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Roy Tynan is the author of the content of this site.
I was called up into His Majesty's Royal Navy on 8th March 1943 and reported to HMS Royal Arthur (Butlins Holiday Camp) Skegness for kitting out and basic training which lasted seven weeks, then it was up to Dundee for 18 weeks to train as a Telegraphist (Wireless Operator) after which it was over to the West Coast of Scotland at Ayr another Butlins camp HMS Scotia where a further 10 weeks were spent, final exams were taken and I passed out as an Ordinary Telegraphist.
The next port of call was to my Naval depot HMS Drake at Plymouth and after a short stay was sent to Eastbourne for a period of 3 weeks to train as a High Frequency Direction Finding operator (HF/DF) more universally known in the Navy as Huff Duff.
Again I passed out and was promoted to Telegraphist Special Operator ( Tel ( s) ) it was now the second week of December 1943. Back again to HMS Drake to await a draft to a ship, and early in the new year of 1944 I along with two colleagues who had trained with me took the long journey from Plymouth to Belfast where we reported to the base ship HMS Caroline a First World War Cruiser to await the arrival of HMS Cooke a Captain Class Frigate, part of the 3rd Escort Group.
The 3rd EG based at Belfast spent many patrols in the Atlantic in support of Convoys, then when D Day came the Group were involved in the English Channel where on the 9th Day after D Day we lost HMS Blackwood 20 miles NNE of Cap de la Hague torpedoed by U 764.
We worked in the English Channel up to early September, then it was a three week trip across the Atlantic and back escorting convoys, after which it was a Russian Convoy and on the return journey we had to return to Russia with a fast convoy and did not get back to Belfast until 16th November 1944.
Irish Sea patrols came next for a shortish period due to the U-Boats penetrating our Western seaboard.
Our final travels took us once again into the English Channel where we patrolled until the war ended.
It was back to HMS Drake after HMS Cooke paid off at Hull to await my next draft which was to Malta where I was shore based at a small interception wireless station, after twelve months on Malta I finally was sent home for demobilization. My final date of discharge from the Royal Navy was 21st September 1946.
I wish to acknowledge the considerable amount of help I have received from fellow members of the Captain Class Frigate Association, with details of operations and their personal photographs many of which are shown on this web site, one person I must pick out for the really vast amount of information he has provided me with is the late Donald Collingwood who unfortunately Crossed the Bar early in August.
I also wish to thank Guðmundur Helgason for allowing me to use up to date information as displayed on his web site Uboat.net which records all the U-boats sunk during World War 2.
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It is with a deep
sense of loss that we have to inform you
that Roy Tynan, the author of this web-site and editor of the Captains Log Crossed The Bar on Tuesday 21st June 2005. The funeral was on Tuesday 5th July 2005 at Saint Peters Church Manchester Road Bury |