Stuck Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Don't know if I am the only old seadog that did my Navy training here. but watching last nights Royal Navy school on Channel 4 I just couldnt recognize the place and just how training methods have changed, mind you it was nearly 50years since I was there !!. My first week as I remember was being picked up from Plymouth station Monday afternoon and going to the new entry block starting off being treated very softly softly, and then on Friday afternoon marching down to the parade ground and being introduced to the friendly GI who asked us to walk up and down the drill hall as casually as we liked and on the way back shouting at us " Right thats the last time you ####s will be doing that for a few years !!" Oh dear what had I let myself in for. The following week we did our first parade, it was a boiling hot May afternoon and we were wearing those wire wool sea jerseys. because of the heat we were sweating profusely which shrunk the new cap so much that I thought my brain was crushing, and will never forget striping off for a shower on returning to the mess and our bodies were blue apart from were those rather long underpants and vest fitted. At least now you get issued with a decent pair of boots!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shar2 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Yep, but thirty two years ago. They certainly seem to have it easy these days. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatalbert Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 (edited) I was there in 88,am suprised that chap was back after a heart op,I would have thought it would have been an Immediate discharge. Edited February 9, 2016 by fatalbert 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darby Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Didn't watch it as I would no doubt end up saying things like 'it wasn't like that when I was there...,' or 'what a load of old ****, they've got no idea..' etc. You get my drift, and besides the last thing I wanted after a four hour journey from London complete with oil warning light, strange engine noises and foul weather was to be reminded of work. I was there in early '88 and increasingly cynical as the years go on. As for decent boots, bats haven't been the same since the sad demise of the type with the circular grip soles. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moaning dolphin Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Looks like we've go a bit of the '88 gang going on! I was there from Sept to Dec (No it wasn't due to many round agains, I was a Tiff ). Haven't seen the latest series as Channel 4 seem to have blocked my illegal streaming! I still have nightmares of a daily run to the fire school and back, bet they've cleaned that up as well! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shar2 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Ah yes, the fire station run. That was fun, I was 843 entry and we got caught talking on the march back to Fisgard Squadron after the passing out parade by our Fleety, and we had to do the run one last time in full blues. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hardtarget Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I was there iin 98, and remember having to run the gauntlet between the mess and the WRENS mess trying not to get caught by the PO's and CPO's. Guys got caught and the whole mess was up on the parade ground in freezing/wet conditions. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgeek Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Was there in '81. Half a day off to watch the Royal Wedding (Chaz and Di) and a can of warm coke instead of a tot as I was underage. Also saw the Wrens march in after Dauntless was decommissioned. Made the NAAFI a whole lot more interesting Although not being ships company, or booties, we could only watch from afar Failing to obey the rule of not getting caught entailed a Fireschool run in summer carrying mattress's on our heads or as a treat carrying the mess table as a squad while wearing gas masks. The latter was my first experience of pushing my body so hard I puked with the exertion. Character building days! Meatloaf 'Bat out of Hell' blaring from open windows, it appeared to be a grat issue for all new entries! I hated being an instructor later in my career. I was firmly of the opinion 'those who can't do, teach'. An unfair view coloured by the fact I liked to be Operational, not decorational! Watched the programme and bit my tongue. Its not my navy any-more, they have the torch to pick up. Good luck to 'em. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roof Rat Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 No sorry....Ganges for this old f*rt, 45 years ago now.....God I feel old RR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twobad Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I did an 'RN Experience' week at HMS Daedalus when I was 15 in '80. Does that count? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swordfish fairey Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 No sorry....Ganges for this old f*rt, 45 years ago now.....God I feel old RR You and me both matey! