Bryan Senior |
MS Scott 1952 to 1953
I served on this survey ship during
the above years as the Radio Electrical Artificer responsible for
the Radar & radio equipment onboard.
As there was not very much
electronics to maintain I spent most of the time logging data for
the survey groups eg sextant readings, sea depth and type of sea
bed.
With my next promotion I had to leave
the ship and return to normal RN duties
For the Crew Members Information
Name Bryan Senior. Rank (At the
time) REA 4th class Served 1952 to 1953
I thought these pics would be of
interest
1)HMS Scott at Dartmouth preparing
for the Spithead Review
2) HMS Scott at the Spithead Review
Some memories of my time onboard
3) I helped set up the equipment to
record echoes from the explosions that "Discovery" set off when
investigating the Earths Crust in the Atlantic.
4)I was one of the crew of the
ships boat that got stranded in Loch Strangford while trying to do
one more track just as the tide was going out (The loch is famous
for rapid tide changes). They had to send another boat to take us
off and leave our boat until the tide changed, we had to wade out
to the rescue boat as it didn't also want to get stranded.
5)While surveying the Thames
Estuary using "Decca" for doing fixing, but also using the radar
because it was foggy, I was ordered to be the radar operator
because the normal operator was sick.
You can imagine my panic as the
captain kept giving idents to each echo I reported then coming
back asking where such a particular one was now. (We are not
trained to read PPI screens)
Suddenly one appeared dead
ahead and I reported it as we got closer. The captain over the
speaker said to me "That's a Buoy, ignore it" then the engines
went into full astern as a large tanker loomed up out of the fog
dead ahead.
You can imagine the comments I got
about how useless radar was when I got back to the Mess but the
Captain sent for me and apologised for making a wrong assumption
(Possibly a trained operator may have told the captain the echo
was to large to be a buoy.)
6)The Scott had two large motor
launches (Like MTBs) that worked either side of us giving quick
multiple runs. )I was summoned to the bridge by the captain who
rather irate told me to look into the "Walky Talky" that he was
using to communicate with the boats as it kept failing.
I had to diplomatically demonstrate
to him that these phones were "Line of sight" only operation, so
that as he got rigging etc between himself and the boats that was
why they didn't work.
7)Acting as a guest ship at the
Spithead review we were one of the last to take position and were
anchored just astern of the Russian cruiser.
I remember that as the queen sailed
down the lines of warships they all gave little "Pops" of their
saluting guns until she passed the Russian Cruiser, as they didn't
have a saluting gun, they just fired one of their anti aircraft
guns which was a great deal louder than all the others.
I hope my memories you will find of
interest, I enjoyed being attached to the Survey Navy for that
time
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Hugh Lambert |
I was called up for
National Service on 20th February 1956. Having been mad keen on the
RN (Anchor faced) I had been a sea scout, and sea cadet. In 1953 I
visited HMS Theseus for the Coronation Fleet Review. Knowing that I
would be liable for N/S I joined the London Division RNVR as a
junior stoker. (No L/D 11147)?
My first sea
training was to Holland and France aboard the Ton Class HMS Thames.
(I was paid more by the RN than I was as a junior draughtsman at a
Plastics factory in North London). On my return I sat the exam for
stoker 1st class, to be told that I hadn't a clue, and I hadn't even
been on a steam powered ship. I was then given another 14 days sea
training. A week at MTRE school at the classrooms in Pompey and a
week aboard HMS Flint Castle at Portland. All this was in 1955.
I was called up on
20/02/1956 (P/K 960990) at HMS Raleigh. Made class leader of our
intake and then selected for SSM(E). (Superheated stoker). Next
more training aboard the Battle Class, HMS Sluys at Guzz, then a
draft to HMS Theseus, to Portland, where she was then part of the
training squadron. Still under training we did the Suez Landings in
November, along with our sister HMS Ocean, then she went back to
Malta to refuel. I picked up a crash draft to the operational
carrier HMS Albion and spent a further three months in the Med. On
the way home I received a "dear John" and signed on for Nine. (Like
you do)! I stayed aboard Albion for the next commission, taking her
out to the Far East and the round the world trip. (Fresh water tanky
with Bungy Williams, 24 about).
