Reminiscences

My father joined the Royal Navy during WWI, adding 6 months to his age to do so!  He was recalled before WWII started, to train new recruits but moved to active service as the war developed. In March 1942 he was evacuated from the crippled cruiser HMS Trinidad when they were on Arctic Convoy Escort Duty.

My father was then posted to the submarine depot ship, HMS Fourth which was anchored in Holy Loch off the Clyde. My mother and I joined him there for the remaining years of the war.  We lived in the village of Sandbank on the shores of Holy Loch, where there were two yacht building yards, which in their heyday had built Americas Cup challengers.  These yachts were laid up in the yards which had been taken over by the Admiralty to produce motor torpedo boats and air sea rescue launches.  We boys of 11or 12 had free run in these yards, and in hindsight, it was probably because the fathers of some of the boys worked in the yards!  But we were never a nuisance; I don't ever remember ever being chased out of the yard for misbehaving.  The only restriction placed on us was when there was a launch in progress when we were kept at a distance from the slipway.  We also used to watch the launches going through their speed trials in the Clyde.

          We used to collect pieces of scrap timber from the waste tip to make whatever we needed.  We would get the workmen to cut this to shape for us on their band saws.

Although being an English boy in Scotland was not easy it was a happy period of my life.