Acting Able Seaman - Hostilities Only : A Memoir

From the Portsmouth Blitz to the Royal Navy-a remarkable true story of courage, duty and survival. The story starts with a fourteen-year-old boy living with his family in Portsmouth during the Blitz of World War Two. It follows him as he leaves school, finds work and eventually joins the Royal Navy. We find out about his tough upbringing in Portsmouth surviving hit-and-run bombings by German fighter planes; volunteering for the Royal Navy and enduring the rigour and discipline of training, preparing for D-Day and protecting shipping from pirates in the South China Seas. Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, always fascinating - this is the true story of a young man living in extraordinary times. Fred's story is written from memory of events that happened seventy-five years ago. Consequently some of the detail may have been different, but the whole story is true. There may be some terminology which, if writing a memoir about the age we live in now, would not be used, but we have decided not to change it, as to do so would not reflect how things were at the time. Some names have been changed to ensure the privacy of the people involved. We hope that you enjoy reading this story of an ordinary acting able seaman, H.O., living in an extraordinary time in our history.