Joined Royal Navy 22^nd March 1960 aged 19 and 3 months as a Probationary Writer and sent to HMS PEMBROKE located in Royal Naval Barracks Chatham for Basic (6 weeks) and professional Writer training. Passed out in September 1960 and was drafted to Royal Naval Barracks Devonport.  Worked in Officers Pay Office as a fair hand on the Manadon section and later at the RN Firefighting and Civil Defence School at Tamerton Foliot outside Plymouth. General administrative duties booking courses etc.

April 1962 drafted to HMS WOODBRIDGE HAVEN (undergoing a refit in Singapore) which was an ex-Loch Class frigate converted to a Minesweeper Depot ship for the 6^th Minesweeping Squadron (Commander W Staveley RN Senior Officer). Christmas 1962 we sailed at short notice and best speed from Singapore to Labuan off the coast of Borneo at the start of the Indonesian Confrontation. This was just after the ship and Squadron were declared Married accompanied billets.  The ships’ companys’ wives arrived in Singapore after the ship had sailed. During the Confrontation the ship patrolled the coast of Malaya intercepting insurgents with an occasional return to Singapore and port visit to Hong Kong, Surabaya, Jesselton etc.  Whilst on one particular patrol the ship received a signal from HMS FISKERTON (Lt Cdr J J Black RN) informing the captain that his minesweeper had run aground whilst chasing an insurgent in a dugout canoe with a large outboard motor. The insurgent obviously knew the area well as he was able to lift his outboard motor out of the water, so the dugout skated across the reef. We tried to pull her off the reef without success. Later that year we sailed for Gan where on 9 June 63 the Ship’s Company transferred to HMS MANXMAN and HMS WOODBRIDGE HAVEN continued to UK with a steaming crew. In October 1963 flew back to UK for Foreign Service Leave. During my time in the Far East, I requested to transfer to Electrical Branch mainly because as a Writer I was always working to clear mail and correspondence for several days after arrival in port and likewise before departure.

Joined HMS MERCURY (Communications School) situated near Petersfield on 25 Nov 63 and joined the Pay Office as a fair hand. Met my future wife and got engaged, at the same time approval for my transfer to Electrical Branch was granted. A combination of loss of pay and leave if I transferred and my forthcoming marriage made me change my mind and the transfer was cancelled. Married Retta Hussey on 14 August 1964 and was allocated a hiring in Purbrook.  Received the last Naval General Service Medal (Brunei) and General Service Medal 1962 and clasp Borneo. Passed examination for A/LWtr on 1 Mar 1965. Sheila our daughter was borne on 6 Jun 65, bought a two up and 2 down house in Trowbridge, Wiltshire and moved family there following receipt of draft to C-in-C Portsmouth.

Joined C-in-C, Portsmouth on 22 June 1965 working in Office 2 Ops Section.  Became a weekender living in Southsea on Lodging Allowance until I was drafted to HMS OSPREY on 2 April 1966.

On 5 May1966 was advanced to A/LWtr back dated to 25 Mar 1966, worked as a Fair Hand and in the Cash Office. Was allocated a married Quarter on Portland and as we did not have a TV went to a local shop and asked about renting one.  In those days the minimum rental period was 12 months, believing that as I had only just joined, I would have a least the 12 months in Portland and hired the TV. All was well until a programme on Aircraft carriers was shown on TV, I thought I don’t want to be drafted to one of those. The following week I got a draft to HMS Eagle for 7 Dec 1966. When I left Portland the TV rental firm did not ask for a further six month’s rent which they could have.  I can’t remember the cost of rental, bur a bill for 6 month’s rentals would have severely hit my budget.

