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The Dunedin
By William Gill, RM, 24th November 2007
She had seen better days But we were used to her ways With boilers not too good She was asked to do more than She could But she did it
Northern waters being so cold It was really too much for someone so old But better days were to come She sailed west into the sun
Then home again to glorious Devon To be in Blighty was just like heaven Bombs were falling but that didn’t matter We were home with near and dear to have A good old natter
Then off once again we went Never knowing where we we’d be sent Then lo and behold There was this rock big and bold If you didn’t know where you were Then you oughter This was Gibraltar
Then further south to smelly Freetown, getting a lot sweatier, The less said about that place the better And so we patrolled north, south, west And east Searching for the Nazi beast
A German ship came into sight And we captured it without a fight It was the Lothringen with a relief U-boat crew The ship and crew were sent into captivity And we carried on with our designated activity
We patrolled up and down the Atlantic Ocean Luckily without too much commotion Until Monday 24th November A date we shall always remember The afternoon watch had settled in And we all carried on with the ship’s routine
Then came the bang, the ship gave a shudder The Officers’ quarters got it And we lost the rudder The lights were down when the second bang came And we knew this was no practice game
A U-boat had seen us And fired her torpedoes Two made a score We didn’t need any more
As the ship tilted So our stomachs just wilted But discipline kicked in And training took over We got up top But were not in clover
The starboard deck was under the ocean And all movement seemed to be in slow motion The Carley floats were slipped overboard And we all followed, in one accord
The water was deep But there was no time to weep With relief we climbed on the floats Twas a pity there weren’t any boats
There she was the poor old “D” Lying on her side in the unforgiving sea The stern went down first Followed by the brow And we began to wonder What happens now
Then our adversary came to the surface And some thought perhaps they might shoot us But no they dived and were gone And we were left all alone Men and floats clung together as one We were now all the same under the sun
It is right to mention To relieve the tension We sang “There Will Always Be An England” But wondered, would we ever see That place so grand as home again?
The rafts were full, the sea a bit Rough, we didn’t need that sort of stuff We were often tipped out And that caused a rout But by helping each other Were able to recover Our place for survival Although not too desirable
We were half naked and soaking It was no good croaking So with many a frown We just settled down
Night came, with its cloak of darkness Which left us all with our thoughts And sadness All through the night We looked for a light That might be our saviour But no such luck We were all out of favour
Then dawn broke to bring another day For us to hope and once again to pray So the day were on with a relentless sun Burning us all like King Alfred’s bun
The fishes did bite And the jellyfish sting While the sharks swam around, Waiting To have their fling
So night followed day and we had Some rain But our searching for help was All in vain As time wore on It was clear That some of us had gone
Hours passed by and our numbers had Dwindled Too numb to think we had been swindled Out of life so precious to all But we will meet again in God’s hall
Thursday 27th came With hope fading fast But later that day our prayers Were answered at last The American ship Nishmaha Came into view And we were saved, the lucky few
A word we must declare Of the kindness and care That the ship’s crew gave us And being so generous With clothes and food Which may us all feel so good Our bodies and minds Got rid of the pain Thanks to the Americans We began to feel human again
We sailed away to safety But too hasty As we thought of the heroes we left behind Alone, for God to find. |