HMS Crane - April 20, 1959 to October 10, 1960

HMS Crane

This ship's Company re-commissioned the ship at Singapore on April 30, 1959, and altogether have steamed CRANE 36,400 miles round the Far East Station. After an initial 'work-up' in the Singpore area and a brief visit to Hong Kong, the first operational duty undertaken was on Anti-Piracy patrols off North Borneo, where a two-day call was made to Tawau. Returning to Singapore in July for three months re-fit until October, the ship then sailed for the Maldive Islands to act as guardship for the RAF Station on the island of Gan in Addu Atoll. Returning to Singapore again after six weeks, in time for Christmas, the ship sailed for Hong Kong for guardship duties for six weeks and then returned to Singapore for an intermediate docking period. On completion of this the ship sailed once more for Hong Kong to escort the Hong Kong Flotilla over to Manila, where they took part in the SEATO exercise 'Sealion', and then escorted them back again. In May 1960 the ship set off together with most of the Far East Fleet for a cruise of Korea and Japan, calling in at Chinhae, Yokohama, Nagoya and Beppu. After returned to Singapore for another docking period, the ship took part in the latter stages of Exercise 'Fotex', and then sailed with the Squadron for a five-day visit to Penang. The last lap of the commission brought a farewell visit to Hong Kong and a brief stay at Bangkok before finally returning to Singapore to recommission on October 12.

I had to get to Stanstead Airport in Essex where about 60 of us were going to pick up a twin-engine Hermes and fly to Singapore. I think the trip was supposed to take about 2 days, but of course, things never go according to plan. I can't remember all the stops but our first one was Brindisi, Italy where we stopped for refueling. No super-sonic travel here, I'll tell you. We were allowed off the plane but the Officer in Charge, who was going to be my Divisional Officer when we got to the Crane was a young Sub-Lieutenant (who was about a year younger than me) wouldn't let us undo our ties and roll our sleeves up even though it was very humid and sticky. I thought 'We're really off to a good start here. Hopefully it'll get better." After we left Brindisi things started to get a bit complicated. Our route would take us over Ankara, Turkey, but when the airport found out that it was a military plane we had to land and disembark while government officials got together to determine how much of a threat we were. We were all boarded out in various hotels to await further developments. We were all told to get early calls in the morning from the hotel switchboard to ensure that we were at the airport in time for takeoff. The room that I was in, along with four other guys, was a little cramped, but cots solved that problem. So we went to bed and the next thing we woke up and it was WAY past the time we were supposed to get our call. Holy shit, we were now adrift and panic stations set in. Quickly we got dressed and out of the room, got downstairs - and asked what happened to our wake up call (nobody seemed to know, but there was a slight language problem). We grabbed a fast black (taxi) and got him to take us to the airport where a PO Powell told us to report to the same S/Lt who was so fussy about our attire back in Brindisi. So I thought to myself 'this is going to be interesting'. He started in on us right away, saying how irresponsible we were. I said to him "Excuse me, Sir. But we did not get a call this morning." To which he replied, "Yes you did, everybody got a call." This conversation lasted about 5 minutes in this same vein before he finally said "You five will report to me every hour on short stops and every three hours on long stops between here and Singapore." Everything went well for the first little while, and S/Lt DeSalis didn't mind being disturbed every hour, but as the trip went on I remember him saying "Enough!" after he'd been disturbed at 2000 hours, 2300 hours and 0100 hours. I didn't mind disturbing him, but I guess he'd had enough. I think that lasted until our refueling stop at Karachi, Pakistan. After that our next stop was Bombay, India. We had a really nice beachfront hotel. We loafed around in the sun most of the day and went out for curry for supper. The next day we flew to Singapore - remembering we are now about a day and a half behind due to the problems back in Turkey. By the time we got to Singapore our little trip from Stanstead had taken us 5 days, and several crew changes. I had a flat ass from sitting in the plane for so long. Then things got worse! The instant I stepped off the plane I started sweating like a pig! It was so humid! I'd never experienced anything like it, and wearing my UK shirt, pants, shoes and socks wasn't helping.

                                                                      The ship's company

I don't remember going through customs, but I guess we must have. We then loaded ourselves onto a couple of Navy buses and took the 17-mile trip to Singapore dockyard. The buses were not air-conditioned but at least we could open the windows and get a breeze going. The trip took about an hour on reasonably good 2-lane roads, but we passed through several little villages, which slowed us down. Eventually, we arrived at the dockyard and HMS Crane. We grabbed our kit and stood around sweating profusely on the jetty. Then the Gunnery Instructor (who incidentally was dressed in his cool "whites" - a cap, shirt, shorts and sandals) told each of us what our mess deck would be, and what our jobs were for the next 3 months. My job was Bosun's Mate with an Able Seaman Cook (he was the Quartermaster - he had 1 good-conduct stripe - so he was senior to me). We were both considered gangway staff, but if there was to be any running around carrying messages etc., I would be the one doing it. We hit it off right away. We went on board and put all our kit away in our respective mess decks (I was in the Watchkeepers mess). We had the rest of the day off, but the morning after that I changed into my set of whites and returned to the gangway to take up my responsibilities.

(although not taken at the ship, this would have been my gangway attire along with a white cap)

As soon as possible after settling in, we did sea trials so everyone would get used to what they were supposed to be doing. One other very important thing (when we had shore time) was to get the ship's soccer team organized! So I put my name down for trials and got picked as a right-winger (#7). After only 3 weeks the HMS Brides Bay challenged us to play for the Anderson Trophy. We lost. 5-1. They did have a slight edge on us as they had being playing together for months, and they were also used to the heat and humidity. But once we got going, a few months later...revenge was sweet...we took the trophy back off them, and beat just about everyone else in the 3rd Frigate Squadron. We developed into quite a good team.

