handy4454 Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 Hi Dunks, some memories of Hong Kong for you, was on Monkton from early 1980 to mid 82, happy days. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adzyvilla Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 Interesting thread to read, I myself haven't done much of significance or happen to me so I suppose in many ways I'm fortunate. I sometimes wish my father would write a book or at least record his exploits as he has had an eventful 76 years on earth (so far). I'm sure there are many on this forum with a few tales to tell and hopefully they will share here. A life lived to the full with few regrets is a life lived well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team tractor Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 19 minutes ago, handy4454 said: Hi Dunks, some memories of Hong Kong for you, was on Monkton from early 1980 to mid 82, happy days. 8 How cools that 😎. I’ve all my grandads pics of Egypt in 1946-47 but he’s no longer here to tell me what each picture is about Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUNKS Posted December 10, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 36 minutes ago, handy4454 said: Hi Dunks, some memories of Hong Kong for you, was on Monkton from early 1980 to mid 82, happy days. 8 Thanks for that. My time was in the 1950s Interesting reading. We had a Navy to be proud of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 10 minutes ago, adzyvilla said: Interesting thread to read, I myself haven't done much of significance or happen to me so I suppose in many ways I'm fortunate. I sometimes wish my father would write a book or at least record his exploits as he has had an eventful 76 years on earth (so far). I'm sure there are many on this forum with a few tales to tell and hopefully they will share here. A life lived to the full with few regrets is a life lived well. I am exactly the same age as dad and when I look back my life have had many up's and downs but we battled on and enjoyed the up's and got through the downs . Looking at the above posts there seem to be a number of ex naval chaps , my dad was also in the R N and done 20 odd years , I believe his last ship was the old H M S Boxer and many years ago we had a big certificate above our fireplace of the Spithead naval review but I believe it got washed off the wall when we were badly flooded in the 1953 floods , I followed his foot prints by signing up for nine years in the R N , had a good time and ended up coming out after three years with a hearing problem , I then went back to sea again on the gas supply boats until we were in a storm force nine and I vowed if I got back in one piece my seafaring days would come to a end , and so they did . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handy4454 Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 7 minutes ago, marsh man said: I then went back to sea again on the gas supply boats until we were in a storm force nine and I vowed if I got back in one piece my seafaring days would come to a end , and so they did . You would have liked Ton class 'sweepers then, they could roll on their beam ends on a damp lawn...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldypigeonpopper Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 (edited) 46 minutes ago, adzyvilla said: Interesting thread to read, I myself haven't done much of significance or happen to me so I suppose in many ways I'm fortunate. I sometimes wish my father would write a book or at least record his exploits as he has had an eventful 76 years on earth (so far). I'm sure there are many on this forum with a few tales to tell and hopefully they will share here. A life lived to the full with few regrets is a life lived well. hello, my dad wrote so of his navy stories and i am sure my sister put them on some web site, i have tried to research some of the ships and vessels he was on but could not find any thing, may he was a stow away 🤔😄 Edited December 10, 2023 by oldypigeonpopper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 7 minutes ago, handy4454 said: You would have liked Ton class 'sweepers then, they could roll on their beam ends on a damp lawn...... Not for me , when I came out I was on a stern converted trawler called Tern Shore for Off Shore Marine that ran out of Yarmouth , it rolled around like a cork in a mill pond and at sea she wasn't one of the best boats to be on , no wonder the company liked employing ex trawler men , MM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno22rf Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 21 hours ago, team tractor said: Crazy for you knowing your daughter has retired. my daughter is almost 10 and I know she’s growing up . I just hope when she’s older she finds a man who respects her. My love for her is undeniable. I love my boys too 😂. I’m only 42 but have had a strange life but never in the forces as my legs aren’t good enough. I laugh about my memory’s and don’t worry no more . lost many friends and my sister but grateful to of know them. broke every finger , my wrist , sternum , arm, elbows, leg , toes ,12+ ribs , chopped finger tips off 😂. been in more than one rolled vehicles on the road , raced bikes, shot in competition, married and divorced, locked up for a police set up , released and had a book written on it, police fired . i honestly think life’s good and what you make it. I found a guy hanging himself recently in my woods I shoot. I managed to stop him . I think I was there for a reason at the right minute. Poor guy was a right mess with marks all over his neck . live life , smile , laugh and I hope I reach an age like yourself to be writing this like you are . Just about the best post I have read for many years, your honesty is equalled only by your loyalty. I shall raise a glass to your good health Sir.Respect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
islandgun Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 6 minutes ago, marsh man said: Not for me , when I came out I was on a stern converted trawler called Tern Shore for Off Shore Marine that ran out of Yarmouth , it rolled around like a cork in a mill pond and at sea she wasn't one of the best boats to be on , no wonder the company liked employing ex trawler men , MM I was a decky learner on a side trawler out of Lowestoft in my teens, went on to fish from inshore boats all over the UK. Always thought that life is about experiencing different things. Mine ranged from growing bananas to sheep shearing. Only regret in my 70yrs is not doing more Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stuarta Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 I served on the ton class sweepers HMS Penston and Woolaston in Hong Kong and the pictures of the ships brought back so many memories of being there in the late 1960s. Thank you Handy for putting them on here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh man Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 14 minutes ago, islandgun said: I was a decky learner on a side trawler out of Lowestoft in my teens, went on to fish from inshore boats all over the UK. Always thought that life is about experiencing different things. Mine ranged from growing bananas to sheep shearing. Only regret in my 70yrs is not doing more I did have quite a varied life and to me it was mainly about earning money , when one door shut then another one opened , this range from unloading timber boats in Norwich as they didn't need the dock labour force like they did in Yarmouth , then had a spell cutting railway trucks up when