H M N Z S
G A M B I A
HMNZS GAMBIA A teenager’s journey to the last days of war
“ When action stations sound, you’re on your way, you’re flying. The siren has that way about it, like a fire engine coming up your tail. You’re pumped up. The adrenaline is really flowing. You know what to do, there’s no messing about. You don’t feel the fear. It’s on, let’s go.” ~ Ken Gordon
In 1944 Ken Gordon, from Gisborne, put his hand up to join the Navy at age 16. “My father was in World War One, and he put his age up to go to war, so he couldn’t really argue with me.” He was inspired by other local boys who joined the Navy, and wanted to show willing. “There was also the idea that Navy was more of a career.”
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After training, Mr Gordon was posted to HMNZS GAMBIA, a Fijiclass light cruiser and the largest warship to have ever served with the Royal New Zealand Navy. She departed New Zealand in February 1945, to join one of the largest fleets ever assembled by the Royal Navy, the British Pacific Fleet. Together with the American Third Fleet, he was off to attack the islands and mainland of Japan. He was still a Seaman Boy, one of 26 in GAMBIA. “We were virtually all under training,” he says. “We were respected as boys, but we were being checked on all the time. We had to learn. The Petty Officers were brilliant, although the odd one seemed to have been brought up on a diet of acid drops. I can rattle off all their names even now.”
