1951 was a bit of a hectic year what with studying for exams in 1952 not that it bothered me as I hated school, I would rather be out and about. Homework was what I hated most and was always getting detentions for not doing it. In my opinion the teachers were paid to teach us, not for us to teach ourselves, but I digress.
In June it was decided to take two boats from the cadets down to London. One crew was to take the whaler along the Nene to Kings Lynn and sail it round to the Thames, then come up to the Festival of Britain, at Battersea. I and three other cadets, with our first lieutenant, would take the motor boat down the Grand Union Canal to Ilford, then meet up and tow them back.
We started out on Saturday afternoon and reached Wolverton in the evening. It was very strange going through the Blisworth tunnel as the motor boat was only small. When we went under the air vents, it was like driving through a waterfall and if I remember correctly, there were four of them! We camped for the night in a field but before I could bed down I had to go down to a garage and get some petrol in a jerry can, by the time I got back it felt like my arms were dropping off. We started off early the next morning and travelled through Bletchley, onwards through Fenny Stratford, through to Leighton Buzzard, Ivinghoe and Tring, then finally we arrived at Berkhamstead late in the evening and camped at the sea scouts H.Q. After something to eat and drink we settled down for the night. Suddenly there was what we thought was a rumble of thunder! This turned into a roar. It was then we found out we were camped right next to the west coast mainline, all night long we got trains going past shaking the tents.
The next day we went from Berkhamstead through to King's Langley, past the Ovaltine factory and on to Watford, Hayes, Northolt and Brentford. Here we joined the Thames and set off to look for the Ilford sea cadets which was where we were going to stay.
It was nearing dusk when all of a sudden we saw blue lights, a police patrol boat came up and asked us where we were going, when we told them they took us in tow and showed us to the H Q. They also gave us telling off for not having any lights! The following day we received news about the whaler. They reached Kings Lynn and dropped anchor for the night whilst they pitched tents on the beach. When they woke up in the morning all they could see was the mast sticking out of the water. They had not allowed for the extra high tide!
We had a good time exploring the festival of Britain, but we decided to come back a couple of days early. On the way back we were told to watch out for a swan that was jumping into the backs of the barges and attacking the boatmen but we were lucky, we never spotted it, so we had a very uneventful journey back. The round trip was 90 miles. I can't think how many locks there were but I do know there are 17 between Northampton and Blisworth alone!
During the year the Nene would flood quite a lot, we were often called out to collect rowing boats that had broken loose from the boat house in Becket's Park. Many of them finished up down by the weir on Bedford Road. We would take the motor boat and tow them back.
Now I come to my most enjoyable journey. I decided to cycle to my Aunt and Uncle in Bognor Regis but first I will tell you about them.
Aunty Gladys married Jack White in 1941. In my first part there is a photo of me as their page boy at five years old. Uncle Jack was what one would call a bit of a shyster. He was the manager of the Rapido Dry Cleaning in St Giles Street. He was a bookie and also raced greyhounds. They lived in Milton Street and mum and I often went there to take the Greyhounds for a run in Lackey's field.
Finally they had to do a moonlight flit when he owed quite a bit of money! First they went to Clacton where we went one year to see them, and finally moved to Bognor Regis and it was to there I took route on my most enjoyable journey.
I was only 15 and mum was a bit worried about me going, so dad had a telephone installed and I promised to ring her at least twice as it only cost 2 old pennies. Loaded with sandwiches and drink, I set off. I went to Towcester onto Buckingham, Amersham and Slough. From there I went cross country to Petersfield and on to Chichester and finally on to Bognor Regis. I left Northampton at 10 am on a 135 miles journey and arrived at Bognor at 10 pm but that included 2 hours for breaks. On arrival I slept right through until mid day.
The first days I spent there I used to go out with their delivery driver and one of the people he delivered to was the pianist Charlie Kunz. The driver hated women drivers and if he saw one he would say “look at that she's got a face like a horse”! I eventually made friends with a young lad who was waiting to go into the navy. We would go cycling a lot together and he told me he had a canoe he wanted to get rid of. He took me over to Selsey Bill to see it and I asked him how much he wanted for it, he said “five bob”, yes 25p! So I said “ok” I put it on my bike and pushed it all the way back to Bognor. Uncle Jack got me a set of old pram wheels and every day I would put the canoe on the pram wheels and go down to the beach. I would leave the wheels on the front and go off paddling around the pier. There were no life jackets then!
When my stay came to an end I sent the canoe home by rail and came home by rail myself with my bike. It was quite an experience riding from Victoria to Euston across London. When I got the canoe home I tarred the whole of it as it was only made out of hardboard, that made it waterproof. Mum said she always knew which way I went down to the river, all she had to do was follow the tar trail! My canoe lasted for about two years, then one day, whilst paddling in the Nene, it finally sank!
