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
Part three covers Alan's long wait on Gibraltar before being released from the Navy in 1946.
Gibraltar
Alan on Gib - 1946.
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