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Able Seaman William 'George' Parker BEM World Naval Ships Forums Archive

Able Seaman William 'George' Parker BEM

Posts 1 to 26

[B]The Ancient Mariner: George Parker's Centenary 28.11.01 14:48 [/B] Origin Navy News By Geof Palmer ------------------------------------------- March 10, 1953. The Home and Mediterranean Fleets were assembled at Gibraltar for combined exercises. ------------------------------------------- Alongside each other at the harbour mole were two Battle-class destroyers, St Kitts (Capt E.N. Sinclair DSC) and HMS Gravelines (Cdr F.B.P. Brayne-Nicholls DSC). St Kitts was 4th Destroyer Squadron, Home Fleet, Chatham-manned, and in reasonable condition. Gravelines was 3rd Destroyer Squadron, Mediterranean Fleet, Devonport-manned, but had serious hull and machinery defects. By order of the Admiralty both ships exchanged entire ship's companies, officer complement and Fleet Command, and returned to their respective stations. There was one exception. By direction of the Commander-in-Chief Mediterranean, Admiral Lord Mountbatten, one Chatham rating - Able Seaman George Parker C/J 86388, Pension No 16830 - stood fast on the for'ard messdeck of St Kitts, now a Devonport ship, which had been his home for the past seven years. Aged 52, Parker was 13 years older than even his Captain, and by far the oldest rating in the Royal Navy still serving afloat. We were told that he was the same age as Admiral Mountbatten and that they had been shipmates before, but this was untrue; the C-in-C was 17 months older than Parker, their respective dates of birth being June 25 1900 and November 16, 1901. I was Supply Officer of St Kitts and was not often in contact with this remarkable little man, except when exchanging foreign currency for the ship's company. But I frequently observed him going about his ship duties, and long after his death and my own retirement I decided to research his life and times. This must be the first ever biography of a Naval rating who was never promoted above Able rate. l William Henry Parker was born on November 16, 1901 at Camberwell, London SE15, to William Henry Parker and Alice Caroline Parker. Why was he always known as George Parker? Probably because in maturity, with his pointed beard and small stature - 5ft 5in - he bore a marked resemblance to the late King George V. I have no information of his childhood in London's East End, but I have obtained a copy of his Service Certificate from which the following account is mainly drawn. It shows he joined HMS Impregnable from TS Warspite on March 1, 1918 at the age of 16 as a Boy 2nd Class. Prince Louis of Battenberg's entry into the Royal Naval College Osborne as a Naval Cadet was three years earlier, in May 1913. George was rated up to Boy 1st Class on August 24, 1918 after qualifying as a Bugler, and drafted to RNB Chatham on November 19, a week after the Armistice which ended the Great War. He was just 17. He remained in the depot pool for four months awaiting a sea draft. Prince Louis was still well ahead of him, having joined Beatty's flagship HMS Lion as a midshipman on July 19, 1916, six weeks after Jutland. On March 21, 1919, George Parker joined a draft of Boy Seamen recommissioning HMS Emperor of India. With HMS Benbow she was one of the two last Dreadnoughts - 24 in all, laid down by Lord Fisher, and launched in 1913, with displacement of 25,000 tons and ten 13.5in guns. They were followed by five Queen Elizabeth-class and five Royal Sovereign-class, all 27,500 tons with eight 15in guns. Still a big ship Navy! The battleship immediately sailed for a secret destination, stopping at Gibraltar and Malta without giving leave, and eventually arriving off Constantinople. In the aftermath of the War the Royal Navy maintained a presence in the Bosphorus. With the break-up of the Ottoman Empire the Turks were massacring Greeks, Armenians and Germans, and the young sailors witnessed some horrible atrocities. Later the ship proceeded to the Dardanelles to provide working parties with the Army at Gallipoli, recovering and burying in war graves the thousands of skeletons lying everywhere from the 1915 campaign - another grim experience. On his18th birthday George was rated Ordinary Seaman, and a year later he returned to RNB Chatham to qualify as a Seaman Gunner. His training in Chatham Gunnery School stood him in good stead in later years, when he claimed to have manned almost every type of armament in the Naval Service. He had qualified for the War Gratuity even though his war service had entirely been in Boys' Training. After a couple of short sea drafts came a highlight in George's career, when he joined Repulse for the commission December 1922 to November 1924, during which the ship completed a world cruise to Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the West Indies. Subsequent commissions were in HMS Vindictive (of Zeebrugge fame) and Cumberland, much of which were probably on the China Station, April 1925 to November 1929. After a spell in home waters it was back to the Far East and the Yangtse Flotilla in the gunboats HMS Moth and HMS Petrel, 1933-1935. Though