Joining HMCS Anson

The Naval College, I finished there at the end of April 1942, and I'd had Christmas leave with my grandfather, used to have about 10, 12 days and I'd spend half with Grandfather and half with my aunt who lived, as I say near Windsor. But when I, when I got out of the college and, I guess, say graduated, if you will, anyway passed out, not literally. I was on leave for, for, for the month of April, mostly, and I got, well it was during that period I got my appointment to the Anson, which is a brand new building, or battleship the, what is a 43,000 tonne battleship that was building in Newcastle, Wallsend. So I was to join on the 1st of May. So I, I headed up to, to Newcastle, and joined the ship on the 1st of May. I wasn't alone, I had, there was one of my term mates, another, we were midshipmen by that time.

I was immediately put into the Captain's office, the captain sec is the, the Captain, the captain's sec, and the, when you have, as midshipman, you're literally treated as leading seamen, you might say, corporals, that's the sort of level you're working at, in all the way through as midshipmen, pretty well I considered, whether you're, whatever you're doing.