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I was 16 in 1942 when I went to RAF Dumfries. They were doing trials on Ansons. I got a trial flight. I filled the planes with fuel.
After that I went to stay with my sister in Aberdeen as a labourer. Then I volunteered for the royal Navy in 1943, aged 17½. I did the medical in Aberdeen and, by the time I got back to Dumfries, my calling up papers had arrived. I was sent to HMS Malvern in Worcestershire.
It was a 6 week training, then I went to Portsmouth for the remainder of my training on HMS Victory. Then I was drafted to HMS Rosemary, a coal ship on the Atlantic. Then I went back to become part of the naval party to Kuala Lumpur. I was number 2436! The Japanese had surrendered just before we got there. We helped the prisoners of war onto the ships — they were just skin and bone; they were so weak we had to hold them up. You don’t forget something like that.
I was demobilised from the Navy in 1947.
In September 1950 the Australian navy wanted volunteers so I joined and was there until September 1956.
I was given the Burma Star, the Victory Medal, the Atlantic Star, the UN Service Medal and the ASM 1945-77 PNG and Korea Medal.

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