Leading Steward John Conti Borda, who joined the Royal Navy in October 1935, embarked on the heavy cruiser HMS Devonshire in May 1939. He was wary of the vessel at first as it was nicknamed the Hoodoo Ship after one of its gun turrrets exploded during gunnery practice on July 26, 1929, off Volos, Greece, killing 17 seamen. But Conti Borda found Devonshire to be a lucky ship and a happy one too.

Leading Steward John Conti Borda (left) with an unidentified seaman at Port Elizabeth, South Africa, on November 10, 1940.

His action station for the first six months was a cordite magazine; for the second six months a shell room, after which he had the ‘crow’s nest’, the look-out post at the highest point of the ship. He once caused some consternation, and later much banter, when he reported the presence of a submarine. It was, in fact, a whale. He had never seen one before so could be excused for making the mistake.

The first convoy that the Devonshire escorted was in November 1939 from Hlifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, to Scotland. He recalls: “We were to acccompany other Atlantic convoys and visit Iceland and Greenland twice. I felt bitterly cold. God knows what I had on – three pullovers, gloves and mittens, balaclava and two pairs of socks”.

On April 9, 1940, at 5am, Nazi Germany invaded Norway. Between April and June 1940, the Devonshire took part in the Norwegian campaign. On the day of the German landings, the ship sustained slight damage from near misses in an air attack on the fleet. It operated near Narvik, Namsos, Kirkenes and Scapa Flow, Scotland.

Conti Borda recalled that when off Tromso, he went on the upper deck and was instantly struck by the cold. He tried to open a tap but the water was frozen solid and had to be heated by a blow lamp before it flowed. They then steamed along the coast and entered a fjord at Stavanger to deliver some Oerlikon anti-aircraft cannons, leaving for Skagerrack Strait down south.

On June 7, when it was decided to retreat from northern Norway, Winston Churchill instructed the Royal Navy to save King Haakon VII of Norway and the Royal family from the enemy and despatched HMS Devonshire, the flagship of Vice Admiral John H.D. Cunningham to accomplish the feat. The mission was kept secret and only the captain and his deputy knew the ship’s destination and its real purpose. The rest of the crew thought it was an ordinary patrol.

The ship made landfall off northern Norway a short time later and soon much commotion arose on board and a lot of serving had to be done. Sailing out of Tromso, the ship’s company learnt that they had on board the Royal Norwegian family, his son Prince Olav, the Norwegian Prime Minister and members of the Norwegian Air Force. Also included in the group were French and Polish ministers, political refugees, 33 British officers and 306 other ranks – a total of 435 men and 26 women. Conti Borda added that the crew did not know that they also had Norway’s gold bullion on board.

Petty Officer John Conti Borda at Fayid, Egypt, on June 25, 1953.

Conti Borda was appointed personal steward to King Haakon. Except for Conti Borda’s presence, the King stood alone on the ship’s side while Devonshire sped seaward. As the sun dipped slowly below the horizon, he saw that the King was in tears. Conti Borda offered him a drink. The King nodded and uttered in Norwegian: “Jeg elsken dette landey”, which was translated later on as “I love my country”, while fixing his gaze towards his country and the people he loved so much.

When Conti Borda told him he was Maltese, the King replied: “So your country is in the war too” and this made them sympathise with one another.  During the rest of the trip, Conti Borda was treated more as a friend of the King than as his personal steward.

A few hours later the alarm sounded and the ship wheeled round. It was ‘action stations’. The look-out post on the stern had seen a dark speck in the sky. All binoculars focussed on it. Friend or foe? A German seaplane was identified and the ship’s anti-aircraft guns opened fire. The plane was hit and its starboard engine caught fire. It was forced to ditch with billowing smoke training behind it. Four survivors clambered out of the plane. HMS Devonshire came alongside, its crew rescued the German airmen and then sank the seaplane by gunfire.

Had the German wireless operator warned his colleagues? The answer came next day at about 2pm and between 5pm and 7pm when over a dozen German Stuka dive bombers appeared over the horizon and attacked the Devonshire, narrowly missing the ship. The next day at 5am another wave of bombers did likewise but the ship blazed away with its ‘Pom Pom’ anti-aircraft guns, known in Navy slang as ‘Chicago pianos’. The vessel was not hit but some escorting ships were.

Conti Borda once caused some consternation, and later much banter, when he reported the presence of a submarine. It was, in fact, a whale

To feel safer from further attacks, the captain ordered his officers to steer Devonshire near the coast. Narvik was the first port to be reached. Then the ship set course for Lofoten Island, followed by a quick dash to Namsos, Trondheim, Stavenger and Kristiansund down south. Finally into the North Sea, and on June 10, they at last made it to England. Later a copper plate on the Devonshire’s quarter deck would commemorate the evacuation.

