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Service information for:
John did a 3 year stint in the RCN as Naval Air.
Ships served in:
RCN Memories:
I was an Naval Airman in the early 60’s and was stationed in Shearwater and later on the Bonnie. While waiting to go on course at NAMS we did all the crappy jobs and stood the duty watch in Warrior Block. Most of the time I would get the 12 to 4 watch which we all hated. As an OD we would try to get out of work at every opportunity. I was assigned to the regulating office to sweep the floors. The person who was in charge of me was a 20 year AB named Joe and who I had already experienced his wrath on another occasion and was a bit afraid of him. While sweeping up I noticed a board with a lot of name tags on it and was divided into the four watches. I quickly found my name, and I wondered what would happen if I took my name off the board. My fear of Joe almost prevented me from removing my name but in the end the tag went into my pocket. From that time on I never stood another duty watch at Shearwater.
As an OD I was too young to get into the bars in Halifax but that didn’t stop me from trying. I would lie about my age saying I was born in 1941. Never worked. Then one day I lost my ID card. I was sent to dockyard and the clerk did the paperwork for a new one. When she asked when I was born I said 1941 without thinking. A couple of weeks later back came a new card with a whole new birth date. No problem with the bars after that.
I kept my mouth shut about both of those scams and now after 60 years I guess it’s all right to finally tell the truth. Best thing I ever did was join the navy.
John's stories from his time in the Navy are also posted on the RCN Memories page under No more duty watches and When were you born?
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