With a long-held ambition to join the Navy, Fred Estall keenly awaited the arrival of his call-up papers, which sent him first to Pwllheli in north Wales for initial sea training and then to HMS Wellesley in Liverpool for gun training. He passed out as a DEMS gunner (Defensively Equipped Merchant Ship) and went to Nova Scotia – via HMS Belfast and RMS Queen Mary – to join the crew of a Merchant Navy oil tanker. Fred talks about life on board, describing the extra work available to anyone willing to get his hands dirty – which he always was, not only because he could earn more money, but also because keeping busy helped him keep his mind off the U-boats. He explains the stark difference between the atmosphere of camaraderie in the Royal Navy and the Merchant Navy, and talks about the distinct lack of entertainment onboard a merchant ship. Recalling heavy seas, storms and the huge expanse of ocean, Fred’s memories bring vividly to life what it was like to move from tanker to tanker while the world was at war, keeping allied ships fuelled from 1940 – 1944.

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.

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.