I don’t think I ever entirely accepted the Navy philosophy of calling any accommodation, be it a house or a concrete bottomed wreck, a ship. I could never thought of myself as being ashore when I went out the gate. In fact I thought the whole concept childish and foolish, but it was surprising how… Continue reading Royal Navy 1941 to ’46 in order, Living Ashore
Random Thoughts 23 , Booze
I come from a family that thought it was wicked even on Christmas Day to drink more than one Sherry. I was first introduced to real alcohol when I joined the Navy and I never turned back. I find the subject fascinating because it has so many facets, there is the pleasure of drinking, there… Continue reading Random Thoughts 23 , Booze
Royal Navy 1941 to ’46 in order, Teaching Navy Style
The examination techniques we adopted at the Royal Naval Signal School should have been the norm for the Country’s education system in genera . Education is not a case of knowing information, but knowing where to find it and how to apply it. The Leydene examination organisers had obviously taken this theory to heart. We,… Continue reading Royal Navy 1941 to ’46 in order, Teaching Navy Style
Royal Navy 1941 to ’46 in order, The Chief’s Course and After
Isle Of Man, Two – A careless death The second visit to the Isle of Man was an entirely different experience, we were now Petty Officers with the privileges that entailed. The work if anything was harder, and the sets we were learning much more sophisticated and in some cases as big as a small… Continue reading Royal Navy 1941 to ’46 in order, The Chief’s Course and After
Royal Navy 1941 to ’46 in order, An Unusual Iniative
Once I had found my feet, dancing was the best way of meeting people and filling the long evenings when Belfast City was blacked out. My mate Bunny was keen and we went every night to some dance hall or other. On Sunday nights when all the other halls were closed we went to the… Continue reading Royal Navy 1941 to ’46 in order, An Unusual Iniative
Random Thoughts, 22
The government’s proposed massive rebuilding programme doesn’t make much sense to me for a number of reasons. Have you, recently, tried to get a plumber, an electrician, a painter or a builder to do a small of even a big job for you? So, in my innocence, I wonder from where the government is producing… Continue reading Random Thoughts, 22
Random thoughts 21, The Last Post on Global Warming
This is the last post on global warming in whatever way you interpret it. Recently I wrote a piece and sent it to a nephew, one whose opinion I value, who has tracked the jungles of South America and the slopes of the Himalayas looking for, finding and naming new species of flora. I asked… Continue reading Random thoughts 21, The Last Post on Global Warming
Royal Navy 1941 to46 in order, The Irish Question,Coincidences.
The Irish Question Take the Irish Question, for an instance, not the Irish question, from where I stand I find nothing amusing in that. No! Just an amusing Irish question. I don’t remember my friend Bunny’s rate of assimilation, certainly I didn’t really find my own feet for about a week and then he and… Continue reading Royal Navy 1941 to46 in order, The Irish Question,Coincidences.
Royal Navy 1941 to ’46 in order, Belfast Shipyard Part 2.
Shipbuilding is probably the most complicated and detailed engineering exercise, outside aeroplane design. The size of a ship, various hull designs, its use, all give multitudes of options from the thickness of the plates, to the design of door handles. All the equipment has to be installed which involves designing the positioning, the fixings and… Continue reading Royal Navy 1941 to ’46 in order, Belfast Shipyard Part 2.
Royal Navy 1941 to ’46 in order, Belfast Shipyard Part 1.
To those who hate technicalities I apologise for this entry, For me it records something gone and lost never to be recovered. Whether that is good is debateable. In ’43, I was drafted to Belfast to supervise the radio installations on the warships being built there. The shipyard was vast, there were at least six… Continue reading Royal Navy 1941 to ’46 in order, Belfast Shipyard Part 1.