Michael D.Heath-Caldwell M.Arch.

Naval Diary 1951/2

17^th February 1951

Loch Tralaig – On Wednesday 14^th I received a telegram from the Admiralty directing me to join H.M.S. Lock Tralaig at Londonderry a.m. Saturday 17^th. I decided straight away that I wanted to take my motorcycle with me so I had to set out on Thursday to get the Thursday/Friday night boat from Liverpool –Belfast which sails regularly at 2100 or 2130 each day from Liverpool. I set off at about 10.30 am. Having decided that it would be out of the question to visit Ros and John Attwood at Rugby. However, having reached Yeovil in excellent weather I decided to continue up North via Warminster, Malmsbury and Cirencester. I reached 24 Wheatfield Road about 2.30 pm. To find Ros in and a telegram on the hall table to the effect that I should not be able to make it that day. Actually I did only just make it because when I reached the Foss Way I ran into thick fog which only cleared when I had passed Stow-in-th-Wold.

Ros was in very good form, expecting her baby in about 3 weeks time. She was rather perturbed however about getting to the hospital in a hurry, at Leamington. Apparently Rugby girls are inclined to have their children either soon after arrival at Leamington or in the ambulance. The reason being that the road is so rough that it gives them all a good pre-natal shake up.

After groping my way through the Potteries, passing about ½ a mile to the South of Talke-o-the-Hill, Staffs, I made Liverpool at 7pm, and had to waste an hour there waiting for the officials to arrive at the shed on the wharf to start loading and checking the passengers.

17^th/18^th February – Friday – Uneventful crossing to Belfast where it was raining as usual. Nobody asked any questions about my rifle which I imported into Northern Ireland quite openly. I was rather surprised about this because I was told that the Police were rather sticky about firearms.

I had to do something about the rain in Belfast so I bought a large pair of oilskin trousers. Certainly these did the trick and I was not troubled by the rain any more that day.

My first port of call was Armagh where I looked up the Armstrongs, friends of Ma’s people. I found Michael Armstrong superintending a crowd of workmen digging a trench at the gate at the bottom of ive. Unfortunately he was dressed rather like a tramp himself and it was several minutes before I caught on that Captain Michael Armstrong was right there in the flesh at the gate at the bottom of his drive. He didn’t know who I was either because I hadn’t told him I was intending to pay a visit, in fact he thought I was a student, or somebody like that, trying to find the Observatory at Armagh. I gathered that lots of odd people, professors, foreign students etc mistake Dean Hill for the Observatory.

I had an excellent lunch with Michael alone, is aunt, Margaret Armstrong being at Belfast on some sort of business or other, and afterwards we went out onto his farm to dig a hole! Rather a large excavation it was, designed in the end, to become a silleage pit. I spent the afternoon removing roots and stones from the area under excavation so that the Fordson Tractor, or was it a Ferguson Tractor? Could scoop up the earth without any obstructions. The scoop, a new attachment, was fitted to the stern of the tractor and was operated, for lowering and raising, by two hydraulic arms. Michael reckoned that in a days work the tractor was paying its way, for it was doing the work of about 12 labourers or more.

I was persuaded to stay till after dinner and left just after dark to continue my journey to Derry by roads totally foreign to me. Luckily the route was fairly flat and wide but there were a large number of turns which were not marked with zig zig or warning signs. Thus at about 11.00pm. on the road from Omagh to Strabane I nearly came to a smashing end. The road had been quite straight for about 2 miles and then it quite abruptly turned off to the right, while a narrow lane only continued on straight. I came down on my side pretty fast. I suppose at about 40mph when I saw the lane turning to the left ahead and luckily skidded along down the centre of the lane. My motorbike was hardly bend, except that the head lamp was shattered. I thought at first that my  headlights had gone U/S but no, inspite of the battering they still worked. I managed to get a lift in a lorry to the nearest telephone  box and from there I passed a message through to the ship, being at the time unable to get through direct to the ship because the telephone line was so poor it could only get me to the nearest exchange.\

I staggered onboard eventually at 2345 to find everybody onboard in great spirits. The Flotilla has just held its Annual Variety Show in the Navy Hall and the Navigator and others were still busy repeating their various gags etc. The Captain, I thought, was very merry too and I think most of them had had one or two over the eight by then.