-----------------------------------------------------

team Crane after winning back the Anderson Trophy

l-r back row: McPartland, Johns, Stewart, Vance, Collins, Collins, Kingshot, S/Lt Down

l-r front row: Hancock, Lister, Brown, Brown, Middleton

(our colours were black and gold)

Soccer 1st XI (by RE Jarman)

An almost unchanged side has represented us since the teams became settled in the early weeks of the commission. At times our football has been a treat to watch and games that will remain in the mind are our defeat of the Royal Malaysian Navy 9-0 followed a week later by that of the Dockyard Chinese 4-0 neither team being easy opponents. Surprisingly enough our infrequent slumps to rock bottom form have been against the weaker "no chance" teams. The Anderson Trophy is still held by us after successfully defending it five times against St Brides Bay and Cardigan Bay, but the Kwong Lee Trophy has proved to be our bogey, the closest we've come to winning it was a 2-2 draw with Finisterre though several times we've been all over the opposition. All the same we enjoyed our football and it's that rather than silverware that counts. Of the stars in our side probably the brightest is M/E Spilsbury. His goalkeeping throughout the season has been of the highest quality and far above the usual standard of ship's teams. His performances have saved many a game and at least two displays vs Gambia and the Lancashire Regiment were certainly in the professional class. Next to him must come L/S Pat Brown our PTI who has proved himself an exceptional player in almost any position, who prefers center-forward to his equally able center-half. Our deadliest ball-kicker, he has saved almost as many goals as he had scored. Another two who deserve mention are A/B Collins and A/B John (although the former has not been with us as long nor as often as we would have liked): they both have consistently played well. M/E Kingshott who has captained the 1st XI is probably the only full 90 minute player that we have in every match. He is always there with a final burst of energy to secure the victory.

Regular members: M/E Spilsbury, A/B John, M/E Collins, A/B Collins, A/B Stuart, M/E Kingshott, A/B Hancock, L/S Brown, A/B Lister, A/B Kane, L/S Brown, L/S Middleton, M/E Rossetter, A/B Smith.

Record: P-57, W-29, D-7, L-21,F-120, A-101

Me (left-footed no less!) with Jumper Collins on the left and Lenny Lister on the right

...and up on the hill was our accommodation during refit at HMS Terror.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rugby

rear l-r: ???, Hancock, Stevens, ???, Holden

centre l-r: ???, Duckett, Williams, Brown, ???

front l-r: Jarman, Whelan, ???, Derrett, John

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now we were going to spend some time in the naval dockyard near Singapore. Usually though, instead of going all the way into Singapore for a run ashore, which was 17 miles away, most of the time we stayed in the dockyard, and guys either went to the canteen at HMS Terror to watch a soccer game; the dockyard canteen; or Nee Soon village, which was a short taxi ride outside Terror. Transport was available in the form of navy buses which ran on a schedule, but I think maybe I only made it into Singapore (proper) a couple of times. You had to make sure you caught the last bus back about 0100, otherwise you had to find a place to crash and get an early call. The first bus left Singers about 0530 or 0600, as all-night leave expired at 0700. Unfortunately shortly after our arrival a new political party was elected and the Prime Minister put a stop to bar girls and juke boxes. Things became really civilized, and there was even less reason to go into Singapore.

One of our job at this particular point in time was Anti-Piracy patrol off Borneo. I was the designated Bren-gunner for this assignment. A Bren gun was a machine gun which was situated on the bridge. I never did fire a shot in anger, but did a really good job of sinking an empty 45-gallon barrel drum.

taking my turn as jetty sentry in Tawau, Borneo

We then made a trip to Hong Kong - this being my first time to what would eventually turn out to be my favorite run-ashore anywhere. It was everything I hoped it would be, including the fact that the China Fleet Club was right outside the dockyard gate, and no more than a 10-minute walk (or perhaps I should say, stagger) from the ship. I was soon introduced to San Miguel beer, which I think was my preferred brew of choice. Although Tiger beer was pretty good too, that was back in Singapore. While in Hong Kong I got my big tattoo of St George and the Dragon done on my back. Four and a half hours of a certain degree of discomfort. Getting this tattoo seemed reasonably apropos as my birthday falls on St George's Day.

Most guys for their run ashore stayed in Victoria. Not too many went to Kowloon on the mainland, as we had everything we needed on Victoria Island. We soon learned where the movie theatres were and how to get to them by tram. The tram cost about 25¢ HK and the theatre, as far as I can remember, was about $3 HK. A meal from a street vendor was usually about $2 HK, and consisted of fried beef or chicken, and noodles or rice. The RN had their own bars they frequented, as did the American sailors. You only went into the American bars if you were invited, and vise versa.

There was always a game of soccer against another ship or one of the Army teams. One night we played 7-aside against a Chinese team in Wanchai on a concrete pitch. We had a large Chinese audience, because our style of soccer was a little different than what they were used to. The Chinese team tapped the ball around a lot, whereas we were a little more direct, and would take a shot at goal from anywhere. If was almost as if they wanted to walk the ball into the net. Honour was satisfied on both sides as the final score was 2-2. A great game, and a lot of fun.

(our team that night)

 back l-r: Rossiter, Spillsbury, Stuart, me, Kingshot

front l-r: Brown, John

One stop in Hong Kong that you almost had to make, was to the Tiger Balm gardens. It was all about Chinese mythology. Very gory. The figures were very well painted. The gardens were a donation from the gentleman who thought up Tiger Balm. It was a big fact of Chinese life. I think even some of the guys onboard had some of the balm - I know I sure did. It was very good for aches and pains.

Myself, Nick Nickolson and Shady Lane at the gardens

After sampling the fleshpots and cooking pots of Hong Kong we went back to Singapore to go into dry dock for refitting. This meant that we were moved off the ship and into HMS Terror, but we would still go to work on the ship every day. Our routine was what was called a "modified tropical routine". We would be onboard by 0730 and work until 1230.

Then it was back to Terror for lunch and grog, and that was it for the day. Lots of time was spent at the swimming pool. It was hard to take, I tell you. We were allowed to wear civvies if we went ashore. Remember that it is still called "ashore" even though we were in Barracks.

Pat Brown, myself and Stormy at Terror pool with Mugsy hanging on the edge

By this time I was out of the Watchkeepers mess and into 8-mess (as I've already mentioned). My new job was B-mounting sweeper, and part of the Gunners Party. The guy that had been doing it was not doing a very good job and he did even less of a good job while in refit. Why they picked me, I have no idea, but I got stuck into it and made B-mounting my pride and joy. Rip even made a little sign for me which said "The Magnificent Obsession" or "The Obs" as it was commonly known.

The Gunnery Officer, The Chief OA, A/Bs Nickolson, Hancock, Paker, Nicoll, PO Wilson, OA Duckett

The GI, O/S Goldsmith, A/B Callus, A/B Sargent, O/A Stevens, The Gunner

A/Bs Platt, Bentley, Lake , Osborne

So far this commission, including workup, we have:

Fired 3213 assorted rounds of 4-inch

Fired 7478 40 mm (equivalent to 8 weeks beer issue in cans)

This was spent doing: 17 Surface Shoots; 11 Starshell Shoots; 12 AA Sleeve Firings; 5 AA Throw Offs; 18 Close Range shoots; also 21 hours of gun drill (336 man hours).

