Island Life Magazine Ltd December 2010/January 2011 | Page 42

interview

Island Life - December 2010

Photo: 3

Photo: Jim pictured in 1941 at his wedding to his first wife Doris Lockhart
roads were like a skating rink. “I was up and

Atlantic – ‘cold rough and horrible’ - before

down this convoy 10 miles long, to keep

arriving in South Africa. Then it was on to

them spaced out and I was frozen. We got to

East Africa, and across the Indian Ocean to

Jedborough, and I thought ‘I’ve come home

Bombay. They stayed there for six weeks,

again’!

before being transferred to a French liner,

“We later went to Manchester, and then I
heard we were going overseas, and expected
the trip to the Middle East. We caught the

‘Empress of Asia’.
Jim recalls: “We were just going down

boat at Bristol, and travelled not to the

between Sumatra and Malaya and I guessed

Middle East, but a route that took in Canada,

we were going to Singapore. We never

where we transferred to American troop

knew where we were going. Suddenly out of

ships – far more comfortable.”

nowhere came 27 Japanese dive bombers.

Then they travelled on to Trinidad, the coast
of South America, back across the South
42

accompanied by several ships including the

They always flew in groups of 27.
“They came screaming down at us dropping
Visit our new website - www.visitislandlife.com