Another sideways leap to fill gaps in my knowledge!

[Hazel Stringer]

Recently, I discovered a book called "Winston's Specials" by Archie Munro. It has several pages on the convoy that took Dad from Glasgow to Singapore (WS12Z).

The description of life on board a troopship in the Bay of Biscay and then the South Atlantic in October/November/December is very bald - to say the least!

Can some knowledgeable person on this website point me in the direction of accounts of life on board such troopships during the war?

Thank you!!!

[Doc Vernon]

Hello Hazel
Although i cannot say that i know if Conditions were the same , but i have heard they were very similar at times to when i was on the Trooper Dilwara from Southampton , to Aden. (RAF During what was called The Small Wars)
The Troopers were always so crowded, no place at times to even get a good sleep, with the Lads just bustling for whatever they could to try and make the Journey as best as possible.
Quite a few Heated times because of the conditions , but that was expected. Lads would be Lads!

As said there may have been similarities, however when it came to the Food part, i dare say that it where it stopped, as even though we had hard times aboard, the Food supplied was of a very good standard!

But i am sure there will be some here that could give a far better discription of the older Troopers during those horrid War Year Crossings!
Cheers

Dilwara Ship Aden.JPG

[Gerald Farr]

This just brought back a story my Dad once told me of when they were in convoy (going to I know not where). He was in the Army and they were on this ex whaling factory ship along with their Bedford lorries, Bofor guns and Ammunition trailers, happily steaming along, sh.....ing themselves because they knew that there were submarines in the area. Suddenly one of the men said the convoy's speeded up, they're leaving us behind, whereupon someone else said no they haven't, our engine's stopped. Dad said there they were in broad daylight, all on their own with the rest of the convoy steaming away over the horizon. He said the silence was deafening, broken only by the banging and clanging of the repairs taking place down below, seemingly louder than Big Ben chiming, a definite attraction to any submarine within miles. The afternoon turned into evening and then into night with noises still coming up from the engine room so they decided to just turn in as there was nothing else they could do. When they woke in the morning it was with great relief to find themselves back in the middle of the convoy once more, fortunately they weren't the slowest ship in the convoy. I'm sorry this doesn't help with the request but troopships just brought the memory back.

[j.sabourn]

I can remember two out of pocket stories from my old man, 1. Before going out east he went with party of German POWS for an exchange of British pows somewhere up the Baltic the ship,displaying a big Red Cross on the side. He said the german pows were in a worse state than the British probably on civilian rations. However 2 escaped British pows were smuggled on board and thought their freedom was assured . It wasn’t a German u- boat surfaced alongside them in the Kattegat and demanded them back which they had to do or be sunk. 2. Hadn’t been in Burma long and was stationed with a gurgha regiment, was in the latrines one day and doing the usual up against the wall,this gurgha came in drew his Kukri and pushed him against the wall, he thought his end had come as knew a gurgha would always draw blood before returning it to its sheath.he brought the kukri down an cut a boot lace snake in half near my fathers foot, one of the most poisonous snakes in that part of the world , probably saving his life. Throwing greased up thieves off troop trains going or stationary was immaterial in those days just part of the course he used to say also. JS