 Complete the following phrase:  On 14 September 1939, eleven days after the outbreak of the Second World War, McNicoll was posted to HMS Victory, the flagship of Admiral Sir William James, the Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth. In April 1940, McNicoll was transferred to the light cruiser as a member of the ships commissioning crew. During McNicolls time aboard the ship, it was severely damaged by a torpedo in operations on 1 September and barely made it back to harbour. McNicoll ultimately served on Fiji for six months before being attached to , a submarine depot ship stationed at Alexandria, Egypt, in October 1940. In this post he was made torpedo officer of the 1st Submarine Flotilla operating in the 