My arrival onboard was totally unexpected. The day before the ship had received a telegram sent from home saying I was arriving by motorcycle and this was their first intimation that I was about to join the ship for the second time. Number One, Lieutenant Wyhes Sneyd that some mistake had been made and that the Admiralty had got 1950 and 1951 muddled up or something. Captain (D)’d secretary knew nothing about my appointment.

Officers onboard the Loch Tralaig, February 1951

Mr Tole is still the Engineer Officer onboard the ship, but otherwise everybody I knew before has left. Mr Everard, the Flotilla Gunner T.A.S. is still with us but is now in H.M.S. Lock Fada, which as far as I could gather he liked less than the Lock Tralaig.

Lieutenant Iles is, the Electrical and Gunnery Officer, and he certainly knows, and lets everybody else know it too, that he knows his ‘onions.’ Lieutenant Burgoyne had the Ship’s Office before my arrival, but when Lieutenant Johnston, who is the navigator, leaves the ship to do his Long Navigation & Direction (ND) Course, Lt Burgoyne will relieve him, leaving me with the office.

Lieutenant Johnston relieved Lieutenant Parker-Jervis, who I believe is also doing his (ND) course at the moment. Mr Hammond, the Flotilla Commissioned Communicator Officer, relieved Mr Simpson who was at H.M.S. Mercury while we were on course there. The Flotilla Electrical Officer, Lieutenant Clark also lives onboard.

Lieutenant Commander Manwaring, the Flotilla ND. Officer also resided onboard. To assist and do very little, as I did this time last year we have Acting Sub-Lieutenant M.D. Cowley who is due to go to Greenwich College shortly, and Midshipman, shortly to become A/Sub, De Winton. Both appear to enjoy being at Londonderry, though both are loath to admit it. Everybody thinks I was mad, quite mad, to have wanted to come back here, but I have my reasons.

February 1951

A few days after my arrival we went into dry dock at Londonderry in order to change the dome and inspect the bottom of the ship, which was a little dented from a grounding which happened just before Christmas, as far as I could gather. I think I must have contracted a mild form of flu just before we docked because I felt very ill all day and I lost interest in what went on down in the dock, much to No.1’s disgust. The dome, which had been prone to give too many water noises for good operating was found to be rusted where the window joins the steel casting. The new dome was fitted without much trouble except that it was found to be necessary to use an immiscible fire pump to pump the dock dry below the blocks in the bottom of the dock and of course everything was very muddy indeed. The new dome itself, which arrived from N.S.O., Londonderry was very rusty when we unpacked it but its condition was not as poor as its outward appearances seemed to indicate at first – all the rust was removed with a wire scrubber and emery paper in next to no time. Although this was the first time recently, in recent years, that a dome had been changed in the dry dock at Londonderry its crane driver informed us that he had helped change many of them during the war.

The condition of the dry dock itself and its facilities leaves a lot to be desired. The pumping machinery, a hot bulb paraffin or petrol engine powered pump can only cope with pumping out the dock when the tide is going down and then it takes about 4 hours or more. Lock Class frigates can only cross the sill of the dock at high tides and at high water which usually occurs round about 5.30am or at 1730pm or at any rate at some inconvenient time out of working hours. The toilet facilities ashore were typically Irish, I suppose, and antique in the extreme so that we all paid visits to ships in the dockyard during the forenoon if we could to go to the heads.

