirts and ties.

We used to go in the (English) Channel, the Invasion Patrol. We used to go up and down the French coast, this was the beginning of 1940. We used to go three ships together, there was the Bulldog, the Boadicea, I forget the other name I鈥檝e got it somewhere. We used to go, three ships together, we used to go up and down the Channel all night. We used to go out in the day time and at night time we used to be up in the Channel, rough weather, it鈥檚 your turn to go up and down the Channel on these here ships. We used to come into these here E boats, German E boats, a torpedo boat, they used to carry torpedoes on. We used to have a tussle with these nearly every night. We used to have a go at 鈥榚m, sink them or whatever, yes, fire on them. But before I joined the ship, you know Mountbatten don鈥檛 you, this was before my time, he was on a Destroyer and he got damaged he did, on the stern - the Kelly, that鈥檚 the name of the boat, this is Mountbatten. This Bulldog was towing the Kelly in and one of these E boats tried to get in between the boats and the propellers on there caught on the wire and smashed it all up. Like pegs on a clothes line, that鈥檚 how it went.

When we used to go out in the daytime they used to play, 鈥楬unting we will go鈥�. Then we used to come in at eight o鈥檆lock in the morning, there used to be a raid in Portsmouth, an air raid. So when we were tied up along the side there, there used to be a boat called the Acheron that was another Destroyer and we were tied up along side it. Along comes another bomber, blows the stern off this Acheron, blows it up in a big hole, kills the Captain, the doctor and four or five other chaps. All the shrapnel came over us as well and while this ship was damaged, they sent them on leave didn鈥檛 they? What happed to the other lot, they had to take all the ammunition off just in case it blew up so we were on duty taking all the ammunition off! You see shells are about as big as that, taking all the shells off into a barge. So we are going from this ship here to this ship here, to that ship there to a barge, all day and all night taking ammunition off, doing that. Then we had to go and get some repairs done but a lot of the stuff got blown up and I鈥檝e still got some bits that got blown off. And then we had Dunkirk and all that so we left and we went up to Scotland.鈥�

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