Oral History Gallery

Equipment 1 - Twin Oerlikons either side of the wheelhouse 1940s

Name: Harry Marrington

Service: 1942 - 1946

Rate: Seaman Gunner

Branch: Royal Naval Patrol Service

Harry Marrington joined the Navy in 1942, when he was 17. After training he joined the Royal Naval Patrol Service, a fleet of armed deep-sea fishing trawlers taken over by the Navy. These small vessels acted as escorts to other ships and for minesweeping and anti-submarine work.

Harry was a gunner and a member of the 4-inch gun crew. He also operated the smaller anti-aircraft guns.

Here Harry talks about the fishing trawlers used by the Royal Naval Patrol Service, and the weapons onboard.

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Extract Text (Duration01.03)

Q: Tell me a bit about the boats, the trawlers you were on?

A: Oh, they were marvellous sea ships, they had to be. I mean to say, before the war they used to go across to the banks of Newfoundland and all that. Out to Iceland and all that. They were deep sea fishing boats, and that's where we used to get all our fish from Grimsby and Hull. And that's what they were, and all the Navy did was, like they did in the First World War, put a four inch on the fo'c's'le, on the front of the ship, twin Oerlikons either side of the wheelhouse and aft, the after end or the other end. You'd have point fives, you'd have depth charges and you had submarine detectors and radar. Oh they were fighting ships, and they had a big draft on them, about a 14 foot draft, and the seas they used to go through it was unbelievable.