Oral History Recording with Ethel Dingwall and Kay MacDonald
Digital sound recording in two parts
Subject: Royal Navy
OHY/6/96/1 - 0.7 GB; 00:33:33; 5/5
OHY/6/96/2 - 0.6 GB; 00:29:17; 5/5
Ethel Dingwall was born in 1913 in Nova Scotia. We have been unable to determine a birth date or place for Kay MacDonald.
Ethel’s father worked for the Dominion Coke Company, which operated most of the coal ships between Montreal and Sydney, where they lived. For a time, Ethel says she worked as his deputy alongside Kay, also from the area. When the Second World War broke out the two women were employed to recruit enough men to fill the convoys heading out of Sydney. It seems these men were a mixture of merchant seamen and men who hadn’t been called up or preferred to serve in ways other than active duty, such as the emergency services. There is even mention of recruiting men directly from the red light district that sprung up in Sydney.
The interview offers great insight into a convoy port in wartime and particularly the men who passed through. In particular there is detail about their relationships with the men, the survivors and those who were suffering physically and particularly psychologically as a result of all they’d been through. Interestingly, there is a brief mention of “bonded Chinese crew” among the survivors. For Kay and Ethel, they sent men on ships knowing they may never return.
Administrative / biographical background
Oral history with Ethel Dingwall and Kay MacDonald conducted by Campbell McMurray
Subject: Royal Navy
OHY/6/96/1 - 0.7 GB; 00:33:33; 5/5
OHY/6/96/2 - 0.6 GB; 00:29:17; 5/5
Ethel Dingwall was born in 1913 in Nova Scotia. We have been unable to determine a birth date or place for Kay MacDonald.
Ethel’s father worked for the Dominion Coke Company, which operated most of the coal ships between Montreal and Sydney, where they lived. For a time, Ethel says she worked as his deputy alongside Kay, also from the area. When the Second World War broke out the two women were employed to recruit enough men to fill the convoys heading out of Sydney. It seems these men were a mixture of merchant seamen and men who hadn’t been called up or preferred to serve in ways other than active duty, such as the emergency services. There is even mention of recruiting men directly from the red light district that sprung up in Sydney.
The interview offers great insight into a convoy port in wartime and particularly the men who passed through. In particular there is detail about their relationships with the men, the survivors and those who were suffering physically and particularly psychologically as a result of all they’d been through. Interestingly, there is a brief mention of “bonded Chinese crew” among the survivors. For Kay and Ethel, they sent men on ships knowing they may never return.
Administrative / biographical background
Oral history with Ethel Dingwall and Kay MacDonald conducted by Campbell McMurray
Record details
| Item reference: | OHY/6/96 |
|---|---|
| Level: | FILE |
| Date made: | 1970 - 1980 |
| Creator: | Dingwall, Ethel; MacDonald, Kay McMurray, Campbell |
| Credit: | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London |
Hierarchy
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