Results are: 4 Sleeves shot down; 2 landing craft sunk (that was an effort);

and the AA TROPHY (No comment)..........Going overboard?

Also by now we had our "going ashore" mates. My main 'run ashore' oppos were Tony "the Postie" Derrett, Dennis "Chas" Cooper, Jeff "Nick the Trog" Nickolson, and Pat "the Abo" Parker. I had some onboard mates, namely: Colin "Rip" Ripley, and William "Cookie" Cook. Rip was a nice guy, but he was a bit too wild for me when he got ashore, but we used to share a dhobey (laundry) bucket which had the "Wop's Oppo" on it. I was the Wop, because I was part Italian, even though I was born in England and raised in Wales. And Cookie always seemed to be under punishment, or stoppage of leave because he was suffering from a "social disease". The few times that Cookie managed to get ashore he always seemed to have to ask me for a "rubber" (aka a loan). I was his bank, I guess you could say. Also at this time, we in 8-mess were running a mess fund (strictly illegal, of course). Postie was in charge of it, and the basic rules were: if you borrowed $10, you paid back $11, and if you borrowed $20, you paid back $22. This money was kept aside for one big glorious mess run later on in the commission.

most of 8-mess at the Luk Kwok bar in Hong Kong

L: Parker, Holden, Middleton, Cook, Stuart, Lister, Roberts, Brown

R: myself, Derrett, Cooper, Robson, Nickolson, Mawditt

missing are: Ripley, Collins, Kane, Campbell, Smith, McMullan, and Faulkner

Life in Terror was pretty good, though there was one little hiccup in all this serenity. One late evening I was walking through the barracks when I noticed 3 or 4 guys off the Crane discussing ways to break into the Coke machine. I said to myself 'That's not very bright.' as I walked by. I carried on and thought no more about it. In the morning, however, I received a message to take myself down to the dockyard police and I thought 'oh, shit'. So, off I went, and met this police officer who asked me what I knew about the previous night's vandalism. I pleaded ignorance, of course, but then he said they had a witness who heard me say what I did (a certain PO, I believe). My plea of ignorance was useless, because they would take a POs word over mine any day. Besides, the PO had obviously told the police the names of the perps, and I just had to confirm it. I didn't have a lot of choice, although the thought of being a stoolie didn't sit well with me. Two of the guys got about 45 days in detention quarters (a sort of military prison); I can't remember what the others got. I apologized to the one guy I remember (Ken Platt) and he said 'Don't worry about it, Hank. It was a pretty stupid thing to do for all of $3'. So none of them bore me any malice. The thing that really got me though was, why didn't the PO just stop them and tell them to go away?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Our days of sunning and swimming and nights at the canteen at HMS Terror were over. The refit on the Crane was done. We were off to Gan in the Maldive Islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It was a staging post for the RAF. There was also some unrest in the surrounding islands. We were sent there as a guard ship. On the way (November 5, 1959) we had to do the Crossing the Line ceremony for those onboard who had never done so before. We were summoned to Neptune's Court where a charge of trespassing was read out against us. The punishment was to be lathered and shaved and dunked into the canvas swimming pool on the quarterdeck. Even Captain Kitchin and 1st Lieutenant Gerald St. John Roland Buxton had to take part. It was great fun and a good time was had by all. Those involved received a Crossing the Line certificate.

my certificate

Neptune (in real life - the Chief Stoker)

a trespasser getting his punishment

L/S Denham & A/B McPartland (Neptune's cops)

S/Lt Down getting his shave

Captain Kitchin getting dunked - no one was immune

Once we got to Gan we were relieving HMS St Brides Bay, who had been on station for six weeks. Now you have to remember that there are no women on Gan, except for one OLD lady from the Women's Volunteer Service who used to run the library. On the Crane we had one young lad named Tony, an O/S, who had very delicate features. For a lark, we put a scarf over his head and gave him a set of fake boobs. When we pulled up close to the Brides Bay, Tony stood up on the bridge and waved at the other ship. There was a lot of whistling and lewd suggestions put forth. Without further ado, the Brides Bay up-anchored and was gone. We wondered what we had let ourselves in for due to their abrupt departure.

There were various activities to pass the time. Things like beard-growing contests, fishing, the occasional soccer game against the RAF, banyans (picnics) and taking out 10-ton trucks and having drag races on the airstrip. Of course, the drag racing used to take place after an evening in the bar. During one of the fishing contests somebody was casting off the forecastle and on the back swing hooked my oppo Chas Cooper right in the hooter! There was much consternation and screaming (mainly from Chas). Everyone was very "sympathetic" of course, with snide comments about the size of his nose, and much wondering about how anyone could have missed it previously. He was taken down to the sickbay, where the MO performed a delicate operation and removed the fish hook. There was a rather large audience looking down through the hatch and he received many congratulations upon completion.

The six weeks went by pretty quickly actually and we were replaced by my old ship from South Africa, the Mounts Bay.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Gan, we went back to Singapore for Christmas. A whole bunch of us decided to spend the evening in the Britannia Club. First we checked out Bugis (pronounced Boogie) Street where there was always Big Eats to be had. There were people from all walks of life wandering around. There was everyone from sailors in uniform, to men in black tie and ladies in evening gowns. It was quite an entertaining street scene to be a part of. I even had my paybook nicked out of my back pocket! But the stall owner (where I was having my Big Eats) saw a young lad do it, chased after him and retrieved it, with much gratitude from me. Losing your paybook was quite a serious offense. But you had to carry some form of ID with you and that was all I had at the time. After that it was time for some beer at the Britannia Club. By end of the evening we were all more than ready for the last bus back to the dockyard. A good Christmas was had by all.

l-r: Lake, unknown, Smith, 2 unknown, Lane, Nickolson, Parker, Stuart, Lister, me

After a bit of a rest at Singapore, we were off to Hong Kong to do guard ship duties patrolling the waters around HK, otherwise we were tied up at the dockyard in Victoria. Everyone was looking forward to spending six weeks in HK. There was always lots to do: going to the movies, visits to the China Fleet Club and the Britannia Club (which wasn't as big as the one in Singapore); a few soccer games against the Army team and other ships, and going out for Big Eats.

Sightseeing was always a favorite thing. The peak tram was something you had to do while there. Picking a good day was important so you could see all of HK and part of the mainland. You really hoped you didn't get fogged in while you were up on the mountain. It could be really miserable. We used to go to a place called Happy Valley which was a racetrack surrounding a lot of soccer fields. Most of our games were held there.