I duly joined HMS EAGLE on 7 Dec 966 which was in dry dock undergoing refit, so the ship’s company was accommodated onboard HMS CENTAUR, and we marched from HMS EAGLE to RNB for dinner every day, breakfast and supper we partook on HMS CENTAUR. Met Geoff Luton and we became firm friends until his death in 2018, also Leading Writer Jones who I previously served with in HMS MERCURY. He was to meet his future wife in OZ and my wife, and I were guests at their wedding in Essex not long after leaving HMS EAGLE. After moving back onboard and recommissioning we went on trials and unfortunately had a fire in the boiler room in the uptake space. Believed to have been caused by not being able to clear the bilges while at sea.   After repairs we sailed for Singapore, we were programmed to go through the Suez Canal, but the Yom Kippur war closed the canal, and we sailed via the Cap. The visit to Cape Town was the only highlight of the trip. On the way to Singapore, we were diverted to Aden during the insurgency and spent 67 days at sea when we worked an 8-day week, the 8^th day set aside for Replenishment at Sea.  On the way to Singapore one of our aircraft had to divert to Gan and crash landed there.  There was a terminology mix up on emergency landing equipment. The pilot wasn’t sure if it was a barrier or wire, he expected to see on landing.  We later recovered the aircraft by barge and ship’s crane. Whilst off Gan we lost a man overboard resulting in a massive enquiry.  Arrived in Singapore for Christmas. As killick of a mess of 54 Writers and Stores (S) and (V) it was a constant battle getting hands to clean the mess and bathroom for Commander’s Rounds each week but after some meetings with departmental senior rates got good co-operation and was allocated sufficient mess members for the task. A DCI(RN) was issued setting out the new pack system numbering which the Secretary was keen to use. This entailed printing new pack covers in colours according to security grading and rewriting the sheets in the Kalamazoo. After a time, it was helpful because you could tell by the reference number used on incoming mail what section of the pack list the mail should go assuming of course the sender was on the same hymn sheet..

On 8 Jan 1968 went on a run ashore to Bugey Street where we saw the usual suspects, the Secretary and DSO, met up with some US Navy Personnel who had to be back on board their ship by midnight so we escorted them to the end of Bugey Street and put them in taxis, whereupon the local Chinese thought we were leaving as well but without paying. They set upon us with baseball bats etc and mayhem ensued by the time we got back to our table we were not a pretty site, several were superficially injured, one had concussion, I had a broken jaw.  I was sent to the British Military Hospital (BMH) and had my jaw wired, and whilst in BMH I lived on a diet of soup and Mackeson. Once my jaw healed joined HMS TERROR to await flight back to rejoin the ship. Flew down to Fremantle, Perth on 20 Feb 1968 by Air India flight with the new Senior Officer of 849B flight.  Was to meet up with him again in 1993 when he was the Resettlement Officer at RNAS Yeovilton and I was a Lieutenant and Supply Officer (Personnel).

Whilst on the way back to the UK from the Far East there was a spate of homosexual cases which the captain thought was serious enough to have a Psychiatrist (a Surgeon Captain) flown out from UK to interview the miscreants as they were in those days. One of them was a 30-year-old LSA(S) from my mess. After the trial the Master-at-Arms asked me if I didn’t think it was unusual for a 30-year-old not to be married and I said no I didn’t think so, and was he inferring that our Commander (S) was a homosexual as he was over 40 years old and still single, his reply was don’t be facetious. Arrived back in UK in Feb 1969 and joined HMS PEMBROKE for POWTR’s qualifying course on 19 Mar, advanced to A/PO Wtr to date 25 Feb so the pressure was on but passed the course and joined Royal Naval Barracks Portsmouth on 9 Apl 1969. Worked in the Service Certificate Office where I soon realised that what was taught at the Supply School was different to that practiced in the Fleet. Completed PO’s Leadership Course at HMS ROYAL ARTHUR on 6 Aug 1970. Was employed on various tasks whilst serving in RNB namely Disturbance Allowance and Traveling Expense Office and as an acting CPO Wtr (Local) in the Cash Office and onboard HMS DEVONSHIRE from Jan to May 71 while filling in after the incumbent a 5^th 5 CPO WTR gave notice and a permanent relief joined. Had a further 2 periods of Acting CPOWTR (Local) before being advanced to CPO WTR on 15 Apr 1972 and travelled by car to Turkey and joined COMEDNOREAST in Ankara Turkey on 20 Apr 1973. We were supplied with a penthouse apartment in the Cankaya district near the British Embassy.

