Description
Object description
British boy seaman trained aboard HMS Powerful at Devonport, GB, 1918; served aboard HMS London in GB coastal waters, 1918; seaman served aboard HMS Curlew in GB coastal waters, 1918-1919; served aboard HMS Delhi in Baltic Sea, 1919-1920; attended gunnery course at Gunnery School, HMS Excellent, Whale Island, GB, 1920; served aboard HMS Vortigern, HMS Vivien and HMS Barham in GB coastal waters, 1920-1925; served on shore duties at Gunnery School, HMS Excellent, Whale Island, GB, 1925-1926; served aboard HMS Suffolk on China Station, 1928-1930
Content description
REEL 1 Background in Southampton, GB, 1900-1917: family; father's employment; social and economic conditions in Southampton; education; employment and wages; hobbies and sports.
REEL 2 Continues: home life; awareness of First World War; death of brother serving with British Army at Ypres, Belgium, 1916. Aspects of enlistment in Royal Navy and training as boy seaman aboard HMS Powerful at Devonport, GB, 1917-1918: background to enlistment; reasons for joining Royal Navy; perceived importance of Royal Navy; character of recruits.
REEL 3 Continues: first day on board HMS Powerful; daily routine and character of regime; swimming test; choice of Seaman Branch; climbing mast; strictness of discipline; scrubbing decks; method of obtaining cigarettes; punishments; move to Devonport Barracks then Rosyth.
REEL 4 Continues: adequacy of training; psychological purpose of discipline. Aspects of period on gunnery course at Gunnery School, HMS Excellent, Whale Island, 1920: daily routine and training; purpose of training as seaman gunner; pay; efficiency and practical nature of training; duration of course.
REEL 5 Continues: role of gunner during target practice aboard ship including example of bent fire pin; destroyers he served on as gunner. Recollections of period as boy seaman aboard HMS London at Rosyth, GB, 1918: drafting to ship; coaling and preparing ship for mine laying duties; method of laying mines.
REEL 6 Continues: working and living conditions; organisation of watches; cleaning ship; question of keeping crew occupied; dog watch evolutions; uniform and adaptations to it; relations between branches on board ship; organisation and cleaning of mess.
REEL 7 Continues: duties of cook of the day; ration allowance and character of meals; provisioning of ship; canteen committees; rum ration and procedure for serving it in mess.
REEL 8 Continues: tobacco ration; living conditions in mess; card games; causes of friction in mess; lack of privacy; prevalence of homosexuality in navy; effect of homosexuality on mess life; preventatives against venereal disease issued by navy.
REEL 9 Continues: segregation of those suffering from venereal disease in special mess; establishment of licensed medically inspected brothels in Gibraltar; attitude towards those suffering from venereal disease; adjusting to cramped conditions in mess; character of shipboard facilities on board HMS London; shaving in cold water.
REEL 10 Continues: washing facilities; division of messdecks; storage of seamen's personal processions; heating and ventilation aboard ship; coping with heat in tropics; decks and mess tables; mess activities; prevalence of gambling; navy's attitude to gambling.
REEL 11 Continues: recreation and sports; naval discipline; different types of leave; method of getting round rules regarding leave; naval punishments. Recollections of period as seaman aboard HMS Curlew in GB coastal waters, 1918-1919: incident of boy being flogged for striking officer.
REEL 12 Continues: attitude towards discipline; complaints to captain; organisation of regulating branch aboard ship; opinion of regulating branch; relations between Royal Marines and seaman branch; role of marines; relations between officers and ratings.
REEL 13 Continues: occasion of receiving beer from officer outside wardroom; personal standards of behaviour amongst lower deck; inter-ship competitions including regattas and athletics; crossing the line ceremony; officers' participation in cross country runs.
REEL 14 Continues: compulsory attendance of religious services; King and Queen's attendance of religious service aboard HMS Barham; seaman's attitude to chaplain; importance of dealing with personal problems; behaviour of captain and admiral; reasons why HMS Vortigern was a happy ship. Aspects of period on shore duties at Gunnery School, HMS Excellent, Whale Island, 1925-1926: comparison between Portsmouth Barracks and Whale Island; drill at Whale Island.
REEL 15 Continues: benefits of sporting prowess in navy; leave from Whale Island; anti-aircraft gun training course at Whale Island; night time leave in Portsmouth; red light district in Portsmouth; public houses frequented in Portsmouth; opinion of Agnes Weston's hostel. Recollections of period as seaman aboard HMS Suffolk on China Station, 1928-1930: attitude to service on China Station; escort duties on vessel travelling up River Yangste.
REEL 16 Continues: life and duties on China Station; transporting Duke of Gloucester to Japan; shore leave; attitude of people in foreign ports toward British seamen; visiting bullfights in Spain from Gibraltar. Recollections of operations as seaman aboard HMS Delhi in Baltic Sea, 1919-1920: drafting to light cruiser.
REEL 17 Continues: basing of ship in harbour at Bolshoy Island, bombardment of Kronstadt, Russian Soviet Republic and sinking of Soviet warships; dissatisfaction of crew at fighting the Bolsheviks and food supplies; behaviour of captain in dealing with crew's dissatisfaction; character of minor mutiny.
REEL 18 Continues: lack of sympathy with Bolsheviks; recapitulation of incident of minor mutiny. Aspects of period on strike duty during General Strike in South Wales, GB, 4/5/1926-12/5/1926: duties in Newport; move to Abertillery; relations with miners. Aspects of leaving Royal Navy, 1930: naval pay; comparison of naval and civilian pay; leaving Royal Navy, 1930.
REEL 19 Continues: adjusting to civilian life; attitude to leaving Royal Navy; evaluation of life in Royal Navy; how navy training assisted civilian life.