My final holiday with mum was to Scotland. Because mum and dad had the off licence they could not go on holiday together! So dad booked us on a Wallace Arnold tour to the highlands and we went by train to Fort William where our hotel was. It was amazing! We went to Glen Coe and took a trip to the Isle of Skye. I went on a boat trip to Staffa and Iona and round the Isle of Mull, Mum wouldn’t come because she didn't like going on a boat! We also had a coach trip up to Inverness, past Loch Ness and no! I didn’t see the Monster. We also visited the Culloden Moor. Back at the hotel they used to have Scottish Dancing in the basement and mum would go to bed and leave me to go down. I learnt a little bit of dancing, this was a brilliant holiday and it brought the year to a wonderful end.
Now we come to 1952 the dreaded year of exams (ha ha). Looking for a job for when I left school! Leaving the sea cadets! Going on a tandem ride with dad!
Revising for exams was a headache, I just wasn't interested and as I’ve said I was more interested in going out. By this time mum and dad had adopted my brother Malcolm, who was eight years old, he had been in care. It was only last week I spoke to him, he told me he had carried out a little research to find out about his father who had put him and his brothers in to care, it made very sad listening! Malcolm went to Vernon Terrace School when he first came to us and then on to Kettering Road School when he was eleven.
When he left the sea cadets he joined the R N V (W) which was the communications branch of the R N V R. Their base was in Sheep Street. I learnt Morse code and with the typing I was taught at school it came in handy. I took my exams but unfortunately didn't pass any of them, I didn't expect to anyway! Dad was disappointed but wanted me to go into an office job, so I went down for an interview at a solicitor’s office. When I looked at the poky little office I knew it wasn't for me! In the end I started work as a butcher for the Northampton Co-op at the top of Thrift Street which was not far from where I lived.
Before I started work, dad and I decided to go on a tour of Derbyshire on a tandem. He managed to hire one and for the first week we practised getting used to it, believe me it was hard especially when turning a corner to start with because we always seem to finish on the wrong side of the road. Any way, we got it sorted and departed on the Sunday and headed for Derby. For the first night we stayed at a cafe and we went to see the family who we stayed with whilst dad was in the army, this gave them a surprise. The following day we set out for Buxton stopping at Matlock where we climbed a cliff, as you loaded down you could see the railway, river and road running side by side. Unfortunately any photos taken were lost. After leaving Buxton we headed to Chesterfield and on to Nottingham where had to be careful because of the tram tracks, at one stage our wheels got stuck! From Nottingham we carried onto Oakham and after a nights stay we made our way home.
I started work at the end of august and I was s quite surprised to find out after a just one mornings work we had Monday afternoon off. The manager was called Tommy Ringrose, a very nice man but after only a few months working for him he was taken ill! I had to go to his house and pick up the keys to open the shop, I waited for the new manager who’s name was Ron, can’t remember his last name! My main job was delivering orders around to the customers, I also had to go down to the Co-op abattoir on the corner of London Road and Ransome Road to collect the offal, sausages and pies. The pies were made at the top of the building and when I got there the pie man would always give me one to eat on the way home. The trouble was the jelly was still runny and it used to dribble all the way down my chin. The other problem I had was that when the basket was loaded up it made the front of the bike top heavy, I had to be careful not to hit the kerb otherwise the bike would tip up and spill everything! But I soon got the hang of it.
Another thing I had to do during rationing, was to skin and prepare Rabbits when we received them from Australia. When I had done this I took all the skins down to the rag shop and was paid about sixpence (2½ p) for each one. Ron and I would share it out.
Mondays was cleaning day, scrubbing the floor, cleaning the windows and the rails and putting fresh sawdust down at the back of the shop. In the doorway there were two hooks where we hung the sheep to split them in half. We also used to use the hooks to pull the sinews of the turkeys at Christmas. We used to dress the windows with whole pigs and poultry and put oranges in the pigs mouth. It was at the end of that year that I met my future wife, at the All Saints Christmas Party. She lived in Fetter Street.
Now we come to 1953. One more year and I will be called up for national service. Due to the fact I am in the R N V (W) R, I shall be going into the Royal Navy. For now, though, I am still working at the Co-op.
It’s amazing how many sheep's heads we sold! I had to skin them and take the eyes out, then chop them in half. We also cut the pigs head in half and then into quarters. After taking the ear and eyes out the top was boiled up until it fell off the bone, then chopped up and put in a tin with gelatine, then pressed down with a weight until it set. It came out as Brawn; we sold quite a lot of that. The bottom half of the head was roasted and sold in slices.