The dockyard was like a U-shape. We were tied up alongside the left hand side of the "U", and at the bottom of the "U" small wooden inshore minesweepers were tied up. One fine day the Brides Bay was coming in from the top-right corner of the "U" to tie up on the right hand side. But something went wrong and instead of stopping, she just kept right on going and ran right through one of the minesweepers.

when the dust settled, I think it was an engine telegraph malfunction

After our spell in HK, on our way out of the harbour we were signalled from Admiralty House to heave to, and remove the "painting" off the side of the Crane. The 1st Lt got the ship's boat lowered and went to see what the fuss was about. Painted in large black letters on the side of the Crane was "WE HATE KIPPERS". We had been tied up on the outside of an Australian frigate for a couple of days because we were leaving first, so when we were told by Admiralty House to get it painted over and then proceed on our way while an inquiry was held to find out who was responsible, we had pretty good idea who the culprits were. The word came back that two ratings and an officer were the miscreants! All three were quite drunk. For the uninformed "we hate kippers" roughly translates into "two-faced and no guts". You may have gathered from this that the Brits and the Aussies didn't always get along. They always seemed to have a chip on their shoulders when it came to the RN, and they would get especially belligerent if during an argument you told them to go rattle their ball and chain (referring to Australia's beginnings). I think the officer probably lost a couple of months seniority and the two Matelots lost a couple of weeks shore leave privileges.

On the way back to Singapore and yet another stint in dry-dock, our beloved Divisional Officer Sub-Lieutenant De Salis was having his birthday. So Postie decided it would be polite to ask him to come to the mess for a drop of rum. Being a very young officer, and not wise to the machinations of the lower deck, he accepted. He was plied with much rum and by the time lunch was over he was feeling no pain. He wobbled off to go back to the wardroom. Unfortunately for him he ran into the 1st Lieutenant, who asked him what he'd been doing. He said he'd been very kindly invited to the top mess for a drink to celebrate his birthday. The 1st Lt. explained to him that this kind of thing was "not done". The word got around to the Captain and poor De Salis was confined to his cabin for three days. I think he had words with Postie after his three days was up to the tune of "you knew I wasn't supposed to do that" and Postie said "it's a good way to get to know your men, sir." I don't think the experience hurt him - apart from the hangover - and it certainly made him a better person - much more approachable.

Contrary to popular belief, we do not have all the rejects from Devil's Island in our division. True, we are no angels, but who is? Nevertheless we have been pretty successful in the sporting field, winning the swimming gala during the main re-fit in Terror, also the inter part football cup beating the POs 2-1 in the final. At the moment we are doing well in the league having lost only one game. The majority of Topmen play some sport or other and we provide quite a large percentage of the ship's teams. We also had a few other successes. Our D/O got rated up to Lieutenant, A/Bs Middleton, Campbell and Fred Brown picked up their hooks and I passed for mine; with much help from my messmates I might add. Like all divisions we lost and gained a few people during the commission, perhaps the most notable being the postman, L/S Derrett who got himself naturalized early in the commission with an air of 'If you can't lick 'em, join 'em'. There are so many characters in the Top Division that it is impossible to mention you all, but you can rest assured you will never be forgotten, I know, I've seen the reward posters! Before closing this brief resume, I would like to thank our D/O Lieutenant De Salis for his efforts during the commission, after all, it was no easy job. I would also like to dispel the rumour that he will be spending his leave in a nursing home. The Doc says that if he takes it easy he should recover all right.   (by A/B Nickolson, aka TS Trog)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Postmistress (by Postie)

The windswept young lady shown is no stranger to any of us. She joined the ship during main refit and has been an established member of the ship's company ever since. Her origin is more than just obscure, it is untraceable.

Sex

Various theories have been put forward as to her parentage; some say a cross between a Boogie street rat and a Bombay runner; others have more unprintable ideas. Regardless of where  she came from, that she should come to sea was obvious. When found she was in a gutter in Boogie street doing battle with a shrimp. Some say she was eating it, but with the shrimps size in proportion to hers this was highly improbable. During the commission she has incurred the wrath of most of us from the Captain downward. No doubt the Captain still remembers what happened to his fishing bait at Gan - during the competition too! Many have had that "I'm hungry" look at meal times and she has the uncanny knack of always finding some wet paint to sleep on. She has come to know the ship's routine and pipes as good as any of us. With the pipe "Ice cream is now on sale" she is on the jetty in a flash and in the course of a half hour she has scrounged a dozen or so ices. When entering harbour with the pipe "Hands may now use the upper deck," she is over the brow and having a go at the nearest policeman she sees, after first anointing the jetty of course.

An Officer lately called her a "Proper lower deck hound". She does in fact show a preference to junior rates, whether this is natural or bu private tuition during the night watches, it's not certain, but anyone wearing a peaked cap usually comes in for a canine blast. Whatever her faults and graces (if any) she must have given us most of us some pleasure at least some of the time. Here's hoping she gives the same to many others.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next it was back to Singers and another spell in dry-dock. If you were on a ship that was in the Far East for 18 months, you were allowed one week station leave. Some guys opted to take it, some didn't. Those that had some money usually spent their week at some hotel in Singapore. For those of us that didn't, we were given a few options, one of which was to spend a week with the Army at Ipoh. This meant we would be in Army barracks, but not part of regular Army life.

Going back a little bit in time - there used to be what was called an "emergency" in Malaya, where Communist Terrorists tried to take over the country. These troubles started, I believe, around 1948-50. As the Army cleared these CTs out of the areas were classified as "white", where there were still CTs around the areas were considered "black". Remembering that most of the action was performed by National Servicemen with a few Regulars. By the time we got to Ipoh there were only a few "black" areas around, a long way away from where we were.

So the Army brass asked us if we'd like to go on a patrol into the jungle. We thought 'yeah, sure'. They fitted us out with jungle greens, special boots, and a Lee-Enfield 303 short-barreled jungle gun. I think there were 7 of us. There was 5 of us sailors, a regular Army Corporal, and an Eban tracker from Borneo (whose original lifestyle on Borneo used to include head-hunting - but for whatever reason he thought that working for the Army was a good thing). He carried a machete and Remington repeating shotgun. When it came time to bed down for the night we were given instructions what to do, but not being familiar with making a bed in the jungle it seemed to take forever. The tracker and the soldier were ready to put their heads down in about 15 minutes. But we persevered and tried not to think about the creepy crawlies.

After a night's kip, we headed back to base, but our Corporal got us lost, and it took a little bit longer than anticipated. In the end, we did get back safely. I'm glad I didn't join the army, it was quite an experience. The rest of the time in the camp was spent drinking beer in their canteen, swapping stories and finding places for Big Eats.

