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John Hoodless 1955 - 1957
I joined the Grey Funnel Line in November 1946 at the tender age of 17 ,initially I signed up for 12 years but ended up serving for 22. I went to Royal Arthur in Wiltshire to do my part 1 training ,and to Wetherby for part 2, becoming a fully fledged Writer in the R.N. In December 1948. I was drafted to the Destroyer HMS Virago out of Malta .In July 1949 the Virago was due to go back to the UK, so I was transferred to HMS Chevron, another Destroyer ,which kept on doing the same old trips around the Med and the Red sea. I was transferred again to the Cheviot until August 1950.
In November 1955 I was drafted back to Malta to join HMS Manxman.
On 8th Jan 1956, a pile of us were sent up to
the Goodge Street underground station deep shelter, to wait for
transport to Blackbush Airport for our flight on a Dakota (DC3) to
Luqa .On the flight with me was a P.O. Cook by the name of George
Smith. He had been with me at Ford (Littlehampton) and was also on
the way to the Manxman.
Anyway, we took off around 8.30 am on the Monday morning, landing
at Nice airport in the afternoon. The Air traffic controllers were
on strike at Nice so it was decided we would be put up in a
hotel for the night. Unfortunately, things took a turn for the
worse, and the pilot decided he would carry on, so we landed in
Malta around 22.00 that night and headed straight for Ricasoli
Barracks just beside Bighi Hospital on the Grand harbour in
Malta.
Next morning it was all on to the MFV, and then we headed for the Manxman which was having her two after guns taken off to make room for accommodation for the F.O.2 Med, the then Rear Admiral Holland-Martin We were tied up alongside Corradino Steps just down from the canteen.
In mid Feb we completed the re-fit, and headed off to Sliema Creek where we did daily in and out testing trials. On a Monday in early March, we went alongside the Rampura and filled the mining deck with tents, tins of corned beef ,blankets, medical supplies, and many other crates, and at 22.30 oft we jolly well went to Beirut, where there had been an earthquake, and using our new found speed we had arrived there unloaded and were on our way back to Malta by 15.00 on Wednesday good going!
On Manxman we did very little everyday drills except for the occasional clear lower decks for a spouting from the skipper. As far as action stations on normal practice occasions, I had to go to the Cryptographic machines in the Radio Rooms to code and decode messages. These machines were a replica of the German code machines they discovered during the war, the Enigmas.
At the beginning of July we headed for Lzmir in Turkey. It was at the end of a long narrow inlet and once the sun came up the sea was whipped up by gale force wind caused by the heat making the air rise up the mountains along side, going ashore was murder. From there we met up with the Carrier HMS Eagle and acted as escort into Istanbul. I recall at the time there were only 7 Turkish Lira to the pound , but we were given a concession of 20 which helped. From there we headed for patrol duty off Cyprus ,we had to dangle lights over the side and the sentries had hand grenades to drop on any EOKA divers who might try to do us damage.
As I was a Qualified 16 mm cinema projectionist, I recall one night off Kyrenia in Northern Cyprus, we were on the fo'c'sle watching Stewart Granger in Beau Brummell, when there was a hell of an explosion ashore. It turned out the EOKA terrorists had blown up an Army dump.
Another job awaited us when we go back to Malta in September there was to be a big official ceremony at the opening of the Monte Casino Cemetery of Allied dead. we took a pile of soldiers and airman and provide a few sailors for the ceremony. Once this was over we headed back to Malta and awaited the decision by the Government on the Suez business.
After Suez
In the last couple of weeks in December the mine and bomb clearance squads had done their job, and announced that there was a clear passage from Port Said to Great Bitter Lake, 60 odd miles down the canal, but was it clear ??
Manxman and her crew had the job of finding out. So with all hands lining the upper decks, apart from the engine room staff, off we went down the canal and back up again. All went well, so if taken carefully the canal was open for traffic again. Later in the month a team or U.N. salvage units took over to clear the wreckage of sunken ships. Manxman was the last ship out carrying the top brass and newspapermen who had been reporting the event.
The Suez Crisis unknown photographer
At sunset that Saturday on the way out, we passed the Statue of De Lesseps, the man who had built the canal, the next morning it had gone, the Egyptians had blown it up or down whichever way you look at it.
On Sunday the 23rd of December, one of the boats crew ,which was to take them ashore, fell overboard. With quick action of the O.O.W. (Lt Paul Snow) he was back onboard again in 15 minutes. The National Service youngster was not the Med Fleet swimming champ as one of the newspapers reported, he couldn't swim, it was the oilskins that he was wearing that puffed up around his neck that kept him afloat.
During the Suez campaign only one member of Manxman's crew was injured. Some idiot happened to get his fingers caught in a steel door just as Commander O. M. Fairfax closed it to keep the light in, Thanks to Doc. Wally Frost and a couple of splints and plasters around three fingers of the right hand I was ok. What a mug I was, I'm left handed, still I was able to type with one hand.
We arrived back tying up alongside the Rampura on Christmas morning 1956 at 0800, much to the annoyance of the ships company of HMS Forth. Those with families ashore disappeared , there was a sub alongside us and I managed to borrow a movie from them, Howard Keel in Rose Marie, which I put on in the mining deck that afternoon. Funny I must have misplaced the film as when I turned round there was a pile of film on the deck and not on the rear reel. Oh well, it was Christmas day !
Speed
In February 1957 on the way back from Toulon to Malta it was decided to hold a speed trial on the old girl prior to her going into reserve. She topped 41.5 knots. Not too bad for an old timer. There was hardly a roll or a sway you could have stood a pencil on end on the desk and it would have stayed there. A great honour for the then engineered staff and the builders ,not many of today's war ships - I JEST - "Warships " can boast that !
Another one of her rises to fame came during WW2 when she was dispatched from Plymouth to Gib. given a slight change in appearance to make her look like a Vichy French war ship, and It is said the crew donned French Matelot uniforms, a quick trip to Geona the main Italian naval base, laid mines at the entrance then back to Gib. and the UK. all in seven days. Wow !
HMS Appoll at sea photo courtesy of Dave Page
As a final thought
Manxman did play a major part unrecognised at Suez. Please remember that Suez was just as much a piece of the action and the long forgotten like the EOKA in Cyprus terrorist in Malaya and Borneo, The Korean War patrols between Israel and Jordan, the Mau Mau and the Yemenis serviceman were killed and wounded in those operations as well as the Gulf, Falklands and Balkans
.We didn't have any counselling then, perhaps its a pity they did away with the tot of Rum. Maybe it really did help.
H.M.S. Manxmam A proper Warship! C.P.O. John Hoodless R.N.
