Millennium Project
Audio Recording with Sidney (Sid) Berry about his wartime experiences in the Royal Navy
Part I
00’ 00 Why he wanted to join RN
01’ 30 Old wives tale as to why he would never drown
02’ 15 Skived off work to put name down for navy …story….
04’ 15 Sacked by his employer – a baker. Got temp job tractor driving
06’ 45 Called up. Went to Skegness for basic training – stories of…..
11’ 00 then Wales under canvas – stories of…….
14’ 30 Chatham Barracks – training as a cook stories of…..
16’ 45 Sleeping in tunnels etc
18’ 00 Joined HMS MASHONA – Tribal class frigate at Immingham.
Lofoten
Captured merchant vessel – prize money
Chased out by German Destroyers
22’ 00 Captured a fishing vessel – boarding party
Captains uniform, drinking, prisoners
Meant to escort shipof children to USA
But went chasing Tirpitz – then Hood sunk
Set off to join battleships hunting Bismarck
25’ 00 Shells going over the top en route to Rodney!!
Sent back to Plymouth attacked by Focke wolfe Hit by bomb
Hit No 1 boiler. Sunk. Lost nearly half ships company
Most survivors picked up by HMS TARTAR
"I got washed away from ships side and thought had gone blind but was wearing a fishermans life jacket (too big) which
had risen up over my eyes."!!
32’ 00 Not picked up until dark by a US destroyer.
Went in to Londonderry. Injured in one leg. 6 weeks in hospital.
36’ 00 Joined HMS ASHANTI on the Tyne
PQ17 convoy
Previous one was told to scatter. Lost most of them
Only got about 5 through
38’ 45 Bear Island – Heinkel 111 – 2 torpedoes each - Over 50 a/c. 104 Under water explosions
Got to Murmansk Used up all ammo
Stayed 2 weeks then ran home at 45 knots!
Awful place Russia – swapped hats for Ki
41’ 00 Did about 5 convoys to Russia
Then went to Mediterranean
Operation PEDESTAL
43’ 00 Eagle & Isaac Speers (dutch)
Straits of Pantelloria – Manchester sunk/beached
E boat attacks
44’ 50 ASHANTI became Convoy Commodore
3 out of 15 got through.
(Eds note: now sidetracked by me into recalling arctic convoys – attacking u boats – story of becoming asdic operator for a short time)
48’ 40 Met up with Italian Fleet who hopped it!
Supported N Africa landings
Cooking stories
52.0 Under attack by Stukas while temp assistant gun layer
52’ 50 Captain Richard Onslow - sea going rig – possibly related to Dr Jones of home villag (Deddington) - good for a loan
56’ 00 Convoys to Sicily
Went S of Equator
Back to UK for boiler clean
59’ 00 (again side tracked by me - End 1943 Volunteered for submarines?
This caused him to lose track and he tries to rememeber what he was talking about!)
60’ 00 awarded Malta medal 50th Anniversary.
(Eds note: The original tape recording now had some talk about tobacco issue, making plugs of etc and then led to a story about taking ESKIMO in tow from ASHANTI. This did not make it to the CD but may be on original tape with the Naval Museum in Portsmouth)
End Part I
Part II
00’ 00 starts right in middle of story of towing of Eskimo.
03’ 00 - recovery of Eskimo’s CO (Lt Cdr Maud) who had intended to go down with his ship -Met by Churchill
05’ 15 (Back to submarines – )
Training Class number 129. NB: his SM training notebook is in SM museum. V brief notes!!
Cyclops
07’ 53 HM SM Thresher – no chef so sent as a substitute – Xmas food
Went to Birkenhead – HM SM Selene –
10’ 43 taken to it by Thrasher’s skipper
new build in Cammell Laird
12’ 15 trot sentry revolver practice firing at jam jar story
15’ 15 Rum story
16’ 00 Sea trials/depth charge trials
17’ 00 long (Skippers christening party/being drunk/
20’ 00 crew nicking food so he had nothing to cook – skippers tolerance!
23’ 00 story! (farewell party advice from No 1
To the Far East – via Aden, Trincomalee
Took 16 weeks coming back on Vivid
24’ 50 Selene again – didn’t see any action but felt it!
Ramming junks.
25’ 30 Recalling being Guns crew on Thasher and Vivid – opening hatch under water - etc
27’ 00 Recalling cooking on a submarine – no fridges – no space – red lighting – ditching slops – roast Sunday lunch always – an
early (unapproved ) deep fat frier made by tiffs from a metal sink –
32’ 00 going ashore in Trincomalee/coal ships/ depot ships/plantations
33’ 45 going ashore in Candy – fishermen – scrumping mangoes & wasp nests
36’ 00 moved to Vivid – to go to Australia to train RAN but bomb was dropped &broke out so Vivid sent home
36’ 30 Comparing SM time to surface ships as a way of life.