Divisional Staff, HMAS Leeuwin
MARKS 46th DIVISIONAL AB
It was just an absolute blast to go back to Leeuwin after just nearly 3 years away from being there as a JR in 1970. I picked up my first badge just a month after joining Marks 46th as their Divisional Able Seaman. I passed up a confirmed CD's course to take the posting to Leeuwin as I was a Ship's Diver and had qualified to be on the upcoming CD course. During my ship's SE Asian deployment of 1972/3 - I'd spent 2 weeks onboard a British Submarine the HMS ODIN as part of a recruitment drive by the submariners to gain extra submariners so I also had that up my sleeve in case the CD course never worked out. As it was - I never got to do either one, as a car accident resulting in bad head injuries left me medically unfit for Submarine training for 2 years as well as the end of becoming a CD...I was sent on a PO's course down the line which made up for it I guess.
TOP DECK AB
Having the boot on the other foot so to say and trying to get used to being called "Sir" as an Able Seaman
was a bit weird. I always gave good warries to the guys when they asked and told them a lot of "Home Truths"
on what to expect when they went to sea etc. 
I found the Marks 46th guys great chaps and enjoyed their company
and pranks along the way. I must admit that the "Top Decker's" (The Foxes Boys) kept bloody clean rooms and I
was always hard pressed to find fault when marking them for weekend leave passes, as were the bottom Decker's
as all you guys were clean freaks but it was pleasing to see the Rabble turn out to be fine outstanding young
Men at the March out Parade. I distinctly remember having to drive a carload of you from the "Graduation
Ceremony" in some hall back onboard so I could get you past the Coxswains and QM on duty as you all got
legless. My thanks on NOT throwing up in my little Celica!
From the start I definitely had a soft spot for all the JR's as I was one not all that long in the past and
I was and still am proud of being able to tell people that I joined the Navy as a Junior Recruit at the
tender age of 16. Young tarnished boys entered a life changing experience and hardships back then at Leeuwin
but emerged 12 months later as shinning and outstanding young men that the Navy desperately needed with a
higher education than when they joined.
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DIVISIONAL STAFF
POAVN Kev Whitting (The Fox).
Kev Whitting and I remain good friends and still communicate
occasionally via email to this very day. I don't think I ever saw him walking at Leeuwin. He was either
running or walking very fast.
Kev was obviously one that both the JR's and I could look up to for guidance
and an inspiration to everyone in his exemplary dress standards. Kev showed me how he set the standards
for the TOP DECKERS and I used that as a bench mark when I marked the cubicles for weekend leave times
and when carrying out my duties as Divisional Able Seaman.
My only regret is that I was never to return
to Leeuwin as a Senior Sailor due to Leeuwin closing down but I would have the Fox's shadow near me at
all times I think as he left me with his touch of pride for the rest of my career.
LEUT Roberts R. C. R.A.N
LEUT Roberts made even me jump when he let rip at offending JR's and I was thankful that I was on HIS staff
and not some poor misshappened JR who caught the wrath of his sharp and very loud tongue.
Ships company were not exempt from a lashing either if they displeased him - but he would "tone it down"
a lot for the benefit of any nearby JR's listening.
LEUT Roberts was a very nice Gentleman whom
I admired as having joined the British navy as a "Boy Seaman" and later on - coming out to Australia and
working his way to become an Officer in the RAN.
I always liked listening to his "Warries" he'd spin to me on the
odd occasion that melancholy over took him. He was hard but a very fair man to everyone around him and I
stand by my words when I say that it was both an honour and a privilege to serve with him - as it was to
serve with the rest of the Division - JR's included.
Chief MTP Clarke
I'll always remember him as a quiet chap who had a job to do and got it done without complaining.
He was always friendly with a ready smile and a sense of "been there and accomplished that" attitude.
Generally speaking, I didn't have much to do with him, with him being a Chief Stoker and myself an ABUC... worlds apart but a
good team all the same I thought.
Post 46th Intake
I will always remember my time served at HMAS Leeuwin as Divisional Staff for the 46th and 50th Intakes of Marks because of the job satsifaction in shaping young lives and the friendships formed.During my time at Leeuwin I passed out for Leading Seaman with the exception of Seamanship and Sonar (which I sorted out on my next Posting on the Parramatta).
