Ex Telegraphist (S) Clifford Dennison
MY LIFE IN THE ROYAL NAVY
Basic training
I enlisted in
the Royal Navy on July 20th 1943 and reported at H.M.S.
ROYAL ARTHUR, a former Butlin's holiday camp in Skegness,
Lincolnshire.
Our days began
at 06.30 with run/walk around the countryside, 2 or3 miles
or so but getting longer daily, return to base to shower and
breakfast then on to the Parade ground to learn to march in
an orderly fashion; this took us up to lunch time. Then it
was up to a stretch of water, which looked a little like a
piece of a canal, on which there were large rowing boats
tethered fore and aft with lots of holes drilled through the
blades of the oars. As I recall there were about 10 to a
boat with orders to row which we did but we were going
nowhere fast, this, in hindsight was the hardest task I ever
undertook while in the RN it was certainly the most
exhausting!
I had almost
forgotten this bit of water was salt and full of very hungry
fish which would eat anything from bread to the silver paper
we often fed them; I just wonder if they survived ROYAL
ARTHUR as well as we did.
We were
allowed shore leave which we spent in Skegness town, many of
us having photographs taken to send Home and also trying out
the fish and chips which were in limited supply. When our
time in ROYAL ARTHUR was coming to a close, having been
there for quite a few weeks, we were fit - really fit, the
P.T.I.s and the drill chiefs had made sure of that and we
were ready for placement, some were drafted to be radio
operators while the rest to other units.
I was selected
for radio training and soon found myself in Chatham Naval
Barracks while waiting for my drafting orders. Gone were the
cosy mattresses and bunk beds - we were now sleeping in a
tunnel with a hammock; not a pretty place. I well remember
the tough discipline and G.I.s with their highly polished
black gaiters and short cane; to be seen 'walking' across
the parade ground was inviting the wrath of a G.I. one had
to run or suffer the consequences, luckily for me while in
ROYAL ARTHUR I had learned to run well.
Shore leave in
Chatham was most welcome and not being a drinker I enjoyed
skating in Rochester and the museum with its collection of
old time ships made from bone saved from food served to the
French P.O.W.s aboard prison ships moored in the Medway.
Training to be a Telegraphist
Very soon I
found myself on the move again, to Brighton this time, to
join Telegraphist course number 72. On arrival I was
billeted with a very dear lady, Mrs. Morris at 18 Broad
Street. I seem to remember there were 8 of us living there
and we were looked after so well, I for one have never
forgotten her over the past 67 years. Across the road from
number 18 was the smallest pub I had ever seen with a very
steep stairway, none of us were heavy drinkers (yet) but
even so we were made welcome with the odd drink on a tab if
we were short of readies, which was often; 7 shillings per
week did not go very far.
Very soon we
were aware of why we were in Brighton; it was as if we were
back in school with only one subject 'The Morse code'. Our
training was done in classrooms at West House in the Kemp
Town area of the town. After a few months we were presumed
competent, having been taught by ex G.P.O. radio personnel
whom we could never hope to be their equal, we passed out as
Telegraphist (S) ratings.
Specialist training - Japanese
Morse
Having passed
the Brighton course we were transferred to Eastbourne to be
taught the Japanese version of Morse code. Here our billet
was the former School of Domestic Science at St Bede's girls
finishing school, situated off the sea front to the west
side of Eastbourne. A short walk further on towards Beachy
Head, the last large house on the left was to be our seat of
learning.
Japanese style
our tutors were very patient, we took everything on board as
taught, and needless to say there would be no fails on this
course. A sample of Japanese Morse was hanigori and sounded
as --..-..--.
Those of you
who took the course will recall it soon became second nature
to read without problems.
We did have Sundays off and I remember once a few of us
going up to Beachy Head to look over at the lighthouse, the
army had been there to practice throwing mills grenades and
one had been thrown with the pin still in place, so I picked
it up and took it back to our quarters where I removed the
end plug, took out the detonator, the inner body and the
cordite sticks it was at this point that I realized I was
very much alone... I was lucky nothing went wrong and I'm
here to tell this story; it was a stupid thing to do, I
still have the same mills grenade to remind me of this.
The time
arrived and our course was over, we were sent back to
Brighton, civilian billets again, this time at 21 Lower Rock
Gardens. We had a few more weeks at the radio school, and
with more tuition I was aware of being able to read both
types of Morse separately with no difficulty. After taking
the final exams successfully as Telegraphist (S) I was
drafted back to Chatham. Our courses lasted approximately
eight months in all but now gone was the comfort of a civvy
billet and low level discipline - I was now in the ROYAL
NAVY for real!
Drafted overseas
Luckily for
me, it was not too long before our group was to be posted,
some received drafts to ships, others to Russia and the rest
of us, including me, to Lanka, Ceylon. But for some reason
we found ourselves in a camp at Cookham Wood, Rochester
where all I learned was how to peel potatoes, wash up and
keep sentry watches.
