So here I am fresh from a year in Gibraltar now just arrived at my next port of call – HMS Osprey, Portland. This is were I was to meet and marry Sue (29 years on and going strong). Continue reading

On of the early ‘fun’ things the RN likes you too get a handle on is ‘damage control”. This is something, that at the time, you never really think you’ll need.

Well, fast forward to 1982 and the Falklands conflict – you are now thanking your lucky stars that you have been trained for shoring up holes that are gushing water into your ship…. Continue reading

What is is with spit? Some of us have it and some don’t. I, unfortunately, am a ‘don’t’. What am I rambling about? Well, the services, including the RN, are big on spit and polish. This is a charming technique of spitting on your boots and then applying polish…. Continue reading

So here I am, fully trained. I am now an MA (Medical Assistant) ready to take up medical duties wherever I may be drafted. So, will it be a ship, abroad or a shore establishment? Any of these would be exciting for me.

My first draft? The army cadets, of course! I will be going to spent 2 weeks based at Tidworth…. Continue reading

Yep – the RN can come up with some exceedingly fun things to do. In the unlikely event you are still alive after your helicopter hits the water – the RN, bless em, will have trained you in what do in this inconvenient scenario….. Continue reading

Now, at HMS Osprey, Portland – a naval airbase. I am now an LMA (Leading Medical Assistant) – so, am experienced and responsible.

It was here that I was to have, a somewhat ludicrous, run in with a particularly jumped up young Surgeon Lieutenant (a doctor). I was on duty, one morning…. Continue reading

My last draft before leaving the branch was to Portsmouth. The NBCD (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence) School at HMS Phoenix.

It was here that we instructed all branches in these cheery subjects. The clue is in the name!…. Continue reading

Now an LMA (Leading Medical Assistant), serving at the Royal Navy airbase that is Portland (another since closed, sadly).

I have always been a keen sportsman and have played many sports over the years – some more enthusiastically than others.  I used to be a winger in the school rugby team, being a bit nippy back then…. Continue reading

So here I am – at HMS Raleigh leadership school, some time during 1975, I think.

Leadership school, does what it says in the title. Creates leaders of men – right then – here we go!…. Continue reading