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My Naval Career
PRE 1970
I was born in Subiaco WA in 1953 as an only child moved to Brisbane for the first few years then to
Adelaide where I completed the first 2 years of primary school in Klemzig. The rest of Primary School
for me was spent in Tumby Bay in South Australia and then to Geraldton in WA for High School where I
was to start my Naval Career.
I needed a change from High School and was tossing up whether to become
an apprentice electrician with "Woralds Electrical Company" in Geraldton or continue with school. I
could see that the guys I was hanging around with at the time had left school and were heading down
the wrong path.
I'd spotted a "JOIN THE NAVY" recruitment poster in an unemployment shop window and
found out I didn't have to wait until I was 18 as I could join as a Junior Recruit. So I filled out
the application form sent it off and later on was called to Perth for the exams etc.
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1970 LEEUWIN 31ST INTAKE
Divisional Staff
Our DO was a Rocky Reservist by the name of LEUT Curran who is retired
now. He stayed a reservist for many years until taking over the local Navy cadet unit and I last saw
his photo as a Commander in the Naval cadets.
Our Chief was a Stoker by the name of Pilling - from
fast fading memory.
The PO was a POUC or UW (I think) by the name of McPherson and the Leading Seaman
was a Birdie Handler - By the name of Charlie O'Farrell whom I believe is no longer with us.
The
Divisional AB was an ABFC Hendricks - an Italian looking chap but I remember very little of the Divvy
Staff.
Our 31st web page address:-
http://31stevenson.bravehost.com/index.html
MEMORIES JR 1970
I joined the Leeuwin in April 1970 in Stevenson 31st Intake. A weird and new world to me especially
since I was always in the Army Cadets at Geraldton Senior High School and left during year 11 as a
Staff Sergeant.
Cliff Spencer and I (Pictured Right) were 2 of 4 guys to share the same room for most
of our stay at Leeuwin. One other guy after the "Optional Discharges" came and went - was a big
Thursday Islander called Mick Mara who became well known throughout the fleet as one big black dude -
NOT to be messed with. The guys in his room at Leeuwin - the likes of Cliff Spencer and myself were
immune to bad things happening as he tended to be a big help from other "older" intake guys trying
to hassle us.
I fondly remember one day when Mick Mara and Rolly Gilcrest from another top intake
came to a big fisty cuffs outside the Junior Sailors Wets Canteen. They came out side to see what
all the noise was - took one look at these 2 giant and overweight JR's punching each other around
the beer garden - and shot through back into the Wets Canteen. Rolly Gilcrest left Leeuwin to
become a COOK - but later changed over to Coxswain. He paid off after his 20 years as a WOCOX.
As for Mick Mara - he got out of the Navy for medical reasons, contracted Diabetes and lost a
leg to the disease some time later.
He eventually passed away from his illnesses and his Thursday
Island mates who joined up with him - (and some of the rest of our intake apparently) - had his
body cremated and his ashes spread from Kuttabul Steps at Garden Island Naval base in Sydney.
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EARLY PROMOTION
Soon after settling down in April /May I was basically told I was an LJR due to being a Staff
Sergeant in the Army cadets in Geraldton Senior High School from 1967 to 1970 - (right up to when
I left school for the Navy). However - after about 4 months of it - I got jack of it all and
handed in "my LJR Rope".
I was happy to be just "one of the boys". I never served any MUP's
during my time at Leeuwin nor did I get into any trouble nor "stand out" from the rest of the
rabble.
I enjoyed being a JR and after suffering a small bout of homesickness during my first
Winter at Leeuwin (and being a "NEW GRUB" never helped) - I recovered and enjoyed my next 8
months in the Navy but was aching to go to sea and be a "REAL SAILOR" and get promoted
(so I thought) to an Ordinary Seaman but sea time was far better than all that studying
and school boy stuff.
As I never had much to spend my $10 a fortnight on - other than
the weekend train fares and the odd ice cream from the canteen - I found other guys
approaching me to "borrow money" - for a small interest of course.
This soon became a
lucrative affair for me and I was the one the other guys in my intake came to borrow
money from - as my small business expanded - so did my profits and up went my interest
rates. My fortnight pay went from $10 to being around $50 or more on some paydays.
