THis months  ( June 2008) Candidate Is Bob Phillips.         

                              “WHERE ARE THEY NOW”

I joined the Royal Navy in August 1958, after being called for National Service. After Part 1 training at HMS Collingwood I was sent to Royal Naval Hospital, Haslar

Medical training School. Ward work followed qualification as an SBA, mainly spent on the Dirty Surgery ward, where all infected wounds and colo-rectal problems were treated. It was during this time that I met Judy Tusler. She was the Ward Sister and a few years later she married ‘Black Jack’ Gooding – there’s a name from the past!!

In September 1959 I  became a full-time student at the Royal Naval School of Physiotherapy, gaining my Membership of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy in December 1962. Duties in the Physiotherapy Dept. at Haslar until the morning of 6^th March 1963, when Jim Morris and I were summoned to the Surgeon Rear Admiral’s office to  be told that we were the first of the Medical Staff to be drafted into Nuclear  Submarines.

This was the day after my daughter, Helen was born and a month before USS Thresher was lost at sea. A great introduction to boats but an experience!!! Drafted to HMS Dolphin on 1^st April (!!)  and after  6 week basic submarine training course I was drafted to HMS Rorqual for ‘seamanship experience’. Not an enjoyable time as she was involved with “sneakies”

Following the Nuclear Engineering Course at HMS Sultan and an Advanced Mathematics spell at HMS Collingwood we were attached to what was then the Royal Naval Medical School (now Institute of Naval Medicine) for medical training in Operating Theatre, Radiographic and Medical Laboratory techniques, etc. Time was also spent at the Royal Naval Physiological Laboratory for Toxic Gas Analysis. During this period we were lent to the Radio-Chemical Centre, Amersham. This was the commercial outlet for the UK Atomic Energy Authority. We worked with the Harwell team on high-level decontamination. We became the first trainees to go to HMS Vulcan at Dounreay for practical Health Physics experience.

I joined Dreadnought in September 1964, under the keen eyes of  Chief Sick Berth Attendant  Jack Gooding (Black Jack) and  LSBA  Jim Morris – both have now, sadly passed away. This was, without doubt the happiest 2 years of my Naval career. We had a lot of fun with a great, friendly crew and everyone respected each other for knowing their job.

In July 1966 I left Dreadnought to stand by HMS Resolution being built at Barrow. By this time I was a Chief Med. Tech. and was the Head of  Medical/Health Physics Dept. with 3 other Med. Techs as staff. Four of us were in lodging on Walney Island when a fifth member arrived. We shared a bedroom. The next morning I put my uniform on and he did likewise. He was a Surgeon Lt. Cdr., Murdo Macleod – my new boss!! We became very good friends.

After the second  Polaris patrol I left to take up a similar appointment on HMS Revenge. Following the work-up I had a visit from my Branch Commander who urged me to go for my commission as I was needed as the Base Health & Safely Officer (Nuclear) at Faslane. Nothing to lose, I passed all exams until the Final Interview (only the Medical Branch had this quirk), when I was asked by a Surgeon Captain “Did I consider that my wife was suitable for the Wardroom!!” This provoked a very heated exchange of words, followed by me walking out of the room.

The Surgeon Rear Admiral came after to apologise profusely but the damage had been done. Following this altercation I reviewed my future career and  decided that it should be in medicine. I returned to the Physiotherapy Dept. at Haslar but  working there was not a happy experience as, by this time (1970) the hospital had opened its doors to the civilian population of Gosport & surround. I didn’t join the RN to treat old ladies!!

1972 & 3 were good years as I was loaned to the British Cycling Federation to be the physiotherapist to the Great Britain Cycling Team. This involved the Milk Races and several stage races in Europe but very hard work!

In August 1973 I was sent to the West Middlesex University Hospital, London to complete a 2 year Teaching Diploma Course in Medicine. Part of the Final Assessment was to write a thesis. The title of mine was ‘Respiratory Failure in Underwater Medicine’, for which I received a Credit. On returning to uniform my next years were spent lecturing in the Royal Naval School of Physiotherapy.

 Another 2 year civilian course was completed at St. Mary’s Post Graduate Medical School at Paddington  London, this time in  Spinal Manipulation. I was appointed as Principal of the School but in 1978 it was decided to amalgamate the 3 Service schools to form the Joint Services School of Physiotherapy, based at Wendover, Bucks. I was made Clinical Tutor but left at Haslar.

