Enlistment and Training Profile

Heroes Remember

Enlistment and Training Profile

Transcript

And immediately I went to the Merchant Navy, went down to Place [Phisia] in Montreal Manning Pool and joined, signed all the necessary papers, got a letter from Ottawa. I just forget the person's name, but he was in charge of merchant seamen, to report to Prescott Marine Engineering School. So I was up there for approximately, I think it was six weeks and the food was great. It was a great camaraderie, but as far as the actual training it was very little. You sat in a classroom and all you did was really read notes about engine room procedures and pumps and boilers and after that was over with we went to Montreal, back to Place [Phisia] Manning Depot and they gave us a little course on gunnery and as part of that program they sent us to, for about two or three days, I'm not exactly too sure, to Saint Zotique which is up near Valley field on the St. Lawrence, just west of Montreal for actual gunnery practice on Oerlikons and Bofors. And we were firing at a drogue towed by a plane and then from then, that was the end of it, we were given a certificate of accomplishment and then it was back to manning depot, rather, yes the depot, manning depot waiting for a ship.

Description

Mr. Colcomb describes receiving gunnery instruction and boiler theory, but no practical instruction, before qualifying for engine room duty.

Ross Colcomb

Ross Colcomb was born in Montreal, Quebec on July 2, 1926. After being an Air Cadet in his early teens, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force at age seventeen, and took air crew training. The demand for air crew was low near the end of the war, so Mr. Colcomb was discharged after nine months. He immediately joined the Merchant Navy. After a short period of engineering and gunnery training, Mr. Colcomb went to sea as a fireman aboard the SS Elk Island Park, which ferried war materials to England for the duration of the Second World War.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 1:49
Person Interviewed:: Ross Colcomb
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Branch:: Merchant Navy
Units/Ship:: Royal Canadian Electrical Mechanical Engineers
Occupation:: Fireman

Related Videos

First Voyage

Mr. Colcomb describes joining the SS Oak Island Park in Halifax harbour as part of a convoy. He describes seeing a freighter converted to a miniature aircraft carrier, a late edition to the Allies effort to thwart German U-boats.

Foul Weather and Risks

Mr. Colcomb describes forming up a convoy in the fog-shrouded St. Lawrence River and being nervous because his ship was loaded with munitions. He also describes an incident during that crossing in which a tank lashed to the deck breaks loose and is re-secured without any damage occurring.

Firing the Boilers

Mr. Colcomb describes in detail the make up of an engine room watch, and goes on to describe synchronism required among the crew to keep the boilers properly fired.

London Rubble and Pubs

Mr. Colcomb describes shore leave in London and seeing St. Paul's Cathedral standing unscathed and surrounded by rubble. He also describes visiting a pub nearby and being surprised to see a clergyman sharing a pint with the locals.

Reliving the Past

Mr. Colcomb recalls visiting Halifax and showing his wife and friends exactly where his ship had positioned itself for a convoy leaving the Bedford Basin. He also recalls that the weather conditions were remarkably similar.

Date modified:: 2019-04-03