H.M.S. MANXMAN

W. H. CHEESEMAN D.S.M. 1942

Bill Cheeseman now 85, was an ERA (4) serving on Manxman the 1st December 1942 during the torpedo attack. He was awarded the DSM for the part he played in the incident. This is Bill's storey.

I was only in the Royal Navy during the war years.

I had been an apprentice engineer, with the company who made taunt wire measuring equipment for the admiralty. All my friends had been called up or volunteered. I was getting bored so I volunteered. I was in a reserved occupation but joined up anyway in Aug 1941.

Bill with his son Edward at Buckingham Palace 16 Nov 1943.

I was drafted to Manxman around about Christmas time. Things became pretty serious we were mine laying in the English Channel and the Med. We steamed to India to show the flag and bring some of the Indian government back to England as the Japs were getting close to Burma. We really got around.

We ran from Plymouth to Gib, Gib to South Africa; Freetown was the first stop then Capetown then back to Portside. We took marines out to Madagascar then went to Ceylon. On that trip Manxman recorded her fastest speed; I was in the engine room at the time.

Torpedoed

We were on anti submarine patrol from Algiers to Gibraltar. When the torpedo hit I was taking a shower, I was thrown forward hitting my head on the wall mirror. The mirror shattered, and I was knocked unconscious.

When I came too the ship was in complete darkness, I realised that my action station was in No2 boiler room so I ran with just a towel around me down to the boiler rooms.

The boiler room was very hot (the fans had stopped). The Chief stoker was in a bit of a panic he didn’t know what he was doing, he kept shouting, "I’ve lost me steam! I’ve lost me steam! I’ve lost me steam!" I replied "Of course you have you silly bugger we have just been torpedoed!"

Suddenly there was a violent lurch and the ship took on a heavy list to port.

The explosion had fractured a fuel oil line, oil was pouring  in to bilges, lapping the boiler foot plates and getting dangerously close to the boiler furnace. I managed to find the valve and shut it off, and with the aid of the leading stoker, shut down the boiler. The ship was running on one boiler at the time.

I said to him, "Come on follow me I know my way around I am going to start the diesel generators up."

So we went to the first generator. I said "When I say right, press that button bloody hard." I primed the generator, I said "Right," he pressed the button, the diesel started up first time. I put the main switch over and the lights came back on. We went around the other side and started the other generator, I put the switch over, the power came back on.

There was no communication between the bridge and the boiler room, I was covered in oil fuel from the fractured line adjacent to the diesel generator,  I ran to the bridge and reported to the Captain.

I said "Sir, the boilers are shut down they are now safe, the generators are on so you have power and lights." "By the way Sir about half a mile out there there’s a submarine I can see its periscope." He turned around with his binoculars and gave the order to fire our 4 inch guns into the sea around where we had seen the submarine’s periscope.

He asked my name and told me to get some clothes on and get my self cleaned up, and thanked  me very much "Well done."

It must have been terrifying down there in the dark!

Well I didn’t think about it, my off watch job was the diesels; I just got on with it.

The torpedo hit in the engine room, four were fired at us but only one exploded. As luck would have it all was closed up tight and all the bulkheads held. The ship was taken in tow by HMS Pathfinder, we arrived at Oran the following morning.

Four men were lost in the engine room that day, two ERA’s and two stokers, Jimmy Wragg was the chief ERA and Jimmy Etherington was the junior. I don’t remember the names of the two stokers. They were all buried at sea we went out on HMS Pathfinder for the funeral.

 

You were awarded the D.S.M.

Yes, I was awarded the DSM on the 1st June 1943. I didn’t know any thing about it; I was at Middlesbrough standing by a ship that being built the HMS USK. I had been there for about a fortnight when I was sent for and told to go to the RTO’s office in the Ship builder’s yard. I knocked on the door the answer came "Come on in ", about six officers were standing there, one said to me "You are improperly dressed," I said "I beg your pardon Sir" "You are improperly dressed", I was in overalls, he then said "Congratulations, I have just received an AFO. You have been awarded the DSM. You will go down to the Navy outfitters in Middlesbrough they are waiting for you they will sew the DSM ribbon on your uniform." Later that year on the 16th November I went to Buckingham Palace, where King George VI presented me with the medal.

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Mentioned in Despatches

I would also like to mention Denis Morison who joined up at Chatham on the same day as Jimmy Etherington and myself.

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You were medically discharged.

We were at sea in HMS USK (a river class frigate) for trials when I collapsed in the engine room. I woke up in Kilcombe Royal Naval Hospital  were I stayed for 10 weeks, wile there I contacted Iodine poising from the medication, they then shipped me to hospital at Chatham under Dr.Tom Snedon. He sent me to see Prof. Fleming for a second opinion, they decided that I was no longer any use to the Royal Navy.

I went before a medical board, chaired by a Rear Admiral  there were also a couple of doctors and two civilians there. Proceedings went like this. 

"Whats the rating suffering  from Snedon?" The Rear Admiral said to Dr Snedon

Reoccurring boils, carbuncles, abscesses, dermatitis, and severe headache, brought on through his experiences on Manxman sir." Dr Snedon replied.

"How many boils Snedon ?"

"A grate number Up to date sir,  with more to come !"

"Oh my god," he said "I have one on the back of my neck and its killing me !"

So In August 1944 I was medically discharged, I was taken to the Seaman's Hospital at Greenwich, were I lived until I was well enough to go home.

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After the war I went back to the company that I had worked for as an apprentice, ending up as works maintenance engineer, from there I went to Goldsmith college  Newcross as superintendent engineer. My wife also worked there as admissions officer.

I now live happily in retirement in Wiltshire.

 An interview with Bill Cheeseman D.S.M. April 2006.