My father, Sidney Toone joined the Royal Navy in 1940, and after initial training at HMS Ganges, HMS Drake, and HMS Valkyrie, he was posted to Durban, South Africa and HMS Express.
He served aboard HMS Express as a Radar Petty Officer doing convoy duty in the South Atlantic.
In 1941 he sailed to USA aboard RMS Queen Mary and learned American radar techniques at Asbury Park, New York. He was then posted to HMS Eastway, a specialised ship designed to repair landing craft at sea.
After sailing back to UK, he then took part in the Normandy Invasions on HMS Eastway, and later the Allied landings in South of France.
His story, with pictures is available at http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/sstohms
I would welcome any feedback or comments