After seven days we went back to Singapore, whereupon we set sail for Hong Kong again, but only for a couple of days. Then we were off to Manila with the Hong Kong flotilla for SEATO exercises. We had a couple runs ashore in Manila, which wasn't too bad, but everywhere was really crowded with all the sailors from the exercises. Because there were so many of us, I think they only let a few of the ship's crews ashore at the same time.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Crane went back to Hong Kong again to refuel and stock up with food, for we were off to Korea and Japan, which I think everyone on board was looking forward to. We went to Chinhae (aka Jinhae) in Korea - I don't remember going ashore there, though some did. From what I gather, not many were very impressed. Next stop was Yokohama (after going through the Inland Sea):

The Inland Sea deserves a description of its own as it is probably the most unique stretches of water in the world. Although it is some 300 miles from end to end, and at its widest 50 miles, it is entered and left by very narrow channels, some as narrow as 200 yards, through which flow tidal streams of strength up to 11 knots. The sea is full of islands; one chart alone having shown over 60. We entered the "sea" from the west at 0800 on Monday the 6th of June by the Shimonoseki Straights. The passage took a full day; we passed south of Kobi at midnight and left by 0300 the next morning.

On my way back to the ship one night (on my own) I thought I would stop in a bar for a nightcap. It wasn't very crowded. There were a couple of white guys at the bar - possibly Merchant Seamen. A group of about 6 Japanese - 3 men, 3 women (the men in suits, the women in traditional dress) asked me if I'd like to have a drink with them and I agreed. They didn't drink like sailors drink. Their beer was all poured from one bottle. After that bottle was empty I bought another one and we had a good talk. One man, who was the most talkative and whose English was the best, told me he was a pilot in WW2. He emphasized that he was NOT a kamikaze. Then we started talking about movies and he tried to whistle the music from "The Bridge on the River Kwai". I thought to myself 'where are we going with this?', but he said "A good movie! All about people!" I breathed a large sigh of relief. He asked me if I would like to dance with his wife, who up to now hadn't said a word, so I said "Perhaps she doesn't want to dance?" and he said "If I say she dance, she dance." So, not wanting to upset the gentleman, up I got and off we went onto the dance floor. I don't think we talked very much. We sat back down, chatted a bit more, possibly with another bottle of beer. Then I made my apologies and said I should be getting back on board. Hopefully having improved Japanese/English relationships.

The Japanese were allowed to come right close to the ship tied up at the jetty. One guy asked how we felt about the Prince of Wales being sunk, and someone on board answered back "pretty much how you felt when the bomb was dropped on you." Remember that although most Japanese were quite friendly and didn't seem to have a problem with our being in Japan, there would always be a few that didn't want us to be there.

Our next port of call was Nagoya. In the year previous to our arrival there had been a very large storm with heavy flooding as was evident when we got ashore. There were high water marks on the buildings in the dock area. We had some good runs ashore here along with the usual soccer game and a rugby game as well. The rugby game was quite interesting because Postie suggested that we take some beer ashore with us as all rugby players like a beer (so he says). The Gunnery Officer, who was also on the team, vetoed the idea, saying the Japanese team were athletes and not drunken bums like us. But lo and behold, when we got to the field we found cases of beer piled up on the sideline! It was a good game - which they won by a narrow margin. Afterward, most of us went back on board, got cleaned up, and went off bar-hopping.



We were there for four days and during that time we discovered the pleasures of Japanese bath houses. The ritual is to sit on the side of the bath; get soaped up by young ladies and then rinsed off and then go sit in the bath. One of the guys finished his soaping and rinsing and then stepped into (what he thought) would be about a foot of water, only to discover that it was about three feet of hot water - much to his discomfort! But that's the way it was done, and we soon got used to the idea. It was a very pleasant stay in Nagoya; we all enjoyed the Japanese hospitality. Then we sailed to Beppu on the southern peninsula of Japan. Beppu didn't have any dockside facilities, so we had to moor out and take a boat back and forth to the ship. Seeing as Beppu had accommodation, we were allowed all-night leave. Early mornings, while waiting on the jetty for the boat to come and pick us up, we availed ourselves of some warm Saki from a vendor who had set up a tent. Very enterprising of him and he did a good business.

Beppu was (and may still be, for all I know) primarily a honeymoon destination. It had hot sand on the beach which was considered very therapeutic. You would dig yourself a huge hole in the sand and cover yourself with the hot sand. I guess most guys could last about 1/2 hour before it got too much to stand. There were also sightseeing tours to the hot springs and a lot of Buddhas and temples. The bus on the trip that I went on was very deluxe with individual seating that swivelled so you could look out all sides of the bus. In the rear of the bus was about a dozen cases of beer - they must have thought we were going to be thirsty - and though we gave it a good try, I don't believe we managed to drink all of it.

Just over a month later we sailed back into Hong Kong. At this point I'd like to discuss one of the characters we had on board the Crane. The one that springs to mind was EM Roden. He was a nice guy but should never have left Britain. He used to get terribly drunk and very maudlin about his wife back in UK. No amount of talking to him could get him excited about anything. One night he came back on board several sheets to the wind as per usual and promptly disappeared. Everybody knew this fellow and tried to keep an eye on him in case he did something silly, but after searching the ship from stem to stern we couldn't find him. We never heard a splash so we assumed he hadn't gone over the side. First thing next morning there was much ado going on as EM Roden had been found - by the Captain no less! It seems that the Captain, upon arising, went for a bath and found Roden wrapped in a blanket and sound asleep in his tub. After the dust had settled a day or two later, the Captain and Roden had a little chat to the effect that Roden was not suited to navy life and he would be sent back home and discharged - but not dishonourably.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HMS Orion (Reserve Fleet) - Devonport - November 11, 1958 to April 19, 1959

HMS Roberts

HMS Woolwich

HMS Roberts, a Monitor class Battleship and HMS Woolwich, a Depot ship, tied up alongside one another, comprised to make HMS Orion.

The Navy, in all their wisdom, had decided to send me to Reserve Fleet in Plymouth. It was one of those drafts where if you were married you tried to stay as long as possible and went RA (Ration Allowance - meaning they lived ashore). Or there were guys like me that were just waiting for another ship. The Navy used to publish a little booklet once a month informing us Matelots what ships were commissioning in the near future, and you could volunteer if you so desired. No guarantees, of course, that your request would be granted.