The more I collected - the more I could loan out and the guys always paid their debts as
I was a rather tall JR who could hold his own in an argument or fight - plus Mick Mara
was a room mate of mine.
SPONSORS
My mate during that time Barry Hosken who was in the Naval Cadets joined up at the
same time with me, neither of us knew the other had signed the dotted line until the
last few weeks. Barry knew people in Perth who ultimately sponsored us, Mr and Mrs Bob
and Stella Holiday. Bob passed away a few years ago from Alzheimer's and they had moved
from Armadale - an outer suburb of Perth to Mosman Park - just North of Fremantle.
While
we were at Leeuwin and I ended up dating Barry's girlfriend's best friend Christine
Keevil who still lives in the area today in the Real Estate game. She is still as
lovely as ever.
I was also to find another JR from Tumby Bay in South Australia whom
I knew by the name of Gene Holiday. He had been in my class throughout Primary school
and we hadn't seen each other in over 4 years. Gene never lasted the distance and took
his optional discharge after the 6 months.
I ran into him in Tumby Bay a couple of years
ago whilst caravanning with the wife and he said he always regretted getting out,
especially after all the "waries" I told him about and the "exotic" Asian ports of
call I seemed to be deploying to every 2 or 3 years.
Pictured are Barry Hosken and girlfriend (left)
and myself and Christine Keevil.
WHAT LEEUWIN DID FOR ME
Very quickly I learned to stand on my own 2 feet not relying on others. I gained a
huge sense of pride when wearing my winter serge suit ashore on weekend leave especially
when we had our bells crutched and pegged. A worrying time every Saturday morning when
being inspected by the Coxswains and hoping to hell that they wouldn't spot our "altered
Bell Trousers"... I always made sure I had enough "slack" in the legs to pull the
trousers out away from the legs so they retained that loose look when standing at
attention. I never did get caught out although many of my friends did.
Leeuwin was very good for me as I was away from the idiots who I was hanging around
with at school - all of which had gained a Police Record by the time they were 20 and
1 or 2 did hard time in Fremantle Prison - so I found out many years later when I was
on the HMAS Stuart as a POUC and our ship had a long weekend alongside and I run into a
couple of ex school friends who had grown up and were still in Geraldton.
My parents
had left Geraldton a couple of years after I joined the Navy. My parents divorced some
years later and Mum passed away in 1985 - 3 days before Xmas day so it was not a good
Xmas for me that year.
Dad remarried and went into the Hotel/Motel business with some
International Hotel/Motel company. He passed away at 5.30am the morning after my wife
and my 21st wedding anniversary in 2006. Just me left now.
Joining the Navy was the best thing that ever happened to me and not many guys that I
knew from school were able to buy a block of land for cash - then build a 3 bedroom
double brick and tile house on it a year later and a new car and still be flush with
funds.
I lost contact with most of them after we marched out of Leeuwin - except for the guys
who came to the HMAS Yarra with me as ORDS for the next 8-9 months. As time went by
they either got out or we rarely crossed paths as I spent a fair bit of time over in
the West on Postings.
Pictured making model airplanes
from plastic kits that I'd buy during some leave weekends, it was a hobby left over
from my school days.
ORDUC
From Leeuwin in 1971 it was onto the HMAS Yarra for the next 8 months as an ORD UC with a quick stint on the HMAS Queenbourgh and the "old" HMAS Anzac for training cruises etc. Boy, did that make me appreciate the conditions on a DE after those experiences. After a trip to Melbourne and then down to Tasmania where we had a great time, then it was off to RIMPAC in Hawaii and a jolly via Fiji on the way over and back.
LEEUWIN DIVISIONAL AB
I've written about this further up the page.
LSUC
During my time at Leeuwin - I passed out for Leading Seaman with the exception of Seamanship and Sonar which I sorted out on my next Posting during 1976 on the Parramatta. Then Coming back from another overseas deployment - wonderful news came through - a Posting to the Moresby - back to WA I went. After Moresby I went to Stirling and picked up my Hook and second badge at the same time. I was duty QM attached to the Naval Police when Stirling Commissioned. I met a lovely lady in 1980 (and we wed in 1985 and are still happily married to this day). Then I was posted back to the Moresby for 12 months before once again heading to the Eastern States to join the Parramatta again.From there it was a POUC course for the next 6 months and after it - I was posted to the Naval Hydrographic Office in North Sydney - home and HQ of the Survey Navy - I guess maybe I should have seen the writing on the wall after my first posting to the Moresby as I loved their lifestyle - Navy rig in harbour but wearing of Clean Survey rig at sea...survey rig being what ever you wanted from bathers to stubbies and sandals and T shirt etc....and the Moresby was white with wooden decks - not ships side grey ha.....
