216964 Jack Abrahams Royal Navy HMS Nigeria I stood by HMS Nigeria in the summer of 1940 while she was still brand new in the dockyard at Walker, Newcastle upon Tyne. Three months billeted ashore with Newcastle on the doorstep; a cushy number! Then two years on Russian convoys and Atlantic patrols...not so cushy. A couple of trips to Spitzbergen to evacuate Russian and Norwegian mine-workers before the mines were destroyed by Royal Engineers to stop the enemy getting hold of them. A scrap with some Germans in a fjord up in northern Norway when, due to a bit of dodgy seamanship, we managed to collide with a sinking enemy destroyer, losing our bow in the process. We limped back home under heavy escort because the Jerries thought we were a sitting duck and paid us quite a bit of attention. Then another great three more months in Newcastle getting the new bow fitted.
I left her in June of 1942 so missed the infamous Operation Pedestal convoy. I knew some of the casualties of course. Bandmaster Ridout was one. A fine musician and a true gentleman. I knew him because we did a couple of concerts ashore in the Newcastle area. I wasn't a musician, just the compere of the show. I had done a bit of DJing on board (before DJs had been invented) playing records on the internal system, and Mr Ridout asked me to front the band.
If you want to add some names to the ship's company list I remember Cook Jock Aberdeen, L/Wtr. E. Smart, A.B.J. Smith, Commander Ransome (Second in Command) and the Skipper, Captain Dundas.
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