later! Soon lots more ships arrived and the order to “Heave Anchor” was rung out, and we steamed north with the others and gathered in the Loch at Oban to assemble with the rest. Here we were under threat of German Air attacks but fortunately we were spared and headed west across the Atlantic all keyed up for the danger of U-Boats this time. But that first convoy was lucky, and we had no losses and one morning the steward banged on the cabin door “ Come quick on deck”, I leapt out of bed and there on the port side was the most beautiful sight that I had ever seen. In the far distance was the Statue of Liberty which was all lit up with the bright lights of New York in the background all twinkling away .like diamonds. It was a crisp cold night but I could not tear myself away from the breathtaking scene to close the door. After months of blacked out England it was pure heavenly pleasure to see the millions of twinkling lights welcoming us after the three long perilous weeks crossing the Atlantic, and to know that we were now in the safety of the friendly waters of America. Next afternoon after 4 pm I could knock off work as a cabin boy, get washed and dressed and with the others go ashore. We all had a few drinks in a bar by the waterfront, but I did not want to waste my time confined there and so with my mate Ken we just walked around to take in the whole evening scene. I was impressed by the friendly American drawl and we were even treated as heroes for sailing through such a hostile sea. We loved their milk bars and even more the girls in them who were fascinated by our accents and just wanted to hear us talk. What a relief it all was from weeks of tension, and how much it was all worth just to sit and take it all in. Although I was not yet eighteen years old, I had a wonderful inner pride that I was now doing a man’s job on a ship helping to bring food back to my country that the Nazis were trying to blockade and starve into submission. Before the War there had been a wonderful Movie Musical based on 42nd Street, and so I headed for it to be able to tell my mates back home that I had actually stood and walked along it. Nearly all my schoolmates had gone to sea joining either the Royal Navy or the Merchant Navy so when I got home there was no opportunity to be able to brag and boast of where I had been, as they were now all over the world. There were posters all over the ship warning the crew to be aware of Enemy Agents as there were many Germans and Nazi sympathisers around. We were told never to discuss the ship, its movements or what it was loading, destination etc. We spent about ten days in New York loading wheat right up to the plimsoll line and then moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia where we joined a convoy of about 40 ships. We had a large escort of RN destroyers and other anti- submarine vessels that did a marvellous job dashing around the convoy using their Sonar & Asdic against any lurking submarines. I had now set my mind on getting out of the Cabin boy job and so work my way up to becoming an Able seaman. But to do this I would have to be able to “Box the Compass” or be able to recite quickly the compass points. I scribbled them down and placed them by my bunk and repeated and repeated them again till I was fluent and about 6 months later I approached the Chief officer on the bridge and asked him if there was any chance and he replied that he would consider it when we were back in port and the ship signed off. And so a month later I was installed in my new job as an ordinary seaman and could now take the helm. We sailed to Montreal, in Quebec and once again the cargo was wheat, and again we assembled at Halifax to form a convoy of about 30 ships. We sailed into atrocious weather with huge seas running. One huge wave hit the portside of the vessel taking away the lifeboat and even bent the davits from which it had hung. A message was flashed by Aldis Light to our Commodore vessel and we were ordered to to turn “Embassage” back to port to have a

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