Smith RN
Home
Prologue
Introduction
Part 1
Enlisting and training at Skegness Butlins
The hell of Chatham Barracks, a camp killick and Cookham Camp
Hazardous Duties, HMS Vesper and greenhorns
Beach Parties, a Danish coal bucket and a chance meeting
Foggy Problems and ‘standing into danger’
Collecting the bodies at Slapton Sands
A near miss with the His Majesty the King
D-Day
Making smoke and a run ashore on Juno Beach
The Great Storm – June 19th-22nd 1944
Bulolo VIPS and a visit to a hospital ship
HMS Rodney opens fire on Caen, encounters with sea mines and f-rations
V1s, E-boats and lost Yanks
Court Martial over tea and a farewell to the ML 303
Part 2
Exbury Camp, periscopes and thieves
Dead Canadian, crappy food and a dud mine
Troop ship to Malta, bad ears and a broken nose
Bed bugs, land sailors, concert parties and lost halyards
Flying codebooks, “Maltese Guts” and a lucky tombola
A boat to Italy, a freezing night and RAF bases
Occupation Currency, black market sugar and lost teeth
Officer’s seats and tracking down Uncle Dan
Trieste, Partisans and a German girl in furs
Farewell to a Geordie cook, a dog and a monkey
A major bollocking, a minefield and pinched bikes
A strange case of in flagrante delicto, the bosun’s fight and a drunk coxswain
Storm in the Adriatic
VE Day, heading home and farewell to the Vetch
Part 3
Welcome to the Rock, wooden walls, and the start of a long wait
Spanish cooks, dockyard mateys and lack of water
Dockyard Tower Signal Station, secret messages and black market watches
Socials, a Photostat machine and our own LCP
The Thorshovdi
VD, a Spanish girl and a run on penicillin
Fast signalling, voyeurs and gardens
A reunion with bed bugs, a useless Spaniard and a fire
Preparing for home, my 21st and an unwelcome return to Stalag Chatham
A farewell to arms
Epilogue
Appendices
Discharge papers including medical notes
Medical Examination Record – 28 Dec 1942
The wages of war – medals and pay
Images of ships
Glossary
Contact
Images of ships mentioned in the text
HMS Vesper
HMS Bulolo
HMS Scylla
Highland Monarch
Duca d'Aosta
HMS Stevenstone
Thorshovdi
HMS Vetch
ML 303
Home
Prologue
Introduction
Part 1
Enlisting and training at Skegness Butlins
The hell of Chatham Barracks, a camp killick and Cookham Camp
Hazardous Duties, HMS Vesper and greenhorns
Beach Parties, a Danish coal bucket and a chance meeting
Foggy Problems and ‘standing into danger’
Collecting the bodies at Slapton Sands
A near miss with the His Majesty the King
D-Day
Making smoke and a run ashore on Juno Beach
The Great Storm – June 19th-22nd 1944
Bulolo VIPS and a visit to a hospital ship
HMS Rodney opens fire on Caen, encounters with sea mines and f-rations
V1s, E-boats and lost Yanks
Court Martial over tea and a farewell to the ML 303
Part 2
Exbury Camp, periscopes and thieves
Dead Canadian, crappy food and a dud mine
Troop ship to Malta, bad ears and a broken nose
Bed bugs, land sailors, concert parties and lost halyards
Flying codebooks, “Maltese Guts” and a lucky tombola
A boat to Italy, a freezing night and RAF bases
Occupation Currency, black market sugar and lost teeth
Officer’s seats and tracking down Uncle Dan
Trieste, Partisans and a German girl in furs
Farewell to a Geordie cook, a dog and a monkey
A major bollocking, a minefield and pinched bikes
A strange case of in flagrante delicto, the bosun’s fight and a drunk coxswain
Storm in the Adriatic
VE Day, heading home and farewell to the Vetch
Part 3
Welcome to the Rock, wooden walls, and the start of a long wait
Spanish cooks, dockyard mateys and lack of water
Dockyard Tower Signal Station, secret messages and black market watches
Socials, a Photostat machine and our own LCP
The Thorshovdi
VD, a Spanish girl and a run on penicillin
Fast signalling, voyeurs and gardens
A reunion with bed bugs, a useless Spaniard and a fire
Preparing for home, my 21st and an unwelcome return to Stalag Chatham
A farewell to arms
Epilogue
Appendices
Discharge papers including medical notes
Medical Examination Record – 28 Dec 1942
The wages of war – medals and pay
Images of ships
Glossary
Contact