On our return I
did the killicks course at HMS Sultan, sat my Fleet Board for Stoker
PO, (and passed first time), and got married. I was drafted to HMS
Scott. A ship that no one had heard of. I joined her at Chatham.
The Cox'n wasn't too impressed and said I was adrift. I pointed out
that I had used the last of my money on a "fast black" from the
station, and that I had come down from London by train. He then
pointed out that as I had passed for P.O. I was senior killick and
thus killick of the stokers mess. In at the deep end! New ship,
white with a buff funnel, no guns, and a new messdeck of 24 blokes
that I didn't know.
HMS Scott had a
busy war, and an even busier peace. Survey duties. Short of stoker PO's, I was doing watches down "A" boiler room. But great fun and
what a way to learn. Nothing much worked, no robo-feed regulator,
you adjusted the water level by the speed of the recip pump. The
boilers were derated, three sprayers, and 250 psi. Just you and a
stoker on watch. A great bunch of blokes too. Len Neal, and Ray
Glynn were two of the other killicks as I recall. The skipper was
Lt Cdr Scott, and he wanted his extra half ring. Sea Time - If it
was light we were at sea, sweeping for wrecks, anchoring overnight
and off again at first light. We operated from Dover
and blacked out the harbour flashing up on a Monday mornings One
N/S stoker was a member of the Sainsbury family, he flashed up on
his own as the mail train was late. I spent a very happy year
aboard her before I picked up my A/POM(E) rate. It was like being
made Lord Mayor.
Then a draft to
fly out to Singapore to recommission HMS Bulwark. (The Rusty "B")
. Have you got your Boiler Ticket ?, said the Chief Stoker. "Yes
Chief". Good, then you've got the afternoon watch, 78,000 shp at
your fingertips. But you only think of the good times!
On Scott we spent
three days on the Dogger Bank with an anchor down and steaming
ahead, keeping our nose into the weather. One of the officers had
hurt his back in a fall due to the weather. On another occasion it
was foggy in the Channel when the Russian submarines cam through.
We could hear their diesels long before we could see them. Everyone
with a camera had their film developed for them. We even had a
Russian speaking crew member monitoring the radio. But we were
fitted with all the latest survey radar. Weekends were usually from
2pm on Saturday afternoon. We used to put our weekend revs on.
Fill up the boiler water level. Stop the feed pump and put the LP
exhaust on the LP turbine for that extra burst. The 1st Lt used to
watch the vibrating funnel spitting out soot and sparks and say "I
see the Engine Room have their weekend revs on again". When new
she would do 17 knots, I think we managed 14 or so.
We used to pass
paperbacks to trawlers in exchange for fresh fish too. Canteen
messing. Yes, very happy days!
Yours "Aye" John
Lambert.
|
Geoffrey Haskins |
Have just discovered this site.
Congratulations on an excellent endeavour which I shall be savouring
over the coming weeks.
I am listed as being in Scott
1948-49, which was the at start of my nearly 40 year career as a
hydrographic surveyor in the RN, the RNZN, and the offshore oil and
gas industry until I finally retired in 1987. Thus I have a special
place in my memory bank for Scott as being my surveying "nursery".
In January 1949 we cut short our
lie-up in order to prevent the ship's company being raided due to
man-power shortages and sailed for the Clyde. We surveyed in wintry
conditions in extremes of discomfort - but I learnt my trade the
hard way!
I have two more names for you for
that time (1948-1949) who are still alive:
Lieut Robert W (Sandy) Sandilands
(now lives in western Canada)
Lieut David H Harries (still working
as Sotheby's marine instrument expert)
That's enough for now. Thank you for
your efforts; the Halcyons were wonderful little ships.
Geoffrey Haskins
8 The Squirrels, 24a The Avenue
Poole, Dorset, BH13 6AFJuly
2007
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