Description
Object description
Wordprocessed memoir (42pp), written in the 1990s, covering his decision to give up his status as a conscientious objector and his basic naval training in the shore establishment HMS COLLINGWOOD at Fareham, Hampshire (autumn 1940 - January 1941), his rather fragmented service as an ordinary seaman in the Home Fleet battleship HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH, the battle cruiser HMS REPULSE and ashore in Malta (February - June 1941), his training as an officer cadet in the shore establishment HMS KING ALFRED in Sussex (July - September 1941), his appointment to a commission in the RNVR and service as a Sub Lieutenant (later Lieutenant), latterly as her navigating officer, in the corvette HMS GENISTA, which was based on Cape Town and Durban as part of the South African Defence Force and was primarily employed on convoy escort duties, but also served with the force which in May 1942 seized and secured the port of Diego Suarez during the invasion of Madagascar (December 1941 - August 1943), his return to the United Kingdom via Montevideo in Uruguay (September - December 1943) and his appointment as First Lieutenant of the corvette HMS OXFORD CASTLE which was based on Liverpool and attached to an anti-submarine hunting group operating in the Atlantic (January - December 1944), and his appointment to the instructing staff in HMS KING ALFRED, first in Brighton and then in Exbury, Hampshire until his demobilisation (January 1945 - August 1946). His memoir, which is characterised by his recognition of his strengths and limitations as a member of the Royal Navy, includes some very interesting insights into his adjustment to life on the lower deck, his relations with his commanding officers and assessments of their professional qualities, his approach towards his duties and his awareness of racial problems in South Africa.
Content description
Wordprocessed memoir (42pp), written in the 1990s, covering his decision to give up his status as a conscientious objector and his basic naval training in the shore establishment HMS COLLINGWOOD at Fareham, Hampshire (autumn 1940 - January 1941), his rather fragmented service as an ordinary seaman in the Home Fleet battleship HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH, the battle cruiser HMS REPULSE and ashore in Malta (February - June 1941), his training as an officer cadet in the shore establishment HMS KING ALFRED in Sussex (July - September 1941), his appointment to a commission in the RNVR and service as a Sub Lieutenant (later Lieutenant), latterly as her navigating officer, in the corvette HMS GENISTA, which was based on Cape Town and Durban as part of the South African Defence Force and was primarily employed on convoy escort duties, but also served with the force which in May 1942 seized and secured the port of Diego Suarez during the invasion of Madagascar (December 1941 - August 1943), his return to the United Kingdom via Montevideo in Uruguay (September - December 1943) and his appointment as First Lieutenant of the corvette HMS OXFORD CASTLE which was based on Liverpool and attached to an anti-submarine hunting group operating in the Atlantic (January - December 1944), and his appointment to the instructing staff in HMS KING ALFRED, first in Brighton and then in Exbury, Hampshire until his demobilisation (January 1945 - August 1946). His memoir, which is characterised by his recognition of his strengths and limitations as a member of the Royal Navy, includes some very interesting insights into his adjustment to life on the lower deck, his relations with his commanding officers and assessments of their professional qualities, his approach towards his duties and his awareness of racial problems in South Africa.
History note
Cataloguer RWAS
History note
Catalogue date 2005-01