Description
Object description
Illustrated wordprocessed copy (97pp) of a memoir written in 1947 describing his childhood living with his grandparents in Tottenham, North London (1883 – 1898), his enlistment in the Royal Navy and life, routine and training in the boys' training ship HMS IMPREGNABLE based on Devonport (1898 – 1900), his service as a Boy and then junior rating in the Channel Squadron cruiser HMS FURIOUS, including a passage to South Africa in company with troopships (1900 – 1903), his training in HMS WILDFIRE, the RN Gunnery School at Sheerness and service as a Seaman Gunner in HMS PEMBROKE, the RN Barracks at Chatham (1903 – 1904), his service as a Leading Seaman in the Mediterranean Fleet battleship HMS ILLUSTRIOUS and qualification as a Gunlayer (1905 – 1906) and as a Petty Officer in the Channel and Atlantic Fleet cruisers HMS LEVIATHAN and HMS BLACK PRINCE (1906 – 1909), his service as a Gunnery Instructor and Gunner's Mate in the Home Fleet battleship HMS LORD NELSON (1910 – 1911), his qualification as a Gunner in HMS EXCELLENT, the RN Gunnery School in Portsmouth (1912) and service in the Home Fleet battleship HMS ST VINCENT (1912 – 1913), his service as a Gunner in HMS TB 24, initially based on Harwich but on the Firth of Forth following the outbreak of war and including the rescue of survivors from the cruiser HMS PATHFINDER in September 1914 when she was torpedoed by a German submarine (1913 – April 1915), in HMS COLOSSUS (4th Battle Squadron, Grand Fleet), a battleship fitted with Director Firing, mainly based on Scapa Flow and including accounts of the Battle of Jutland, the destruction of HMS VANGUARD by an internal explosion and the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet (June 1915 – February 1919), as Flotilla Director Officer, in HMS NORSEMAN, of the Nore Destroyer Flotilla (March – October 1919) and as Director Gunner in the Mediterranean Fleet battleship HMS EMPEROR OF INDIA, including service afloat and ashore during the Allied occupation of Constantinople and in the Black Sea in support of the White Russians (April – November 1920), his decision to transfer to the retired list and employment as a steward at the Junior Naval and Military Club (1921 – 1923) and then in the fruit and vegetable trade in Kent (1923 – 1939), his involvement in the local Sea Cadet Corps in Kent (1935 – 1939), his mobilisation as a reservist during the Munich crisis (1938) and his mobilisation and service as the Clothing Officer in the RN Barracks, Chatham, during which he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant (July 1939 – April 1946). The interest of the memoirs lies in particular in his account of his achievement in securing promotion from Ordinary Seaman to Gunner, his acceptance of the harsh nature of his early naval service, living conditions in his various ships, his pay scales and his duties as a Clothing Officer, while there are also useful references to the qualities of Captain W W (later Admiral Sir William) Fisher, his gunnery training and the monotony of service in the Grand Fleet.
Content description
Illustrated wordprocessed copy (97pp) of a memoir written in 1947 describing his childhood living with his grandparents in Tottenham, North London (1883 – 1898), his enlistment in the Royal Navy and life, routine and training in the boys' training ship HMS IMPREGNABLE based on Devonport (1898 – 1900), his service as a Boy and then junior rating in the Channel Squadron cruiser HMS FURIOUS, including a passage to South Africa in company with troopships (1900 – 1903), his training in HMS WILDFIRE, the RN Gunnery School at Sheerness and service as a Seaman Gunner in HMS PEMBROKE, the RN Barracks at Chatham (1903 – 1904), his service as a Leading Seaman in the Mediterranean Fleet battleship HMS ILLUSTRIOUS and qualification as a Gunlayer (1905 – 1906) and as a Petty Officer in the Channel and Atlantic Fleet cruisers HMS LEVIATHAN and HMS BLACK PRINCE (1906 – 1909), his service as a Gunnery Instructor and Gunner's Mate in the Home Fleet battleship HMS LORD NELSON (1910 – 1911), his qualification as a Gunner in HMS EXCELLENT, the RN Gunnery School in Portsmouth (1912) and service in the Home Fleet battleship HMS ST VINCENT (1912 – 1913), his service as a Gunner in HMS TB 24, initially based on Harwich but on the Firth of Forth following the outbreak of war and including the rescue of survivors from the cruiser HMS PATHFINDER in September 1914 when she was torpedoed by a German submarine (1913 – April 1915), in HMS COLOSSUS (4th Battle Squadron, Grand Fleet), a battleship fitted with Director Firing, mainly based on Scapa Flow and including accounts of the Battle of Jutland, the destruction of HMS VANGUARD by an internal explosion and the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet (June 1915 – February 1919), as Flotilla Director Officer, in HMS NORSEMAN, of the Nore Destroyer Flotilla (March – October 1919) and as Director Gunner in the Mediterranean Fleet battleship HMS EMPEROR OF INDIA, including service afloat and ashore during the Allied occupation of Constantinople and in the Black Sea in support of the White Russians (April – November 1920), his decision to transfer to the retired list and employment as a steward at the Junior Naval and Military Club (1921 – 1923) and then in the fruit and vegetable trade in Kent (1923 – 1939), his involvement in the local Sea Cadet Corps in Kent (1935 – 1939), his mobilisation as a reservist during the Munich crisis (1938) and his mobilisation and service as the Clothing Officer in the RN Barracks, Chatham, during which he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant (July 1939 – April 1946). The interest of the memoirs lies in particular in his account of his achievement in securing promotion from Ordinary Seaman to Gunner, his acceptance of the harsh nature of his early naval service, living conditions in his various ships, his pay scales and his duties as a Clothing Officer, while there are also useful references to the qualities of Captain W W (later Admiral Sir William) Fisher, his gunnery training and the monotony of service in the Grand Fleet.
History note
Cataloguer RWAS