Description
Object description
British midshipman served aboard HMS Diomede in Pacific and Atlantic, 1941-1942; served aboard HMS Ithuriel in Mediterranean, 1942 including sinking, 11/1942; served aboard HMS Quentin in Mediterranean, 1942 including sinking, 11/1942; served aboard HMS King George V in GB coastal waters, 1943; officer served aboard submarine HMS Voracious off Norway and in Mediterranean, 1943-1944; served aboard submarine HMS Sea Scout in Far East, 1944-1945
Content description
REEL 1 Background in India and GB, 1924-1939: family; education; wish to become lawyer. Aspects of period as cadet at Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, 1937-1941: joining college, 1937; opinion of education at Dartmouth; passing out of college, 1941. Aspects of operations as midshipman aboard HMS Diomede in Pacific and South Atlantic, 1941-1942: joining ship in Vancouver; role of ship hunting German commercial raiders in Pacific; relations with US civilians on western seaboard prior to US entry into Second World War; duties in South Atlantic. Aspects of operations as midshipman aboard HMS Ithuriel in Mediterranean, 1942: appointment to ship; move to Mediterranean for North African landings; bombing and sinking of ship off Bone. Aspects of operations as midshipman aboard HMS Quentin in Mediterranean, 1942: joining ship in Bone; in action against Axis convoy; torpedoing of ship by U-boat.
REEL 2 Continues: abandoning ship; loss of possessions; return to GB. Aspects of period as midshipman aboard HMS King George V in GB coastal waters, 1943: drafting to ship at Scapa Flow; attitude to service on big ships; leaving ship and promotion to sub lieutenant. Aspects of operations as officer aboard submarine HMS Voracious off Norway and Mediterranean, 1943-1944: attitude to service aboard submarines; lessons learnt during submarine service; shortage of water aboard submarines; conditions on board submarines; number of torpedoes carried; firing of torpedoes; restrictions on speed and manoeuvrability; problems with weather conditions off Norway, 1943; operating in Aegean Sea, 1943; contact with Special Boat Service caiques. Aspects of operations as officer aboard submarine HMS Sea Scout in Far East, 1944-1945: joining submarine in Far East.
REEL 3 Continues: opinion of captain; reasons for being placed under open arrest; treatment of captain on return voyage to GB; passage of submarine across Indian Ocean; treatment of crews of sunken small craft; ashore in Perth, Australia; operating off Dutch East Indies; age of submarine; conditions on board; attitude to prospect of being captured by Japanese. Aspects of various postings with Royal Navy, 1945-1957: accidental sinking of his submarine, 1945; learning Russian at Cambridge University; counter espionage duties in Bremen, Germany; relations with Russians; intelligence duties; question of leadership in British military and society; memories of Admiral Bruce Fraser.
REEL 4 Continues: illustration of how reports were handled; attitude to service aboard HMS Amethyst during Korean War; pattern of appointments, 1950s; reasons for leaving Royal Navy, 1957. Aspects of civilian employment with ICI in GB, 1957: joining company as work study manager; opinion of management; attitude towards career; dealing with incinerator problem; role as Divisional Director, 1968-1973; appointment to main board of ICI, 1973; changes to board; changing role of non-executive board members; managing company through 1970s; his managements style; appointment of company chairman.
REEL 5 Continues: calibre of management in ICI; opinion of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's policies during the miners' strike.