Stan Mayes

 

10. Largs Bay

This page describes Stan’s account of his voyages on the ship. There is a history of Largs Bay with photographs on the Benjidog website HERE.

Joining Largs Bay

 

Following my leave from Cape Howe I reported to Tilbury shipping pool and again found that very few deep sea ships were coming to the Thames and after a week had passed without a chance of a job my pal Ron Wood and I decided to go up to Liverpool.

 

We arrived at this great and busy port early in June 1943 and booked into the Angel Club in Dale Street. This had been a hotel but now taken over by the Flying Angel seamens mission. Next morning Ron and I reported to the Shipping Office and signed on Largs Bay and joined her in Birkenhead Dock the same day. The date was 10th June 1943 and we paid off in Cardiff on 5th November 1943 Largs Bay had been a well known passenger ship in the Australian service pre-war but was now a troopship.

 

 

Voyages on Largs Bay

 

Convoy KMF 17

 

Embarking 1,500 troops of the 8th Army, we sailed in convoy from the Mersey on 17 June 1943 and later joined convoy KMF 17 from the Clyde. Our destination was Algiers where the troops would be engaged in the forthcoming invasion of Sicily.

 

The ships in this convoy were Britannic (Commodore ship), Largs Bay, Samaria, Silverteak, Tamaroa and US troopships Santa Rosa, Cristobal and J.W.McAndrew. We were.escorted by 8 ships of the Royal Navy.

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The convoy arrived at Algiers on 27th June.

 

I had the privilege of meeting late Lieutenant -Commander Arnold Hague during 1991 and he kindly provided me with much information of my voyage in Largs Bay.

 

Convoy MKF 17

 

Following disembarkation of troops at Algiers, we sailed in convoy MKF 17 on 28 June 1943 for Gibraltar. The ships were Samaria in position 11, Britannic in position 21 [Commodore ship], J.W.McAndrew US in position 31, and Largs Bay in position 41 - so all four ships were sailing abreast of each other. We were escorted by two destroyers and three frigates of the RN and arrived at Gibraltar 30th June 1943. Arnold Hague has recorded Largs Bay as sailing independently from Gibraltar on 4 July 1943 and arriving at Freetown on 11 July. I have also seen a report of Largs Bay being escorted as a single ship in RS 7 by HMS Ness..

 

Other Voyages

 

Our movements on the West African coast were all without an escort although U boats were still operating in that area. On 15 July 1943 we sailed from Freetown for Lagos arriving on 19 July. Soon after arrival we were having boat drill when the Bosun's Mate fell overboard and drowned. His job was taken by Paddy Fay who went on to serve as Bosun in Shaw Savill ships for many years. Paddy will be well known to many Ships Nostalgia members.

 

At this port we embarked 2000 Nigerian troops and sailed on 23 July 1943 and arrived back in Freetown on 28 July. At anchor in Freetown were the larger troopships Britannic, Maloja, Tamaroa and Strathmore - these ships were too big to enter Lagos so we transferred our troops to them -they already had other troops aboard from Sierra Leone and Gold Coast.

 

On 1 August 1943 we sailed for Takoradi independently arriving on 5 August, and embarked a few hundred Gold Coast troops. We sailed on the 6 August 1943  for Lagos arriving the following day. Here we embarked more Nigerian troops.

 

On 8 August we sailed from Lagos and later we rendezvoused with the troopship convoy WS32 - WS denoting Winston Special. WS 32 had sailed from the Clyde on 19th July 1943; this convoy was well protected by many Royal Navy escorts.

 

The African troops in the ships were bound for Bombay and on to Burma where they would be deployed in fighting the Japanese in the jungle. An uneventful voyage and the convoy arrived at Capetown on 18 August 1943; here the ships would take on bunkers and stores. The following day we sailed for Bombay and the convoy was reduced to the ships with the African troops. This was still WS32 and we were then escorted by the destroyers Rapid and Relentless and Australian destroyers Norman and Quiberon.

 

A few days later we received a report that a Japanese Naval force was in the Indian Ocean so the convoy was diverted into Durban on 22 August. We berthed on Maydon Wharf for six days. Naturally there was shore leave for the ships crew, but the African troops were barred from going ashore.

This decision led to a rebellion among the troops with disobedience from orders and fighting among themselves. So a compromise was reached - about 200 were allowed onto the quay to exercise and play football etc for two hours, then another 200 and so on. South African soldiers were employed to prevent them going beyond the dock limits but, come sailing day, about 40 were missing.

 

We all sailed from Durban on 28 August 1943 and the convoy was now the same five troopships and same destroyer escorts with the addition of two cruisers - Hawkins and Emerald. The voyage of 12 days was uneventful and we arrived at Bombay on 10 September 1943. With the troops disembarked we entered a drydock for repairs and a thorough fumigation of the troop decks -it would be 16 days before we sailed again.

 

During that time I met a shipmate from Winha Joe Perreira - he was then on Empire Record his next ship after Winha. Joe had sailed from UK in January 1943 and did not return to UK until after the war ended two and half years later.

 

We sailed from Bombay independently on 26 September 1943 and arrived at Aden on 2 October 1943 to take in bunkers, then on to Suez and through the canal on 7 October.

 

At Port Said an Army unit boarded our ship and began to place barbed wire in certain areas. Later 1,000 Italian POWs embarked and they would be taken to Canada. That was changed a few days later when they were taken off again.

 

Three days later we embarked 1,000 troops of the 8th Army [they had been on a 3 weeks rest period in Egypt] and we sailed on 17 October 1943 in convoy MKF 25 for Augusta Sicily. At Augusta among the wrecks of ships I saw the wreck of Fort Pelly -she had been attacked and sunk by German aircraft on 20 July 1943; there was a heavy loss of life. Just a few months before I had seen Fort Pelly arrive in London on her maiden voyage.

 

We were at Augusta from 21-23 October 1943 and embarked many British and American walking wounded servicemen, then to Algiers to embark troops for the UK. We sailed from Algiers on 27 October (convoy not known), and arrived at Cardiff on 5  November and crew were paid off.

 

On her next trip Largs Bay was severely damaged by a mine as she approached Naples.

Image 1

Image 1 shows a poster for a cribbage tournament on board Largs Bay - Stan Mayes is a finalist.

Images

 

1. Image #1 by Stan Mayes

Basic Data: Largs Bay

Type: Passenger/Cargo Ship

Registered owners, managers and operators:

Commonwealth Government Line of

Steamers, Adelaide

Builders: Beardmore

Yard: Dalmuir

Country: UK

Yard number: 616

Registry: London

Official number: 137225

Signal letters: N/K

Call sign: GSMR

Classification society: N/K

Gross tonnage: 13,851 tons

Net tonnage: N/K

Deadweight: N/K

Length: 161.8 Metres

Breadth: 20.8 Metres

Depth: N/K

Draught: 10 Metres

Engines: Steam turbine

Engine builders: D. R. G. Parsons

                                  steam turbines

Works: N/K

Country: UK

Power: 9000 SHP

Propulsion: Twin screw

Speed: 16 knots

Cargo capacity: N/K

Passenger capacity:

As built: 12 1st class and 712 3rd class

After 1931 refit: 550 Tourist class

After 1948 refit: 290 Tourist class

Crew: 215