as a Londoner one might have thought George would have welcomed some time in Chatham, spells in the depot were short, and he was soon volunteering to go back to sea, this time in the battleship HMS Ramillies, 1935-1936. l There followed a very long commission in HMS York from October 1936 to May 1941. York and Exeter were modified County-class cruisers, of 8,900 tons displacement with eight 8in guns, mainly employed on the America and West Indies Station where, between the wars, ships' companies enjoyed overwhelming shoreside hospitality. But by 1940 York had joined Cunningham's Fleet in the Mediterranean, and was frequently in action with the Italian Navy. Her Captain was R.H. Portal, later Admiral Sir Reginald Portal, brother to the marshal of the Royal Air Force. In a rare incident of chivalry York sank an Italian destroyer, dropped floats to the survivors and signalled their position to their Admiralty in plain language. But on March 26, 1941, while at anchor in Suda Bay, Crete, Italian charioteers penetrated the harbour boom and torpedoed York, so damaging her that she had to be beached and eventually abandoned. Meanwhile the British Army in Greece was falling back under pressure from overwhelming German forces and had to be evacuated to Crete. York's salvage had to be abandoned, and her officers and men were sent to the mainland to act as beach parties and communication numbers, and to man the small craft employed for the withdrawal. But Crete in turn was eventually lost and York's complement was evacuated to Alexandria. George's Service Certificate records one day's passage in the destroyer HMS Imperial on May 23, 1941 - herself sunk just six days later. The Crete campaign was, perhaps, the closest Parker came to serving with Mountbatten. As Captain D5 in HMS Kelly he was sunk off Crete on May 23, 1941, the same day as York's crew were being evacuated off the island in Imperial. Philip Ziegler's biography of Mountbatten establishes that, to date, Parker and Mountbatten had not served in the same ships. From May 1941 to February 1943 Parker was in HMS Fareham, a sloop operating off the coast of Cyraniaca in support of the Eighth Army in the Western Desert. Undoubtedly in frequent action with the Luftwaffe, one of George's yarns was that Rommel sent a signal to Auckinleck complaining that George had shot down too many of his Stukas! At any event, in December 1942 he was Mentioned in Despatches (AFO 6363/42). And in November 1941 he completed his time for pension, but was of course retained for t he duration of the Emergency. Overdue for Home Service, George returned to Chatham Barracks in February 1943. For the remainder of the war he was attached to HMS Ferret, believed to be a Coastal Forces base on the East Coast, and HMS Wildfire, the base at Sheerness. l The war ended ,and George did an update course for his non-sub rate LR3 in Chatham Gunnery School. He then began the longest commission of his career when in December 1945 he joined the new Battle-class destroyer HMS St Kitts completing at Swan Hunter's yard at Hebburn-on-Tyne. She was one of 16 replacing the long run of A to Z-named destroyers which performed so well throughout hostilities, designed for action against Japan. With a displacement of 2,315 tons, they were fitted with twin 4.5in turrets and a formidable AA Bofors armament. In 1943 a further 24 improved Battles of 2,480 tons were ordered, but with the end of the Far East war 16 of these were scrapped. As the Navy was run down in the post-war period most of this class were in and out of reserve, but St Kitts seems to have been more or less in continuous commission for 11 years of her active service. On completion of trials off the Tyne, St Kitts first commissioned at Chatham on January 1, 1946 under the command of Lt Cdr J.T.B. Birch DSO DSC, a famous wartime destroyer ace. One of her midshipmen recalls Parker as a permanent Buffer's Yeoman who was kind to junior officers and taught them a lot. In 1947 St Kitts escorted Vanguard for the Royal visit to South Africa. During the voyage the King and Queen and the two Princesses came across to the destroyer ,and there was a march-past by the ship's company. One crew member remembers Princess Elizabeth brushed up against a newly-painted hatch coaming and marked her skirt. Unbidden, George doubled up with cotton waste and white spirit to repair the damage. His first contact with Royalty! During a refit in 1948 George created his legend. He obtained a ballcock of a WC, welded it to a spike, and persuaded the Dockyard to cover it with gold leaf - an expensive procedure! This he mounted on the cap of the foremast to give the ship a striking and original look. Seemingly the ship's Captain gave his approval, and on rejoining the Squadron at Invergordon Captain D4 signalled his congratulations on St Kitts' novel appearance. The Home Fleet then sailed for a West Indies cruise. In after years Parker claimed he had Mountbatten's authority to wear the ball in whatever ship he might be serving, and no one could tell if this was true or not. By this time he had signed for two Extended Service engagements of three years each from November 1, 1946 