March 1951

During our Emergency ship week we were called out to search the seas round the Inner Hebrides for a trawler reported missing en route from Ullapool to Oban. We went up to Ardnamachan Point, South of the Isle of Skye and patrolled between Tiree and the Dutchman’s Cap and between Tiree and Col and Benbecula. We had no luck in our search but the Mallaig life boat picked up a corpse off Ardnamachan point somewhere so after 3 days the search was called off. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to invite the life boat’s crew off for a P.V. when we went up to Mallaig at the end of the search.

Photo of submarine in 1951 section

Easter Weekend. 1951

H.M.S.Lock Tralaig - Londonderry

We spent the Easter weekend at sea with 40 Sea Cadets from various Ulster Sea Cadet Units onboard. We embarked these at Londonderry on the Friday, I think, and proceeded to the area round Ailsa Craig where we rendezvoused with the rest of the flotilla, bar H.M.S.Crispin, who all had R.N.V.R. officers and ratings onboard from the Glasgow, Liverpool and Isle of Mann Divisions.

To impress our passengers we fired our oerlikons at parachute targets off Ailsa Craig before we all went into Campelltown. There everybody went ashore except myself, because I was still then feeling bogged down by the office. I don’t think much went on ashore at Campbelltown because on Saturday evening everybody was onboard again with a few guests, these were for the most part hotel proprietors -  because it is still too early for the tourists.

Lieutenant Commander Stone, the Chief Sea Cadet Officer of Northern Ireland, who accompanied his 40 Sea Cadets, turned out to be a great man for fun and games: he let off a great deal of steam at Campbelltown, I suppose as a reaction to his farming life in Ireland. I gathered that he is very wealthy, but inspite of his money he chooses to live in a huge house without any of the modern conveniences of like somewhere in County Down, near Donahadee I think. The Sea Cadets were all sea sick as soon as we left the Foyle (with exception of 3 – I was sick too) but later they all got used to it, and anyway they soon forgot about  that because the ship’s company had them all scrubbing and everything in next to no time. No.1 organised the Ship’s Company so that each seaman was allocated one Sea Cadet to look after and to keep occupied.

As evidence of the keenness of the Sea Cadets, on Saturday they all turned out at about 3.30am and had to be turned back in again, not before some had already lashed up and stowed.

April – Easter Period Leave

H.M.S. Lock Tralaig – Londonderry

The leave period commenced on 28^th March, a Wednesday. I thought I was never going to get away, however I pushed a minimum number of clothes etc into my grip just before 1600 and jumped on my motorbike and made hot foot for Belfast where I arrived in good time to catch the 7pm Belfast – Liverpool boat. After another uneventful crossing I again visited Ros and David Attwood, John Edwin Attwood, now about 3 weeks old (born on March 13^th), that is we think he was born on the 13^th of March but as it was within 5 minutes of midnight nobody was quite sure – also Ros’ watch was slow or fast, at any rate, wrong.

Ros was feeling rather under the weather because she was having to put up with Cummy, the old Attwood family nurse who is about 50 years behind the times as regards baby maintenance, sustenance and servicing. Ros was insisting on feeding the baby herself, but Cummy, I think, would have acquired a wet nurse had it been possible to do so. Anyway Ras Attwood was counting the days till Cummy had to go.

On from there back home. At Malmsbury I discovered that my grip, containing all my clothes, washing gear etc, was not on the back of my motorbike. I reported the matter to the police and the A.A. at once but they had received no reports about it. Thus my leave began.

Little did I realise that my case had been picked up in Kemble and handed into the local Police there on the same evening that I dropped it and that had I gone back and enquired I might have recovered it. As it was I picked up my bag the day I went back off leave.

Easter Leave Weekend – Not much comment – I went to one Point-to-Point and that was about all. I met nobody. The weather wasn’t bad but I was feeling pretty bored the whole time.

13^th April, 1951 – End of Leave.

During the leave period a large pile of mail accumulated in the office – this had to be dealt with before we sailed on the Norwegian cruise, so the few days between getting back off leave and going off to Norway were very busy.