I was the Cosmic Control Chief with a safe full of secret and above files working in the Turkish Naval HQ opposite the Turkish Parliament building in Ankara, and worked for 3 naval Commanders, one Greek (Logistics), one US Submariner (Operations) and One British Communications specialist and also with 2 English speaking Turkish Chiefs. The Turkish Chiefs were very good, and one had been working in NAVSOUTH in Italy and spoke Italian as well as English, and the other had worked in Northwood. As I lived about 2 miles from the Naval Headquarters, I used to go home for lunch and listen to the news on the BBC World Service. One Friday in July 1974 I went home as usual and heard over the radio that the Greeks had tried to assassinate Archbishop Makarios in Cyprus.  I went back to the office and found the Greek commander still at his desk reading the paper I told him what I had heard on the radio, and he immediately picked up his briefcase and left the building. It was several weeks later that I learnt he and other Greek personnel from the embassy had been escorted out of Turkey. That afternoon when we were all back in the office, I jokingly said to the Turkish Chiefs “I expect you will be invading Cyprus on Sunday” they obviously laughed and we got on with our work.  Went home for the weekend and on arriving at the HQ on Monday morning there was a notice on the main door stating that NATO was not wanted. So, I went home and stayed there until called back a couple of days later. In the meantime, Turkey had indeed invaded Cyprus.  The aftermath in Ankara was both serious and funny.  The main players apart from Turkey and Greece were the Americans and Brits, many people did not know or mixed who was the British Foreign Secretary and the US Secretary of state. Sometimes Callaghan was top of the pops and other times Henry Kissenger.  We agreed with whoever the locals praised. On return to work in the Headquarters, it was noticeable that the number of signs in English had increased, and one of the Chiefs I worked with asked me how I knew the invasion would take place, and I told him it was a guess, but to this day I don’t know if he believed me.  The Turks and the Greeks have not been the best neighbours since the early 1920s In the immediate aftermath of the invasion one story in particular caught the imagination, it concerned a report that a blue-eyed Turkish soldier had been raping the women in the north of the island.  This story first appeared in the Sun newspaper, and I was able to explain that the Sun was a sensational paper and appealed to those who followed the page 3 girls and compared it to the Turkish newspaper Gunaydin (literally Good Day) where the front page showed a large breasted girl with strategically placed stars. This was accepted but unfortunately the same story was printed in the Daily Telegraph later and I lost the argument.

 The tour in Turkey was an enjoyable one; we celebrated the Turkish holidays and well as ours.  Had several official trips to Istanbul and Izmir as well as private ones with the family. Had family holidays down in Izmir, went to Ephesus, Kusadasi, Pamukkale and Antalya.  British families were allowed to use the Embassy pool when not required by the Ambassador, was a member of the Embassy club where we did amateur dramatics, had film nights and whist drives.

Left Ankara in April 1975 and drove back to the UK via IZMIR (ferry to Venice) across Italy and France to UK for leave. Joined HMS CENTURION on 16^th May and was the CPO WTR in the Advancement Office. Responsible for keeping the Advancement rosters up to Petty Officer across all branches and issuing B13s for advancements as required. I redesigned the B13 to ensure all requirements for advancement were met. Also briefed Commanding Officers on the selection system to Chief Petty Officer and Fleet Chief when required. Received the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal on 8 Jun 1977, the only one issued to CENTURION.

Drafted to HMS HERMES on 5 Jan 78 in Devonport and so started the old weekend travelling until the ship changed home port to Portsmouth. A good Supply staff, Doug Lewis DSO, John Parsons SO Cash and Geoff Luton Wardroom Mess Accountant we shared the driving on alternate weekends. First Chief Writer to be given a float of £10K because of demand for cheque cashing. Went across the pond to Norfolk, met up with Eddy Myres who was stationed there, then on to Mayport.  Bought the children skateboards plus all the safety equipment. Back to the UK for leave. The children were over the moon with the skateboards but unfortunately my daughter fell off hers and broke her arm.  That’s another story. Sailed for the Mediterranean and visited Piraeus, sailed past some of the Russian Fleet anchored off the coast of Egypt. Interesting seeing men with dogs patrolling the upper decks. Visited Malta which pleased all the Stewards onboard who were nearly to a man Maltese. Selected for promotion to FCWTR, left HHS HERMES in Nice and flew back to UK for leave. 

Joined HMS NELSON FOF3’s Staff as an A/FCWTR on 24 July 1979.Confirmed FCWTR on 30 Sep 79 common seniority date. Employed as a Section Officer working for CSO(AE) and AE staff and responsible for the staff air travel. Worked in a single storey set of offices across the road from Fort Southwick, whereas the messes Wardroom and Senior Rates mess were situated in the Fort where the Communicators worked.  The Admiral was very good and approachable and kept all the staff briefed on the then current policies. It was a busy appointment the staff did a lot of travelling especially the AE officers who were more or less continuously on the move inspecting ships’ AE departments. Left the Staff in Aug 81.