The School took service and civilian students and I used the Specialised Units of all the Portsmouth, Southampton and West Hospitals for their clinical experience, so I had a ‘roving commission’. It was during this time that Earl Mountbatten sent for me at Broadlands. He offered me ‘on a plate’ the physiotherapy practice which looked after the Royal Family. I declined his offer as it wasn’t what I wanted out of life. I declined promotion to Fleet Chief as the Appointer could not decide on where to send me!!

During my travels around the hospitals, I dealt with most of the Medical Consultants, who encouraged me to start a private practice. From then on, I treated most of their private patients. When I finally left the RN in August 1980 I had a fully operational practice with a normal working day from 8am – 6.30pm and clinics on Saturday mornings. I became a member of my local Rotary Club, being President in 1992/3.

In 1999 disaster struck. I was diagnosed as having advanced bowel cancer – 3 weeks later I had radical surgery, followed by six months chemotherapy. By this time, I knew that I couldn’t return to work so sold my practice. Now my time is spent on Rotary, caravanning, genealogy and scratch-building model boats. A model of Holbrook’s B11 submarine now rests in the Museum at Holbrook in Australia and other model on display in Bristol. My present project is the battleship HMS Dreadnought!!

Still married to the same girl, Val after 48 years. My daughter, Helen celebrates her Silver Wedding this month. She has a 23 year-old son, James. We have lived in Farlington, Portsmouth since 1971. I can lie in bed and watch the shipping movements  in the Solent!!

With being a small branch, the Health Physics members have kept in contact. Unfortunately, out of ten, only two of us are left, all of the others have died from cancer-related conditions. They are:

                      Roger Lambert – the first M.O.

                      Malcolm Harper

                      John Morris

                      Roy Ellison

                      Jack Gooding

                      Jim Morris

                      Mick Slaney (mini-doc)

                      Ron Loveland

But I am told this is only a statistic !!

This Months ( May 2008) candidate,  We need more like this so start writing!!!

Geoffrey Everett MBE

(Photograph of Geoff and Joan at the Commisioning 1963)

An ex- Caledonia Artificer (joined Feb 47) went to sea in Frigates in 1950 (HMS Loch Alvie & HMS Sharpshooter) and joined Submarines Training course in 1957 followed by sea-time in HMS Truncheon including excursions under the Northern ice.

Drafted to The first Dreadnought crew in 1960 (not one of the chosen few who spent time in the USA during Nuclear training) and resident with his family during setting to work and power range testing in Barrow in Furness.

 I seem to remember spending a lot of time opening up systems in the Reactor compartment, then shutting them down again after the day (or night) activities. Following on were sea trials in home waters during which we went ’On the Step’ then running from Gibraltar for several months with 2001 sonar ringing in our ears. Took over as Outside systems CERA from the renowned Colin Rudkin who had set all the Diving systems to work  I was left to sort out the somewhat difficult CO2 Scrubbers and Electolizers to get finally going. John Stanton helped me.

Joined HMS Maidstone as Nuclear repair CERA in 1965 to be in charge of Contamination control and training Shipwrights in Stainless steel welding and eb insert welding of copper nickel pipes serving under Lt. Cdr. Tommy Landport and Lt. Ken Finney. We did some significant work onboard the submarine which then had to be approved by the Laboratory in Rosyth Dockyard. 

One of my jobs was to get radiographs taken of repairs we had done.   My family was now resident in the MQ’s in Helensburgh My wife Joan used to complain that I was continually on call because when the submarine was at sea, there was no-one else but me on hand with any actual experience of a Nuclear submarine.

I rejoined Dreadnought in Singapore prior to the first Refuelling refit 1968 - 69 and qualified as a Manoeuvring watch keeper on the way home.  Was seconded to the Rosyth dockyard refuelling team as Ships staff representative answering to Lt Cdr Rutherford.