Finally the great day came and everybody was keyed up for a quick, smart getaway. I think the H.M.S. Arhaig was the first to slip – before two minutes had past she had a wire round her screws, so she was U/S for a few hours – she secured alongside the Dry Dock and the Sea Eagle diving team cleared her there. We head about this at breakfast, and of course we all laughed up our sleeves – we laughed rather before our time. Within a half hour we also had a wire round our screws – but we did not do anything about it hoping it would come free as we went down the River Foyle. At Lisahally we signalled TF3 about it, and proposed anchoring of Moville to clear it. The reply was immediate – “Return to Londonderry and free wire.” Actually we only went back as far as Lisahally where we went along side at Dog berth and were cleared – having made a rather precarious turn off Quigley’s point, letting go an anchor as we did so. Altogether the 3^rd T.F. left Ireland in a very ragged state.

We finally caught up with H.M.S. Crispin and the other ships off Ardnamachan Point, just to the South of the Isle of Skye just before the sun set. The sea was calm at this time and the sky clear but there was a gale warning – we thought we’d have a rough passage round Cape Wrath, and we did.

After one whole day at sea in the North Sea we sighted the Norwegian lights off the Haradanger Fjord at about 6am on the – April in foul weather. At 9am we were off Haugesund and preparing to go alongside in a blizzard. This was just what we’d hoped would not happen. However we did not make any mistakes coming alongside and everything was squared up pretty soon. We were alongside the jetty and H.M.S. Loch Arhaig was on our Starboard side.

16^th April 1951

H.M.S. Loch Tralaig – Operation Submash was carried out off the Isle of Wight today, because H.M. Submarine Affray failed to surface on time. She dived somewhere to the South of the Isle of Wight and was due to proceed down Channel, submerged, with the object of landing two or three Royal Marines at some point on the South Coast between midnight and 8am. Nothing was heard from her after she dived, but the Submarine Sea Devil though she heard S.S.T. originating somewhere in the vicinity of the place the Affray was supposed to dive. Thus all the ships that had been called out formed 2 circles round this position and then dropped 12 charges – the signal for the submarines crew to abandon ship – all being ready on the surface – ships boats manned, sick bays manned and the Padres waiting with Bibles in hand etc etc.

Onboard the Affray were 14 of my term including:- Dicky North, A.A. Frew, Fatty Garwood, Parky Preston, Howard-Johnston, Mackenzie, Mackenzie- Edwards.

[Sub Lieutenant R.F. North, Sub Lieutenant Antony A. Frew, Sub Lieutenant A.R. Garwood, Sub Lieutenant Robin J. Preston, Sub Lieutenant R.G. Howard-Johnston, Sub Lieutenant C.I. MacKenzie and Sub Lieutenant R.P. MacKenzie-Edwards]

It is now assumed, on inspection of the defective Snort tube, that a fault in the welding caused a fracture through which water managed to get to the submarines interior. McLimby, our Engineer Officer, who spent most of the war in submarines, both German, British and American, does not think that the fracture in the ‘snort’ was the only cause of the disaster. The latter maintained that the valve fitted in the hull at the foot of the Schnorkell is easily closed and that as soon as any water started coming in the wrong way the officer of the watch would have had it closed.

One theory, the Captain’s, was that the value was closed but the diesel engines were not stopped in time, thus a big vacuum was caused inside the submarine to the detriment of life of all contained therein. This was because the diesel was acting as an air ejector from the submarine after it had lost the supply of the air through the snort. I do not know whether that theory can be proved incorrect on technical grounds or not, the question being whether the diesel would stop working, due to loss of pressure outside before those in the submarine died of vacuum effect.

The search for the Affray continued for six weeks after the loss, until it was finally confirmed as found by the salvage ship H.M.S. Reclaim. Although other ships, using asdics, echo-sounders and “Cockchaffer,” were able to get many detections of under water objects, these ships could never positively identify what they had found, except by putting down divers.

