Butler, David (Oral history)

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Description

Object description

British stoker served HMS Vanguard, Home Fleet, 1952-1954; Served as Royal Naval Shore Station, Fawley, GB, 1954-1955; served with HMS Terror Shore Station, Singapore, 1956-1958; served aboard HMS Zest, 1958-1959; served aboard HMS Bellerophen, Reserve Fleet, Portsmouth, GB, 1959-1960; served aboard HMS Londonderry, 1960-1962; served as engineer's secretary aboard HMS Arethusa, 1963-1967; served as engineering writer aboard HMS Sheffield, Reserve Fleet, 1967-1968; served aboard HMS Murray at Portland, 1968-1969; served at HMS Sultan Shore Station, Gosport, GB, 1969-1970; served as staff engineering writer at HMS Jupiter Shore Station, Bahrein, 1970-1971; served as acting chief petty officer at HMS Pembroke Barracks, Chatham, GB, 1971-1973; served aboard HMS Charybodis, 1973-1974; served at HMS Sultan Shore Station, Gosport, GB, 1974-1975

Content description

REEL 1 Recollections of background in Warwick, 1935-1952: family background and social circumstances; question of effect of war, 1939-1945; education; Boy Scouts activities; choir and religious activities; necessity of wearing leg irons; first interest in Royal Navy; sporting activities; youth club activities including learning piano; work as railway porter, 1950-1951; work as engine cleaner and fireman at railway sheds, shunting yards and banking link at Leamington Spa and Warwick. REEL 2 Continues: relationship with engine driver; role on various train routes; career progression to engine driver. Background to volunteering to join RN, 3/1952: reasons; enlistment procedure and medical. Recollections of conditions of service, lifestyle and daily routine during training as stoker at HMS Raleigh Shore Station, Torpoint, 6/1952-12/1952: prior train journey; reception; origins of recruits; kitting out; hut accommodation; sewing on badges; morning routine; uniforms worn; question of homesickness; food rations; education classes; drill. REEL 3 Continues: PT including sports, cross country runs and assault course; training in washing clothes in bucket; seamanship training including knots and splices, rowing cutter and entering naval regatta and learning parts of ship; rifle training; learning to iron; preparing for kit inspections; relationship with instructors and recruits; canteen; pay; passing out parade on completion of basic training, 7/1952; training in layout of ship, engine rooms and pipes; nature of naval boiler. REEL 4 Continues: nature of naval boiler and generation of super-heated steam for turbines; fans and separators; refrigeration and air-conditioning system; operation of hydraulic steering gear system; damage control and fire fighting methods including layout of ship, method of blocking holes in side, types of extinguisher, fire mains, hoses, breathing apparatus and protective gear. REEL 5 Continues: visit working as stoker on destroyer in harbour; examinations and passing out parade, 12/1952. Period at HMS Victory Barracks, Portsmouth, 12/1952. Recollections of period as stoker aboard HMS Vanguard, Home Fleet, 12/1952-10/1954: reception on joining ship at Portsmouth; stoker' mess deck; joining routine; hammock; watch bill system; duties in 'B' boiler room in harbour and operating oil sprayers at sea; methods of cleaning boilers. REEL 6 Continues: method of cleaning boilers; importance of keeping boiler room clean; lagging pipes with asbestos cloth; cleaning and painting bilges; watch system; washing; recreations including films, cards, ludo, crown and anchor, reading and ship's library; prior education classes at HMS Raleigh; ship's newspaper; ship's wireless and crew request broadcasts; cafeteria messing system and food; sailor with extra finger; period in dry dock in Gibraltar, 1/1952-2/1952; cleaning propellers and checking outlets; visits ashore at Gibraltar; pay. REEL 7 Continues: recreations ashore at Gibraltar; nature of Home Fleet exercises with Mediterranean Fleet including emergency use of emergency steering position and damage control; Easter leave in Portsmouth; tour around British ports including composition of stokers watch, visits