I was born on the 19th of March 1922 on a Saturday morning at 5am apparently it was snowing which is unusual for Portscatho in March this happy event was at The Plume of Feathers. I was the second child to Victor and Annie Peters, my sister Bernice arriving 7 years previously.

In the process of growing up memories of birthday parties in the large Picnic Room, and a large model of the HMS Arethusa in a glass case this was the ship my Great Great Grandfather's ship which he served on during the Crimean War and he also served as a sailmaker in the Falmouth Packet Ships, returning to the village and setting my Grandfather up in the Plume. My father was one of the first to own a His Master Voice Radio set, going up in the public bar to collect cigarette cards from the men who came in for their 6o'clock pint, in those days the plume only had a six-day license which means it closed on Sunday's.

Going across the road to a Major Langs magic lantern to see religious tracts as he was an ardent Congregationalist. I remember Ramsey McDonald the Labour Prime Minster stayed for a week in the Plume, which caused quite a stir in the village I understand.

My father took me to Falmouth in Fred Chenowth's boat Arathusa to see the warship Barham, Tiger and Aircraft Carrier Furious. I was very impressed going aboard the Barham seeing the blood-stained flag from WW1. Sadly, the Barham was sunk in WW2 in the Mediterranean taking with her a very good chum of mine. Other good memories were going down to the Bark House on Tatam's Quay (where the present toilets are) my father kept chickens there so most Sundays we killed two for the Sunday lunch, my father used to chop off their heads with an axe. All the household rubbish from the village got thrown over the quay to await the high tide imagine the mess besides a couple of sewage pipes running along by the rocks

One highlight of my young days, I think I was about 8 years old, was of Sir Alan Cobhman's Flying Circus arrived up at Top Park's to flights. The planes were Biplanes Sopwith Camels of WW1 fame. It cost 5/- to go round Gull Rock, 7/6 to loop the loop. My mother went up and did loop the loop eventually I did too with my sister Bernice, I was so scared! and I remember thinking my mother was pretty brave.

My special pal was the tearaway of the village his father kept the Royal Standard pub at Gerrans this was Desmond Gearing, his father being an ex-Royal Navy man told some very lurid tales of his service career, perhaps this influenced me to join later on? We took a dressing table mirror out to Gull Rock, climbed Gull Rock to the top and stuck where the evening sun would shine back to the village. A fatal mistake arriving back into the Port there stood the renowned figure of His Majesty Coast Guard Nobby Hall, who promptly made us row the three and half miles out to the Rock and take it down, I wonder why!!

There were the school days at Gerrans Mrs Corin and Mr Harding doing their best to push some knowledge in. Riding home from school down Gerrans hill in our Butts, playing football against St Mawes our arch rivals especially when they punched our girlfriends. The Whit Monday sports was a great day, pitching the sheaf greyhound racing and track races, one year I won a few medals by beating the older boys seems I was a fast sprinter.

In the summer months were the best, I was always in the water and spending hours on the boats. The annual Regatta being the highlight great competitions racing in the local boats, rowing two oars, swimming etc, then the Flora Dance on the lugger after a sing song, girlfriends etc.

Great excitement when the Guamont British Film Company arrived to make the film Forever England staring John Mills, Betty Balfour and Jimmy Handley a naval film based on the 1914-1918 War. They filmed in the bay by Parada Cove, the C class cruiser Curacoa in the bay arrived late in WW2. She was cut in half by the liner Queen Mary while convoying American troops across the Atlantic. Next came the old battleship Iron Duke and a brief appearance for the cruiser Orion who later I was to serve on during war. My chum Desmond Gearing and I were up early and off rowing to Gull Rock to see the filming, we made ourselves useful by ferrying equipment from Nare Head to Gull Rock for the film crew in a dinghy. Much to our delight at the end of the day we were paid the colossal sum of &5 (which is &100 in today's money) big money for two 12-year-old boys. Next day the weather stopped us from becoming wealth men.

About this time the brewery trade was in decline the Plume of Feathers needing a new roof costing about £400 (quite a sum in those days). The Plume been a free house with a 6-day license [and] should have made good money on the market. My father’s health wasn't too good, so my parents decide to sell up suppose they had their reasons, they sold the Plume to St Austell Brewery, don't think from what I've been told came out it very well. Leaving The Plume we lived in a Trehaven house on the Lugger which was very nice. My sister Bernice had gone to Tunbridge Wells to learn children's nursing. My parents then took on the job of managing the Trevose Golf Club near Padstow so I went to St Merryn School and a short spell at a private school Landsdowne at Wadebridge, cycling every day to Padstow and catching the train to Wadebridge. While at the golf club I became pretty good at golf and the club professional wanted to take me on as an apprentice. The steel shaft clubs were just coming in at that time. Later on, in the navy able to play golf gave me some good times around the world.

At 14 plus I started a boat building apprenticeship at Steve Brabyn's yard at Padstow at that time building motorboats and dinghy's etc. Also, during the herring season the Lowestoft and Grimsby trawlers came to Padstow giving us a lot of work making trawl doors heavy work. We did the re-fits on the old schooners like Mary B Mitchel and Olive Branch real oldies. Brabyn also had the contract of fitting out RNLI lifeboats. We had just refitted the Eliza John Stych, when a week later she was lost with all hands, a big board of trade inquiry followed. The survey team found a yellow pine buoyancy tank in the yard and they said it should have been in the boat. After a lot of fuss it was proved that it didn't belong to the John Stych. The boat yard was very busy at that time. Padstow was a good place.

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THE 'JOHN AND SARAH ELIZA STYCH' LIFEBOAT (23 January 1939) | Cornwall: 'A steamship was in trouble off Cape Cornwall but the Sennen Cove lifeboat could not launch due to the low tide. At 3am the St Ives lifeboat launched into the boiling sea. With coxswain Tommy Cocking were seven more crewmen: John Cocking (his son), Matthew Barber, William Barber, John Thomas, Edgar Bassett, Richard Stevens, and William Freeman. Freeman was the sole survivor

I played football for the team even scored a winning goal in a Cup Match. I went to the local cinema once a week with the current girlfriend - a scramble for the double seats at the back. In the meantime, my parents had moved back to Portscatho leaving to me to lodge with my boss Steve Brabyn 8/- a week for my keep. I used to go home most weekends. The trawlers I worked on a Padstow I later saw as minesweepers at Plymouth during the war.

Nearing the end of my apprenticeship, with WW2 in the offing, I had always wanted to join the navy especially hearing from other boys who had left the yard to join up and were having a good time. War breaking out 3 September 1939 gave me more incentive. I applied but the Shipwright Branch was full at that time. I found out at Falmouth that they were building Motor Launches and Motor Torpedo Boat for the admiralty, so I applied and got a job. Back to Portscatho with a AJS 350 motorbike and went to work [earning] lots of money in my terms -10pence 3 quarters farthing an hour starting at 7.30am until 7.30pm, including Saturdays and Sundays. As more men and women were required for turning out the boats several came from St Mawes and Portscatho to help with the war effort. We travelled by boat and steamer for a while. One morning going across, the docks got bombed hitting the Tanker British Dominion and a Greek ship loaded with cotton laying at the Northern Arm. The steamer's skipper Ben Johns immediately turned her around back to St Mawes losing us all a day's pay. Boat construction yards where near the Prince of Wales Pier, the entrance was at the top of the high street Barrack Ope and Malins Hall, there wasn't many of us shipwright's then, mostly carpenters plus girls who helped with copper riveting. The boats planking was diagonal mahogany hundreds of rivets. Every now and then we had to do a night fire watching and then work the next day.