H.M.S. “Reclaim” used a new device for positively identifying the wreck – a television camera lowered to the depth of the wreck with a coupled receiver in the Captain’s cabin. I believe Decca were responsible for producing this gadget – and according to the newspapers etc the inventing was put into commission in a remarkably short time.

Newspaper Article

Affray Found 258ft Down in Channel

Diver read name: Wreck 37 miles off dive Area.

By Nowell Hall

Daily Telegraph Naval Correspondent.

The submarine Affray, for which continuous search had been made for 58 days since she dived off The Needles on April 16^th with 75 officers and men was lyingin 258ft of water 37 miles south-west of her reported diving position.

She is on an even keel on a silty bed on the lip of the Hurd Deep, about 16 miles due north of [unreadable] Announcement pf the discovery was made in the House of Commons yesterday be Mr Callaghan, Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty.  A similar item was made in the House of Lords by Lord [unreadable], First Lord of the Admiralty.

After making an asdic contact the submarine rescue ship Reclaim early yesterday lowered and observation chamber used in diving operations at great depths. With the aid of the chamber’s powerful searchlight the diver within was able to see the submarine. He could read the name Affray on her side.

The Admiralty has yesterday afternoon issued a communique giving her exact position. It is 49 degrees 9 minutes North 2 degrees 34.2 minutes West, 67 miles 228 degrees true from St. Catherine’s Lighthouse, Isle of Wight.

Buoy Marks Site

Another Survey Today.

The site has been marked by a buoy. A further, more detailed survey of the wreck is being attempted at 1 a.m. tomorrow, during the next period of slack water.

According to the chart of the area – whose readings represent depths of water at low tide – the minimum depth at this sport is 35 fathoms. The depth hereabouts abruptly increases to 95 fathoms. At various states of the tide it is appreciably more.

Since the war Hurd Deep has been a favourite dumping ground for unserviceable ammunition.

In the past six years the War Department had made arrangements on its own behalf, and on behalf of the Air Military and Ministry of Supply for dumping 400,000 tons of German ammunition in this submarine canyon, Mr Strachey, Minister for War revealed in the House of Commons in April.

The Admiralty sand 25 tons of ammunition there during March. It is unlikely, however, that this use of Hurd Deep in any way contributed to the Affray disaster.

Fatal Dive

Naval Expert’s Theory.

The fact that the submarine was found on an even keel suggests she was flooded so quickly – possibly while on or near the surface – that all in her perished almost immediately, and that there was no time to release even one of the two marker buoys which would indicate the submarine’s position from the surface.

Until a detailed examination is made it can not be established whether she was damaged in collision, or whether any of the hatches were open when the Affray made her fatal dive. One theory advanced by a naval expert last night is that flooding occurred early on the morning of the 17^th.

Affray was then due to carry out a training exercise which centred on four Royal Marine Commandoes who were on board. Wearing frogmen’s equipment these men were to have left the submarine in a collapsible canoe.

If this theory is sound the Affray would probably have been on the surface when flooding began. The position in which she was found, so far from her diving place and off the direct course to Falmouth in which area she was instructed to surface the following morning, is explainable by her sailing orders.

The Affray was at liberty to range over a wide area of the Channel and was not obliged to keep to one course.

Since the search began more than 2,000 square miles of sea have been systematically searched by 12 or more ships. They were assisted when weather permitted by aircraft.

Hunt Widened.

New Search Area.

More than 70 contacts had been made, chiefly by asdic and echo-sounding apparatus – electrical equipment emitting sound waves “bounce” from the sea bed or any submerged object back to the searching ship. All the contacts which divers were able to investigate were found to be old wrecks.

As the hunt continued the area was gradually widened from the original diving position. Affray as found on the edge of a new search area in which work began at the beginning of this month.

The Admiralty last night sent the following message to Admiral Sir Arthur Power, C-in-C Portsmouth,”Their Lordships wish to express their appreciation to you, the searching forces and diving team on the success attained by intensive work over a long period, often under difficult conditions.