ashore, naval shore patrol duty, civilian boat trips and open days; naval patrol duties during Coronation, 6/1952; question of swearing; Navy Days at Portsmouth; Arctic cruise and exercises with US Fleet; effect of rough weather and story of being 'bombed' by US aircraft; visits to Sweden and Norway; cleaning and red leading funnels; promotion to stoker mechanic and passing auxiliary watch keeping certificate to allow unsupervised work in engine room. REEL 8 Continues: story of coincidence over replacement on leaving ship; relationship with lower deck, petty officers and officers; crew morale. Recollections of period as stoker at HMS Diligence Shore Station, Fawley, 10/1954-10/1955: unit role providing crews and maintenance for inshore minesweepers; role maintaining domestic boilers; story of disciplinarian petty officer; unofficial weekend leaves. Period in HMS Victory Barracks, Portsmouth, 10/1955-11/1955: vaccinations; background to posting to Singapore. Recollections of period with HMS Terror Shore Station, Singapore, 11/1956-3/1958: reception and assignment to Kinawa in Reserve Fleet; duties with fire-fighting school; role looking after admiral's boats; duties in paint-spraying school; story of failing fire-fighting team from HMS Newcastle. REEL 9 Continues: hospitalisation with water polo injury and reaction to army control of hospital; rented family accommodation; question of necessity of registering birth of daughter as British citizen; story of raising diver suffering from 'bends'; attachment to HMS Barfoil, 11/1956-1/1957, including special mission to raise ships blocking Suez Canal, Egypt, voyage mostly under tow, story of getting lost under own steam, losing way, running out of fuel, sailing with makeshift sail to Aden, rat problem, intended lifting role, food and leaving ship at Aden; return to Singapore; taking up football refereeing; story of losing good conduct badge after dispute over conduct of canteen patrol; impact of news of Manchester United aeroplane crash at Munich, 1957; question over confusion over posting; stories of flight back to GB, 3/1958. Recollections of period aboard HMS Zest, 5/1958-6/1959: prior period and missing chance to join ship whilst at HMS Victory Barracks, Portsmouth; joining ship at Invergordon. REEL 10 Continues: reception on joining ship at Invergordon; nature of fishery protection patrols protecting British trawlers from Icelandic gunboats; method of refuelling from oil tanker; visit ashore to Hamburg and Berlin, Germany; move to be based at Londonderry, Northern Ireland; role assisting in exercises. Recollections of period aboard HMS Bellerophen, Reserve Fleet, Portsmouth, 6/1959-7/1960: prior identity as HMS Vanguard; state of ship; duties in engineers stores serving RF; assisting in filming of war film; rented accommodation and buying houses; story of hitting jetty on way to breaker's yard; reactions to breaking up of ship. REEL 11 Recollections of period aboard HMS Londonderry, 7/1960-10/1962: joining ship at ship builders at Cowes, Isle of Wight; nature of ship; shipyard trials; working up trials at Portland; role on promotion to leading stoker; move to Londonderry; acting as guard ship during sonar trials off Azores; refuelling at Azores; movements and visits; story of football refereeing; visit to Naples and Rome, Italy; presence of US ships; problems with turbine water pump; return to GB, 12/1960; visit to Londonderry, ca 6/1960; exercises as plane guard with HMS Ark Royal in Davis Straits; reactions to visit aboard HMS Ark Royal. REEL 12 Continues: story of petty officer falling into sea whilst boarding ship; stories of recreational visits ashore during visit with HMS Ark Royal to New York; visit to Brest, France; stories of 'showing the flag' cruise around West Indies, 5/1961-6/1961 including sporting activities, water tank duties, Queen's birthday parade and maintenance team sent out from GB; voyage through Panama Canal into Pacific; 'showing the flag' cruise along west coast of US. REEL 13 Continues; review of 'showing the flag' tour and stories of US and Canadian hospitality during visits ashore during tour of naval bases along western coasts of US and Canada; return through