One day I read the book and there was a Frigate commissioning in April in the Far East for 18 months. So I thought I'd give it a try and go see another part of the world. About a month later, I got a message to go to the Ship's Office (where all the paperwork was done) and was informed that I had a draft-chit to HMS Crane. So now all I had to do was wait.

So while waiting we would go out on work parties on the ships in Devonport harbour that were in mothballs, and do a little preventive maintenance chipping and painting.

HMS Excellent - Gunnery School - May 3, 1958 to November 10, 1958

The navy is going to send me to Gunnery School, at Whale Island in Portsmouth, to become a Quarters Armourer 2nd Class (qualified).

There was a lot of classroom instruction regarding taking guns to pieces and reassembling them - with no bits left over, hopefully. I do remember they had a new 3-inch gun that we got to play with (not fire). But seeing it was so new, not many of us would ever be on a ship that would have one.

A future shipmate of mine had a good story to tell about Whale Island. In one of his classes he was goofing off a bit and finally the Gunnery Instructor whose patience had been sorely tried, told him to go an get a shell (approx. weight 30 lbs.) from a classroom about a hundred yards away. Nick dutifully returned with said shell. The G.I. was now going to play a game - so he said to him "That one's no good. I want another one." This went on for about an hour and Nick hadn't even broken a sweat yet. The G.I., being a reasonably bright man figured something was up, went outside the classroom door and, lo and behold (Nick also being a bright boy) had brought back a whole cart-load of these shells. He then waited the appropriate time and took the next shell in. Needless to say, the G.I. was not impressed with Nick's ingenuity and made him trot around Whale Island a couple of times. Some people just have no sense of humour...

There was a certain amount of marching and parade ground performances - which was never one of my favourite things to do. Always figured if I wanted to learn how to march, I'd've joined the Army.

So, now being a qualified Q.A.2, the navy decided what to do with me next and I was sent back to Devonport on Reserve Fleet, HMS Orion. Usually, Reserve Fleet was a holding station for other drafts.

Grog!

A photo from the HMS Warrior

A photo from the HMS Gambia

Me being Rum Bosun on HMS Crane

(you can see how much we got looking at A/B Richardson's glass)



During this time I turned 20-years-old and was able to start drawing my tot! Hoorah! In barracks you had to drink the whole tot in front of the officer of the day. You used to get a card that was clipped before you got your tot so you couldn't go back for seconds. There was the option of going Temperance (T), or Grog (G) if you so desired. But you wouldn't be very popular on board a ship if you went T, because you would have no bargaining power without a tot. It was actually quite a ritualistic thing.

On board ship though, you didn't have to drink it in front of the officer of the day. The grog (2 parts water/1 part rum) was mixed in a tub kept by the stores. Then the tots were brought to the mess in a jug (called a "fanny") and divvied up in the messdeck. When you took your fanny to the mixing tub, you would announce which messdeck you were and then the Jack Dusty (the stores rating) would tell the guy doing the pouring how many were victualed in your mess, and he would pour accordingly. He was always very liberal to ensure you got a decent amount of "the Queens", so that there was always a few drops left over, which was then passed around for everyone in the mess to sip on.

The measurements used to run from "sippers" to "gulpers" to "1/2 tot" to a "whole tot".

For a "whole tot" that would have to be something really major, like the guy was really, really desperate to get ashore. But it was considered really bad form to drink somebody's whole tot - even if it had been promised. The usual procedure was for the guy that owed you the tot to pass you the glass, which you then took a decent gulper out of, and then passed it back to him.

For a "1/2 tot or gulpers" it might be a guy wanting to borrow some money (a rubber) off you to go ashore; or perhaps to borrow a clean white front. Maybe both. Things like that. But again, you'd still only take a gulp, because you'd never know when the situation might be reversed.

For "sippers" you might give it to the underage guys for a taste.

On board the Crane we had a guy named Rip Kirby who was a real "rum rat". He'd drink everything he could get his hands on. On our last day on one of our stays in Singapore, he asked me to do a sub for him. So, knowing what this guy was like, I said it would cost him a tot. In a moment of weakness, or a real urge to get ashore (or both) he agreed. The next day we're at sea and I had the forenoon watch, so I wouldn't get down to the messdeck until 12:30, by which time everybody would have had their tots and lunch - except for the one tot that was supposed to be mine. I went straight into his messdeck, went up to the rum bosun - who took the one remaining tot out of the fanny (already in a glass). He handed it to Rip, who handed it back to the bosun and said "Have a wet", who then passed it back to Rip, who then gave it to me (hoping against all hope that I would just have a good gulp and give it back to him). No such luck. I said "Cheers Rip!" and saw it off in front of him. I thought he was going to have a heart attack! I got a large round of applause from his mess-mates. But, so that he didn't feel too bad about the whole thing, I went and got my tot and gave him a gulper out of that. He never did ask me to do a sub for him again.

HMS Drake (shore establishment) - February 8, 1958 to May 2, 1958

Doing the usual barracks stuff. Work parties - painting, sweeping etc.

Most of the guys in barracks would be R.A. (ration allowance). This means they used to get extra money and live ashore.

HMS Mounts Bay - October 20, 1956 to December 18, 1957

I actually joined the Mounts Bay at HMS Pembroke (the Naval barracks in Chatham) on September 4, 1956 and was there, in barracks, until October 19, 1956. We all moved aboard on October 20. After a work-up session, where everybody gets used to what they're supposed to be doing on board, we headed down on our trip to South Africa with many interesting stops along the way.



Class and type:	Bay-class frigate
Displacement:	1,600 long tons (1,626 t) standard 2,530 long tons (2,571 t) full
Length:	286 ft (87 m) p/p 307 ft 3 in (93.65 m) o/a
Beam:	38 ft 6 in (11.73 m)
Draught:	12 ft 9 in (3.89 m)
Propulsion:	2 × Admiralty 3-drum boilers, 2 shafts, 4-cylinder vertical triple expansion reciprocating engines, 5,500 ihp (4,100 kW)
Speed:	19.5 knots (36.1 km/h; 22.4 mph)
Range:	724 tons oil fuel, 9,500 nmi (17,600 km) at 12 knots (22 km/h)
Complement:	157
Sensors and processing systems:	• Type 285 fire control radar • Type 291 air warning radar • Type 276 target indication radar • High Frequency Direction Finder (HF/DF) • IFF transponder
Armament:	• 4 × QF 4 inch Mark XVI guns on 2 twin mounting HA/LA Mk.XIX • 4 × 40 mm Bofors A/A on 2 twin mounts Mk.V • 1 × Hedgehog 24 barrel A/S projector • 2 rails and 4 throwers for 50 depth charges

The first stop was an old familiar friend, Gib. I think that everybody was looking forward to going there. We were there for about a week, and then set off down the west coast of Africa. Actually, there was so many stops before we got to South Africa, I really can't remember visiting lots of them, they were that small. Basically, we were just flying the flag for Her Majesty - ambassadors on the Grey Funnel Line.

