Samuel Hull (Sam) Oral History

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DescriptionThis interview consists of four audio recordings and transcripts. Samuel Hull (Sam) was interviewed on 1 November 2003 at the Whitlam Library, Cabramatta by Shirley Kingsford McLeod.
The interview was for the "War Veterans oral history project" in partnership with Fairfield RSL.
Interview SummarySamuel Joseph Hull was born in October 1924 in Camberwell, South London. He came from a large family of ten boys and one girl. Both his parents were English.

At the age of 17 he joined the Merchant Navy and applied to work in the engine room but that did not last more than a few weeks because of his small frame, so it was suggested that he go into the catering side. Soon he was sent to Glasgow in Scotland where he joined an ex-Polish ship called the ‘Stefan Battori’ which had been one of the Polish ships that had been at sea when the German invasion of Poland occurred. The crew consisted of British and Poles.

Sam describes what it was like on board the ship which was converted into a troop carrier. Soon he was on his way to Algiers carrying troops and on his return plans were being made for the invasion of Sicily. That was in 1943 and from his ship at least 1600 troops went on shore in Sicily. From there they went to India where they picked up about 1500 Indian soldiers. They were Sikhs and mostly wore turbans. They became very seasick and the only way to clean them and the decks was to hose them down with sea water. Sam felt for them as he had also been in the same position earlier in his navy life. He had a lot of respect for the Sikhs. From India they went to Egypt and ferried soldiers back and forth from Italy to Egypt. In North Africa they picked up a lot of French soldiers who they took to the south of France.

In 1945 when the war ended Sam was sent to Durham Castle as a Captain Steward and he found himself heading to Australia for the first time. The purpose was to bring soldiers, and in many cases their new wives and children, back to Australia. They brought about 1050 personnel back on that trip. Back to England then Sam went to Italy to collect more service people and from there he went to Singapore to repatriate many who had been in Changi. Here he had his first sight of Japanese soldiers who had been captured and were now working cleaning streets and every other job that the allied soldiers forced them to do. Sam tells that there were war criminals among them who would be subsequently tried for war crimes.

The voyage carrying people from Singapore landed in Fremantle. From there he went to Melbourne and then Sydney. For a while Sam’s ship went to various places repatriating refugees, then for a while he was on board a refrigerated ship which was used to carry frozen meat to various ports.

In 1963 Sam decided to migrate to Australia with his wife and children and they were among the many ‘ten pound Poms’ to arrive as assisted migrants at that time.

Sam’s story is a fascinating one and full of adventures. He has traveled to many parts of the world and has a wonderful memory of what he experienced.

Transcript

Interview Transcript - Samuel Hull (Sam) - Part 3

Interview Transcript - Samuel Hull (Sam) - Part 4

Interview Transcript - Samuel Hull (Sam) - Part 2

Interview Transcript - Samuel Hull (Sam) - Part 1

Audio

Interview with Samuel Hull (Sam) - Part 4

Interview with Samuel Hull (Sam) - Part 3

Interview with Samuel Hull (Sam) - Part 2

Interview with Samuel Hull (Sam) - Part 1

Details

IntervieweeSamuel HullInterviewerShirley Kingsford McLeodDate of interview01/11/2003DurationTotal interview: 01:36:73Transcripts availableYesRightsFairfield City CouncilAccess ConditionsAccess open for research, written permission required for personal copies and public use

Connections

Oral History ProjectThe Way We Were - People of FairfieldAll Oral HistoriesLocal War VeteransCollectionMilitary Collection