Tin-fished in the Bay

When my dad set off on his long journey to Sierra Leone in October 1943 he noted in his diary that he'd thrown a coin into the river for luck when crossing the Forth Bridge by railway on the way to Liverpool Docks for embarkation.

Wednesday 13^th October 1943

"Left Dunfermline on the 4.45 for Glasgow. As we went over the Forth Bridge threw a halfpenny over for luck, although I reckon that won’t be much good if we get “tinfished” in the Bay."

Tinfished meant being torpedoed.

When I found the poem by Rudyard Kipling about "pack drill" which I referred to in a previous post I also found this poem entitled "Tinfish" written by Kipling during the First World War.

"Tin Fish"

The ships destroy us above

  And ensnare us beneath.

We arise, we lie down, and we move

  In the belly of Death.

The ships have a thousand eyes

  To mark where we come . . .

But the mirth of a seaport dies

  When our blow gets home.

I don't know where my dad got the expression "tinfished" from but he did like Kipling's writing so maybe he'd read this poem at school or in a library book.

Link to amazon uk bookpage