Joined HMS CENTURION the central Naval Drafting and Pay and Records Offices. I was in Charge of the Disturbance allowances and Travelling Expense Office. Responsible for correct assessment and payment of MOD officers travelling expenses.  Briefing officers on Allowances and allied expenses on being appointed abroad. On joining the average time for expenses to be assessed and paid was 4 weeks.  I was tasked to help write the spec for a computer system to take over the recording and payment of all expenses. This progressed rapidly as the MOD was complaining about the length of time it took to pay expenses. After some teething problems the system worked well, and I was the first Naval Person to handle MOD cheques, and time from receipt of claims to payment was reduced to 1 week. I had an excellent staff and was ably assisted by Chief Writer John Stich. Was on the roster of Business Reps during the Falklands War and helped the wife of one of HMS SHEFFIELD’s deceased. Left HMS CENTURION on 22 Jan 84.

Joined HMS OSPREY (FOST) on 23 Jan 84 and was given a good turnover by FCWTR Ted Hastings. Responsible for organising the Supply Staff’s visits to ships undergoing training. Responsible for inspecting Ships’ Offices, all office procedures, security etc and Wardroom and Senior Rates Mess accounts. Checking that the Supply Department was correctly secured on Thursday War Day and that the staff were aware of the dangers during the Emergency Aid exercise. Assessed the capability of the Writer staff for SSO’s report to CST. A DCI was issued asking for volunteers for Temporary Acting Sub Lieutenants and I volunteered.  Much to my surprise I was selected so left FOST Staff in April 85 for RNC Greenwich.

Joined RNC Greenwich for what was a good 6 week’s course.

Joined HMS DOLPHIN (F1) in April 85 as Assistant Secretary (Ratings). Was responsible for the running of the Captain’s Office and divisional officer for the staff. The Secretary was Mike Coombes. Briefed the Commander on Defaulters and the Captain on Requestmen and defaulters was on the Officer of the Day’s roster, saluted ships arriving and leaving Portsmouth harbour from the signal tower. After almost 2 years in that job was appointed as SO(Cash) as Acting Temporary Lieutenant SD(W). Responsible for the Cash and Pay Office.  WO WTR Bill Whaley was my Deputy as SO (Pay)and Ian Freegard as the CPO Wtr. One day Commander (S) (Commander Peter Wickham-Martin RN) came in with the bank statement which showed a nil balance. He was aghast, he had forgotten that   a DCI (RN) had been issued which stated we would no longer put money in the bank as needed but it would run in debt and the debt would be cleared by MOD at the end of each month.

After the concept of the Unit Personnel Office was introduced, we found that the Regulators suddenly became part of our organisation and that the Oasis system would be expanded to include a lot more personal data. Which was good but that information would be deleted when personnel went on draft and not forwarded to his next ship or establishment.  This would be a huge task especially when some personnel were only on course. HMS Dolphin was chosen to be the trial establishment but after several representations the trial was dropped. All the Squadron Offices were expanded and re-equipped for the arrival of the new UPHOLDER class of diesel submarines.  This included the Unit Personnel Office, which was very overcrowded since the Regulators moved in, I was tasked to design the Office to fit into the old ship’s company dining hall. But I was appointed to Centurion BSO as SO(Cash) so was not there while the conversion was underway.  I was however invited back by Captain Smith (Captain SM1) to attend the official opening of the new office. Just like the MOD as soon as the changes were complete there was a change of strategy, the new UPHOLDER class were sold and the existing diesel submarines were transferred to Scotland, HMS DOLPHIN was decommissioned and the Army Medical Corp moved in.

The job at CENTURION was the same old mundane Cash Duties as I had carried out at HMS DOLPHIN. I was pleased when they downgraded the position to a WO Writer’s billet.

I was appointed to HMS HERON as SO(Personnel) so I was in charge of the Unit Personnel Office with a WO Writer as SO(Cash). Most of the Supply Staff were livers’ in including the Supply Officer and DSO. The accommodation was 2^nd World War vintage with the walls built with bricks side on and of course no cavity walls.  I was responsible for arranging money floats for 2 consecutive Air Days when the base was open to the public. Ran into some old ships, and the Commander I had assisted some time ago when he was abroad and the depositary where his furniture was stored burnt down. A chief and a WO Stores were on HMS EAGLE with me.  It was a good appointment, and I retired in June 1995 it was good to get back home for good.