Download - Royal Australian Navy

More documents

Recommendations

Info

NAVY ENGINEERING BULLETIN MARCH 2003 49 Security Officer and Research Officer. One of my more enjoyable jobs was the New Submarine Construction Project where the technical data of all the foreign contenders was forwarded to me where I correlated all this data into comparison charts (before the days of computers). So I worked on WW II quadruple 40mm Bofors mountings, Single Mk 7 40mm Bofors and Twin Mk V 40mm Bofors mountings, Twin 4" Mk XVI guns in a CP Mk XIX mountings, 4.5" Mk VI* turret (with 1944 Mk 18H vavle amplifiers), Mk 9 21" torpedoes, electrical supply and distribution on a Daring class destroyer and an Oberon class submarine. In addition to these duties, at sea on a submarine a techo kept seaman duties, so I did inshore navigation, radar watches, periscope watches and target plotting. I belonged to the Gunnery Branch (as an OA), the Electrical Branch ( as a SAP), the Engineering Branch (as an A1MTLSM), and finally the Electrical Branch again (as a CPOETP3SM, a CPOETP4SM and a WOETP4SM). I think Pussers got their moneys worth out of me. Use what you can of my book. I would like a copy of each issue as "payment". I hope I don't end up like I did whilst cartooning for Navy News where I was censored by Admiral Hudson and my Captain S/M was told to "charge that man with I don't care what - but I want him charged." THE GOOD OLD DAYS I got off the train at Central Railway Station, Sydney early one grey morning with the other members of the Queensland intake, having barely survived the rigors and food of the New South Wales Government Railways. We were met by a Petty Officer with a 'just you wait until I get you lot' grin and the almost mandatory clip board with our now recognisable names (in alphabetical order of course), who herded us into a Pusser's bus with a maximum amount of diabolical threats and rude words for the final stage of our journey out to the RAN's Apprentices Training Establishment - HMAS NIRIMBA The bus driver was a fairly average driver as we would later come to appreciate, but as young Civies, our first Pusser's bus ride was to say the least a harrowing, hair raising event, falling somewhere between the Indianapolis 500 and a chase scene from some cops & robbers TV show. We were all worried, excited, apprehensive and eager as we started our great adventure. Out of all the hundreds of applicants, we few had made it - we were in the Navy. Our 'ship' was landlocked HMAS NIRIMBA - an old Naval Air Station spread over quite some area, some 25 miles west of Sydney. We were in a dairy farm/chook farm area, so that meant flies - flies of all sizes, shapes and colours - millions upon millions of them - all wanting to make my personal acquaintance - and temperatures that ranged from physical meltdown in Summer to brass monkey warning in Winter. It was a sprawled conglomerate of mixed corrugated tin huts of various sizes (and vintages), hangars, taxiways, airstrips, manicured lawns, trees, shrubs, scrub - but who cared - it flew the White Ensign - the old White Ensign with the red cross of Saint George. We all mustered outside the the Regulating Office, all together for the first time from all the States and Territories of Australia - 52 of us now known as the 'July 61 Intake'. We were immediately identified - we each received a Service Number. 'You think you may be N.A.A'-- or Naval Artificer Apprentices', we were informed, 'but you are really (in my case) R42489. Your rank and rate may change, but you'll always be R42489. Remember it - you'll live with it and until the day you die; you'll still recall it above all other numbers or combination of numbers!!' He was oh so right. So I joined the Mob in July 1961 at HMAS NIRIMBA and was therefore one of the old MOBles' (standing for 'Most Objectionable Bastards Imaginable!) - a term of derision of which we became fiercely proud and revelled in its implications. We were all young teenagers in the delicate process of growing rapidly and were continually subjected to harsh discipline and a very rigorous and strenuous work and sports load. Remember these were the days before the Navy let the psychologists run amok - the days when if a Kellick told you to jump - you jumped and God help you if you came down before he said it was okay; the days when a Petty Officer was King, a Chief Petty Officer beyond comprehension and when once a month, Zeus, in the form of your Divisional Officer, descended from Mount Olympus and walked amongst us mere mortals; and where a three-badge Seaman was Lord of the Manor. We doubled everywhere in heavy boots (brass studs on leather soles - specially designed to slip and slide easily - steel toe and heel caps so that when you stamped on the Parade Ground, sparks flew from under your feet) and of course, full webbing was worn to differentiate you from the rest of the Apprentices. The webbiing said 'see look a new boy!' or 'Sprog". Punishment for any misdemeanour (real or imagined) was immediate - usually in the form of PT or a 'double' around