and 1949, followed by an undertaking to serve until the age of 55, i.e. until November 1956. With this security he had established as his right a caboose abaft the funnel in the midships Bofors gunshield where the gun had been removed. There he now lived in preference to the Messdeck. An officer recalls him having an argument with the C-in-C, Admiral McGrigor, whom George addressed as an equal! At times a bit heated, was the Admiral disputing his right of tenure? At any rate, just after this incident came the transfer with Gravelines. It seems improbable that the Chatham and Devonport drafting authorities would have allowed Parker to remain in St Kitts, so approval must have been at the highest level locally. With his new officers and shipmates he began to claim a previous link with Mountbatten, though this was not in evidence from their histories. But his ability as a line-shooter was now legendary and the C-in-C seems to have co-operated. Mountbatten's technique before visiting a ship was to send over a midshipman beforehand to be briefed by the Captain on personalities among the ratings. This he would memorise and astonish the sailors by his knowledge of them. Twice in the commission he came aboard St Kitts, and on each occasion George was trotted aft to meet him and to join him in a noggin with the Captain. This was a bit naughty as George claimed special status as a result, and this could be prejudicial to discipline. In May 1953 most of the ships from the Mediterranean, including St Kitts, returned home for the Coronation Fleet Review, which gave a welcome break of leave in the middle of a foreign commission. Then we were frequently in the Canal Zone, where trouble was brewing. Early in 1954 a Comet aircraft crashed in the sea off Elba. St Kitts and HMS Wakeful searched for the wreck on the seabed, which it was essential to recover before Comet aircraft could resume commercial flights. Another emergency was a high-speed dash from Gibraltar to Algiers to the rescue of the Empire Windrush, which had caught fire on passage from the Far East with Servicemen and their families returning home. All were rescued except two crew members who perished in the engine room. On January 1, 1954 the Secretary of the Admiralty addressed Able Seaman Parker - Sir, To the effect that the Queen had been graciously pleased to award him the British Empire Medal (Military Division) for outstanding zeal and devotion to duty. On May 11 he was invested in Gibraltar when the Queen arrived there on the final leg of her world tour following the Coronation. She and the Duke of Edinburgh then embarked in the newly-commissioned Royal Yacht Britannia for passage home with her small children Charles and Anne, who had come out to meet her. l A picture emerges of George Parker in the transition of the Navy to a hi-tech age retaining and excelling in the traditional skills of a seaman. No one could approach his ability in wire-splicing. He could renew the ship's guardrails without recourse to a dockyard. At rope-splicing and general ropework he was the best. He could run up a set of sails for the Captain's dinghy, for which purpose he appropriated the Yeoman's sewing machine and refused to surrender it. He was the ship's tailor and could turn a serge uniform inside out to renew its appearance. He could manufacture white fronts from sheets and restore outdated uniforms. In his caboose on the Bofors gundeck he kept a great deal of equipment which he had rabbited to apply his skills working in wire, rope and canvas. His obsession was that someone might break into his caboose when he was on leave and steal his possessions. As a result, he never took his full leave entitlement. It is said that before leaving the ship he arranged for a telegram to be sent after two or three days recalling him, and he was soon back on board. At one time he was the ship's postman, at another the barber. Favours performed for shipmates were remunerated in the usual way - sippers. But he could be extremely stubborn in getting his own way, with the implied threat that he had a line to Mountbatten. As an LR3 (old seaman gunlayer) his action station was turret trainer of A turret. On one occasion someone enraged him and he locked himself in the turret which he then trained violently as if to shoot up the neighbourhood, until an officer managed to calm him down and he came out. Still with respect for his age, he was excused most drills, musters and watchkeeping. Invariably wearing overalls and leather seaboots on board, he was smartly dressed when going ashore, sporting four rows of medals with a lifesaving medal on the right side. In Malta he drank on his own in little-known bars such as the Great War Bar in Senglea, getting quietly drunk, and gave no trouble when returning on board. l St Kitts returned to Devonport in December 1954 to pay off before a long refit. At this point he was transferred to the Devonport Port Division and became a Guzz rating. The ship's company, all ex-Gravelines, had completed 30 months foreign service and were mostly dispersed. But George remained for the re-commissioning in October 1955. During the next four years St Kitts served