The Germans had dropped sea mines in Carrick Roads so all water traffic was stopped. So those from Portscatho - Arnold Nichols, Fred Nichols and Ronnie Teague hired a 9 and a half ton yacht the 'Nannette' a lovely craft moored off Ponsharden, Penryn to live on going home at weekend when possible, as Ronnie and me were single we didn't. One evening Ronnie and myself were getting fish 'n chips on the Moor when the Germans dropped a stick of bombs. One went off at the back of Jacobs Ladder and into chapel making a right old mess. The chapel was being used as a Naval Army and Air Force Institute (NAFFI) had some soldiers killed and a lot were injured. The causalities had been covered with a bright green paint distemper from the walls, not pretty, all the windows on the Moor's Post Office were blown out. Apparently, the same plane had machined gunned the river frightening the living daylights out of Fred and Arnold aboard the 'Nannette'.

About this time the author Jeffery Farnol was living in the village he was friendly with my father. I remember him telling livid tales of this time as a reporter for the New York Herald, all about Al Capone, he also seemed to know Jack Sharkey the boxer. At the time he was bribed by Al Capone to take a dive or else!

I'd volunteered for the Navy months before and was getting restless seeing my chums go into the forces. Also the job at the boat construction was pretty long hours so thought if the Royal Navy didn't want me I'll have a go at the Merchant Service. So off I went down to the Shipping Federation Office, which was opposite Trago Mills. I had an interview to sign on as a shipwright. The skipper of the tanker British Tiger was signing up crew and surprise I was accepted. On the Tiger you joined another tanker in the Persian Gulf after you had learned the ropes. The snag was, I had to get my parents’ consent being under 21. And guess what, they refused – they said wait until the navy called me. Just as well it turned out Tiger was sunk not long after. Not long after that the Royal Navy found they couldn't do without me. So it was off to Plymouth to join up, another lad George Sawle decided to go as well so on the motorbike off we went. George went for the RAF and got through; he was a pilot at Plymouth. I went through the joining routine of a medical, educational and trade tests. During doing the trade test in the dockyard the air raid siren went off, I thought I was fast, but I couldn't beat the dock yardies to the shelter. After a few days at home the call came to report to the training camp at Trevol Torpoint for basic training, square bashing kit was issue etc. got kicked around a bit but it was all in good fun. Had to do fire watching in the dockyard also standing a night on Brunel's Railway Bridge to kick off any incendiaries that might land on it. Unfortunately, it was all quiet for me. All [my] entry at Trevol training camp trained on artificial ship ERA's and EAS from all parts of the country. In charge [was] a CPO Gilbert (grand chap) taught us to lash a hammock and generally all the Navy traditions.

Training finished then we had a fortnight leave, so home we go all doled up proud as punch. Then after leave, we went back to HMS Drake barracks to get sorted out [and] draft[ed] to our ships etc. I got a bit of a shock arriving at HMS Drake what with the bombing every night and 42,000 men trying to get sorted out. If you wanted to sleep in your hammock you had to sling it before 4pm or you would have to sleep on deck because it was crowded.

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French battleship Paris photographed at Plymouth, England, during 1941. This ship was seized by Britain at Plymouth on 3 July 1940 and returned to France in 1945

My billet was Exmouth block. It had an air raid shelter just outside the Parade Ground so that was very handy. The actors Michael Redgrave and Esmond Knight were with me in my section, they soon got themselves into the film propaganda business. Esmond Knight was partially blinded on the HMS Prince of Wales later. My duty was on the boat slip of the barracks repairing whalers etc. My first draft was to the French battleship FS Paris brought over after the shambles at Dunkirk, she was being used as aN ack-ack ship in Plymouth Sound. She could put up an impressive barrage when all was working. As a ship she didn't impress me, typically French dirty and full of rats and cockroaches. Quite common to see rats running round the hammock ropes. There were still a few free French aboard mostly engineers, I think. They found one of them jammed up the breech of a 15- inch gun with a knife in him probably a dispute between the Vichy and the free French when they were sorting things out. The big submarine French Surcouf mutinied, and several soldiers were getting shot when a boarding party went a board.

Then came my first real sea-going draft to HMS Orion a Leander class type light cruiser weighing 900 tons and was built in Devonport in 1931. A lead fighting ship she had seen plenty of action already. She was one of the five sister Ajax, Achilles, Orion and Neptune. We commissioned at Devonport with a staff of 6 shipwrights, a blacksmith [and] a plumber. Our workshop was amidships port side under the Boar Deck.

We carried a walrus craft on board. It was catapulted off and it just made it, cleared the quarterdeck and flopped into the sea where it broke up. It was never replaced in my time. We left Plymouth for Scapa Flow to work-up and make sure it was all in fighting order. My job was on the forecastle, working the brakes for the anchors and action stations, and [in the] forward damage control party. [We] had plenty of exercises to keeping [us] all on our toes. There was a canteen ashore at Flotta but over all a pretty dismal place. Eventually we started to do escort duty picking up convoys from Reykjavik, Iceland across the Atlantic to St Johns Newfoundland. First one was very quiet and so boring as you can steamed as fast as the lowest freight normally 36 ships.

The next one was from Londonderry to Gibraltar, nice and quiet then all hell broke loose and we lost two ships before we could get steam up. I remember a large freight [had] been torpedoed and she had a hole in her amidships big enough to drive a bus in, but she kept going. Every now and then a large barrel would pop out of the hole so for miles astern, there was a long line of barrels telling every submarine just where we were. We did pick up seven survivors from a U-boat and I remember being surprised they were human young chaps like the rest of us, after all the propaganda that was pumped into us. There was only one who was pretty arrogant. When he realised, he might get tossed overboard then he calmed down. One of the Germans we had as a Messman every time we pinged a U Boat and went to action stations, he would rush around shaking our hammocks shouting 'achtung' U boat.

About this time things in the Mediterranean were getting pretty bad. The western end getting blocked off and Malta was in a bad way. So, the Orion was sent for a quick refit at John Brown's Shipyard at Dalmuir in Scotland. I had a taste of Glasgow while I was there, wasn't impressed. Then down to Gairloch to pick up ship mustering for a convoy. Our route was going to be round the Cape of Good Hope, into and through the Suez Canal and the general opinion was at least we will all get a good suntan. We had a nice quiet trip to our first stop Freetown in Sierra Leone at The White Man's Grave. It was pretty hot. The first [bit of] nature I saw was a big Negro with ginger hair and blue eyes, which looked a bit odd perhaps a blue-eyed sailor had spent some time there. We were there for 3 days [to] order supplies etc. Then on to Cape Town, now that's a town, hospitality at it's best, free beers invites to homes, trips up to Table Mountain lights blazing everywhere - couldn't go wrong. I did have relatives there but I didn’t get to see them. In the centre of Cape Town there was a Cousin Jack Club in the foyer was a big map of Cornwall you took a flag and pinned the place you came from on it. I met a few men from Redruth and Camborne area, one came out during the Boer War.