As I’ve said, I met my future wife at a party. She was with her sister and I went up and asked if she would like to come to my home the following evening to watch a bit of television, not a lot of people had television. She said, “Yes”. So, next evening, off I went to Fetter St. I felt quite nervous when I knocked on the door but her mother made me very welcome and off we went. My Mum was quite delighted to meet her. When I took her home, the ground was rather slippery, so she asked could she hold onto my arm. “Of course” I said and so it developed from there.
In August I had to go on a fortnight's training down at Devonport. Based at H M S Drake we were taught everything about the navy including square bashing. Luckily being in the sea cadets it came quite easy. On one of our days off I think it was a Saturday some other lads & I decided to go and catch the ferry over to Saltash. When we got there we decide to hire a boat and went rowing in a part of the river where all the naval craft were anchored. There were all sorts from frigates to aircraft carriers.
By the time we got back we had missed the last ferry so we took our lives in our hands and walked across the railway bridge that Brunel built. Every time you looked down you could see the river between the lines it was a bit scary but we managed to get back to base alright.
By the end of the year Pat and I decided to get engaged and so I went down to ask her mum and dad, they were very pleased.
When I got home I told mum I wanted to get some money out of the bank, I told her I wanted to buy an engagement ring, she said yes, but dad told me I was a bloody fool, but he was only joking! We got engaged on Christmas day.
Now we come 1954 which, apart from getting married, was the start of the best two years of my life. I was called up at the end of March and had to report to Victoria Barracks in Portsmouth where we went through six weeks intensive training, most of which was square bashing and inspections. There were twelve of us in our class and by the end of the six weeks we won the best class and won a prize of a big fruit cake. There was a big passing out parade and then we were issued with our identity numbers, some began with PJ then DJ, back then PJ meant you would be based at Portsmouth, DJ meant based at Devonport and CJ stood for Chatham. Once we had finished at signal school, we would each go to our appropriate division. My number was CJ939350 which meant that I was to be based at Chatham, in Kent.
After this we went to the signals base at H M S Mercury which was near Petersfield between East and West Meon. I was quite surprised when we got there, on the road through the camp it looked like two large houses. Inside there were two dormitories one up and one down. The twelve of us were in the upstairs one and I managed to get the bed right by the rear window. The only snag it was about a ten minute walk to get to the canteen though the food was brilliant. In the first few weeks we were shown all over the camp and assigned to extra duties like guard duty. We also had to take a swimming test where we had to swim a length of the pool in a canvas suit. Since I loved swimming, it was a push over. Then the hard work started! You had to achieve 25 words a minute receiving Morse code and typing it and we had to learn cryptology which was similar to the enigma machine.
After about a month we were given our first week-end pass but just before I went I caught Impetigo. This was caught from the earphones and I was in isolation for about four weeks. The nurse would come round every day with a pair of tweezers and pull the scabs off and then give me an injection. Eventually it cleared up and I managed to get home. They ran special coaches up through Northampton and Leicester and Nottingham. It took about three hours as there were no motorways. We would leave at about four in the afternoon and arrive in Northampton about seven. When home we had to be down on Regent's Square at 3.30 am to get back for eight in the morning. We were also given three two weeks leave and passes were provided for them. We were allowed duty free cigarettes, an allowance of six hundred a month. They were called blue liners and were made from all the off cuts from the major cigarettes but they did the job.
When we were on guard duty you had to do four hourly watches, from six in the evening until six in the morning but fortunately not a lot of it was outside. The only outside patrol was at the cryptology centre but you just wandered around for about an half an hour and then back to the guard hut, so it wasn't too bad. Sometimes we went out on cross country runs and they gave us clubs to carry because this was when the rabbits were catching myxomatosis, if we found any we would put them out of their misery. Sometimes we were detailed at the weekend for shore patrol, this meant going down to the pub in East Meon and make sure everything was quiet, I never saw any trouble.
Eventually we all passed our ordinary telegraphy exams and then we all split up and went our separate way. There were only two of us who went to Chatham, me and Roy Hopkins and we still keep in touch now. We arrived at H M S Pembroke which is a shore base in Chatham Dockyard. The signals department was separate from the main part and the signal school was about a twenty minute walk. We were allowed weekend passes every other week end the other weekend we used to go on fire watch at the signal school which was great, we would sleep up there and always listened to the radio. On weekend leave I never caught a train, I would catch the bus into Chatham and then get on the main road and hitch hike. More often than not there was always Americans going up to London in their Lorries and they would always pick us up and drop us at Charing Cross. I would then get the tube to Barnet and as you came out the station there was a crossing. More often than not,a lorry would stop to let you cross, if you were lucky you would get a lift as most were going north and if you were very lucky they would be cutting through Northampton on their way to Nottingham or Derby.