50 NAVY ENGINEERING BULLETIN MARCH 2003 NIRIMBAs' two main airstrips and a large taxiway set in a large triangle - a distance of some 3-4 miles; or if the indescretion was committed at night, you found yourself (along with the rest of your hut members) doubling the length of the main airstrip (about 1000 yards) with your mattress over your head. We learnt very early in these days at NIRIMBA that most punishments were directed against the whole term instead of just the individual perpetrator. This was 'designed to divide and separate' the term. Unfortunately, in our case, we found that the opposite occurred and it, if anything, brought our term closer together and we readily accepted group punishment on behalf of an individual. (Looking back on it now, this was a fact quickly recognised by our Commander, who, I feel, was quite pleased with our term loyalty). The nights offered us no respite at all, as, as the first termers (or 'Sprogs') we were subjected to continual, and sometimes quite brutal harrassment in the form of senior term hunting parties who would, when they came upon a Sprog, strip him, coat his private parts quite liberally with boot polish (that had to be scrubbed off in cold water in a Sydney western suburbs winter - not funny, especially with an 'issue soap' that was flat out giving a lather in the best of circumstances), and the odd and not so infrequent fist or elbow from the polishers on the polishee - just to tide him over. This we could endure for a month or so (all done of course with 'unofficial' sanction from Sir), but it began to wear thin after twothree months every night; so, we, as a term, did the unthinkable, the unheard of -'we retaliated against our senior term tormentors. We advised them that for every one of us that was bastardised - one of them would cop it from us. This was laughed off until we actually had to prove the point. This was in the form of a one-to-one confrontation between one of 'ours' and one of 'them' with the unspoken agreement that whoever emerged the victor, had the right of decision of future 'activities'. This gladitorial event took place in the gym with both terms fully represented and quite a number of the other termers as 'interested spectators', (with a couple of Senior Sailors quite inconspicuous at the rear of the screaming throng, just to see things were kept above board and lives were not lost), all cheering on their respective champions in the best traditions of the Circus Maximus. Let it be quite certain that we didn't want just a victory - we wanted BLOOD! That our 'champion' proved the victor of the foray was, needless to say, an immense relief and a source of great enjoyment to us, as now we had set the precedent with the warning, and our intentions now were a valid threat. (This, I must hasten to add, was also with full 'unofficial' approval with the statement: 'if you can't cop it sweet, why should you deal it out!!') As night fell, we all would dress in black (black battle dress, seaman's jumper, beret and light boots) and head for the scrub. We got quite proficient at camouflage and the art of immovability. I can still remember lying in a dark shallow ditch not daring to breathe with a second termer standing over me with one foot either side of the ditch, looking for 'Sprogs' to 'get'. I was sure he would hear my heart, but he missed me and moved on. Our harrassment declined steadily, but our first five months were fairly brutal - so much so, we, as 'old hands' the following term, refused to harrass the new 'Sprogs' in any physical form at all. (Their beds and huts took a hell of a beating, but the person was untouched). This harrassment came to a head during our first mid-term break. We were billeted on a disused emergency airstrip by HMAS 'CRESWELL' in fibro huts. Once again as night fell, so the jackals and hyenas closed in. We 'Sprogs' barricaded ourselves in one of the huts and successfully held off all attacks for the whole night. The senior termers came at us with everything - battering rams, fire hoses, clubs, rocks - anything they could lay their hands on and kept at us all night without respite. The result next morning was a completely devastated and wrecked hut. What seemed funny to Sir the previous evening, didn't seem so hilarious the next morning - and was definitely most unfunny when he received the bill from 'CRESWELL' to repair the hut when we returned to ‘NIRIMBA'. During the course of Sir's admonitory tirade to the senior termers that following morning, we 'Sprogs' filtered out of camp to relative safety. Our choice was the beach, (where we could see sharks swimming just beyond the first line of breakers, or the bush, which was literally swarming with black snakes, being smack in the middle of the mating season). Most of us took the sharks, although one of our ‘bushies' walked quite openly around the base camp amongst the senior termers quite unmolested and was granted all manner of unheard-of courtesies. The fact that he continually held a mad as hell black snake in his hand at all times probably helped somewhat.
Page 2 and 3: NAVY ENGINEERING BULLETIN MARCH 200

Download - Royal Australian Navy

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?