Sometime around then a troopship of Aussies docked and ran amok in Cape Town they became very unpopular spoilt it for all the others ships that were passing through from Cape Town to Durban to join up with more troops. These troops are on their way to help out in the Desert War which was badly needed at the time. So on to Aden Oil Ship and up to the Red Sea, which was pretty warm. 10 days to [get to] Port Trewfik in Egypt [the] entrance to the Canal. Sailed the canal to Port Said eventually on to Alexandra where all hell seemed to have let loose.

We started not even getting a run ashore but off with a convoy to Malta from Haifa which consisted of Orion, Penelope and Aurora - all cruisers and several destroyers and some fast Merchant ships. Two days out they turned us back as we were losing too many ships to JU 88 and Stukas - not all nice. We lost a lot of ship we were hit with a bomb which went into the Forward Mess Deck right old mess. Apparently, the RAF was supposed to give us cover, think bad weather was a factor, high sea didn't help survivors in the water. Getting back to Alexandria was a relief, at the fleet club the Matelots got ugly with the RAF people there where a few blacks eyes around. We went to Haifa for a few days, I found out that a Portscatho boy George Cudmore was stationed with the RAF at Lydda Air Base near Jaffa, with help from the army and 72 hours leave I managed to get up to Lydda Airfield only to find out George had moved out the day before. I did manage to visit the holy places of interest while in Haifa. A visit to the cinema was a disaster as it caught fire during the film. In the stampede for the exits several people were killed, I just stayed still and strolled out unhurt. One night we had a quick call to sea and our anchor caught in the boom defence at the harbour entrance when we were leaving and ended up dragging it out to sea with us and leaving a right old mess. We saw further action around Crete, which was very unpleasant, lost a few ships. My chum the blacksmith got killed, he'd joined us at Alexandra a few days before I knew him and his family back in Plymouth. Not long after several of us from 48 Mess got gyppy guts which turned into dysentery which was caused by local food we took on board, three of us got dumped off at Port Said and then sent off to the hospital ship Maine laying up in the Bitter Lakes near Ismalia by the Suez Canal. As far as I remember I must have been pretty ill, after getting better they gave us a weeks leave in Cairo which was very nice as I got to visit all the local sights like the pyramids. Cairo was very nice except it was very hot and humid also it was teeming with flies.

From there it was to HMS Canopus which was based at Alexandria to pick up the Orion only to find she had sailed and taking some of my kit with her. So, I was hanging around Alexandria, a local man called Gerry Gill was there in charge of an Army Ack-Ack Battery but I didn't find this out until after the war.

They then sent me out to Villa Lauris on the seafront at Stanley Bay. It was Admiral Harwoods Headquarters as his personal shipwright. This was a real plumb job I never had it so good looking out over Stanley Bay Hong Kong swimming every morning amid all the bathing beauties. My job was to liaison with the local contractor firms. It wasn't to last mainly my fault. Up in the Western Desert El Alamein was underway and looking brighter. Mountbatten was forming up a combined Ops which to be seemed different, so I volunteered to join one of the Naval Party's, R Party which was code named King Kong. It was hopefully to follow the 8th army up as they took the desert ports and to get them working to bring in the supplies etc. warren Peters_edit2

So off to a desert camp, on the banks of the Suez Canal called Kabrit. This is where David Stirling formed the famous SAS and Long-Range Desert groups did their training. The first thing we did was to fit plywood on to the sides of 15 trucks to make them look like German Half Trucks, only a few shipwrights in our party so kept use busy. I did meet Paddy Mayne Stirling 2nd in command who was a real toughie, never enough beer and was always around when our rum time came up. They kitted us out with Khaki Battle Dress boots etc., only thing we kept were our caps with Khaki cap covers. They gave us a short course on a Lancaster Machine Gun and a whole day on how to kill the Germans. I carried that gun for three months faithfully cleaning it making sure it was well oiled; after leaving Kabrit I had no ammunition to fire in it. I think it was after the army had taken Tobruk we were ordered to move up into the desert. Our objective was to clear the harbour there. Three Bedford lorries had all our Kit, Toolboxes etc. plus hammocks. All the lorries had manholes in the cab roof’s. I soon found out they were looking out for enemy aircraft, one chippy (shipwright) with me we called RDF ears as he could hear enemy planes before they took off.

Up past Marsa-Matrouh on Bardia and Salloum - stopped at Salloum - what a mess everywhere, vehicles and tanks all burnt out. For some reason we went past Tobruk on to Derna. On the way up a German aircraft shot us up, no causalities but lost a lorry. One bloke dived under the lorry that was hit, he was a bit shaky when we got him out. The drill as we had been told was to dive away so most of us mad for the open desert when a panic started. It was scary to see all the bullets whipping scorpions up in the sand nearby. So down the famous Derna Pass into Derna to find the army had cleared the port and all was working OK. There was a bit of panic at Derna - reports were coming through that Rommel were making a push our way. We did manage to repair and get going an old Italian Motor Launch, thought we might steam off back down the coast, but all was well. The army boys were doing their stuff, eventually on we go to Benghazi, which seemed and was a hell of a way from us. We eventually got there after numerous breakdowns, the mechanics with us were good at ship engines but not truck engines. I got pretty fit living in the desert - basic food and no booze. When we did stop at night, we put a circle of petrol around the trucks and caught it alight this was supposed to scare off any scorpions that where around as they don't like burnt sand. I didn't worry me as I used to sling my hammock between two trucks as I didn't fancy the desert ground.

At Benghazi things changed. Got taken over by a Senior Naval Officer a '2 ringer', which had gone to his head. Anyway, the place was all booby-trapped, so we took over an Italian bank and next door a brothel, which to everyone's disgust was empty. The army had passed past the town, so a few civvies were coming back, then a batch of Italian POWS were sent in to start clearing mines and booby-traps. A Nazi Flag was flying from on building across from us which several of us had our eyes on, this pompous lieutenant sent one of the poor “eye-tie” to get it down as soon as he started to lower it there was a hell of a bang no flag no Italian POW. We couldn't find enough of him to bury poor fellow. While I was there, I did go to sea for a week on the Flower Class Corvette Gloxinia, I was aboard repairing a boat for them, went to pick a survivor from the mine-layer HMS Welshman who had been torpedoed but someone had beaten us to it.

Back on shore with the Germans who were on the run. Benghazi was working well, we were sent to "Bone" and Sfax and had good fun with the DKW, excellent motorbikes the Germans had left around. Most of them had sidecars with machine guns mounted on them. Everyday thousands of dejected Germans coming in from Cape, our rations were getting short and trying to feed that lot. Eventually a good few of us were sent back to Alexandria, this time we travelled with a convoy of trucks with the Admiral Howard's regiment all the way back as far as Tobruk where we boarded the train now running back to Alamein and Alexandria. The train kept breaking down and it was hot.