three shorter periods in the Mediterranean, in operations in Cyprus waters where the Eoka insurrection was a growing threat, and in November 1956 it took part in the Suez campaign, when she bombarded the Egyptian shore batteries. In 1956 George was allowed to re-engage for a further five years until the age of 60. In October 1957 St Kitts returned to Devonport for the last time. After almost 12 years continuous operational service she had reached the end of her life. Paid off on December 9, she was reduced to reserve and moored off Wilcove in the Hamoaze for the next four years. She was finally towed to Sunderland in February 1962 to be broken up, but her crew were only half-way through the final commission and immediately transferred to another Battle-class ship, HMS Camperdown, which had been in Reserve for ten years and was brought back into service. Although there was little he could do about it, George was not happy with his unfamiliar quarters. For one thing he had lost his caboose, and although he eventually secured a locker for his gear he had to move back on to the messdeck. It is said he even wrote to Mountbatten, now First Sea Lord, to have the ship's name changed back to St Kitts. But his golden ball was transferred to the masthead of Camperdown. The Camperdown commission lasted four years and followed the pattern now set for foreign service - nine to twelve months in the Mediterranean interspersed with time in home waters. The Battles became outdated as new construction was being built, and on October 9, 1961 she was put back into reserve and finally scrapped at Faslane in 1970. Mountbatten headed the Navy until 1959 and continued as Chief of the Defence Staff until 1965, but time had run out for the ageing seaman. Modern electronic technology was taking over the control and direction of warships, and Parker's skills were becoming outdated. The daily rum ration was under review as inappropriate to the modern Navy, and abolished in 1970. George would not have liked that. His 60th birthday passed and there was no further engagement. l His final retirement from Devonport Barracks on March 6, 1962 was reported in the national press. The Daily Mirror published a picture of him on the front page, framed in a porthole. A shipmate described him as "the archetypal old seaman - every finger a marlin spike, every hair a spun yarn, and for blood, good old Stockholm tar." Parker claimed he had shot down 13 enemy planes, sunk two U-boats and been shipwrecked several times! On page 4 of his Service Certificate his Character and Efficiency was assessed for 40 years continuously as VG Superior. His awards and decorations in 44 years service are recorded as: British Empire Medal (Military Division) Mentioned in Despatches British War Medal 1918 Victory Medal 1918 Long Service and Good Conduct Medal with clasp and two rosettes 1939-1945 Star Atlantic Star Africa Star and clasp France and Germany Medal and clasp War Medal and oak leaf Naval General Service Medal with Cyprus and Near East clasps Not perhaps as many as Mountbatten, but surely an unprecedented record for an Able Seaman. In 1962 he returned home to his family in Bracknell, Berkshire, and was quoted in Navy News: "I don't know how I shall stick it back here. "I am completely lost; I can't drive a car or even ride a bike. I expect I shall be off again somewhere soon." He had expressed an ambition to own a pub in Sliema, Malta, but never achieved this. But he was welcomed by the Bracknell branch of the Royal Naval Association and given free membership. Camperdown's last Captain, Cdr G.T. Risdon, granted written permission to Able Seaman Parker to take with him into retirement, as his lawful property, the Ship's Bell and Ensign of St Kitts and the Ship's Crest of Camperdown. These trophies are now in the possession of the Royal Naval Association, Bracknell branch, and the Bracknell Sea Cadet Unit, TS St Kitts. George continued to bask in the sun of memory in Bracknell for a further 13 years, no doubt regaling the young cadets with far-fetched tales, reminiscent of the Millais painting 'The Boyhood of Raleigh'. In 1975 he was admitted to the Royal Naval Benevolent Trust home, Pembroke House in Gillingham, Kent, there to reside for his final years. In 1977 he was interviewed by the magazine Kent Life, which reported that "apart from a slight limp, due to a mild stroke soon after retirement, he is as spritely as a man half his age - a fact he ably demonstrated when the tea gong sounded!" There was also a photograph later in the local press of him being visited by Lord Mountbatten in full uniform. Shortly after that, on August 27, 1979, Admiral Mountbatten was assassinated by the IRA, two months after his 79th birthday. On February 9, 1981, Able Seaman Parker died in Pembroke House of bronchopneumonia and cardiac failure, also aged 79 years and two months. A correspondent wrote to me: "History should have made more note of people like George. If he had been an officer, books would have been written about him." To set the record straight, I have produced this memoir in his centenary year. by Geof Palmer in Navy News --------------------------------------

