Memoirs of GD Fell

When I arrived on the Norfolk I was greeted with the news that the Amethyst was being held on the Yangtze by the Chinese, and that there had been quite a lot of casualties. A film was made of this called ‘The Yangtze Incident’.

HMS Amethyst

When we finished the refit at Singapore, the tour of the East Indies continued, finishing up once again at Trincomalee.

In June 1949 we handed over the flag to HMS Birmingham (I think) and we set off back to the UK, arriving at Plymouth late in the month. I was transferred from the Norfolk to the Signal school at Glen Holt, there to finish my time in some cushy number (or so I thought).

On the 17th July, I was called to the drafting office and was told that I was being drafted to HMS Nuthatch and that they hadn’t a clue what sort of ship it was. Of course I knew what sort of ship it was because it was a naval air station at Anthorn, just outside Carlisle.

The only problem I had was the fact that I had just come back from abroad with a load of cigarettes which had to be declared to the Customs before leaving barracks. Now, how do we get over this problem? Pack the tobacco in your hammock and then go on the attack when going through the routine of ‘Leaving ship’. It was evening time when I reported to the Regulating Office (which also served as the customs in the barracks) for my papers transferring me to HMS Nuthatch and my travel documents to Anthorn. Before the Regulating Petty Officer had a chance to say anything I started ranting and raving about a matelot being sent to a bird station. “I joined the navy to go on the water”, I said, “not to be sent to an air station. If I’d wanted to go to an air station I would have joined the Royal Air Force.” He sympathised with me, gave me my documents and I was on my way to Plymouth railway station with my stash of cigarettes and tobacco intact.

When I arrived at Anthorn I hadn’t got a clue what sort of job I was going to be doing, but was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was mainly D.F. Each time the planes went out, the DF hut had to be manned to guide them back to base. The DF hut was situated, all on its own, in a field which had sheep roaming around in it.