One place we stopped at that I remember was Freetown in Sierra Leone. That's where a they had a war about blood diamonds many years later... I was hoping to get ashore there because there was a guy from my home town living there. But due to the fact that I was under stoppage of leave, I was unable to get to see him. Then there was Conakri which I believe was a French Protectorate. We had native dancers put on a show for us on the jetty - and it was quite impressive feeling their feet thumping into the ground (even though we were on board). Our next stop was Accra - which used to be the Gold Coast and they were in the midst of gaining independence from Britain and becoming Ghana. We had a street parade, which I LOATHED. You had to dress up in your white suits and march through the streets - complete with rifles and boots. After Accra came Warri in Nigeria. Now to get to Warri, we had to go up the Forcados River and the Warri River - backwards. It was one of those little British outposts to do with oil, I do believe. There was a country club ashore where large quantities of libations were drunk during our 5 day stay. Seeing as there were no jetties to tie up to, we were tied up to two trees - fore and aft. It was most enjoyable stay - there was not a lot to do ashore, other than go to the country club. You couldn't BUY a drink, they just kept pouring them. Of course, there was the obligatory ship's soccer game against the local side (who I think were all black). The natives nicknamed me "Long Tom", I guess because I was tall and could run fast. Our goalkeeper, a short and rather thick-set gentleman, who was a friend of mine - Knocker Quint - played an absolute corker of a game, really impressing the other side (and us too) with his goal-keeping prowess - seeing as he wasn't the regular ship's goalkeeper (the regular player being on watch).

Also in Warri I perforated my ear drum. There was a banyan (or picnic) organized at one of the local watering holes, sans crocodiles. Complete with beer, off we went. Not being equipped with any refrigeration for keeping the beer cold, we dumped it in the river. We were having a good time larking about in this beautiful clear water. There was only a couple of beers left and I went to pick one up and it started rolling down the bank into deeper water. I swam down after it and just as I was about to grab the bottle, it felt like my ear exploded. There was considerable pain. I made it back to the surface, but I wasn't exactly sure where I was or what was happening. Eventually, the pain and discomfort went away. On the completion of the banyan and going back on board, I went to see the M.O. who told me I'd perforated my eardrum. He told me there was not a lot I could do about it, and that it would heal on its own. He added that if I had any thoughts about being a shallow water diver, I should forget about them. Ah well - didn't want to do that anyway...

We left Warri on the 13th of March, and after nine days at sea, got to Simonstown, South Africa on March 22nd. It is 22 miles west of Capetown. This was the Naval dockyard for the South Atlantic Fleet (which doesn't exist anymore).

Whilst in dry dock it was tradition to paint your ship's crest on the dock wall. I do believe there's probably crests from when this photo was taken (1957) - when we were there we saw crests from ships that were stationed there during World War II.

Once we arrived we were looking forward to our first run ashore in Capetown. To get there, it was a train trip, and if you took the commuter special at about 4:30 for the 22 mile journey, there were 27 stops along the way. So we used to get to Capetown about 6 o'clock. Once we got there, first thing is to find somewhere to drink. Most Matelots gravitated toward the Delmonico which was one of the largest drinking establishments in downtown Capetown. It was almost Spanish/Moorish decor, as far as I can remember. If you weren't drinking beer, the favorite drink was brandy and coke - as brandy was very cheap - and you could get absolutely hammered if you so desired. But the hangover was something else again, so I stayed with beer. While at "the Del", there always seemed to be lots of "ladies" around looking for a good time with all these sailors who thought they were God's gift to women. We weren't the only sailors in there; there were lots of guys from the merchant navy as well. All in all it was quite a popular watering hole. To coin a phrase; if you got lucky with one of the ladies, you had to make sure that she wasn't a Cape Coloured. Because if you got caught in a compromising situation, it was jail time. These ladies were supposed to carry a card identifying them as "coloured". It was difficult to tell because a lot of them were "three of cream and one of coffee". One of the ways you could tell, if they didn't have the card, was the half-moons on the fingernails. But seeing that most of them wore nail polish, that could be difficult. Also, the local white population would warn you off, and the police knew most of the girls who went in there.

Just to illustrate how serious this situation could be. Three guys off the Burghead Bay got caught dipping their wicks in Silver City, a shanty town outside of Simonstown, and got nine months jail time in South Africa. But with a lot of political wrangling the British government persuaded the South Africans to let them serve their sentence at home, and they were deported. Which, of course, would end up being nowhere near nine months. Doing what they were doing would be considered a "social exercise" and not a crime in the UK.

Also, while in Capetown, one must remember it wasn't all wine, women and song. There were other things to see and do. Like taking the cable car up to the top of Table Mountain; buying "rabbits" (presents), and working on your suntan.

After a night out in Capetown, if you hadn't booked a room at the Sailors Rest, the last train left for Simonstown at about 12 midnight as I remember. The first train in the morning was 5:30. The police did not like you sleeping at the station, so finding somewhere to crash was of the essence.

Along with going to parties, there always invites to BBQs, mainly held by the Boers, and such. I even went to one at the Paarl River valley - a wine making district of South Africa. Very nice it was, too. One overseer there even carried his jambok (a short whip used to keep the kafirs - or natives - in line, as he said). At one party I attended, there was a gentleman who asked me if I would be interested in joining the Capetown police force. He knew I was in the RN even though I was in civvies, but I declined his most generous offer...He was even wearing his gun!

We had on board a lieutenant from the Fleet Air Arm, who was on the Mounts Bay for rest and recreation. Because a couple of months prior, he was flying off an aircraft carrier when the arrestor wire malfunctioned and he just kept on going right off the bow. The carrier was unable to stop, as it was doing about 35 knots and plowed right over top of him. He told us that the speed of the carrier kept him sucked up underneath it. His biggest concern was that he'd get caught up in the propellers, and he could feel them vibrating and getting closer all the time. I guess it wasn't his time, because he came to the surface at the stern - much to his great relief. So they took him off flying duties for awhile and sent him to a General Service Commission ship, which was us. Nice man. Easy to talk to. Always seemed ready to go back to flying again though. But he was young and daft, so I guess it didn't matter.

