大象传媒

Ths story was submitted to the Peoples War by Angela Triggs of CSV 大象传媒 Coventry and Warwickshire on behalf of the late Lewis Page with kind permission of his wife Eileen Page, and has been added to the site with her permission. The author fully understands the site's terms and conditions.

Our first real day in the Navy began at 6.00 am when we were rudely awakened by the sound of the bugle. This was followed by a message on the tannoy, saying "do you hear there, do you hear there" - as if anyone only slightly less than stone deaf could possibly fail to hear.

The door burst open and a cheerful individual in sailor's uniform, with an anchor on his arm, announced that he was Leading Seaman Adams, and that he would be our class leader at Gosling 4. This would be for 12 long weeks.

We were class no. 3 and one of about 20 similar classes, all using the same facilities of the camp - especially the parade ground.

My first run-in with seaman Adams was when he saw the length of my hair. "Get you hair cut Page" he said, but despite of threats and reminders, he never did follow this up and I kept my precious locks. All I did was apply an extra layer of Brylcream, and cram my hair under my hat. After that all I had to do was give it a quick wash when I went into town.

Having read the riot act and downed a breakfast of lumpy grey porridge we were marched to the clothing store and kitted out with : An overcoat, two pairs of blue trousers, two tunics, shoes, pumps, boots, several pairs of blue socks and stockings, hats, ribbons, lanyards and sailor's collars with ridiculous stripes representing, I understand, the naval victories of Nelson. There were several sets of underwear, a make do and mend kit - and I wondered where it would all go.

There were 2 of most things - a set for everyday and a set for going ashore, referred to as our no. 1's or our "tiddly suits". We were then given a wooden block to which to attach the letters of our name. This was dipped into an inked pad and appliedto each article to give a permanent mark.

In addition, we were given a large white kit bag together with a padlock and keys, 2 hairy grey blankets, a mattress and a hammock. We were not issued with sheets as these were for officers and presumably WRENS only !

........After a few days we were given our pay books and number, FX588089 in my case. This was our identity card and was issued with dire threats of the consequences, should it be lost. It was also needed on pay day, and this made us very careful.

The curious thing about pay in the Navy was that you got an extra 3d a day (big deal) if you gre a beard, or a 'full set' as it was called. You also got an extra 3d a day if you didn't claim your rum ration, which I didn't until much later.

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