Ammunition Passer

Heroes Remember

Ammunition Passer

Transcript

When you’re on a Norwegian ship and there was a, you were always responsible for, at one particular time on a couple of ships I was an ammunition passer. The big steel cage with about 12 five-inch shells and when submarines attacked, if you were by yourself you load the ship and load the gun and try to participate and defend yourself. And when the alarm bell rang you had a rubber suit tied up to your neck and you had a station by a certain life boat and you stay there. When a convoy started to be attacked by submarines it was more of a thrill to me not realizing the full potential of what was happening around you and I was more excited and thrilling to see where I am but not realizing the danger of it, see. One of the most impressionable things that ever happened to me, this old Newfoundlander was in the engine room on this ship I was on. It was a coal burning boat – and every time I used to go out by the boat he was there crying and I’d try to comfort him and said, “What’s going on?” He said, “Son, you don’t realize what it is until you get hit.”

Description

Mr. Tanner discusses his other roles, particularly if under attack, and gets a dose of reality from a veteran sailor.

Allen Tanner

Allen Tanner was born on December 1, 1925 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. After finishing Grade Nine, he went to work for a Norwegian shipping firm on the Halifax dockyard. As a member of the Navy League, he served in an Honour Guard for the Queen when she visited Halifax in 1939. Too young to join the Canadian Merchant Navy, he joined a Norwegian ship, whose crew shortage made him a welcome addition. Mr. Tanner worked on board a freighter, but was lured to work on tankers due to the higher pay they offered.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 1:25
Person Interviewed:: Allen Tanner
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Branch:: Merchant Navy
Units/Ship:: D/S Sirehei
Occupation:: Steward

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Date modified:: 2019-04-03