Once again back on-board HMS Canopus (HMS Canopus was a naval shore establishment at Alexandria, Egypt) I found myself on a diving course going every day to HMS Mosquito at MTB base in Alexandria Bay. It was very interesting a great bunch of lads all ranks and different branches, some were going in for midget submarines and some couldn't even swim. I struggled through the course and was due to join a party going to clear shipping in the Corinth Canal, Greece. I found as a diver 1st class, I would lose my Shipwright Trade Pay and Naval life after being in a different branch. So I made all the excuses I could find. There were three other shipwrights on the course and the higher up we went in the ratings, they were very pleased with us. After seeing the Senior Officers, they saw our point and left it so we called be called back to diving in an emergency. I then got sent to Navy House Port Said to be assigned to HMS Stag where we were fitting out landing craft ready for the landing at "Seuly" and Italy. Also we had two destroyers to look after HMS Croome and HMS Netherton both with their minor defects. Being the senior shipwright, I was kept going [and] began to wish I'd stayed with the divers. While there I found the shipwrights were expected to be the undertakers for the base. With troops going through the Suez Canal there was [were] quite a few fatalities. The no1 General Hospital would send down to us to bring up a coffin for the unfortunate, fortunately it didn't worry me. But we did create a stink because we found out that ratings had to be buried in old wooden box coffins, but the officers had oak ones with brass handles. We even had to cut the sides out of the petrol cans to stamp the ratings name on to the coffins, but the officers all had brass plates for their names. Anyway, when a wooden coffin fell to bits with a body inside, the army began to delivery officer's coffins. During this period my time was coming to go home after 3 years away in the middle east. The time for my departure from Port Said but kept getting delayed. At last after a lot of moaning they sent me to Alexandria and out to "Sibi Bish" transit camp awaiting passage to the UK.

The camp know as HMS Sphinx was all tents and was swarming with flies and bugs etc. I wasn't there long, then it was down to Alexandria to board the trooper Duchess of Richmond bound for Liverpool (Above). [The] first officer I met after getting a board was a chief shipwright officer who nearly got us all killed up at Derna in the desert. Funny really all he seemed to do was apologise; I told him he was a bit late. Nice quiet passage home on a special train from Liverpool to the barracks at HMS Drake. Had a few days there sorting things out and a nice Foreign Service Leave. Lady Astor MP for Plymouth at that time wanted all sailors coming home from the Middle East to wear yellow armbands, she seemed to think we would all carry some disease or other. Had a good leave nice change in civvies for a few weeks, one thing that did eek me a bit was the yanks were using the Plume of Feathers as a mess 'over paid, over sexed and over here' as they say, God Bless them couldn’t have won the war without them. Two of my village pals had been killed in Italy Harry Cragg at Monte Cassino and Leslie Raspision on the River Arno. Years later I did visit Harry's grave at Cassino while I was on holiday there.

After my time off I was back to HMS Drake for drafting. I was sent to HMS Tyne a repair ship in the dockyard. Then on to an old Colony Class Cruiser HMS Colombo awaiting the scrap yard, her job was taking Motor Torpedo Boats (MTB) and Motor Launches MLS out into the channel and firing new kinds of explosives shells into them and assessing the damage and effects. Our job as shipwrights was to hop aboard and stop them from sinking so they could try and have another go.

With the war coming to an end I now had the option of leaving the navy or signing on as a career at least to complete 12 years. I applied to sign on and was accepted not having much of an education I struggled a bit to pass the exams, which was to advance me into a higher rate, with help from some of my dock yard trained friends I got through. Knowing full well a draft would soon come up. It was to HMS Northway a landing Ship Dock she was on lease/lend from the Americans. Quiet a craft - could do 22 knots but with a flatbottom In a rough sea she was something. We could submerge her down and float in "44 25" landing craft and carry 20 tanks and 2 Landing Craft Tanks (LCTS). Quiet a novelty when trying to dock landing-craft in a rough sea. She was a small version of the HMS Fearless of today (1997). Being Yankee-built she was very comfortable, but not in rough weather. Had 2 people to a cabin to sleep in not just slinging a hammock over a mess table. Our first job was to go around the British Isles picking up all the redundant landing crafts and taking them to Roseneath in Scotland. I got to see a lot of places on both sides of our coasts. Then it was across the Channel to Hamburg where out of the rubble we dug 4 x 9 1/2-ton yachts, which Hitler had built for the 1938 Olympics now to be used at home for recreational purposes. With fixed keels they took a lot of storage and shoring up on our dock floor. Also, we took on board 2 huge propeller shafts that were designed for the infamous oil ship Altmark. On the way back to Plymouth we ran into a sea of floating timber which was the cargo of a Merchant ship which had struck a mine. We picked up quite a bit the dockyard - was very pleased. Then it was back and up the River Scheldt to Antwerp, later to Cuxhaven and Bremerhaven in Germany. I saw the Germany Cruiser Prinz Eugen, I remember being surprised to see all the pin-ups in her wardroom and she was later given to the Americans for the atom tests at Bikini Atoll. The local currency was tobacco or soap, for a few fags you could get anything.

Back home I became engaged to my childhood sweetheart Vera, she had been in the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Services) during the war, so she knew service life and knew what she was in for with me.

By the time the Northway was due to go back to America on the lease agreement, we sailed from Plymouth in company with Carrier HMS Atheling also Lease/Lend to Norfolk in Virginia. We had a real tough crossing with split plates and structure damage, also knowing that our sister ship had split in two in the Atlantic made us all very edgy. We lost HMS Atheling we finished up near Baltimore, eventually into Norfolk Navy Yard. Before getting in we had signal that we must ditch all stores overboard, bedding, tool kits all my lovely timber ply etc. - broke my heart everyone. When it came to the surplus Rum Ration no way each mess got a cask, and it wasn’t abused. The Yanks were going to fumigate her and put her in mothballs as soon as we got clear of her. Our aircraft carrier HMS Indefatigable was then to ferry the 2 crews back to the UK. On the carriers the Yanks put some entertainment on for us, on the lift of the carrier up came Roy Rogers, sitting on his horse Trigger. I am afraid the Matelots found him a bit of a sissy also we had John Garfield the actor I though he was quite good, then came Nellie Lutcher who was a coloured blues singer it was quiet a good show in all. So back we came to Portsmouth, then on to Plymouth and some home leave.

