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A veteran interview with

Alan Johnson

Alan Johnson provides Legasee with an in-depth and often times, entertaining interview about his time in the Royal Navy.

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About Alan Johnson

Alan Johnson served in the Royal Navy from 1943 to 1947. The son of a professional Manchester city footballer he was enlisted as an Able Seaman on the Minesweeper HMS Onyx. In his expansive interview he talks in detail about his life onboard and the work he was involved in. He describes the mine clearing procedure in depth and the particular threats the ship faced day and night. The Onyx operated both in the Balkan seas on the Russian convoys and in the English Channel during the Normandy invasion. Alan shares entertaining memories from them all.

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Home | Veterans | Alan Johnson

A veteran interview with

Alan Johnson

Alan-Johnson-Nmdy

Alan Johnson provides Legasee with an in-depth and often times, entertaining interview about his time in the Royal Navy.

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https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/alan-johnson-r/

Cite this interview:

MLA Style:
Johnson, Alan. A Veteran Interview with Alan Johnson. Interview by Unknown. Legasee, 18 Aug. 2016 https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/alan-johnson-r/. Accessed 27 Apr. 2025.
APA Style:
Johnson, A. (2016, August 18). A Veteran Interview with Alan Johnson [Interview by Unknown]. Legasee. Retrieved April 27, 2025, from https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/alan-johnson-r/
Chicago Style:
Johnson, Alan. 2016. A Veteran Interview with Alan Johnson. Interview by Unknown. Legasee, August 18. Accessed April 27, 2025. https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/alan-johnson-r/
Harvard Style:
Johnson, A. (2016). A Veteran Interview with Alan Johnson. [Interviewed by Unknown]. Legasee, 18 August. Available at https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/alan-johnson-r/ (Accessed: 27 April 2025)
Vancouver Style:
Johnson, A. A Veteran Interview with Alan Johnson [Internet]. Interview by Unknown. Legasee; 2016 Aug 18 [cited 2025 Apr 27]. Available from: https://www.legasee.org.uk/veteran/alan-johnson-r/
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Mervyn Salter

A Navy seaman gives an engaging account of his military service on board S-class destroyer HMS Saumarez during WWII.

Mervyn Salter, an able seaman and anti-aircraft gunner, joined the Royal Navy in 1942 at the age of 18. He trained at HMS Raleigh and HMS Drake before being assigned to his first ship, HMS Saumarez, an S-class destroyer. Mervyn recalls his life and duties aboard the ship, including his first voyage during which the Saumarez escorted the Queen Mary with Winston Churchill on board. He goes on to vividly describe the challenges of the Arctic convoys, sharing detailed memories of the harsh conditions, and later provides an engaging account of the Saumarez’s battle with the German battleship Scharnhorst. Mervyn also recounts the ship’s role in providing artillery support on D-Day, which remains a particularly difficult experience for him to talk about. In 1944 the Saumarez gained a new skipper and was promoted to flotilla leader, setting sail for the Pacific where a new ocean provided a new enemy. Mervyn’s reflections on his military service are testament to the courage, resilience and camaraderie that defined his time in the Royal Navy, and his closing words remind us that the events of the war and the sacrifices made by so many must never be forgotten.
Service:
Interviewed by:
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An interview with

Alex Owens

Able seaman Alex Owens remembers his Naval service during WWII, providing protection for the fleet aboard S-class destroyer HMS Savage.

Alex talks about the first strict days of his Naval training at the shore station of HMS Ganges in Ipswich, and the even stricter regime that followed at Chatham Barracks, recalling the general attitude amongst his peers of ‘just getting on with’ whatever they had to do. His first draft as an ordinary seaman was to HMS Savage, a brand-new ship which he was one of the first to board. Unfortunately for Alex, as soon as he left the shore for the very first time, he was laid low by seasickness which took a fortnight to get over and left him temporarily unable to care if the ship sank or sailed! Alex shares stories from his time on the Russian convoys and the unimaginable hardships the crews endured. He also details close contact with the SS Penelope Barker, as well as Savage’s heroic role in the sinking of the German battleship Scharnhorst: an amazing account made even more incredible when he remembers the moment the Savage turned her guns in the wrong direction… A charming, generous and funny man, Alex’s story is that of a young sailor at sea determined to do his bit, regardless of the dangers and fears he encountered along the way.
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An interview with

Joan Endersby

The engaging and humorous recollections of a Wren stationed in Londonderry during WWII.

Determined to join the WRNS as soon as she could, 17-year-old Liverpudlian Joan Endersby signed up in 1943 and began her training in London, first in Mill Hill then at Westfield College to learn how to operate a teleprinter. Her first draft sent her to the shores of Loch Foyle in Londonderry where she arrived on Christmas Eve 1943 and felt instantly at ease with her new life. Joan describes the living accommodation of the Wrens and talks in detail about her work tracking the movement of the Atlantic convoys heading in and out of Liverpool. She also shares with great humour stories about her life in Londonderry, reflecting on how society has changed since then. Acknowledging the true horrors of war, Joan feels fortunate to have served with the WRNS, and her wonderfully upbeat character reminds us that light can be found even in the darkest of days.
Service:
Interviewed by:
Martin Bisiker