It is problematical whether the salvage of the Affray will be attempted. Such an operation would be carried out at an unprecedented depth for such work.

January 1952

All through the last summer our diving experts were thinking of ways and means of raising the Affray. In the end they decided that the salvage operation could not be undertaken for the following reasons.

A Financial considerations – special gear required.

B Interruption of the Royal Navy’s diving training programme

C Difficulties encountered by divers working in a 3-5 knot current, thus necessitating work only at periods of slack time.

D In my opinion lack of drive on the Senior Naval Officers part – drive against the Treasury, the Sea Lords and dive to find new ways and means.

E The depth of the Submarine – 258ft.

S.277

(Established – August 1921.)

(Revised – July, 1949)

NIGHT ROUNDS REPORT

H.M.S. Loch Tralaig

Date 29^th Dec 1951

                                    Ratings            R.M.’s             Total  

Long Leave                             30

Short Leave                             31

Canteen Leave                        8

Absentees                                -

C.D.A. Mess                           -

Hospital                                   -          

Sick on Shore                          3

Detention                                -

Cells (Temperature…) -

Prisoners                                  -

Offenders Close Custody       -

Offenders Open Custody       -

Offenders No.11                     1

Offenders No.12                     3

Offenders No.16                     -

Offenders 2^nd Class for Conduct

Offenders 2^nd Class for Leave

Ratings entered on S.B….      No. Victualled

Ratings discharged from S.B….84 + 4 Officers

Fresh Water

Tons.

Night Boat                              2^nd Port

Remarks.                                 N.E. Irwin Electrician

Sick on Shore

L.R.E.M. Price

A.B. Mackay

S.M. Marsh

No.11

S.M. Downey

No.12

L.S.M. Fendt

A.B. Gibbins

O.Tel Day

28^th October 1952

H.M.S. Loch Tralaig

I received a ‘buzz’ today from the Main Signals Office at H.M.S. “Sea Eagle” that a signal had arrived concerning my relief and my next appointment. I find these ‘buzzes,’ which affect my life most intimately, are thoroughly irritating – to say the least.

29^th October 1952

H.M.S. Loch Tralaig – Received my appointment to H.M.S. Merlin – as Sub-Lieutenant of the ship. This was a little perplexing at first but I now assume that I a the Sub of the Gunroom there – or Senior Sub. This is not to my taste at all – however, that’s that.

In December, just before the Ship’s Company’s main leave period we sailed round the North of Scotland to Rosyth. The trip was not a pleasure cruise by any means because we ran into a NW gale as soon as we left the River Foyle, and after that we only had a period of comparative peace when we were in the shelter of the Outer Hebrides.

In the Pentland’s Firth the North Westerly gale continued to blow with the result that I had a bucket within easy reach of the binnacle on the bridge whenever I was on watch.

Pages missing

I should have asked for transport. When I explained that it was not at all unusual, when joining ships or stations, to get official transport more especially on Sunday. I was informed that official transport had been available and that was that.

Having come from the most efficient ship in Plymouth Command (officially anyway) which worked with a well organised flotilla my first impressions of the R.N. Air Station Donibistle naturally were impressions of inefficiency and ‘slap-happiness.’ One officers name for the station was ‘Sleepy Hollow” – which was most appropriate, I thought, both physically and metaphorically, another name was ‘Happy Valley – due partly to the nature of the runways on the aerodrome itself which appear to be in a shallow valley. I was however glad to see that the ratings appeared to be fairly clean and happy as well which was one up to the station.

The Sub-Lieutenant of the Station, who I was relieving, painted a very grim picture of the life on the station. He intimated that his job was too small to be a really worth while employment for an executive junior Lieutenant or Sub-Lieutenant. He said further that it was difficult adjusting ones life to the life of a shore based naval flying officer – messing with other officers who appeared to be aviators first and naval seafaring officers second. Lastly, the impression I received of the general standard of the Midshipmen and acting Sub-Lieutenants, from the predecessor, was definitely not a good impression.