After leave, I was I was drafted to HMS Alaunia a converted liner to a repair ship lying in the dockyard. I was doing engineer training at the time with the famous engineer Captain Black Bob last officer in Navy to run someone in for ' Silent Contempt'. I was detailed to look after the boats. It was a nice little workshop on the boat-deck equipped with everything even on a steam pressure cylinder for steaming timber. The captain was a model train buff he had one whole space for model trains the ERAS kept busy making his bits and pieces. I got most weekends at home, so it was a very good job. warren Peters_edit2

Vera and I got married on 19 April 1947 at Gerrans Church, Doug Chaffin was my best man. I nearly made a fool of myself. Doug and I had a couple of Navy Tots while waiting for the car to go to church - my father was very furious, anyway the photos prove it went ok. We were a bit late getting away for our honeymoon, we had booked into Torquay staying in the Corbyn Head Hotel which was very nice. A lovely week with one little incident, Vera managed to sit on the floor when a cinema seat broke but no damage. For a while we lived with Vera's parents Venning and Lillian Davies. Also, her sisters Betty and Pearl, her other sister Ruby was working away. After a while I managed to get a flat in Devonport, St Levans Road, it was quite near St Levans Dockyard Gate and it was also near where HMS Alaunia was berthed. Our first home together which nice, so nice in fact Vera became pregnant, when it became oblivious to our landlady, she wanted us out. Flats were hard to come by then the Blitz had reduced most of the city to rubble. So eventually Vera went back home to her parents again with me coming home most weekends - so life continued.

HMS Alaunia was a nice quite job. Then a big day dawn our son John Edwards was born on 2nd February 1948 weighing in at 6 and a half pounds. Luck would have it was a weekend, so I was home, quite an event in our lives and managed to get some extra leave. I had a nice long stay on HMS Alaunia, then it had to come a sea going draft. This time it was a Dido Class Cruiser HMS Euryalus built at Chatham in 1937 who weighing 5,450 tons, a crew of 530, there were10 built in her class and they all did good service during the war where 4 were lost through enemy action. The Euryalus was off to the Mediterranean for a 2 and a half years commission, which proved to be the last 2 and half years any other Navy ship was do. Two and a half years seemed to be a hell of a long way just as John was getting interesting and needs a dad, as the saying goes, you shouldn't have joined. The Euryalus proved to be a happy ship, which anyone with any Navy service would know is a great thing. There was a staff of 6 Shipwrights with a rare Shipwright officer in charge Arthur Kneebone a Cornishman.

After working the ship up and all systems go, we sailed for Malta stopping for a few days in Gibraltar. Malta was to be our base port, at that time there was a possibility of Vera and John coming out and living in Malta, a few of the ships company did get their families out. As it turned out we only spent 9 months of the 2 and a half years in Malta. Trouble had broken out between Iran and Iraq in the Persian Gulf, our nationals at Abadan in Iran who were working in the oil business were in danger. The HMS Gambia a Crown Colony-class light cruiser was on her way from the Indian Ocean. She had been at Abadan for a fortnight, now we were on the way to take over - this was 1951. So - on to Port Said through the Suez Canal and Red Sea. At Port Trewfich we picked up Hans and Lotte Hass the famous divers they were enroute for Port Sudan where they were filming.

First, we went to Aqaba in Jordan where the 15t Battery of Lancashire Fusiliers were stationed. The 1st battery has a great affiliation with Euryalus. In 1915 the old Euryalus landed them at the ill-fated Gallipoli Campaign on W beach where they won 5 VC's (Victoria Cross) before breakfast and they were still winning then blow by blow. After various sporting events and long bouts of drinking and the temperature way up everyone with a hangover. A trip was arranged for some of us to visit the ancient city of Petra. I was lucky to come out of the hat. Most of the way was by 3-and-a-half-ton lorry, then by horseback or mules - imagine Matelots on horseback no saddles - guess who was pretty sore. It was well worth the trip though, pretty cold going over the mountain pass with us dressed in tropical gear. Petra was wonderful all houses etc. were carved out of a huge sandstone cliff, it must be one of the wonders of the world. The Jordan people we met were very friendly and a few fags did wonders. A lot of trouble between the neighbouring countries with five frontiers it's not surprising.

Back at Aqaba we made our farewells to the army and on down to Port Sudan to drop off Hans and Lottie Haas and then to Aden to refuel and supply. A local boy Hedley Westlake was in Aden with the RAF we had a little get together up in Crated City. Eventually steaming up the Shatt al-Arab River to take over from HMS Gambia, she was underway before we could drop anchor, the heat and the humidity was terrific. Things were pretty tense we anchored opposite the Abadan Oil Refinery. From the Iranian bank all the guns were trained on including a bay class Frigate which had been purchased for us. The tanks on the riverbanks could only be manned when the sun went down because they were too hot during the day. In contrast the Iraqis on the other banks were very friendly, the kids came out in canoes made of oil drums to collect the empty beer bottles, we were allowed two bottles a man drunk at suppertime. That's 500 bottles that went overboard apparently the kids sold them ashore. We stayed there for 3 months, one of the hottest summers 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 Celsius) most of the time and 98% humidity. Old Euryalus with no air conditioning - it was rough going. Most of us slept on the upper deck working hours from 6am to 11am, we rigged salt-water hoses on deck to keep them cooled down. The highlight perhaps that we evacuated a manager of the oil refinery Mr Drake, he brought with him a thing that looked like a huge Rotor Arm in a car, apparently it was a vital bit for running the "Crachus" plant which was breaking down the oil in the refinery. In a very short time the Iranian Officials were out demanding their bit back, which was a bit of a laugh.

Eventually scores where settled and weren't we glad to leave. By now we had some pretty sick people on board most through dehydration and all of us full of salt tablets and vitamins pills. Though we were taking 7 salt tablets a day those working in the engine room were taking more. They gave us a few days at Kuwait courtesy of the BAPCO oil company and they did us proud. Our canteen manager Frank O'Brien and myself got friendly with an ex ERA (engine room artificer) Ron Cook. He was working on air conditioning for the Oil Company, he had his family a wife and two young daughters living in company village at Alamadi. The cook introduced us to Hubara Club where food, drink, swimming, pool and cinemas were all available, my mate the canteen manager had plenty of chocolate etc. so we were very popular with the ex ERA's young daughters. The cooks left there and emigrated to Australia to Rochingham near Perth, whenever they are in England they always come down and a see us a great pair but like us, age is not on their side. Down out of the Persian Gulf stopping a few days at Bahrain and Muscat a fascinating place with two castles at the harbour entrance, ships names painted white on the cliffs so dry that the name dating back to 1860 been so dry they didn't erode away.

Stopped at Djibouti before going up to the Red Sea, we were invited up to the French Foreign Legion Base. We didn't find them as rough as their reputation was, in fact some to me were definitely a bit quiet. Into the Red Sea and a place called Assab in Ethiopia an old coaling station for the fleet in 1914 with names of the old battleships painted everywhere. Back through the Suez Canal and to the home base Malta for a small re-fit and clean up. Some clean up there as the Royal Highness Princess Elizabeth as she was then in 1951, was coming to Malta to present a New Kings Colours, for us it was standing around on Floriana Parade Ground for hours. After our arduous task up the Persian Gulf the powers that be decided we needed a well-earned cruise so off to Cannes for the film festival. We laid off Golfe Juan where everything was very colourful seeing a lot of film stars and would be one Errol Flynn's yacht was laying quite close. Had a trip up to the Grasse where perfumes are made - got some for Vera - smelt quite nice. The ship was open to visitors most days quiet a novelty at first, then you begin to feel like an animal in a zoo. I went to the famous Monte Carlo Casino at Monaco; they were still playing from the night before no wonder some of them go out shoot themselves.