Panama Canal; stories of 'showing the flag' cruise around West Indies including failed attempt to rescue Italian liner on fire and assisting in aftermath of hurricane in Belize; review and stories of cruise aimed to stimulate shipping orders around South America. REEL 14 Continues: review and stories of cruise aimed to stimulate shipping orders around South America, including 'crossing the line' ceremony, football activities and Christmas and New Year celebrations, 12/1961, passing through Straits of Magellan and cocktail party; visit by Lord Mountbatten; visit to brewery and distillery; voyage back to GB, 4/1962. Attending course t Royal Naval Engineering School, HMS Sultan, Gosport, 10/1962-9/1963: test piece on engineering course; awaiting posting; attending course as marine engineering office writer. REEL 15 Continues: earning to type; role of marine engineering officer writer. Recollections of period as engineer's secretary aboard HMS Arethusa, 9/1963-10/1967: joining ship at Cowes shipyard; duties; launch and fitting out of ship; workload keeping technical records and drawings; arrival of crew and commissioning ceremony, 11/1965; sea trials; choosing paint décor for messdecks; taking on stores and ammunition at Plymouth; working up trials with ship's helicopter at Portland; review of movements; voyage out via Mediterranean to Far East, 1966; exercises based at Singapore. REEL 16 Continues: role on radar watch; multi-national fleet on aircraft carrier exercise; stories of visits ashore on 'show the flag' tour around Australia; route avoiding Mediterranean during Six Day War on voyage back to GB, 1967 relationship with engineering officer; reactions to leaving ship. Period as engineering writer aboard HMS Sheffield, Reserve Fleet, 10/1967-3/1968: duties attached to HMS Daring; duties collating records of boys who had served aboard HMS St Vincent Shore Station, Gosport. Period aboard HMS Murray based at Portland, 3/1968-9/1969: reception and stories of re-establishing discipline in engineering messdeck; training role on boilers. REEL 17 Continues: training role and story of dispute with trainee ERA over inadequate levels of engineering training; story of oil leak and consequent emergency drill whilst preparing for sea; story of crossing Portland Roads to get into harbour before arrival of nuclear submarine closed harbour; nature of sea and damage control exercises; promotion to petty officer mechanic. Recollections of period as engineering writer to training commander at HMS Sultan Shore Station, Gosport, 9/1969-8/1970: administrative role; examination paper security arrangements; negotiating terms for personnel attending from foreign navies. Period as staff engineering writer at HMS Jupiter Shore Station, Bahrain, 8/1970-11/1971: relationship with engineering officer and initial dispute over lack of married quarters; role ordering fuel supplies for passing ships; climate; recreations; background to handover to Bahrain Navy; nature of petty officers' mess; relationship with US sailors. Period as acting chief petty officer at HMS Pembroke Barracks, Chatham, 11/1971-4/1973: role arranging visits of Combined Cadet Force and Sea Cadets. REEL 18 Continues: story of successful visit by Sea Cadets. Period aboard HMS Charybodis, 4/1973-11/1974: role in charge of boilers and outside machinery; role as president of petty officers' mess and bar; fishery protection role off Iceland; role on promotion to acting chief stoker; oil fuel system; dispute with engineering officer over necessity of maintaining proprieties of rank. Period at HMS Sultan Shore Station, Gosport, 11/1974-2/1975: vocational courses; attitude to strikes in civilian industry; reactions to leaving RN, 2/1975. Post-service career: work as pub landlord, 1975-1982; acclimatisation to civilian lifestyle; value of naval service.

Object Details

Category: Sound
Related period: 1990 to the present day (production), 1945-1989 (content)
Creator: IWM (Production company)
Hart, Peter M (Recorder)
Butler, David (Interviewee/Speaker)
Production date: 2006-05
Dimensions: whole: Duration 540, Number Of Items 18
Catalogue number: 28664

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