When it was time to go back, I would catch the first train at 4.30 in the morning to Euston, over to Victoria to catch the train back to Chatham.
Whilst at Chatham Pat and I decided to get married but because I was not yet 21, I had to put a special request in asking for permission to marry. It had to go before the Commanding Officer who granted it. I also had to get permission to wear a white ribbon with my uniform. Before we got married, my mum, Pat and my brother went to great Yarmouth for a week’s holiday as I was on leave.
I contacted the Youth Hostels and asked if they could help and they allowed me to stop at their hostel in Yarmouth for a week, so we could all holiday
together, which was great. This brings me up to 1955.
What I consider to be one of the main turning points in my life was in 1955, getting married, going to sea for the first time and my wife telling me she was pregnant with our first child. I was still at Chatham and had to apply for special leave to get married and as I was at a shore base that wasn't any problem. We set the date for April and as I was away dad helped sort out the arrangements as Pat's dad was disabled. My friend Roy who had been with me since we were called up managed, to get the weekend off, so he could come to the wedding. We were married at All Saints Church by the Rev Trevor Lewis. My Uncle Bill was best man. We had five bridesmaids and Pat’s brother gave her away. Our reception was held at the Exeter Hall.
We went to Blackpool for the honeymoon, staying at the guest house where Pat and her family used to stay for their holidays.
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| HMS Truelove |
I had to go by train to Rosythe Dockyard to join the minesweeper HMS TRUELOVE. We were going on fishery protection around Norway. For the first few days I was seasick but it soon passed. Our berths were up at the bow of the ship and we slept in hammocks which, I must say, once you had mastered the art of getting in and out they were quite comfortable.
Our first port of call was Bergen, we arrived in the first heat wave they had had for years. One day we went up one of the mountains to a ski jump and when you looked down, all you could see were boulders. We spent about four days there and then we continued on to Tromso which is situated in a fjord. When we got there it was snowing. We saw them cutting up the German battleship Tirpitz. We continued further north into the arctic circle to Honningsvag and by this time we were in the land of the midnight sun. Sometimes, when I came off watch at midnight, I would go on deck and look at the sun, it was amazing. From there we continued to Hammerfest. We often met trawlers on our journey and would send a boat over with some whiskey for the crew and it would come back loaded with fresh fish. Whilst in Hammerfest, Roy and I went for a walk and we could see people peering through their curtains but they never came out. As we walked round, outside every house were rows and rows of fish drying in the open air. Our final port of call was Kirkness which was close to the Russian boarder we were often buzzed by Russian planes taking photos but we also had a photographer on board specially to take photos of any Russian ships. When we returned to the UK, at the end of August, we went down to Portland, where there was an open weekend during which families could come down and go on board the ships. I met Pat at the railway station and we went on board ship. I had booked us into lodgings in Weymouth and that is where our first daughter was conceived.
The day after everyone had gone home, it was decided to split the ships company. Half would walk from Portland to Dartmouth whilst the rest took the ship to Dartmouth. It took two days. First day we marched together, then we slept under the hedges at night. The following day we had to make our own way to Dartmouth. I finally arrived at tea time. After we had fuelled and taken on supplies we set sail for Harwich where we stayed until after Christmas. When Pat and I got married, dad gave us the deposit for a house and while I was away, he had found one for us in Edith Street, right at the bottom of the cul-de-sac, next to the dairy. While I was in the navy, Pat was living with my mum and dad, so they got the house ready for when I got demobbed.
After Christmas, we set sail which, for me, would be the last time .This time the destination was Iceland, where there had been trouble between the Icelandic trawlers and the English but things had calmed down, but we were told not to go ashore on our own. We arrived in Reykjavic and it was such a sight. Because of the season, the sun rose at ten in the morning and set at two in the afternoon so we had sunrise and sunset at the same time. It was so cold we had to chip the ice off the mast and railings. We received news that two trawlers were missing in a force 10 gale and were sent out spending two days searching but there was no trace of either. It appears that they were overcome by the ice and sank, When the captain decided to call the search off and turn round, I thought we were never going to make it, as the ship buried its nose in the sea and it seemed ages until we came up again. We were in Iceland we were given some fish. We put them into a bucket and hoisted them up the mast where they froze solid. They had eventually thawed out by the time we reached the Scottish coast. We reached Chatham at the end of February and I was demobbed a month later. Whilst on board ship we were given duty free cigarettes but I always bought a tin of rolling tobacco back for Pat's dad as he loved to “roll his own”.
This brings to an end the second part of my story. . . . .
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