VE Day, heading home and a farewell to the Vetch
After leaving Trieste in May just before the end of hostilities in Europe on the 8th May 1945, everybody was listening to the broadcast from London with all the merriment and celebrations broadcast over the ships Tannoy, a peculiar situation arose. “Splice the main brace” had been celebrated with an extra rum tot, the King gave a speech that was not very well received by the crew and numerous remarks were made and reported back to the Skipper. He took umbrage to this and cleared lower deck and gave us all a hell of a blast, stating our task was not complete and to act like responsible personnel, and so on and so forth.
I guess it must have been in their minds that we were on a very dangerous sea and our luck might run out. Only two days previously, a “Byms” minesweeper¹, a timber built vessel, had gone up leaving very few survivors. I wondered what their reactions would have been if they had the signalman’s knowledge regarding the ‘swept channels’…
So celebrations for the end of the war in Europe was virtually passed by for the crew of the Vetch and 50% turned in to dream about getting back home soon.
It was couple of days later when the real time to make merry occurred as a WT message and order was received to head for the UK. Our stint in the Mediterranean was almost over. The stokers’ mess is where these rumours usually arise, but I must say in all honesty it was a stoker who informed me of this information gem.
So we headed south down the Adriatic, oiled at Taranto and had a leisurely cruise to Gibraltar not even stopping off at Malta. Every day we had “hands to bathe”² I was lookout because my ears were giving me trouble and I was not allowed to swim. A very happy ship was the Vetch!
On reaching Gibraltar our euphoria was shattered – the ship was being paid off. I discovered our ship was being sold to the Greeks for £45,000. I was clued up on this project as the Skipper requested through the Yeoman that I had to keep a personnel file on this transaction for his own use. The project had a deadline, with the ship getting boiler clean, all armaments removed and repairs as were necessary and she was gone six weeks after arriving at Gib.
The crew of the Vetch considered this quite a let down and insult, but no doubt she served them proud as she did us. After the Greeks had finished with her she was sold to the Japanese as a whale hunter in the Antarctic, under the name “Otori Maru” and that was the last I heard of that delightful lady. She will be well remembered by all those matelots that served aboard her.
I guess it must have been in their minds that we were on a very dangerous sea and our luck might run out. Only two days previously, a “Byms” minesweeper¹, a timber built vessel, had gone up leaving very few survivors. I wondered what their reactions would have been if they had the signalman’s knowledge regarding the ‘swept channels’…
So celebrations for the end of the war in Europe was virtually passed by for the crew of the Vetch and 50% turned in to dream about getting back home soon.
It was couple of days later when the real time to make merry occurred as a WT message and order was received to head for the UK. Our stint in the Mediterranean was almost over. The stokers’ mess is where these rumours usually arise, but I must say in all honesty it was a stoker who informed me of this information gem.
So we headed south down the Adriatic, oiled at Taranto and had a leisurely cruise to Gibraltar not even stopping off at Malta. Every day we had “hands to bathe”² I was lookout because my ears were giving me trouble and I was not allowed to swim. A very happy ship was the Vetch!
On reaching Gibraltar our euphoria was shattered – the ship was being paid off. I discovered our ship was being sold to the Greeks for £45,000. I was clued up on this project as the Skipper requested through the Yeoman that I had to keep a personnel file on this transaction for his own use. The project had a deadline, with the ship getting boiler clean, all armaments removed and repairs as were necessary and she was gone six weeks after arriving at Gib.
The crew of the Vetch considered this quite a let down and insult, but no doubt she served them proud as she did us. After the Greeks had finished with her she was sold to the Japanese as a whale hunter in the Antarctic, under the name “Otori Maru” and that was the last I heard of that delightful lady. She will be well remembered by all those matelots that served aboard her.
¹ British Yard Minesweeper.
² Swimming in the sea.
² Swimming in the sea.