Burma Star Association - B.C. Chapter
Bill
volunteered for the R.N. at the age of 17 and was admitted to the service at
17-1/2 at Skegness, Lincs. His basic training was taken at Southampton and
advanced training both at Southampton and Brighton.
Bill
served on H.M.S. Wolfe and H.M.S. Woolich. He also served at various shore bases
in Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
H.M.S.
Wolfe was a large submarine depot ship and Bill was an electrical apprentice.
When the ship sailed for Trincomalee, to service the 2nd. submarine Flotilla, Bill was part of the ships company. This meant being on 24 hour duty (1
day in 4) with sole responsibility for all power systems on the ship. He was
also in charge of working parties putting the submarine batteries on charge
Most
of the action was full-sized subs attacking Japanese shipping but the midget
subs also assisted. This combination had considerable success against the enemy.
After
the "Bombs" dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki Bill was bumped around
various bases until he was finally sent from Colombo to Bombay. This trip was a
solo effort and after 5 days on a number of trains 'he finally arrived in Bombay
to board the Llanstern Castle (with all of one hour to spare) to return to the
UK.
Bill's
work was still not done! He was immediately directed to look after the ship's
electrical system until it reached the UK.
Bill
believes his service days
were not particularly hazardous, but the work was very hard, in hot humid and
dirty conditions. He also credits the Navy with teaching him to accept
responsibility at an early age and this led directly to success in his peacetime
career in nuclear power.