the not to popular Mr Beecham streamlined the railway system and so until I settled back into the building trade , didn't have to many regrets and if I could have it again I don't think I would have changed it that much , except slowing down the two times I got fined for putting my foot down in 30 mile limits Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUNKS Posted December 10, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 58 minutes ago, handy4454 said: You would have liked Ton class 'sweepers then, they could roll on their beam ends on a damp lawn...... Real sailors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handy4454 Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 A different world Dunks, small ships. Pirate rig unless you were in Base, steaming boots and overalls in machinery spaces, shorts and flip flops everywhere else. Only 32 crew so very relaxed compared to big ships, good times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUNKS Posted December 10, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 We should all talk more. If you have kids tell them what life was like. If you still have a father let him tell you. If we are not careful it will all be lost! Reading about the past is just not the same You/they should be made to feel what it was like. Reading about hiding under the kitchen table in the war is just not the same as it being described to you. I had three older brothers who served in WW2 and I regret not talking to them about it. Too late now, all dead. I did not know until he died that one brother was involved in 11 Russian convoys on a Corvette. That was a real nasty theatre of war. 4 minutes ago, handy4454 said: A different world Dunks, small ships. Pirate rig unless you were in Base, steaming boots and overalls in machinery spaces, shorts and flip flops everywhere else. Only 32 crew so very relaxed compared to big ships, good times. We dressed much the same in destroyers. All very different now I guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
handy4454 Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 13 minutes ago, DUNKS said: 17 minutes ago, handy4454 said: Expand We dressed much the same in destroyers. All very different now I guess. I came out in 1983 after 9 years, agree very different now. The PC thing, Wrens becoming RN and going to sea, I doubt that we would recognise life on board now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruno22rf Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 8 hours ago, shaun4860 said: Well I am diabetic but they still don’t know if that was the reason, I picked up an infection in my little toe which promptly died along with the one beside it. I had a blockage in the main blood vessel to my foot, they fitted a stent and then removed my 2 toes and part of my foot hoping that would sort it, but no, so when I asked what the next plan was, they said a below knee amputation and if that didn’t work then above knee amputation. 😢 I didn’t take the news very well but after a few days I decided I could either let it define me or just get back to as near as possible as I was before, that’s what I decided to do 🤷🏻♂️ First picture is when toes died, second is after toes and part of foot removed, as you can see it didn’t work Type 1 Diabetes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team tractor Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 2 hours ago, bruno22rf said: Just about the best post I have read for many years, your honesty is equalled only by your loyalty. I shall raise a glass to your good health Sir.Respect. Currently raising a port/lemonade myself and eating homemade pork scratchings 😁. thank you 👍😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shaun4860 Posted December 10, 2023 Report Share Posted December 10, 2023 2 hours ago, bruno22rf said: Type 1 Diabetes? Type 2 Although I am now on insulin. I am classed as a type 2 insulin dependent diabetic, I also take metformin. i wish I had known my great grandad on my fathers side. Served in WW1 in the RND and was awarded the MM. He was a miner before the war and returned to it afterwards. the town he was from awarded him a pocket watch and the coal board awarded him a silver rose bowl. I still have both in my possession. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man Posted December 11, 2023 Report Share Posted December 11, 2023 13 hours ago, DUNKS said: Thanks for that. My time was in the 1950s Interesting reading. We had a Navy to be proud of. I'm fairly certain that is still the case today, our problem maybe lies with the ******** politicos that we unfortunately seem to have? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adzyvilla Posted December 11, 2023 Report Share Posted December 11, 2023 22 hours ago, marsh man said: I am exactly the same age as dad and when I look back my life have had many up's and downs but we battled on and enjoyed the up's and got through the downs . Looking at the above posts there seem to be a number of ex naval chaps , my dad was also in the R N and done 20 odd years , I believe his last ship was the old H M S Boxer and many years ago we had a big certificate above our fireplace of the Spithead naval review but I believe it got washed off the wall when we were badly flooded in the 1953 floods , I followed his foot prints by signing up for nine years in the R N , had a good time and ended up coming out after three years with a hearing problem , I then went back to sea again on the gas supply boats until we were in a storm force nine and I vowed if I got back in one piece my seafaring days would come to a end , and so they did . None of my direct family have a history of military service (world wars excepted) but my great uncle joined the navy at 16 and was a survivor of the sinking of HMS Prince of Wales by the Japanese. Cant imagine my dad on a battle ship, he gets sea sick on the Isle of White ferry.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUNKS Posted December 12, 2023 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2023 16 hours ago, adzyvilla said: None of my direct family have a history of military service (world wars excepted) but my great uncle joined the navy at 16 and was a survivor of the sinking of HMS Prince of Wales by the Japanese. Cant imagine my dad on a battle ship, he gets sea sick on the Isle of White ferry.... I got sick every time we went to sea. Destroyers can bounce about a bit. My immediate family have over 100 years of military service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted December 15, 2023 Report Share Posted December 15, 2023 On 09/12/2023 at 23:05, team tractor said: I’m hoping I’m done now 😂. I get another motorbike next year so let’s start another story What bike are getting? stay away from the chain and sprockets, just saying with your track record. good to read you managed to save that chap in the woods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
team tractor Posted December 15, 2023 Report Share Posted December 15, 2023 4 hours ago, figgy said: What bike are getting? stay away from the chain and sprockets, just saying with your track record. good to read you managed to save that chap in the woods. Yamaha t7 I just like the look of Dakar bikes . I’m keeping off the dirt tho from now on . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
figgy Posted December 15, 2023 Report Share Posted December 15, 2023 The 890 of 9 series bikes is a better engine if they do a variant. By T7 I take it your talking a Tenere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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