King Haakon VII in naval uniform on his arrival in Britain.

In September 1940, the Devonshire took part in the expedition to Dakar in Senegal, French West Africa. The ship embarked the Free French General Charles de Gaulle and his staff of 29 Free French officers, Chasseurs Alpins (Alpine troops), General Leclerc and a detachment of infantrymen similar to British commondos. The ship was accompanied by four British destroyers, the French destroyer Tigre and the cruiser Montcalm. A few minutes later, a submarine was seen to dive in the distance. The accompanying destroyers attacked it with depth charges, forcing it to surrender. It was a Vichy French vessel and the crew surrendered.

During the embarkation of these men, the Allied fleet came under fire from Vichy French shore batteries so it retaliated with heavy artillery. The bombardment lasted seven-and-a-half hours. Conti Borda was closed up at action station for about five hours in a cordite magazine. Since the Devonshire was close to land, the seamen depatched a motor boat with Free French emissaries to the nearest landing place. Unfortunately the boat was shot at, and four men were killed and three others wounded. The cruiser’s seamen recovered them.

In 1941, Devonshire and a troopship entered Lagos harbour on the west coast of Africa and came alongside the light cruiser HMS Neptune. The whole of Devonshire’s company transferred ship for two days during which the ship was fumigated against cockroaches. The engines and anti-aircraft guns were checked and the ship finally stored and provisioned. The crew were examined by Army doctors and all found to be well.

The British cruiser operated for the remainder of 1940 and until February 1941 on the South Atlantic station on raider patrol and convoy escort duties, after which it returned to Britain for a refit at Liverpool.

When Conti Borda left HMS Devonshire on May 25, 1941, he was sent to RN Barracks-Devonport, to join the staff of Admiral Sir C.V. Crutchley, VC, who was Commodore there. Conti Borda had the honour of serving him for four months during which he witnessed the enemy bombing of Plymouth and Devonport.

Other Maltese seamen who served on the cruiser at that time were Chief Petty Officer Francis Chetcuti, Officers’ Cooks Rosario Borg, Joseph Micallef, Emmanuel Brincat and Leading Cooks Alfred Grixti and Emmanuel Sciortino.

The Maltese stewards who had looked after King Haakon VII were, in October 1945, presented, through the Royal Norwegian consul in Malta, with cuff links “as a gift of memory in appreciation of the services rendered to His Majesty when on board HMS Devonshire on her journey from Tromso to Scotland in 1940”. Chetcuti was decorated by the King with the King Haakon Freedom Medal.

A photo published in the 46th edition of the Norwegian magazine Norsk on November 10, 1987, featuring an interview with John Conti Borda, president of the Royal Navy Association, about the Norwegian King’s escape. On his left is the Royal Norwegian flag, a photo of the King and above it a photo of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh.

In 1987, Conti Borda was interviewed about this historical episode for the Norwegian magazine Norsk edition of November 10. The article was translated into English, and the principal question was: “What were you talking about when you were alone with the King?” “Malta,” he answered proudly. “King Haakon and Queen Maud were on board the English ship Victoria and Albert when they visited Malta, and the King thought highly of the island.” Conti Borda reckoned that visit had occurred in 1905, just before His Majesty became King of Norway. In 1940, Conti Borda could guarantee that the island was still as beautiful as the King had remembered it 35 years earlier.

During the interview, he took out the cufflings donated by the King to show them to the interviewer. For him, they were very precious, and every time he wore them they reminded him what a fine and respectable gentleman the King was. Conti Borda felt proud to have accompanied the King to live in a free country. But for the King it must have been a very sad journey to lose Norway, the land he loved so much. Luckily, he would return later on.

Conti Borda never divulged the name of the port in Scotland where the Devonshire arrived safely with the Royal family. It was kept confidential for safety reasons. It was only in 2000, two years after Conti Borda’s death when I was rummaging through my father’s things that I discovered a painting of a fjord by a certain John C. Ogle who had given it to my father many years ago. On a piece of old and dusty cardboard lying underneath, my father had written: “In memory of the journey of HMS Devonshire from Tromso to Greenock (Scotland) in June 1940.” The 60-year-old mystery was finally solved!

Epilogue

I had always wished to visit Norway so it was the ideal occasion for my wife and I to celebrate our ruby wedding anniversary in 2015 with a visit to the Norwegian fjords. We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise, and I look forward to visit this picturesque Scandinavian country once again. It reminds me of my dear father and of many happy memories that will linger on for many years to come.