Edward William Budgen
Edward William Budgen – or Ted as we all knew him - was born in Redhill in Surrey on 18th August 1934. After leaving school Ted joined the Railways and became a locomotive fireman. Later he joined the Royal Navy and, on 10th November 1954, he joined the submarine depot HMS Dolphin at Gosport 'for Submarine training'.
After completing the Submarine Course he was drafted to the Submarine Depot Ship HMS Maidstone (2nd Submarine Squadron) for the S Class submarine HMS Scythian on 28th April 1955 and was based in Portland in Dorset.
HMS Scythian and the other Submarines of the Flotilla were used as dived targets for anti-submarine training in the fleet (usually referred to as Clockwork Mousing) and to carry out equipment trials for the Underwater Water Research Establishment at Portland with the occasional visit to other ports like Poole, Portsmouth and Plymouth. 'Ted' served in Scythian until the 3rd of December 1956 and then joined the Submarine 'Spare Crew'.
Ted came to Barrow in Furness to join the crew of the experimental Submarine E15 (later officially HMS Excalibur) on 27th Aug 1957. Ted was to 'Standby By' the Submarine while the build of the Submarine was completed in the Vickers Shipyard.
In Barrow Ted met two people who were to become a significant part of his life. The first was Paul Cubitt who was an Electrical Mechanic who also served in HMS Excalibur and with whom he shared 'digs' in Barrow. Paul, who now lives in Gosport, tells how he and Ted became 'best mates' and 'run ashore oppos' and that they both played in the Submarine's football team – apparently Ted played in goal in a very distinctive yellow jumper – and Paul played in midfield.
After Excalibur was completed the submarine left Barrow for sea trials on the Clyde based at Faslane. The 'Experimental' part of the Submarine was the propulsion system and its very volatile fuel which had a habit of exploding or causing fires at the drop of a hat. This happened so often that the sister submarine Explorer was nicknamed 'Exploder' and Excalibur became 'Excruciator'.
The second, and most important person, was Margaret Carruthers who Ted met in Barrow and courted and married in the summer of 1958. 'Best Oppo' Paul Cubitt was the 'Best Man' at the wedding. Paul tells how Ted and Margaret later shared a Naval hiring in Helensburgh with Paul and his wife until Ted and Margaret moved into their own hiring.
Ted left HMS Excalibur on 25th Nov 1958 and returned to HMS Dolphin until he was drafted to the Streamlined T Class Submarine HMS Teredo.
In 1959 Teredo underwent a full crew refit in Malta and, on completing the refit, Teredo was detailed to join 7th Submarine Squadron which had been re-established in Singapore. The route out was via the Suez Canal and Trincomalee in Ceylon to Singapore where the Submarine arrived on 6th January 1960.
The wives arrived shortly afterwards but only had three days with their husbands before the submarine left for exercises at Trincomalee. Whilst in the Far East Ted would have been involved in various trials and exercises as well as visits to Hong Kong, Manila, Yokohama and Nagasaki.
Ted served in Teredo until 14th Apr 1961 when he returned home to 'foreign Service' leave and re-joined the 'Spare Crew'
Ted's final submarine was the O Class Submarine HMS Orpheus which he joined on 4th September 1962 and he served in that Submarine in home waters until 24th September 1964. A month later, on 27th October 1964, he left the Submarine Service.
Ted became a member of the Barrow in Furness Branch of the Submarine Old Comrades Association on 6th Feb 1973 and he was a most enthusiastic supporter of the Branch serving as the Branch Treasurer for many years and for even longer as a Committee Member. Ted was a supporter of the planned Submarine Heritage Centre and was also the Treasurer for the Heritage Paintings Collection. Ted and Margaret loved attending the various Branch functions and the Submariners Association Reunions.