During this time Joan and my family, now expanded to three girls, were resettled in the Rosyth MQ’s.  To me the most incredible aspect of the refuelling, it being the first core change of a PWR in UK, was that one of my colleagues from Artificer apprentice days was the Project Manager.  His name was John Biggerstaf . As a boy of 15 I knew him as a pretty good footballer.  In this job he was dynamite!  I could but stand in his shadow he having left the Navy after 12 years and studied diligently to gain a degree in Engineering and become a very important person in the Dockyards.

In1970 I was promoted to Commissioned Engineer and  appointed as MEO HMS Walrus, Submarine.  Seagoing for the next two years in a Diesel powered submarine was an interruption in my Nuclear career which just continued on. There was a dire shortage of any sort of Engineer in Submarines for several years into the 1980’s which was the reputed reason.

 I was given HMS Olympus to complete a major refit at Devonport1978 to 1980.  My family was in MQ’s in Plymouth then.  After this I was appointed to my first actual job in Portsmouth as Training Planning officer to the Submarine school at HMS Dolphin.  Joan and I had bought a bungalow close by in Horndean so, at last, out of MQ’s.  The job in Dolphin seemed like a nice hideaway but as an Engineer I didn’t take too kindly to being roped in from time to time as ’Officer of the Day’ and having to stand on the parade ground with a bugler at the salute at Sunset and sunrise.

My time at home in diesel submarines ended when I was hassled out of the easy job in the Submarine School back to another refitting Submarine, HMS Opossum this time in Portsmouth dockyard during 1978 - 80.  The refit wasn’t quite finished when I was asked to fill in at short notice to an exchange job abroad.  I had to give my answer within a week - whether I was prepared to go to Nova Scotia to relieve Lt. Bob Spitter ME (SM) as Submarine Class Officer to the Canadian Forces Base, Halifax.  With two daughters married, we decided to go, taking Tina our remaining daughter to finish her Secondary education in Canada. She learnt a lot there including driving on the right hand side of the road and North American accountancy. 

We lived in one of those large wooden houses with a veranda and a massive basement.  It was situated on a hill overlooking a place called Bedford 10 miles along the bay from Halifax.  When we arrived in October 1980 it was just about the end of the autumn and were taken aback by the incredible forests of red maple leaves just about to fall.  After they fell it started to snow and continued to do so on and off, through to May. I enjoyed the job and experienced the amazing respect the Brits received there.  Flew around Canada occasionally on Canadian armed forces flights and even had a return flight to UK when our eldest daughters first baby was born.

The time came to leave the RN when I reached the age of 53 and I spent about a year re- building the extension on our bungalow and fitting double glazed windows etc. The retirement pension was only half pay to what we had been used to, so it didn’t seem sensible not to look for a job somewhere close by. Happens I was offered an interview with Marconi Underwater Systems in Waterlooville and spent the following 11 years as Defect resolution and Trials Engineer on the MK24 torpedo Consolidation Contract retiring in 1996 at age 65.  Needless to say this torpedo was not nuclear propelled!

Made to retire at age 65, I was able to give up report writing and attending Progress Meetings so I thought, till My Son-in-law invited me to join the team at his Company called ‘Ably Shelters’ at a time when he was seriously overloaded to meet a contact to design and build Helicopter Shelters for various aircraft including the upcoming Apache.

I found myself at the cutting edge of British Industry through into my 70’s.  What an eye opener that turned out to be in my job was Purchasing Manager. I found that in this job you need to know so much about materials and how to get them at the cheapest price, and if they don’t exist how to get them made to the right spec and to the right date also at the lowest possible price.

So now, here I am at age 77 with Joan my wife still in our smallish bungalow bought 45 years ago in the days I was in ‘Dreadnought‘ but  mostly lived in by others. With our Three daughters flown the nest these 20 years and feeling lucky to have the occasional visit from each of our seven grandchildren, three boys and four girls who range in age between 11 and 27.  It’s not bad, lots of memories held on to whilst often visiting the local NHS, hoping the next ailment to show itself isn’t Alzheimer’s or something which could be a threat to those very memories.

I thank Darby Allan for putting together this website and our Chairman and his supporters for helping him along.  I also thank Lieut. Hammersly  Lieut. Grove and Lieut. Pulvertaft (who all became Admirals), Lieut. Cdr. Bridgeman, Lieut. Manson, Lieut. Hely-Hutchinson………. and many, many others who tolerated having me around meddling into and wanting to find out everything, in the days of Dreadnought.