BRIGG MAN IN WINNING TEAM AT REGATTA RECEIVES PRIZE FROM ADMIRAL

 

More memories from Cliff Turner, now 91 and living in New Zealand, who grew up in Brigg, attended Brigg Grammar School and then went into the Navy...


In February 1946 the Home Fleet Regatta came around in Portland Harbour. I cannot remember how many ships took part but as the Commander in Chief was a full Admiral it is probable that there must have been at least one battleship. 
Most of the regatta consisted of races for ship's boats called whalers which had crews of eight oarsmen. The Carley float race was a more light-hearted event and we entered a crew from the artisan's mess. Carley floats were lifeboats, equipped with paddles, hung around the ships superstructure in a way that allowed them to be quickly put into the water if the order "Abandon ship" was given.
 I forget how long the course was or how many crews competed but I do know that our crew won and we were foolish enough and elated enough to jump into the sea. The seas around Britain are very cold in February! 
My mates decided I should be the one to receive the prize from Admiral Sir Neville Syfret aboard his flagship. The Admiral shook my hand and gave me an envelope; I saluted and said "Thank you, Sir". 
The envelope contained ten shillings for each of us. At the time that was more than a day’s pay.
March 1946 brought my first trip to foreign parts; it lasted about six weeks and we visited Gibraltar, Trinidad, Jamaica, the Bahamas and Bermuda in that order.
My first purchase on foreign soil was in Gibraltar - a large bag of grapes for sixpence. I walked to the Spanish border but did not go to see the apes of which it is said that so long as they are there Britain will rule Gibraltar. 
 That is proving correct up to now; although the British Empire has withered away the people of Gibraltar have shown a strong determination to stay with Britain in spite of efforts by Spain to retrieve the Rock it ceded to Britain in the 18th century.
 In the evening, like most of the men ashore, I visited one of the many places which catered for Jack Tar's thirst and which boasted a flamenco dancer with castanets. It was unwise to overindulge because the next day I was due to take the navy's Higher Education Test, a requirement for any man hoping to achieve commissioned or warrant officer rank.
It was scheduled for the day I spent mostly ashore in Gibraltar but somebody had decided that I could take it the next day. I was the only person in the Birmingham taking the exam. I took it because after failing to get out of the navy in 1945 I had decided to make the best of it and to aim for promotion.
 I cannot remember with certainty how many papers there were; I think there were maths, science, English and general knowledge. What I do remember was that the sea was rougher than any I had hitherto encountered and at one stage I was hurled off the stool on which I was sitting. I passed the examination.
 A day or two later we entered warmer waters and I saw for the first time dolphins and flying fish. The dolphins swam effortlessly near the ship's prow and like many of the crew I spent a long time watching them. 
Another few days went by and we arrived at Port of Spain, Trinidad where the Governor was waiting to welcome our captain, G W Simpson, ashore. 
Just before we reached Trinidad, Captain Simpson had assembled the crew on deck to warn us of the perils of cheap rum; it must be reported that many did not heed his well-intentioned words.
I do not think I over-indulged on shore but I had my 21st birthday in Trinidad - in those days 21 was the age at which one came of age - and my messmates plied me "sippers". That was the navy's term for a sip of a mess-mate’s tot. 
Tot time was about mid-day and I spent the afternoon sleeping it off.
 No-one in the Royal Navy today will have given or received "sippers"; more than 20 years ago Admiral le Fanu, First Sea Lord, decided that modern ships did not need half-fuddled men in the afternoons and tot-time became a thing of the past.
 Not many memories of Port of Spain remain; one is of going to some public gardens and seeing for the first time cocoa beans growing. I also saw the Earl of Athlone and his wife Princess Alice, who I think was a grand-daughter of Queen Victoria. The earl had just finished his term as Governor General of Canada and they were having a side trip on the way home to England. I also recall buying a coconut for a halfpenny.
After a few days we left for Kingston, the capital of Jamaica, a voyage of more than a thousand miles. All I recall is a trip by rail across the island to Port Antonio where the local community treated a large party from the ship to food, drink and entertainment. 
As we left we were given stalks of bananas, one stalk for every two men. A stalk is the entire output for the season of the tree and all the bananas on it come from one huge flower; the stalk I shared with a mess-mate had about 140 bananas.
More memories from Cliff to come on Brigg Blog...