Leaving there we went east to Cyprus on exercises with aircraft carrier Ocean, on the way we found a small boat with a dead man and woman on board, the Greek Coastguard cutter took over. While at Cyprus went up to the Troodos Mountains to try skiing the DCLI (Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry) regiment was there, so skiing wasn't much of a success, so booze and lads from Cornwall took up a lot of the time. From there to the Corfu Channel to lay wreaths in memory of those who were lost when the destroyer Voltage and Saumarez were mined in October 1947 courtesy of the Albanians.

We had just settled back in Malta when an earthquake at Argostoli in Greece (1951) sent us off on a mercy mission, so loaded with tents and food etc. away we go. It was hard work getting food etc up the hills to the villages that had been affected. While we were there, there was another earth tremor, the sea was boiling all around the ship. It was very frightening the tremendous power of Mother Nature. Went to Platies for fuelling, down in the market to our surprise there was the tents brought from Malta on sale, they were brought several hundred miles to finish up in the market you can’t just win. Next it was the event of the year, the Med Fleet Regatta for the coveted "cock of the fleet" going back to Nelson’s Day. Took place at Narvelin in the Greek Island, a Historical Naval battle sight years ago. All the Med's ships to gather there. The dispatch boat HMS Surprise carrying Lord Louis Mountbatten and Ladies etc. Cruiser Glasgow, destroyers, submarines and repair ships and frigates. We didn't win the "Coch" but our shipwrights whaler crew beat Glasgow boat and for that 1 and a half mile rowing we won a bottle of beer and a handshake from Lord Mountbatten.

Back at Malta I got a week aboard the submarine Totem -quiet an experience a joyride event not very comfortable I stank of diesel oil for days after. We were acting mother to the submarines Totem and Talent.

Our next visit was to Naples tying up stern to the wall a fascinating place - saw Pompeii etc visited Capri, Gracie Fields came aboard and gave us a few songs. At Naples our mess adopted a local bar Salvatone's . Reckon Salvatone's made a fortune out of the 30 bachelors in our mess all buying vino and big eats.

Back to Malta just about to enter Valletta Harbour when a Mosquito aircraft crashed in Kalafrana bay. We found the pilot alive but think he died shortly after. The Mosquito was built mainly of wood and it was scattered around like matchwood. In the Grande Harbour there lay the best-looking ship in the Navy HMS Cleopatra our relief ship, now we could be homeward bound. After 2 and a half years we said goodbye to the historical and smelly land of Malta. I think for most of us with no regrets, although the Maltese I think liked us, especially the waterfront bars. Dot and Carrie's Bar for one, 2 old English ladies’ sisters - they know all the old Naval songs with the piano and after a few beers we were all in tears but always vowing to come back some day. On the passage back through the Med we put in at Algius for a few days but rioting broke out and not wanting to get muddled up in French Politics, we moved on to Tripoli, which was much quieter.

A couple of days at Gibraltar and then we finally sailed for Plymouth arriving with paying of pennant flying and a band playing on the jetty. Also on the jetty was Vera, John, Vera's parents and sisters and my Dad it was quiet a celebration. John quite a different boy - 2 and a half years older. Customs had been quite lenient with us so we were well stocked with fags and presents etc. What a difference living in a house with a wife and a son. Just before leaving Vera and I had been allocated a newly built 3-bedroom council house, so it was a home of our own which was great. Service man coming home from war was given the priority. It was a tossup between Larry O'Toole and us which one of the 2 we got, we both got a preference being ex war services. I think we came off best ours being the best located and garden etc.

After leave it was back to HMS Drake, I was due for a preference draft so I applied for RNAS (Royal Navy Air Service) Station HMS Curlew at St Merryn, with it went a married quarters at Padstow which I was very lucky to get, 33 Boyd Avenue on the Naval Estate. This was great having served my boat building time there I knew all the locals. Our Portscatho home with the council's permission we let to Vera's cousin John Chaffin. Him paying the rent while he was waiting to be housed himself and under the condition he would vacate when we wanted to come back. This suited both of us very well. John now being of school age started at Padstow, we soon made a lot of friends on the estate. In the meantime, I signed on with the Navy to complete 22 years, which would take me to pension time, though as I had done 12 years just as well get a pension out of it. After 2 years in a very enjoyable job living as a family, it had come to another draft. My Lieutenant at St Merryn a lieutenant commander Ian Shaw newly promoted had been appointed to a frigate at HMS Loch Insh just refitting at Devonport. He was my boss at the time and asked me if I would volunteer to join the HMS Loch Insh, this suited as she only carried one shipwright, me. She was early in the refit at the dockyard, then she was deployed East of Suez for 12 months mostly in the Persian Gulf. After some consideration I volunteered Lieutenant Commander Ian Shaw was a great chap, which was to prove in the coming months.

After getting Vera and John settled on a move back to Portscatho I joined Loch Insh living at the barracks until the dockyard had finished with her. I did get home on most weekends; most of the ship's company were to be National Service men. HMS Loch Insh was built in1944 along with about 30 others, mainly used for anti-submarine or escorts, 307 feet long. One local boy in the barracks for deployment managed to wangle a billet on Loch Insh he seemed keen - he was Peter Billings a seaman, got him as chippy's mate which gave him a better deal in some respects. Apart from being seasick most of the time I think he engaged his 18 months service. He didn't sign for a Navy Career though. We did our working up period up around Portland which consists of gunnery sea trails etc. in a pretty rough time of year. Chief Stoker Jolly from Penzance and me spent some pretty cold hours on the forecastle working anchor cables etc. Bill Jolly chewed tobacco and had a nasty habit of spitting on the steam, the smell was worse than sea sick. After a fortnight leave we were off to the Persian Gulf and our base at Bahrain to join company with HMS Loch Fyne. By the time we got to Port Said trouble was brewing in the Middle East. Nassar was about to close their canal. I think we were about the last navy ship to go through to the Red Sea. We stopped off at Jeddah in the Yemen to butter up the local Sheikh by giving a fireworks display and letting him fire a Bofa gun, funny how the Arabs like fireworks. From Aden on Muscat then to Bahrain - in a couple of days we were off to the aid of a Norwegian Tanker Hawkong broken down. She was about 15,000 ton and loaded with high-octane fuel. We towed her for 4 days into Bahrain, everyone looking for huge amounts of salvage money. Several years hence I got £16.

One morning on leaving Bahrain we ran aground (26th Aug 1960) on a sand bank, leaving us up high and dry. Real panic we got rid of all our ammunition and fuel and luckily 2 tugs managed to pull us off with no damage. Our skipper Captain Ian Shaw and the navigator got a court martial both got reprimands. They same week I was called as a witness in another court martial a stoker locked his CPO (Chief Petty Officer) in a cold room to cool off, he said he'd nearly killed the chief. The stoker got 90 days in the Glass House at the base at Jufair. The Court Martial - what a palaver just like Nelson's days.