My impressions of the officers undergoing the course at the Pre-Flight Training School were mainly as follow:-

1-      That they were definitely not the ‘cream’ of the nations manhood that they are always made out to be in the press. If they are then I am sorry for the English people.

2-      Not withstanding my first conclusion, I think that those officers must be above average in most cases.

3-      That the particular group of observers and pilots that I was first aquainted with were split up into cliques which were each subjected to the strong personalities of one or another of those in the cliques. These stronger personalities exerted an influence which I thought was not on the whole for the good of the group or the Royal Navy.

4-      That there was, except for the personalities referred to above, a scarcity of strong characters or forceful characters. This conclusion may be wrong because it is written some time after these officers have left the Gunroom and, in any case, I was only living with them for four weeks.

My own impressions about my own job are as follows.

That I have never had such an opportunity for mental and physical recreation before.

That I like trying to teach people what I know is right – but I don’t like trying to teach things I consider to be wrong or badly preformed.

That my experience here will broaden my outlook in a great many ways. I had wanted to see the air question from every side and now having seen it form the trials and training carrier side; the A.C.R. the A.D.R. and the B.P.R. and Ops Room side; the Joint A/S School side, a very little from the Coastal Command side, I feel that I have a fairly good superficial and general idea of the air side – however a little knowledge may be a dangerous thing. I hope that this stage is only an opening stage. It is true to say that if one is eventually to know a lot about everything, and one must initially start with no knowledge about anything at all.

That if there is definitely a shortage of executive officers in the Royal Navy then my job could be dispensed with – my duties being carried out possibly by an officer on the staff of the P.F.T. who could instruct on flying matters as well as on mess matters.

This conclusion is reached observing that the size of the Gunroom is only 20 officers; that other officers on the staff of the P.F.T. have relatively little to do. Further I feel that I am ill fitted to instruct my fellow officers about mess life because I have never been in a normal mess which had time to devote itself to mess dinners and other mess functions.

 As a Midshipman the routine of the Trials and Training carrier prevented the enjoyment of normal and unrelaxed mess lift – I dined once. As a Sub-Lieutenant I attended perhaps a dozen mess dinners and functions at H.M.S. Excellent, H.M.S. Vernon and H.M.S. Daedalus. Life in an A/S Frigate was crammed with variety and the life was hard – some of us did not even have mess undress – and we never dined once.

PRE-FLIGHT TRAINING SCHOOL

Amended Forecast of Events. Nos.27 & 28 Courses.

Mon. 11^th February – No. 27 Pilot’s Course join.

5 Act. S/Lt (A) R.N.V.R.

11 Mid. (A) R.N.V.R.

2 Mid. R.N.

25^th Feb – 27^th Feb –         A Class Hand Tools Instruction at Caledonia

28^th Feb – 1^st March –       B Class Hand Tools Instruction at Caledonia

Wed. 12^th March –            Commence Half Term exeaminations

P.M. Friday 14^th March – Long week-en d, subject to satisfactory progress

30^th March – 14^th April –   Easter Leave Period

(inclusive)

Mon 5^th May –                  Commence Final Examination

Wed. 7^th May –                 End of Course Dinner

P.M. Friday 9^th May – No.27 Course Leave Donibristle

P.M. Tuesday 13^th May  - No.27 Course join Syerston

Mon 19^th May – Nos.28 and 29 Pilots Course join. (total approx. 19 officers)

Note on back- If the above points are observed there will be less friction or misunderstanding with higher authorities. It is emphasised however, that officers will be able to carry out then duties efficiently only if they make themselves conversant with the camp’s routine orders – daily and otherwise – and keep their fingers on the camps pulse.

21^st January 1954

Sub/Lt S.W.F.Hendrikse R.N.N.