The inclusion of AB 'George' Parker BEM a 'junior rating' into the Obituary Forum was a considered judgement based on his longevity of Naval Service and the unique situation whereby his gold plated brass ball adorned the Camperdown whilst he was a fellow crew member. To avoid duplication; reference to the link showing 'George' being the Navy News - Heroes of the Royal Navy; No 67 - can be found in the Battle Class Thread, as can the follow up letters in Navy News January 2010 'e' edition regarding the poss resting place for his plated brass ball and [B]a letter from his grandson[/B]!!! Little h

There is nothing wrong with this man being here, Harry. I wish that there were more. There are not many Obitaries around for Junior Rates. A good choice and thanks for posting it Dave

I have noticed that there are a lot of posts regarding George Parker on the thread "Battle Cruisers" by rumrat. Fascinating story tying in with the other thread.

Purely in the interest of accuracy the title of the thread cross-referenced should read - 'BATTLE' CLASS DESTROYERS - by rumrat Little h

So more people can read the fascinating tale of George Parker, is it worth merging the two threads?

In 1952 I was in Sluys & remember seeing George on many occasions.We all thought he was too full of himself.

Surely it can not be too much to ask members to remember that this thread is the NAVAL OBITUARIES thread. Hitherto this has been the preserve of the type of respectful posts that one would expect when recording recollections of those who have crossed the bar and about whom we have memories. Little h

I know the thread has been open a long time now, but I would like to thank all contributors. Its nice to find people with recollections of My Grandad. I came across the site by chance when looking for pictures of the ships he served on, so what a great resource I have come across, Thank you!!

