I suppose joining the Royal Navy makes me a monarchist? The armed services swear allegiance to the crown and so I guess it is so.
I served the late Queen for twenty eight years of her seventy year rein. I received medals with her portrait stamped on them and represented her around the world, serving on Her Majesties Ships.
HMS Hermes was my first floating experience that’s apart from the “stone frigates (if those who read my blogs remember that these are shore bases also named HMS something or other). The places where sailors serve when not required to be at sea, for example, training establishments or air bases.
Hermes was a major aircraft carrier in service with the Royal Navy from 1959 until 1984, and she served as the flagship of the British forces during the 1982 Falklands War.
I was only 18 when I was drafted to the ship in 1977. It was huge to me and dangerous as we “airy fairies”, were named by the General Service sailors the nicest term for The Fleet Air Arm (although among other things they often called us WAFUs, which was an acronym from what we endearingly called as we called them, ‘Fisheads’.
Obviously at my young age I thought that the term was made up and translated - for them, as,‘Wet and F***ing Useless’ . I found out later that WAFU was actually the term derived from the sleeveless, anti static , sheepskin lined jerkins or windproof smocks for issue only to Weapon and Fuel Users which those had to wear on the cold, windswept and spark- dangerous spaces of an aircraft carrier's flight deck.
I never really got one of those as they were issued before I joined the navy and I really, I always thought WAFU was spelt Wafoo and meant "We Always Fly Off - Offshore!" (Wafoo).
Yes , I worked on the busy flight deck and went up and down to the hangar. Which one had to go via the after or side lifts. Lads like me were called "Plane Captains" and had to dress and undress the aircraft of all of its blade restraints, engine blanks and tail rotor gust locks and either sat on the brakes as the handlers moved the ten or so ton helicopter around using tractors or mechanical handlers or we carried wooden bespoke designed wedges of sturdy material placed closely against the main wheels. Thus, whenever the handler shouted “STOP” we would quickly place the chocks at the each wheel on the side you were walking to prevent accidental movement or sliding due to a wet deck and it could indeed slide out of control as some accidents did happen.
When moving the aircraft and once the aircraft was manned by pilots and aircrew, our job was to remove the chocks from the wheels of our helicopters, and when it finally landed put back on the heavy chain lashings on the helo's landing gear with the wheels 'chocked' ready for another move back to the hangar. When they did go flying we would remove the lashings and chocks at the same time when the handlers , (called ‘chock-heads,’), gave us the signals to do so and when we were clear of the main rotor disk, the aircraft would be lifted off of the deck and yaw over to the side or transition straight up in the air to be gone for about 4 hours tasked on anti submarine patrols.
It was an endless routine held daily and at night. It was a major graft for young sailors like me. It was though, a men only discipline then. Wrens always served at shore bases, whereas today in our inclusion and diversity systems it’s all for one and one for all and no less scary.
After work, or between sorties we would help out on other aircraft, grab a cup of tea or if relieved we could retire to our mess deck which housed 150 of us. The mess itself being situated below the galley and eating mess hall.
One had to go through the mess hall where people ate to get to the showers and anarchy antics would rein down on on any of the off watch crew who didn’t shower daily. They were given the embarrassment treatment of taking their towel away when they eventually decided to go and bathe. You would hear an uproar from the mess hall as people clapped and chanted as the victim of towel theft paraded his naked form through the mess hall. He having to go around and through the many tables where the ships company ratings were eating.
Of course this would be bullying in today’s world of ultimate correctness. However some things that I came into contact with in the last century are not so very different to the anarchy of events that are happening around us today?
As an example, there are those who go around disrupting sports events or climbing on bridges, are they modern day suffragettes or are they dared to be stupid and risk their lives and freedom for such an outrage act of defiance? They saying in their defence that they believe, truly believe,that by doing these acts that government and industry will stop oil being used.
I would be willing to bet that these so called democratic protesters use oil every day of their lives.
Do we not we use petroleum products to propel vehicles, to heat buildings, and to produce electricity. In the industrial sector, the petrochemical industry uses petroleum as a raw material (a feedstock) to make products such as plastics, polyurethane, solvents, and hundreds of other intermediate and end-user goods.
In my day, jet fuel propelled the aircraft I grew up and worked on and that which I made a career from. Oils were used prolifically in every thing we encounter as they definitely do so today. Health and Safety was our biggest protection and even that was sometimes held in disregard.
Of course I am just someone who can only relate to my time on this planet. It has been a real experience; that first ship, those wonderful aircraft. Lots of things have happened in my time in which I served my Queen and maybe I will return to those memories in another blog perhaps.
This weekend is Coronation time. I read that Anarchists gathered to shout “Not My King. All around the many football grounds the national anthem was sung with pride except at Anfield; where they decided to drown out the anthem with shouts of Liver Pooool and continued through the anthem with boos and chants. Can you believe this city is hosting the World’s most popular song contest next week ?
Human rights campaigners criticized the police for infringing JSO civil liberties taking their placards away and arresting them for wearing yellow t-shirts.
I wonder, some days, why people are so ashamed and belligerent about their heritage and history? The rain didn’t put off those royalists who traveled to honour their monarch and they came in their droves, which is something positive for the United Kingdom in my eyes.
I wonder. some days if we might become a country who are next to encounter a gunman randomly shooting men, women and children (of which I read that the 199th episode of gun crime, (this year), occurred in the United States this very weekend in Texas).
In a time when we are plagued by belligerence and wars are these not the things of conflict destroying our planet. This week, Russia prepares a celebration of victory over the Nazis in Stalingrad (1942 to 1943) and the end of the Nazi regime in 1945. I ask what is the point if they are going around persecuting and pillaging in the Ukraine in 2022-2023.
I sometimes despair with world events as I suspect most of my readers do too and wonder, probably too much, about what makes life bearable or unbearable for the genuine peace wanting populous. But I don't wonder about how I feel about my country of which I am proud to have served and will continue to serve my King all day and "All night Long".
God save the King and the new Carolean age!
Poem
Some Days
The days of pleasantries are on the wane,
Some days it seems there is only rain.
Keeping sanity when others rage
Risking freedom for a prison cage.
Why all the while there is doom and gloom
The lights and heat fades in every room?
Surviving on solar, or wind power without any oil,
Would this ease the tempers or end turmoil?
Anarchy or protest, they swear and cuss
Of confusion and lawlessness - it is thus
Some days, it seems the world may break
Caused by Dictators, Frustraters and our State, they hate
Some days we hope, for peace, please, please just stop….