The Howe arrived in Portsmouth from its round Britain tour in September 1947. It was then end of the line for me. I said my goodbyes to the lads of 98 mess which included Bob Tilburn, the survivor of HMS Hood and emptied my locker and packed my kit-bags, although I had taken plenty of stuff home (including the accordion) on my last leave, I still had two kit-bags and two cases including a hammock and mattress so I was well loaded up as I left the jetty at Portsmouth and headed for Pompey barracks.
At the barracks we put our gear on the parade ground and reported for demobilisation. The first thing to do was get rid of some excess baggage, there were several dealers there and I sold my hammock and mattress and my oilskins and tropical gear. I had already sold my best uniform to one of the lads on the Howe so although I didn't make much money on the deal I was a lot lighter and I still had to collect my civilian clothes.
After the parade ground we took the rest of our belongings into the gym and there we were given our demob clothes which consisted of a suit, raincoat, trilby hat, shirt and tie and other odds and ends. The clothes weren't very stylish but they were good material and I packed them away and collected my travel warrant and back pay from the pay office. After that it was a thorough medical check and then a jeep took us to Portsmouth station. I travelled in my second best uniform as I still couldn't bring myself to dress in the civilian clothes. As the train pulled out of Portsmouth I took my last look at the famous naval town and waved goodbye to three and a half years of mainly happy memories.
We stopped in London for a couple of hours and I had my last meal at the Union Jack club near Waterloo station before going to Kings Cross for the final train journey to Darlington. The train journey to Darlington was very crowded and I stood in the corridor for five hours before arriving tired and weary at Darlington about tea-time. After the local train to Middlesbrough I decided to treat myself to a taxi home- I still had two kit-bags and three suitcases now so I couldn't really get the bus.
I finally arrived home about 8 pm to a big welcome from Mam and Dad and the family. The family was a little less now as Joe and Daisy had moved to Buxton and Tom was in hospital with TB so it left only Mam and Dad and five children at home besides me of course, so it was still sleeping on the camp-bed for me. Although I enjoyed being home I wasn't really settled and I decided if I couldn't settle down after a year or so I would emigrate to Australia or New Zealand. Anyway my first task would be to find a job. I started at Dormans Brittania works as a loader - a job I took on while I thought about my future. Im afraid after seeing such exotic places in the navy Middlesbrough was very dull and I was finding it very hard to adjust my life to Civvy Street.
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