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuck Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 Over the years I seem to have forgotten more than I remember about this place, but after watching last nights prog i woke up this morning doing a bit of reminiceing.. so its nice to see that i am not alone here.. I seem to remember back in 1968 that it was all black wooden huts with a big building in the middle, the only thing I could recognize was the parade ground.Also I got a bit confused with were warrant officers fitted into the hierarchy and their seemed to be a lot of them floating about for one class. We just had one class PO. I came to the conclusion that it must now take more to train one sailor for todays modern Navy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shar2 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Warrant Officer replaced Fleet Chief to bring the Navy into line with the other services. We had a Fleet Chief in charge of Fisgard Squadron when I was at Raleigh. Don't know if it was the same for the other divisions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul E Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I am pleased to say that I didn't watch it, It would have forced me to realise that I'm getting older and the world has changed and not necessarily for the better. I went through Raleigh as an 863 entryTiff and my brother was an 883 entry Tiff. The passage of time has dimmed the horrors of the regular fire school runs and the misery of Cardinham on Bodmin Moor to nothing more than a fond memory of days gone by. Then there was going on a rig run to Plymouth to watch Top Gun and a certain Wren MET............oh the good old days before real life got in the way! As for decent boots, bats haven't been the same since the sad demise of the type with the circular grip soles. What have they done to the Bats?.........that's it! the RN really has declined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davecov Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I was at HMS Raleigh in 1976 in class Anson 24 and many of the accommodation blocks were still under construction. Some of the old wooden huts were still around but were used as classrooms. Being an ex-Sea Cadet of three years standing, I didn't find it as much of a shock to the system as most New Entries did - although the haircut was eye-watering: Lots of memories. Pier Cellars, day trips to Looe, Bodmin Moor exped, Jamaica Inn, going into Torpoint and getting stone drunk on a pint of lager and a single Pernod and Black. 1976 was the year of a particularly nasty heatwave and the number of trainees literally passing out on the parade ground was ridiculous. It was full blues all the way and God help you if you fainted. You would be dragged off with toe-caps scraping across the parade ground ruining your boots. Nowadays, in similar conditions they probably would do Divisions in half-blues carrying bottles of water. I was back at HMS Raleigh in 1984 to do my POWTR QC, spending as much time in the Harbour Lights club in Torpoint as I did in the classroom.I upset my class by volunteering us all to go on the Bodmin Moor exped with the trainees. It turned out to be great fun despite the initial reservations of my class-mates! The instructors didn't seem so bad then either! Those were the days.... Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuck Posted February 11, 2016 Author Share Posted February 11, 2016 Your hair cut was eye watering Dave ? , mine was clucking,heartbreaking !!. Back in 68 it was cool to have long hair and on joining I had quite a crop. Now a Matelot quite easily mellow in with the crowd in civies, but then you would stick out like a sore thumb on a run ashore I hated it and lost all confidence with the opposite sex. Now perhaps it was a myth, but I was led to believe that you had to have enough hair left on your head to be grabbed hold of if you fell into the drink, so zero cuts were out. At least we were blessed with a great class instructor a PO who had served through the war and our class was to be his last job before retirement. What ever he was instructing us at he would always go off on a tangent as to what he got up to out in the far east, a great character but didnt seem to learn much.!!. Only thing I ever did well in was the assault course, after my teams final test, we were told that our time was one of the best ever, and we were asked if we would like to do it again to see if we could beat the camp record that had been set ;in 1952, if memory serves me well we did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildagreek Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 I was there in September of '84. We never saw a WRNS to talk to, all male instructors except for one PTI & nobody was too sure! I certainly ran to the fire school more than once, one member having to get your hand stamped by the sadistic (bully) of a PO stoker. Good to see there's still no privacy & the standards are still high, although I vividly remember the sight of kit & mattresses sailing out of the block windows as we marched back! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shar2 Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 I was there in September of '84. We never saw a WRNS to talk to, all male instructors except for one PTI & nobody was too sure! I certainly ran to the fire school more than once, one member having to get your hand stamped by the sadistic (bully) of a PO stoker. Good to see there's still no privacy & the standards are still high, although I vividly remember the sight of kit & mattresses sailing out of the block windows as we marched back! Ah, so you were there when I was. Yes, kit flying out of the windows was a feature of my stay there too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grahamwalker Posted February 11, 2016 Share Posted February 11, 2016 how does PO Cox pass a fitness test 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad_Larkin Posted June 8, 2016 Share Posted June 8, 2016 I only have to wear those boots for 4 months at a time trust me they aren't comfy or decent at all. RFA chef, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now