Next on the agenda will be our west coast cruise. First port o' call was Tulear on Madagascar. I don't remember too much about it, as I think we were kept well away from all the fleshpots. I think we played a soccer game against coloured French Foreign Legion, but I wasn't a member of the team. Then it's over to Quelimane at Mozambique. Not much happened there either, but there was a dance set up - which I didn't attend - but from all accounts it was very strange because there was no music, no girls and no beer! I think it was a bit of a SNAFU situation. Then we back down the coast to Durban. Greeted by the Lady in White. As the story goes, she lost her husband in World War II and for whatever reason sings to all Navy ships as they come into the harbour. I think she would be considered a little eccentric. Durban was a good run ashore. There were lots of grippos (freebees) in the area. Myself and a few other guys took a trip to a game preserve called Hluhluwe (hu-loo-ee). We spent a couple of nights in accommodation provided by the local game warden. They gave us lots of booze, and I couldn't find my way back to where I was supposed to sleep, so I crashed on the floor of the living room in the warden's house - which was very kind of them. Also, while we were in this area, we took a trip to the Valley of a Thousand Hills, where a lot of Zulu people lived. It was very picturesque.

After our sojourn it's back to Durban and the fleshpots for 7 days. Then we returned to Simonstown to fuel up and get stores on board for our trip to South America. We left South Africa in the middle of August '57 with a proposed stop at Tristan de Cunha, but it was too rough to go ashore. On we sailed and it was "Harry Roughers" all the way across the bottom of the Atlantic. 16 days in total of extremely crappy weather! Nobody was allowed on the upper deck except on the Quarterdeck. The daily routine was: get up in the morning; clean up any mess that had occurred in the night, like lockers falling over and water leaking in. Then finish for the day. And that was it. The older hands used to look forward to "tot time". Meals were fairly simple affairs because the chef found things miserable in the galley. So I think we must have lived on stews and hard tack (ship's biscuits). It may have been a little better than that, but I don't remember. I was sick for the first two days and after that it was...just get on with it, you know.

Eventually, we ended up in Argentina at a little naval base called Puerto Belgrano with a small town called Bahai Blanca just up the road, where all these thirsty Matelots headed straight for, along with the crews from the Warrrior and the Lynx. From what I gather (I did not attend) a serious Barney ensued and several bodies ended up spending the night in the slammer. When the dust had settled, and apologies were made all 'round, the Captain cleared lower deck and gave everybody a little pep talk. Basically, it was how disappointed he was in the crew and he hoped that this kind of behavior wouldn't happen again.

Now we're off to our next stop, Buenos Aires, which wasn't a bad run ashore; good place for "rabbits" (gifts for people back home). One thing they told us time and time again is not to get into any discussions about the Falkland Islands. The money was a bit of a problem, as I discovered to my cost. Some of the lower denomination notes were the same colour as the higher ones. So after a meal, I tipped the waiter and it wasn't until it was my turn to buy a round of drinks at one of the nearby watering holes, I realized I must have tipped the waiter a high denomination note, which probably would have been more than his weekly wage. So I was out-of-pocket a little bit. We went back to the restaurant and of course the waiter denied everything. Hard lesson to learn when you're not making that much money to begin with. The rest of our stay in Buenos Aires was uneventful - mainly because I didn't have any money left to spend.

Then it was onwards to Fray Bentos in Uruguay, where they make corned beef. It was a little tiny place, and where they made the Fray Bentos itself was a big tower and the cows would go in and come out as cans. There was a local brewery there, run by a couple of Brits - don't ask me how they got there - who were just ready to put a new beer on the market and who better to test it on than a shipload of Matelots. So this guy brings a truck down to the ship and the Jimmy says "No way. You can take it away. The crew here are not having any of that!" (miserable bastard). So the truck turned around and went back to the brewery. In the end we had to pay for it and drank it ashore in the local boozers. There was the obligatory soccer game, which I managed to play in. If memory serves, it was the only the second time I did play for the Mounts Bay. Too bad for the ship they didn't recognize my talent!

Now we're off to Rio. De Janeiro, that is. Now THAT was a good run ashore! Lots of places where you wouldn't want to take your mother. One bar in particular, close to the docks, sticks in my mind. It was open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And what they used to do about 2 in the morning, was close up one side of the bar, clean it all up, and then close the other side and reopen the first side. Quite efficient about it, they were too. One night when I was in there with a couple of my mates, a lady of the night came in, flogging her wares, and she happened to pick on some guy who wasn't the slightest bit interested as he was three sheets to the wind. So she started berating him and giving him a real bad time, which we thought was extremely entertaining. Shortly after, the police arrived, and were going to take her away for disturbing the peace, I guess. So some hero - not one of us - gets up and makes a big fuss with the police, telling them with much arm waving that they shouldn't be treating this "lady" like this. Then, without further ado, one of the policemen stuck a rather large pistol in our hero's face and took him away as well! After this display of chivalry, we carried on with our drinking. Also, during our four days in Rio, there were opportunities for sightseeing. One day, a few of my mates and I took a trip up one of the nearby mountains to see the big statue of Christ the Redeemer which overlooks Rio. Very impressive! I don't remember anybody being too enthusiastic about going to Copacabana Beach because we had to go ashore in our uniforms and it would have been difficult to abandon them on the beach and go swimming.

Then it was time to go back to South Africa, and it was a smoother trip. On the way back we did a little detour to St Helena, where Napoleon Bonaparte died. Two days there, and I had the opportunity to visit the house he lived in, and saw his grave. It doesn't hurt to be a little bit of a culture-vulture occasionally. I read all about him and one of the theories was that he was poisoned, but nobody did an autopsy. A pleasant little place - with two pubs and a golf course and lots of ex-Pats.

Next, back to Simonstown and we're nearly at the end of our commission, but the Admiralty had one more thing to throw at us - it was that the Opossum would come from the Far East and her crew would take the Mounts Bay back to the Far East, and we would sail the Opossum home. It was to be scrapped when we got it back to Devonport.

So we sailed up the west coast of Africa, totally uneventfully - likely stopped at Gib for fuel and returned to Devonport. And that was that.

One last story: While on the Mounts Bay, I was part of the Ordinance Party along with a CPO and PO and we used to look after the guns (for those who don't know). The Chief - whose name was Dalgliesh - became a Japanese prisoner of war when his ship, HMS Prince of Wales, was sunk. He was held for five years. After his release he returned to the UK and was married to the lady he'd left five years earlier. One of the things he wouldn't do on the Mounts Bay was eat rice. He said he couldn't face it. A nice man who unfortunately was killed in a car crash sometime after he left the Mounts Bay. A touch of irony - survive the prison camp, only to be killed at home.