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Hello again if you’re still following my life saga and thank you for being here, I’m thoroughly enjoying writing all of this down, it usually flits through my mind in unrelated segments, often totally out of context and for the most part, makes me smile.

Going on leave or holiday after such a short time, I think we’d been “in” two weeks, felt kind of odd but, it worked really well because it gave all of us a break from quite a full on assault on our senses. Going on leave to N. Ireland was a wee bit special, I wasn’t allowed to carry anything that might mark me as military so essentially only my ID card because I had to “report in” to a nominated police station so they knew I was in the area and to report that I had arrived ok. Actually, NOT a good idea to be seen entering and leaving any police station at that time but, it was fine.

I remember going down to our local newspaper / general store with my brothers and sister, the shop was quite busy my Mrs *** from up the road saw me and shouted across the heads of everyone “ach hiya Tony, how’s the Navy?” in her broadest Belfast accent 🙂 Reminded me of the famous scene in Dad’s Army, when captured by German soldier’s and one of them demanded of the youngest “Vot is your name?’ and Capt. Mainwairing shouted “Don’t tell him Pike!”

I don’t actually remember how I got back there, I must have flown? Isn’t age and the memory fun? I remember my folks collecting me so it must have from the airport?

Anyway, we went to a well known hotel / pub for a dinner and I ordered a Guinness and mum didn’t think i should be drinking! 🙂

I managed a night out with my old school mates and that’s about all I remember before I was back and in uniform again!

The entire 13 weeks was a blur of changing clothes / uniforms, lessons, assault courses, constant bombardment with information, all the while marching everywhere, remembering to salute officers, often panicking if you were walking alone and saw one coming your way!!!!

There were terrifying exercises like the DRIU the Damage Repair Incident Unit, a simulated ship which rocked and rolled, filled with smoke and water and we had to repair the damage before it sank and we ….. DRIU Video – Sorry for using YouTube, I detest the corporate algorithms that decide you must watch terrible ads before and throughout but, if you have no idea what it is/was like ….. I must add, that is a very calm and safe video clip, not like the real training at all 🙂

Please note, that link above is to the modern FAA site, not quite the same thing as when I joined 🙂

Firefighting training was another terrifying experience in a similar situation but this one didn’t rock and roll, it just had a couple of real fires inside it and we had to go in, bearing in mind that it is laid out like the interior of a ship, find the fires and put them out, also bearing in mind, we only went in once it was full of smoke, wearing fire fighting suits and breathing apparatus. Wow it was HOT and scary. Sounds horrific but remember, if you’re on a metal box at sea, you can’t go anywhere other than into the sea. Hence our firefighting training was harder than many fire brigades, because they have escape routes and safety is paramount.

The Gas Chamber! What? You got gassed? Yep. How do you know what it would be like in reality unless you’ve experience at least a sample? So, gas masks checked and tested, we calmly walked into a room full of CS gas, not very strong and walked around, did some exercises to ensure your gas mask was sealed properly and then ….. before you could leave …. take of your mask, look at the instructor and recite your name, rank and number, which essentially ensured you got a hit and left crying and spluttering.

You’d never have guessed that we had to pass a swimming test!? Of course, same as above, where else is there to go? So, wearing some clothing we’d jump into a chilly pool, swim a couple of lengths (clothed), tread water for 1 minute, I think before you could climb out. We also had the rescue a brick exercise, semi clothed, swim down, pick up a brick and surface.

Sea Survival training also involved stepping off a high board into the pool while wearing a flimsy survival suit and life-jacket before swimming to a 25 man (person) liferaft and working through a routine for ongoing survival at sea.

There were lots of instructional films Zzzzz 😉 Weapons training, back then we had 303 rifles!!!! generally speaking, matelots don’t carry guns but are trained to defend the ship or establishment.

WE were taught to row big ‘ships boats’ steer motorised ship’s boats and of course, steer a ship! That was fun. Out at sea, usually on a smaller, Minesweeper type vessel and actually taking the wheel while being commanded for course changes and so on. Many of us ended up “chasing the lubber’s line” or, not knowing our right from our Port! It must have been funny watching those ships zig zagging across the seas.

During those final weeks, we had a Long Weekend leave, can’t remember why but, I couldn’t get back to N. Ireland in a long weekend so, a couple of the guys took me home to Yorkshire with them and I’ll never forget that weekend, for the very act of taking me home with them and for the weekend itself. I got to go to Batley Social Club and sample the wonder that is Theakston’s Old Peculier. It must be said that the sampling was done just before boarding our return train, which we almost missed and i don’t remember much about 😉

All of this was part of basic seamanship training but, as we approached the end of our training, we were told about and offered opportunities to pick a trade. There were choices like Missileman (a new one) Gunnery, Radar, Comms and so on, all seaman trades but……. I just had to be different.

I couldn’t see myself tying knots in huge ropes, painting ships or sitting in an Ops room, no, I remember my dad being an airman so when we were given the forms to complete for our “choice” of trade, I chose three; that was “in case” you didn’t get your first choice 😉 But, because there was no other way I could think of, I wrote across the top of the form Fleet Air Arm!!!! Shock horror! Who did I think I was? You can’t do that sonny boy!

Well, I was pulled into a room somewhere one day and asked what I was trying to do, bit scary, an instructor almost telling me I had screwed up. He told me all the horrors of joining the Fleet Air Arm. I would HAVE TO BE an Aircraft Handler, standing on wild, wet and windy aircraft carrier decks, in all weathers, staring into jet engines and propellers, fight fires, rescue pilots from burning aircraft!!!! I said, ok to it all so ….. after much whispering, meetings and discussions I am sure, I got my wish. I was going to transfer to the Fleet Air Arm and become a “chockhead”!

Eventually.

I would have to stay at Raleigh until there was a course available before I could make my way to HMS Seahawk. Bear in mind, that meant absolutely nothing to me. They might as well have said Patagonia.

So, I started saying goodbye to all those guys that I had gotten to know so well, as they all headed off for their next training courses, depending on what trade they had chosen (or had been selected for them).

It also meant I was now ship’s company, kind of. Part of HMS Raleigh staff but, an irk, a go-fer but it was mostly great fun. I worked at the fire pits where the firefighting training took place, I supported parades as a runner, basically any odd jobs, I was used to fill the gaps, until I got my draft chit!

When you move between establishments or ships in the RN, you go on draft to …. and I was drafted to HMS Seahawk, a land based establishment, also know as RNAS Culdrose in deepest Cornwall so, not Patagonia! Just a train ride away …… with all my kit!! Royal Naval Air Station, the biggest helicopter base in Europe apparently, at that time anyway.

So, my next step was to gather my belongings in my old kit bag make my way to Plimuff station and board the train for Redruth in Cornwall, which I found out after arriving, is many miles from Helston and HMS Seahawk. I think I found a taxi in the end and it felt like it took hours to get there …. and the accent!!!!! Wossat’en?

Another new chapter. More training. More new faces. Why couldn’t I just take the easy route? I wouldn’t swap a moment of it all.

Stay safe and well and hope to see / hear from you soon.

Addendum – I had just finished prof reading this 😉 when the power went off!!! Phew, I had saved the draft.