228127 Robert Nicklin Royal Navy HMS Woolwich I joined HMS Woolwich when she was stationed in Alexandria on 13th May 1942.
Her main role was as a Destroyer Depot ship and her job was to look after a destroyer's needs, such as some minor repair jobs or supplies, but on top of all that she was the Eastern Med Fleet's signal base. The only time that the Woolwich left her place in Alexandria harbour was on 2nd July 1942 when she, the Resource, the Reliance and the Medway were escorted by a destroyer that I was on and a few more escorts to Port Said. She probably did go into the Indian Ocean from there, but returned to Alex sometime in October 1942, where she remained till 17th December 1943, when we sailed out of Alexandria at 13 knots, she was a very old ship. She sailed for Ceylon and the port of Trincomalee at which we arrived on 10th January 1944. I was drafted off her on 19th March 1944.
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