HMS Uganda

Heroes Remember

HMS Uganda

Transcript

We were in the South Pacific, and they wouldn’t give us ‘splice the main brace.’ Now ‘splice the main brace’ is, you get an extra tot on occasions such as that. But because we were at sea, and in action, they wouldn’t give us our ‘splice the main brace’. So, we had it about a month later. But I’m not sure whether you’re aware that the Uganda was brought back because of political reasons. The British Navy and the U.S. Navy were depending on the Uganda as a picket ship. We were the one that had the best radar in the British fleet. So when we left, we left a hole in the fleet, and I’m sure that the U.S. Navy and the British Navy didn’t think much of what was happening. And I volunteered. We were in the Pacific, and I was in the Pacific, so I said, “Well, let’s finish the war here.” What’s this crazy idea of asking me if I want to serve in the Pacific now, when I’m there. And I can see a lot of the crew who hadn’t served on a cruiser before, they hadn’t got used to the routines. And there are more routines on a cruiser than there is on a corvette. You had certain uniforms you had to wear each day, and it was more regulated. I’m sure that would affect fellas that had been on corvettes. But some of them had been on corvettes for four years, and suddenly they’re on a cruiser out in the Pacific. And when they had a chance to say, “Hey, I could get home,” they took that action. So, in lots of ways, I can’t blame them. It was a little bit of a downer, being brought home, although, as it turned out, we were only a few days home when the Japanese War ended. So, what they did was, they had all the warrants and everything else all ready for those who had volunteered to go on leave, with the idea that you get 28 days leave and then they’d return. They’d have identified a balance of the crew that they needed, and we’d be taking off for the Pacific again. Well, when the war ended like that, I just went in and applied for another 28 which they gave me, but after that I went into the chartered accountancy firm and said, "Do I have a job back?" and she said, "Sure". So I took this into the HCMCS Chipewa and they said, "Sure, we'll give you a discharge." So I never did go back to ship so most of my kit remained on the Uganda because I... when I had left it I was expecting to go back. So I got home a little bit sooner.

Description

The Uganda was brought back because of political reasons.

Rea Jervis

Mr. Jervis was born in St. Boniface, Manitoba, the youngest of six. His father came to Canada from Ireland to work on the railroad. At age 18, Mr. Jervis enlisted with the Royal Canadian Navy. Shortly after enlisting, the Canadian government agreed to send 1,500 Canadian sailors to Britain, to man the British cruiser HMS Belfast, and Mr. Jervis was one of those sailors. As a result, he became a member of the British fleet and found himself on a convoy to Murmansk, Russia. He was a torpedo man aboard the HMS Belfast and the HMS Uganda until the HMS Uganda was re-commissioned by the Canadian government. After the war, Mr. Jervis studied accounting and worked with the Public Service for 35 years. He then transferred his family from Winnipeg to Edmonton, where he operated his own company, Edgewood Batting Ltd.

Meta Data