208777 Sig. Hugh Young Royal Navy HMS Fishguard My father-in-law, Hugh Young, of Glasgow was a radio operator and signalman , on HMS Fishguard.
He was later joined on board by his younger brother, James Young.
He told me of a time when they would tow a target barge to sea, known as a drogue, (not sure of the spelling).
A firing officer from a heavier fighting ship would come aboard and direct fire, calling firing corrections through the radio man.
One day, while on drogue duty, they were heading off to sea, when my father-in-law asked where they were picking up the drogue. The officer looked at him with a grin and replied, “you are the drogue” and soon enough, shells were falling around the ship.
When he signed on the ship, the sailor he was replacing, was still aboard, and wasn’t about to give up his hammock. This meant Hugh had to sleep on a table in the galley. He awoke the first night rolling around on the floor with potatoes and canned goods and about an inch of water, due to heavy seas. Not the best way to start a tour!
Hugh moved to Hamilton, Ontario, Canada in the early fifties, his brother Jim moved to Welland, Ontario, Canada. Unfortunatly they have both passed away. Hugh had many great stories about the crew and ship, there was another radio operator he only mentioned as “Ginger” as he had red hair, but I never did get his full name.
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