HMCS Prince Rupert
Heroes Remember
HMCS Prince Rupert
The Prince Rupert - that was my first and last ship. Well, I was
basically ecstatic to be headed out to sea and it was surprising
when I got aboard the Prince Rupert. The wireless operator I
was relieving, I knew him. He’d been on the wireless course
when I was in Toronto and he was going back to Saint-Hyacinthe
for, I think his, what we called his ‘Threes’, for a petty
officer telegraphist. So, he was on his way out and we said
“hi” and it was good. It was a whole new experience, sleeping
in a hammock right next to you, right next to another guy that
would be snoring like blazes, but you got used to it and you ...
The only way you could cope with it would be to make sure you
snored the loudest. The food wasn’t anything to brag about.
Thank God we got parcels from home. After I was assigned my
watch, we had, there was three watches, red watch, white, and
blue. And I was, my action station was on the flag deck. And
what I was to do was to join the boat’s crew when they got
called away to board a submarine that we had brought to the
surface. My job was to go up the coning tower, down the coning
tower, into the signals office on the sub, grab all the material
I could, and turn around and make my way out again. Well, to
me, submarines were notorious for going down quicker than they
were coming up. So I had to work on something to get off that,
but it was quite awhile before I succeeded. The other thing I
was to do was to string antennas for the radio office if the
ones there got shot away. I didn’t like that idea, a piece of
wire in your hand and somebody saying, “Jeez, there’s a fair
target.” But it never happened, so … I used to enjoy the
scenery as much as I could from the flag deck,
trying to look busy.
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