Shore leave and a sticky situation

BAcK in May 1955, as a national serviceman in the royal navy, I was a crew member of the minesweeper HMs Pincher. Following a hard day’s gunnery practice and sweeping off Harwich and the Thames estuary, our captain decided to anchor off Margate and give overnight leave to the starboard watch. The leave expired at 10.00 the following morning. I took the opportunity to stay overnight with a relative in nearby Whitstable. I arrived back in Margate the following morning and walked to the jetty to catch the 10am boat. Imagine the shock of us 40 crew members who had taken leave to discover that Pincher had disappeared from her anchorage. shortly afterwards, our captain arrived by taxi from the station and he was worried! However, a visit to the local coastguard station soon produced the news that Pincher had been called to assist in fighting a fire on a merchant vessel (the ss Maidenhead) in the Thames estuary. Those of us who were stranded in Margate were instructed to report back to the jetty at 18.00. A day in Margate was an unexpected bonus for us. As 18.00 approached, Pincher could be seen returning from her task. I bought an evening news from a local newsagent and on the front page was a picture of Pincher performing her firefighting duties. We took an armful of newspapers back on-board and congratulated the duty crew on their work. so, I was happily surprised (having left the navy in 1957) when I opened a letter from the Admiralty to discover a cheque for £2 — my portion of the salvage money paid to Pincher’s crew for our efforts in saving ss Maidenhead!

Colin Gibbens, Enfield, Middlesex.