People, Places and Things
Training Submariners: The Early Days | Read |
An officer who wished to join the Submarine Service had first to receive a recommendation from his own Captain. He then had to produce either a first-class certificate for his Torpedo examination for Lieutenant or, if he had not that qualification, a certificate from the Torpedo Lieutenant of his ship to the effect that he showed special zeal in that branch of his duties. |
Submarining, a Hazardous Occupation? | Read |
A review of the Service Records of several thousand Naval Ratings in the Submarine Service from the earliest days (1901 to 1939) has highlighted the wide range of risks/hazards to which those Submariners were exposed during their Naval Service. |
A Submariners Life | Read |
They're a funny breed, these submariners. They score at the top of the military entrance exams and can thrive for weeks beneath the surface of the sea in what amounts to a sophisticated tin can loaded with some of the world's most lethal weapons. They have their own rituals and initiations; their own language and bars. They tell jokes, love a good prank and will wrestle on the floor like puppies. |
The Submariners Bond | Read |
Some may feel the submariner is a strange breed of man with a somewhat warped outlook on life and a weird sense of humour. |
The Demise Of Jack Tar | Read |
The traditional British sailor was not defined by his looks, he was defined by his attitude, his name was Jack Tar, he was a happy-go-lucky sort of bloke. He took the good times with the bad. He didn't cry victimisation, bastardisation, discrimination, for his mum for his often self destructive actions. He loved to laugh at anything or anybody rank, race, gender, creed or behaviour, it didn't matter to Jack, he would take the micky out of anyone, including himself, and if someone took it out of him he didn't get offended, it was a natural part of life. |
Bombers Lament | Read |
Now that my signature on the 'Official Secrets Form' has expired, I can tell you Diesel Submariners in our midst what we in the Bombers had to endure and put up with, keeping you safe from the 'Red Hordes' on our Patrols! |
Women Serving in Submarines | Read |
There has always been much concern about whether women should serve in Submarines and Submariners to a man, have always said 'No Way'. However it seems that without us realising it (women serving in Submarines) has been going on for years! George Meadows has highlighted a case that he knows of! |
Fort Blockhouse | Read |
Fort Blockhouse had its beginnings as a military base in 1431 when Henry VI authorised a tower to be built on the Gosport side of Portsmouth Harbour. By 1714, the tower had grown into a fort with much the same outward characteristics as it has now, and by 1813 it was described as being "complete". |
Building X Craft Submarines | Read |
My first glimpse of a Midget Submarine was about August 1942 when my then foreman in the Submarine Dock sent me to have my photograph taken to form a special pass to enter a secure area set in the North Shop (formerly the Gun Shop and now the Nuclear Build Shop) to work on a special project. I had no idea what the project was and doubted whether anyone else in working in my area did either. |
Baptism By Bell | Read |
Leslie Willcox, a section head in Industrial Services and an ex Royal Navy man of 24 years experience recently attended a very special service with his wife Georgina at Holy Trinity Church Gosport for the christening of their son, Richard. |
The Thetis Disaster Relief Fund | Read |
The following chronicles the communication between the Chairman of the Barrow Branch of The Submariners Association and the office of The Lord mayor of London. |
Wadding - Escape from 603ft | Read |
Interview with Peter Wadding on a record breaking Submarine Escape |
Immersion Suit for use with the DSEA Escape Set | Read |
I am baffled by the Admiralty promoting and facilitating these newsreels, as it shamelessly shows that an immersion suit that was NOT available to the Truculent escapees, many of whom would likely have survived if it had been! |
The History Of The Boatswain Call | Read |
The boatswain's pipe is one of the oldest and most distinctive pieces of personal nautical equipment and was once the only method other than human voice of passing orders to men on board ship. |
The Jolly Roger | Read |
Sir Arthur Wilson was infamous within the Royal Navy for being an admiral with a tetchy temper. Yet a verbal broadside he delivered in 1901 was to spawn one of the Submarine Service's most loved and deeply ingrained traditions, the flying of the Jolly Roger flag to mark the victorious return from a successful patrol. |
Naval Prize Bounty | Read |
Prize Bounty or Head Money was a grant from the Crown out of moneys provided by Parliament as a reward for the sinking or capture of an armed vessel belonging to enemy forces, and intended primarily as an encouragement of personal gallantry and enterprise. |
The Dolphin Code | Read |
The Dolphin Code has earned a solid international reputation, and is now well known within Western Submarine navies. It has even been rumoured that the late Soviet Naval Air Force used the code on occasion. The Royal Australian Navy additions were added in 1997 and serve to attest to the popularity of the DOLPHIN CODE |