From my opening post:- ---------- During a refit in 1948 George created his legend. [B]He obtained a ballcock of a WC, welded it to a spike, and persuaded the Dockyard to cover it with gold leaf - an expensive procedure! This he mounted on the cap of the foremast to give the ship a striking and original look.[/B] Seemingly the ship's Captain gave his approval, and on rejoining the Squadron at Invergordon Captain D4 signalled his congratulations on St Kitts' novel appearance. The Home Fleet then sailed for a West Indies cruise. In after years Parker claimed he had Mountbatten's authority to wear the ball in whatever ship he might be serving, and no one could tell if this was true or not. ----------- Take a look at the ball on the foretop of the St. Kitts, as seen in the photograph posted by Hon Mod Alan Benn in post #1974 on the 'Special Warship Pictures' thread. Might this just be said gold plated ball, later transferred to the Camperdown D32 (old ships) when George was drafted to her? Little h
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[QUOTE=harry.gibbon;10017277]From my opening post:- ---------- During a refit in 1948 George created his legend. [B]He obtained a ballcock of a WC, welded it to a spike, and persuaded the Dockyard to cover it with gold leaf - an expensive procedure! This he mounted on the cap of the foremast to give the ship a striking and original look.[/B] Seemingly the ship's Captain gave his approval, and on rejoining the Squadron at Invergordon Captain D4 signalled his congratulations on St Kitts' novel appearance. The Home Fleet then sailed for a West Indies cruise. In after years Parker claimed he had Mountbatten's authority to wear the ball in whatever ship he might be serving, and no one could tell if this was true or not. ----------- Take a look at the ball on the foretop of the St. Kitts, as seen in the photograph posted by Hon Mod Alan Benn in post #1974 on the 'Special Warship Pictures' thread. Might this just be said gold plated ball, later transferred to the Camperdown D32 (old ships) when George was drafted to her? Little h[/QUOTE] When we were on Camperdown Harry, I thought it was on the mainmast, Alan

[QUOTE=alanandbren;10017294]When we were on Camperdown Harry, I thought it was on the mainmast, Alan[/QUOTE] Hi Alan, IIRC, on the Camperdown George's ball was mounted on the aft mast which was located on top of the handling room on the STAAG/Twin Bofors deck aft. The reason for that location was because by the time of our respective commissions on board, the SHF/DF 'horns' and the HF/DF 'birdcage' took pride of place on the foretop. Little h

[QUOTE=harry.gibbon;10017317]Hi Alan, IIRC, on the Camperdown George's ball was mounted on the aft mast which was located on top of the handling room on the STAAG/Twin Bofors deck aft. The reason for that location was because by the time of our respective commissions on board, the SHF/DF 'horns' and the HF/DF 'birdcage' took pride of place on the foretop. Little h[/QUOTE] Hi Harry, I was always led to believe that what you refer to as the aft mast was the main mast , the other being the fore mast, maybe I could be wrong. Alan

[QUOTE=alanandbren;10017322]Hi Harry, I was always led to believe that what you refer to as the aft mast was the main mast , the other being the fore mast, maybe I could be wrong. Alan[/QUOTE] Alan, There was also a small mast mainmast(?) with cross arms on the midship bofors deck between the two sets of torpedo tubes, so three masts in total. Little h

I met George when I was a young A/B on Finisterre and he was on Camperdown. He appeared to me as a crabby, smelly, grumpy olb bugger. His caboosh was near the whaler and yes it was an Aladins cave. His "ball" was mounted on the aftermast, on the S.T.A.A.G. deck and had lost it's Gold leaf, so it was good old bluebell and cotton waste at cleaning time. Obviously being in the same Squadron, I came across George at various times until we paid off in Guzz in May 1962.

