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Back into Service on HMS Sheffield

Heroes Remember

Back into Service on HMS Sheffield

Transcript
And then I went to, then I went to England, and like I said the cook is just like a nurse. Always a job. So they asked me if I want to go on the Sheffield. Sheffield was part of destroyer and trooper and supply. So we went to Australia. Sydney, Australia to get I believe was two hundred and some, army personnel, and then stores, food, you know to mean when, what (inaudible) said about mutton. Yeah, we had the mutton. It was green on top, on top of the boiler. And then we come back and then it was kind of rough. But the ship was well equipped, I mean, that was a battle ship. We had to go the coast up Mediterranean, the coast of Spain which the submarine was there waiting for them, too. And we went through the Suez Canal and then down to Indian Ocean and from there, from the Indian Ocean we went to Burma. I went to Burma on the way back, get supplies because the British Army was there and also the Canadian Army was there. And then the Air Force. It was an Air Force base. And then there was a supply ship. So we stopped on the way back and then make a trip and I was in North Africa. Whatever they need. I was on supply ship most of the time. I mean, and then I beginning to be more experienced and they want somebody more experienced so we went, the (inaudible) was there in North Africa waiting for the supply truck and so on to go to Sicily. So, when they get the supply then they took to Sicily. That was after 1944, after they land, after we land in Normandy. So I was on the supply ship when we land in Normandy, too.
Description

Mr. Gill describes getting right back into the service and winding up in England, where he was assigned to HMS Sheffield, an RN battleship.

Gil Kenny

Gil Kenny was born in Saint Rose, New Brunswick in December of 1923. His father worked as a blacksmith. Mr. Kenny was 16 when the war started and joined the Merchant Navy, because he was too young for the other services. During one of his crossings, his ship was torpedoed and he was adrift for 72 hours in the Atlantic. After being rescued, he returned to service on the HMS Sheffield.

Meta Data
Medium:
Video
Owner:
Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:
02:16
Person Interviewed:
Gil Kenny
War, Conflict or Mission:
Second World War
Location/Theatre:
Pacific Ocean
Branch:
Merchant Navy
Occupation:
Cook

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