Our next trip was up the Shatt al-Arab River to Basra bring memories of my previous trip on Eurylaus. At least we had a sort of air conditioning on the Loch Insh, very interesting saw the site reputed to be the Garden of Eden. The people more friendly this time, I played snooker for the local oil company - offered to take me up to a place called Kut Kaka to play for them. After almost a day's trip we got there to find out they had just had an earthquake that put pay to the snooker. warren Peters_edit2

Our next trip was down to Bombay for a refit – very interesting except for the poverty, hardly believe people could live like it. Our refit went well and we got on with the dockyard people. Out of refit and on to Ceylon, Colombo and Trincomalee - very tropical plenty of swimming and trips in our boats around the coast. Trincomalee famous for uncut precious stones they were a bargain. I think some people made a packet by using the Maria Theresa dollars that were cheaper at Bahrain, made 4 times as much in Ceylon. Then it was back to the Gulf going into a place called Khot Ka Qui on the Hormuz Strait, in between high sandstone cliffs, Campbell Gorge there is reputed to be the hottest spot in the world. We went there to refit Radio Masts, near the masts there were five graves of scientist who died there while doing research in 1930's.

Our next job was going to the rescue of the Liner Dora a pilgrim ship taking the faithful to Mecca or at least as far as Jeddah in Yemen and the overland. She had caught fire and crowded as those ships are they never had a chance so by the time of our arrival she was completely gutted. Most they say jumped overboard the sharks and barracuda's did the rest loads of them die that way.

Our next trip was up the Shatt al-Arab River to Basra bring memories of my previous trip on Eurylaus. At least we had a sort of air conditioning on the Loch Insh, very interesting saw the site reputed to be the Garden of Eden. The people more friendly this time, I played snooker for the local oil company - offered to take me up to a place called Kut Kaka to play for them. After almost a day's trip we got there to find out they had just had an earthquake that put pay to the snooker.

Our next trip was down to Bombay for a refit – very interesting except for the poverty, hardly believe people could live like it. Our refit went well and we got on with the dockyard people. Out of refit and on to Ceylon, Colombo and Trincomalee - very tropical plenty of swimming and trips in our boats around the coast. Trincomalee famous for uncut precious stones they were a bargain. I think some people made a packet by using the Maria Theresa dollars that were cheaper at Bahrain, made 4 times as much in Ceylon. Then it was back to the Gulf going into a place called Khot Ka Qui on the Hormuz Strait, in between high sandstone cliffs, Campbell Gorge there is reputed to be the hottest spot in the world. We went there to refit Radio Masts, near the masts there were five graves of scientist who died there while doing research in 1930's.

Our next job was going to the rescue of the Liner Dora a pilgrim ship taking the faithful to Mecca or at least as far as Jeddah in Yemen and the overland. She had caught fire and crowded as those ships are they never had a chance so by the time of our arrival she was completely gutted. Most they say jumped overboard the sharks and barracuda's did the rest loads of them die that way.

Our time was coming up to go home - with the Suez Canal being closed it was a long haul around the Cape of Good Hope. From Bahrain we took 3 Arab prisoners who were to be exiled on the Island of St Helena for their part in the Middle East troubles, one of them a thug, the other two were quite intelligent. It was very interesting to talk to them regarding their opinions on us - and the rest of the world - from a Muslin view. They were to be exiled on the island of St Helena in the Atlantic, this is where Napoleon spent a lot of his time. It was good news for me we were stopping off at St Helena as I had an uncle and auntie living there, they had spent much of his life there with a chemist shop after coming from South Africa. He had also served as an aide to the Governor in charge of the local jail - in fact he had quiet an influence on the island. At the time of my visit, he was 85 years old and that was in 1956, he was known locally as Pop Warren, which was my mother’s maiden name which they passed on to me. I stayed with him and Auntie Nina for the whole 72 hours of leave I had while we were there, he was quite a character. He lent me his car and driver while I was there, his first words to me where if you want a woman, it's all free flow here, apparently all the men had gone to Freetown searching for diamonds. Before leaving St Helena we got rid of our prisoners, they seemed quite happy.

A few years later I was told they had brought up half the island and were living there quiet happily. Before stopping at St Helena we had a nice few days in Cape Town, which was hospitality at its best, the Cousin Jack Club did us proud

Then on to Gibraltar for another few days and then back to Plymouth anchoring in the Sound, out came the customs boat practically striping the ship they were looking for diamonds from Freetown, they even looked in my toolbox. Eventually alongside in the dockyard Vera and John to meet me, they came aboard to see how I'd been roughing it for the last 12 months. Then home for some leave.

After leave another spell in Plymouth mostly on the Repair Ship HMS Tyne then I managed to get a draft to RNAS Culdrose on HMS Seahawk very nice it was to be able to come home every night by car and get paid for it. Night duty came around about every 10 weeks - Fleet Air Arm good Navy and was able to have a good family life to.

My next draft was HMS Striker a LST going to the Persian Gulf. I was a shipwright with the Royal Marines. I think the Admiralty was trying to kill me off with the Persian Gulf Climate and my pension not far off. I then flew from Hendon to Aden then on to Bahrain to pick up HMS Striker. I was with the detachment of 4 Marine Commandos my job was looking after their 8-landing craft LCA's (landing craft assault) keeping them in good nick as they were pretty roughly handled. With trouble in Iraq and the rest of the Gulf Strait the marines did a landing when Kuwait was threatened running up the beach screaming and shouting all the Iraqis gone and only a bloke selling ice creams was left. Had a dicey incident at Bahrain. A lot of anti-British Arabs were smashing up Grey and Mackenzie's [sic] Engineering Works, so we went to the rescue - that was OK. But as we left we ran onto a sandbar in the dark and in no time at all we were surrounded by Arab's boats etc. A few shots were fired but they couldn't compete with the SLR repeating rifle and were soon gone. One of the other LCA's pulled us off thank god I am no commando.

The HMS Striker was in a bad state when I joined her, she was badly needing a dry dock refit, so off down to Karachi in Pakistan. While I was there, I went aboard another ship she was HMS Orion sister ship during the War in the Mediterranean. She had been given to the Pakistan Navy after the war. With the refit complete it was off to Bombay with a lovely trip across the Indian Ocean, the nights were a picture with all sorts of fish. Bombay 'the gateway to India' poverty terrible and a dry state no alcohol. Once back in the Gulf our time was getting short. The LST HMS Messina was around to take over from us then we would be homeward bound - at least as far as Gibraltar on HMS Striker. On the way we were ordered to go to Mombasa. I have forgotten why though. While we were there, they had a terrific flooding up country with villages cut off etc. so with 3 days of our LCA's loaded with maize we were dumped off up the coast near Kupini at the mouth of the River Tana. This turned out to be quite an experience with the river running full flow with snakes, crocodiles and mosquitoes the lot. They gave us a house to use as a HQ and Oxfam had supplied the maize from there base at Mombasa.