It was on one
these watches during the night of June 12th 1944, on the top
of the armoury with a tripod mounted machine gun for
company, that the sound of a motor was heard going over
head, this proved to be the first of many V1 doodlebugs that
night. With us not knowing what they were but hearing in the
distance the motors stopping with explosions to follow, come
daybreak we were able to see these intruders, but could do
nothing about them.
I was then
given a few days embarkation leave before being sent by rail
to Greenock to join H.M.S. TYNE for passage to Ceylon and on
to H.M.S. ANDERSON as a Telegraphist (S ).
Ceylon, intercepting Japanese
communications
In H.M.S.
ANDERSON we were kept busy intercepting Japanese coded Morse
traffic in company with a complement of W.R.N.S. which was
part of our watch, possibly these were decoders. On
completion of a message they would collect it, do what they
had to do and that was it, normal naval watches were order
of the day. It was not all work, we had time ashore swimming
at Galle Face beach and Mount Lavinia with the odd run to
Colombo.
The Fleet Club
was out of bounds to us so we had our own venue, a kind of
Junior club run by a group of Ladies who made us most
welcome and served us with tea, cakes, cool drinks and loads
of fried bananas; a large house not too far from our base so
this became our home from home, and it was used by us most
days. Have just remembered one of the Wrens on our watch was
Gwen, she had tight curly hair and she went out with one of
our lads, her home was in Derby, I just wish I could
remember all their names as well as I can remember their
faces.
There is
something that is unforgettable and that was the 45 record
of Frank Sinatra singing with the Harry James orchestra
'Little street in Singapore' how many of us left will
remember that? It was played over and over again on the base
system. The Skipper in Anderson was a Captain Keith, Jimmy
was Lt Cdr Dugmore and a Lt Gibbons was in charge of sport;
I do have a picture of him kicking off a fancy dress
football match at our celebration of the end of hostilities
in Europe.
On the move again: Calcutta,
India
Within a short
time I was on the move again to finally arrive in R.N.
Barracks Calcutta after the worst train journey I ever
undertook; the bugs in the seats fed well off us and I
remember most of us needing treatment of one sort or
another.
A few days
later we were loaded on to transports with all our kit and
taken to the district of Tollygunge, the home of the 'Royal
Calcutta Golf Course' and we took up residence in a small
blockhouse with sleeping and washing facilities situated
between number one green and number two tee in a copse of
tall bamboo. Food was taken in an American army base on the
edge of the course, we were not welcome at first but they
did get used to us, as we did them, and best of all the food
was real good.
Out on the
golf course was a radio shack with an array of aerials, this
was our first intro to 4 channel H/F D/F equipment, I don't
recall being taught how to use this gear but use it I did
and became quite adept in its operation. There was a direct
phone link to a control centre staffed by girls of the
Women's Royal Indian Naval Service doing work similar to the
W.R.N.S. in H.M.S. ANDERSON; our job was to read and record
the Japanese traffic whilst taking a bearing of the
transmitting station using a goniometer. We would record the
most accurate bearing then pass the info to the girls; we
found later they were just across the road, which ran
alongside the golf course.
After awhile
we learned that the bearings were not of good quality, this
led to another move about 40 miles from Calcutta on the
Jessore Road in the middle of nowhere surrounded by paddy
rice fields. Here a purpose built radio station had been
especially commissioned for us, who ever decided this made a
good call, the reception was first class as were the
bearings; this would be our home until hostilities with
Japan ended. The day arrived when we were kept very busy,
the traffic being particularly heavy, little did we know
that an atom bomb had been used and our job was over.
When we moved
out with all our kit a squad of Army sappers arrived to
destroy our base with explosives and we were returned to
R.N.B. Calcutta. After a few days we were issued with travel
warrants back to H.M.S. ANDERSON in Ceylon to await passage
back to the U.K. which we finally got in H.M.S. FORMIDABLE.
If there is anyone out there who can relate to this story
and would like to meet up or chat about things
contact me by e-mail
Cliff Dennison Ex Telegraphist (S).
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H.M.S. ROYAL ARTHUR
New entry basic training establishment, at Skegness,
Lincolnshire
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H.M.S. BRIGHTON (not officially commissioned but
known as this)
Telegraphist Training School at Brighton, Sussex
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H.M.S. ST, BEDE'S
(not officially commissioned but known as this) Telegraphist
Training School at Eastbourne, Sussex.
training of Specialist Telegraphist ratings in
foreign language morse Including Japanese & Russian.
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H.M.S. ANDERSON
(Naval Barracks and Secure W/T Station Colombo, Ceylon) an
intelligence gathering sub unit of Bletchley Park
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