It was in late 1949 at the age of 15 that I first heard of HMS Worcester. Father knew that I wanted to go to sea and had been asking around to try and find out what pre-sea training was available and after consideration it was decided to try for this ship. It finished up that providing I passed the entrance examination, the medical and an interview by the Captain and Headmaster, I would be accepted as a junior cadet.

And so it was in early April 1950 that I joined with about a dozen other fresh faced lads who clutching suitcases of various dimension stepped down from the muddy causeway into a motorboat driven by the bos’un who transported us out to the ship. Arriving alongside the platform we faced a long climb lugging our heavy suitcases up to the main deck where we were greeted by Mr. Donner one of the officers who at once instructed those not in the know how to turn aft and salute when coming onboard. I had just left the Sea Cadets and knew about this custom and of course saluted and was rewarded with a beaming smile from this officer. So far so good.

Sign-up today to read the full article!

Simply click below to sign-up and read the full article, as well as many others, instantly!

Sign-up nowLog In