[QUOTE=harry.gibbon;10017317]Hi Alan, IIRC, on the Camperdown George's ball was mounted on the aft mast which was located on top of the handling room on the STAAG/Twin Bofors deck aft. The reason for that location was because by the time of our respective commissions on board, the SHF/DF 'horns' and the HF/DF 'birdcage' took pride of place on the foretop. Little h[/QUOTE] Aye H... his ball is located on the mainmast like you, and others, say. [URL="http://www.directart.co.uk/bmall/more.php?ProdID=106589"]http://www.directart.co.uk/bmall/more.php?ProdID=106589[/URL] Do they call a shortened mast like that a 'stump mast'? George has been passed down to us as a 'character', one of those people who make life more interesting ... fitting your own gold-plated motif to HM ships in the most prominent and noticable place? The Russians probably spent a year trying to fathom that new piece of technology!!! ;)

I have this rather sruffy photo of George and his "ball" taken in Guzz date unknown
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Hi Dave, Your photo should be considered a really good addition this Obituary thread to an old shipmate of some of us. Next time his grandson 'Stuey P22' (see post #9) looks in on the forum I am sure he will be pleased to see the addition of his grandads photo on the thread. Many thanks, Little h

[QUOTE=Dave palmer;10017386]I have this rather sruffy photo of George and his "ball" taken in Guzz date unknown[/QUOTE] Hi Dave, I agree with Harry,a super photo of an old shipmate of ours taken on Camperdown no doubt. Alan

Seeing that photo from Dave Palmer makes me wonder how many styles of square-rig uniform (numbers ones and threes) he must have worn. At least three I should think, as I believe there may have been differences between WWI uniform and WW2. The WW2 uniform was still current when I joined (1953) and was what we wore until they brought in zip jackets and fly-front trousers in the late 1950s, so George wore both of those styles, and possibly an earlier form of square rig. I wonder what he thought of the plastic round caps. At least you didn't get blanco running off when it rained. Nobby_N

[QUOTE=Dave palmer;10017386]I have this rather sruffy photo of George and his "ball" taken in Guzz date unknown[/QUOTE] Camperdown paid off in Guzz more or less at the same time Finisterre did. So that would date the photo about May 1962.

[QUOTE=Dave palmer;10017386]I have this rather sruffy photo of George and his "ball" taken in Guzz date unknown[/QUOTE] This is my first time posting, hope I have done this correctly. I am a Granddaughter of 'George' and sister of StueyP. Thank you for posting this picture which I will show my Father. Like my Brother, I too would like to thank all the contributors. It is makes for fascinating reading. Thank You.

[QUOTE=StephieP;10048695]This is my first time posting, hope I have done this correctly. I am a Granddaughter of 'George' and sister of StueyP. Thank you for posting this picture which I will show my Father. Like my Brother, I too would like to thank all the contributors. It is makes for fascinating reading. Thank You.[/QUOTE] And thank you StephieP for taking the time out to make contact with members of the forum. Your first posting is just fine I can assure you. Little h

[QUOTE=StephieP;10048695]This is my first time posting, hope I have done this correctly. I am a Granddaughter of 'George' and sister of StueyP. Thank you for posting this picture which I will show my Father. Like my Brother, I too would like to thank all the contributors. It is makes for fascinating reading. Thank You.[/QUOTE] Hi Stephie, I have some newspaper clippings of your Grandfather,an old shipmate of mine, that I will try and post. Alan

What a fascinating individual he must have been. As was stated in the original post, "if he had been an officer, books would have been written about him." While this is a little off topic, I can't help but wonder what Soviet intelligence experts must have made of his "ball?" I can see many sleepless nights in the Kremlin as they tried to determine its purpose!

[QUOTE=alanandbren;10048719]Hi Stephie, I have some newspaper clippings of your Grandfather,an old shipmate of mine, that I will try and post. Alan[/QUOTE] Thank you very much, that would be much appreciated.

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