We started up the river hoping to get to one of the Missions before night fall, as we didn't make it we tied up alongside the river bank which wasn't easy in flood water. I remember the Red Cross mission been the best as they always had some beer for us. Collected a lot of natives who had been trapped by the floods - even had two give birth luckily, they had someone with them who knew the birth procedure. They were a boy and a girl they named the boy strike after the ship. One of our furthest ports of calls was a place called Garissa we were getting insight of Kilamarjano, the big Chief didn't like the maize we had brought nearly 200 miles, he wanted American maize, so they tipped it back in the river can't win can you. The SLR riffle was new about then - had great fun shooting crocodiles. The natives wanted us to shoot the baboons, they pinched the crops, we couldn’t do that – most carried youngsters on their backs. Parts of there were very humid and mosquitoes at night were very thick, everywhere was crawling with snakes all trying to keep away from the flooding. We had a BBC bloke there with us but he didn't last very long as he was moaning all the time, so when a helicopter dropped off some supplies we got him lifted out. I managed to get a roll of 8mm out of him. At night we used to drop the ramp door of the boat on to the shore. One morning I wound up the ramp and there was a 10 foot Anaconda curled up under it, I think I jumped feet the problem was I landed half in the boat and half out of it.

Back to Mombasa, the chap who had organised Oxfam aid seemed very pleased with himself so he invited us up to a barbecue. It was very nice large steaks and booze etc. but it came to a sad end, he started boasting how much cash he had made out of the operation, saying he was going to build another bungalow out of the proceedings and that he was hoping for another disaster. We were all so disgusted we all told him what we though and walked out, seeing as he was one of Oxfam's leading lights - vowed no money for the likes of that. We did report all the carrying on back aboard the Striker. There was one little incident the Sargent Major of the Marines had given him a ceremonial helmet, he strutted around with the helmet on and as we left one Marine pulled it down over his ears, it was a proper laugh. Her complained a lot to our ship calling us Her Majesty Rabble. I think our captain reported him to Oxfam.

After that on to Gibraltar stopping at Aden, Djibouti and Port Sudan through the Suez Canal to Malta and eventually went to a dry dock at Gibraltar, where she was to have a long refit that she badly needed. With the refit underway a lot of us got flown home to Lyneham and to Devonport for some leave.

With a preference draft to my credit, I applied for Culdrose again which I was lucky to get. This time I was in charge of all Culdrose's recreational boats at Falmouth, this was right next to where Trago Mills is today. One of the boats a 9-ton boat called Kestrel was one I had brought over from Hamburg while on the HMS Northway many years ago. Home from home Falmouth two stokers and seven seamen too look after nice quiet number, home every night even shot some crab pots out around St Anthony's lighthouse, the 'duty fisherman' sold any catch to the local pub up the road.

My 22 years pension time was coming up and with Vera's permission I applied to do an extra 5 years on top of my pension, which would increase my pension money, and I was accepted seeing as I had been such a good boy. I did have a nice long spell at Cauldrose and kept a job going at Falmouth. The crunch had to come in the form of a type 82 Frigate HMS Ashanti a new gas turbine job with automatic firing control. At this time the Navy was having a sort out of the branches us shipwrights were being taken into the engineering branch, grease and sawdust doesn't mix. Where one lieutenant was our boss, the engineers were taking over. The next thing I was off on an engineering course at HMS Sultan at Portsmouth with a few other shipwrights none of us were very thrilled - struggled through with a anti feeling all round - none of us passed out with very high ratings. Back in Devonport aboard HMS Ashanti did the working up period around Portland. Didn't seem to be a bad ship, she wasn't so good in rough weather especially around Portland Bill. Then I found she was off to the Persian Gulf again which didn't please me, when I joined she was to do a West Indies cruise which would have suited me. Having done 3 years of my extra time I could leave the Navy with a few months’ notice, which I did which was much relief to Vera.

Civvy street a different world. I got a job with Gerry Frayne doing warm air central heating, putting ducks together just like fan trunking in the Navy, for the new bungalows at Truro. After a while that ran out of steam or should I say air. I still carried on working with Gerry in the television business eventually that came to a halt, then I teamed up with Paul Holt still in televisions. That did very well, Paul was a very good engineer, so things were good. Things then went haywire as Paul's marriage breaking up and him getting a bit crafty with me. I carried on with a bit of television business until I was 65 years old, getting a bit long in the tooth for climbing around roofs etc. Still found plenty to do as I was a member of the Parish council which was interesting especially when I was able to achieve something. I was a member for 13 years.

Our son John was now married with 3 sons and a daughter living in Falmouth. John was a director in a boat yard company called Cygnus Marine, his wife Camilla a Master of Arts nice little family. The grandchildren give Vera and I great pleasure we do our best to spoil them.

Vera my wife was born 23 July 1922 at Trewithan, she was the eldest daughter of Venning and Lillian Davis there where others sister Ruby, Betty and Pearl. Vera and I both grew up in Portscatho. We were childhood sweethearts, so they tell me. Vera did her service in the ATS (Auxiliary Territorial Service) stationed all around the country on various Ack-Ack gun sites, where she was plotting the German planes. Us getting married in April 1947 we had a good life together, hard at times especially for Vera being a service wife and to make the most of the decisions when we were separated. Still we are together our 50th wedding anniversary coming up.

Now February 1997 it just Darby and Joan and us. The next thing was our Golden Wedding Anniversary on 19th April 1997. We hired out the Memorial Hall and with 80 odd guests it was quite an event. Personally, I wasn't up to it having just had a prostrate operation. Vera having an urge to travel to Norway to see the Fjords we booked a 5 day holiday in May, flying to Bergen and sailing on one of the local ships from Bergen up to North Cape Land of The Midnight Sun. It was a wonderful holiday we both enjoyed it very much, we even won a Mr. and Mrs. competition that was part of the entertainment on the ship. Been to the Queen and Dukes 50th Anniversary they put on a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace and invited like-wise couples from each county. The names were drawn out at Truro Cathedral. We attend the draw and to our surprise out of 400 couples our names came out. So in July off to London both dressed to the nines staying in the Kensington Park Hotel. We didn't get to speak to the Queen and Duke but made so many friends along the way. 1998 quite an eventful year for us health wise both of us beginning to feel our age, Tall Ships at Falmouth we watched from St Anthony's lighthouse courtesy of the keeper. HMS Orion reunion at Plymouth in September.

Our son's John marriage broke up but it seems to be the thing these days. His 2 eldest boys Ben and Tom both with degrees are out in the world with jobs. Now January 1999 who knows?

We had another year gone by now January 2000 both of us health-wise hasn't been very bright, always having hospital appointments, we couldn't see our way to having another holiday. I had a heart attack in November which was quite a shock and still having prostrate troubles. Perhaps this year we will have a holiday.

January 2001 I think perhaps a better a year for us involved in village activities. Health-wise much better I even managed a few days in Scotland in November which was nice change. Barney our youngest grandson got his degree and has a job with a estate agents in Truro, with his partner Victoria. They have brought a house in Falmouth and seem very settled!. Tom with his partner Carmen having their own house in London. Ben and Leslie are still looking, Ben we think is a bit unsettled in the computer world. Our son John has himself a nice flat in Packet Quays, his boat building companies doing pretty well we think? Quieter since the bombing 11 September 2001 in USA.

Here we are January 2002 off to a good start, Christmas in Falmouth with all the family.

Warren Edward Peters · 1922–2004