Bloemendall

Hooge Duin en Daaishe Weg 16

Dear Holiday,

Many thanks, old boy, for that crest. It was a bloody nice Christmas present indeed, I was very fond of it the first time I saw it after you had bought it in Derry. Will you thank Charlie, for sending up that picture of the group of “bloody Dutchmen.” The parcel that you have forwarded to my address in Holland, have I sent up again to our ship, because I knew that all of you liked that stuff so much. My departure to the better part of this world will be the end of next month or the beginning of February. I have had my leave now and am in a training-camp for the time being, drilling young sailors who just joined the Navy and behave myself as a very dangerous man, what you have to do to these boys, but in myself I must laugh about all their mistakes and things they do against the discipline, because I did the same with much pleasure during my own training at the Naval College. But I look like a very dangerous man, and that is after all what I have to do. Oh, poor boys. But never mind, it is only for a short time and then we go off to the East. Bloody good-oh. During this Christmas leave I have seen a lot of friends who have been in England, nearly all of them had the best time of their life in the Royal Navy. And really, nobody of you appreciate that enough, that you are a member of that Navy. I have heard now of friends of mine who staid in Holland, what they had to do on our ships, and then I see again how lucky we were, having the chance to come to England.

And the most important of all is, that we have learned to appreciate another country and their people, because we have to be one and only one in the future.

Are you still on H.M.S.Loch Tralaig or already on an Air-Base somewhere. I do not know therefor I send this letter to your home. What about James, already flying? Were the exercises with the Dutchmen successful and what did they make of it.

When I come to England next time, I have your address and I’ll look you up.

If you come in Holland next time and you want any help addresses for sailing boats or anything else, go to my parents, they will always help friends of mine. So don’t be shy and look them up. They will appreciate it very much.

There are some troubles with traveller cheques for my mess-bill, but that is alright now and I’ll send it up to the Tralaig. So don’t you worry about that.

All my best wishes to everybody I know in merry old England and especially you.

Your friend Hans.

Adelborsten Roei-en Zeilvereniging

Dear Holiday,

I hope that you can read and understand this ill-treatment of the English language, James should say your grammar is a bit poor for the rest is it also rubbish.

The journey to Holland was allright, two times gale, lot of people sea-sick like hell, especially from good old England to the Hook. Nobody can blame these poor people with a Navy of tugs!

We sail now the third of January, engine troubles or something like that and I have now my 17 days leave. Go on board the 17^th of December and get a few days later my Christmas leave, so all together a month. Bloody good-oh.

Next week a few days to Paris, just for fun and the nice girls (well, that is nearly the same) and then up to the East.

Will stay there for about 2 years, with leave in Melbourne or Sydney, but in New-Guinea is nothing to do at all. They are hunting there a little, chase around in jeeps with 4 wheels when you are lucky otherwise they have 3 of these bloody things and make patrol sweeps through the jungle against infiltration of Indonesia. That is about all, so not very much.

We are with 4 subs on this survey-vessel, two of us are going to a shore-base on that bloody island when we are there.

I hope it is not me, because that ship has every luxury you can think of.

There are coming another 20 bloody Dutchmen to England, I think in January. And they told me in the Hague, that probably one or two of them will come to our training-flotilla. Poor you, but I am quite sure they’ll have an as nice time as I have had with you.

I am tremendous thankful that I have got the opportunity to be in the first Navy of the world for about 3 months.

The promised fotos you’ll find here, I hope they are allright and if you want to have more of them, write to my address.

Don’t forget the other ones from James, ask him to send them up as soon as they are ready.

Well, old boy, that is all for now, best wishes to everybody, Captain number one, Chief, Pilot, Charles and his beauty, Lt Isle, James and the two midshipmen and tell Cris that I just discovered some more civilisation (not much of course) outside England. Sorry Columbus.

All the best, Hans

P.S. Ask Crispin please to send up my ‘Cruel Sea.’