Then it was onto the Yarra yet again for the 3rd time for Mulloka trials and then the SADS (Sonar acquisition and Detection System) trials where I had the honour of being the very first RAN sailor to sit at the display at sea and use it - and detect the submarine.....once I got used to the new star wars machine compared to the old 170B and 177m Sonar's of the day...
Then it was yet another deployment up top for 6 months where we joined up with the newly Western Australian Home Ported ship HMAS STUART. One of their ABUC's had just been promoted to LSUC and asked me if I'd be interested in a swap posting seeing as I was a WA fellow.
POUC
We received the "Affirmative" signal about 2 or 3 weeks later so when the HMAS Yarra arrived back in Sydney - I packed my bags and headed back to the West to join the HMAS Stuart and the brand new home that we had built. Irene and I married 6 months later. I loved my time on the Stuart and we had a fantastic crew from the skipper downwards. Some months later, the Chief UC paid off and the POUC was made up to take his place. I went off ashore sick with German Measles from memory and quarantined to my own home by Stirling's MO. I returned to the ship 2 weeks later when she returned from sea duties. I was the QM on watch from 1530 to 2330 when the ASWO approached me and was informed that I was being promoted to POUC the following week. I happily rang my new wife of a few months to tell her the great news but she already knew. Apparently whilst I was sick at home - she ran into our newly promoted CPOUC (Bob Grant) whilst shopping on the weekend and he told her what was happening but to not say anything to me. Bugger me - she kept her word but what a let down to find out your wife knew you were to be promoted a week before you did. Well - the Navy in their wisdom sent me ashore to a Posting in Navy Office in Canberra 6 months later where I was in DNRC (Reserves directorate) and in the position of R1 - the regulator, poster and recruitment / admin fellow for new Naval Reserve Officers. I had weekly meetings with Rear Admiral "Rocky" Hudson and he was surprised when I first fronted him and asked why I was in a PO's uniform? I was then informed that my position was a Chief's job and asked where I was on the roster. Sadly I informed him that I had only been a PO for 6-7 months at the time and he made a quick phone call to the pay admin section. I suddenly found myself on HDA (Higher Duties Allowance - Tax free).. This posting was proving to be very nice. All good things come to an end and after 12 months - I was informed by the Seaman's Poster and a mate of mine whom I'd befriended.....that the SWAN needed a POUC immediately as the other fellow had just pulled the pin and would I be interested in forgoing shore service and going back to the West to join the Swan. I rang the wife who was in Canberra with me and we were packed in record time and heading back to WA.
CPOUC
I was to spend the next 5 years (and my last posting in the Navy) upon the HMAS Swan. After a couple of years the Chief was posted to a recruitment job in the Sydney area and I was handed a "Status Advice Note" as we sailed informing me that I was no.1 on the roster and expected to be promoted within the next 3 months. The Swan had a 2 week SMP in Hong Kong so a few of us had arranged for our wives to be flown up there and we joined them for a bit of leave playing "Tourist". Whilst in the hotel room, I received a phone call from a mate onboard informing me that I had a posting. My heart sank. "Where to" I asked. "Next Door" was the reply. I was a bit puzzled at this. Then he had to explain that my promotion had come through and I was going to be a CPO in a weeks time and posted to the CPOUC Billet. Great News. nearly 3 years later I was informed I was being posted to Cerberus but having had nearly 23 years under my belt - I'd had enough especially since my wife and I had sold our house in Rockingham and bought 27 acres of open paddock down in the SW of WA about 150 km North of Albany.
PULLING THE PIN
So - I pulled the pin and went ashore on 7 months discharge leave before becoming an official "Civvy" once again. In which time we'd built a kit home and erected a couple of big sheds and I was ready to start playing "Hobby Farmer". I was also employed on a part time basis on a nearby farm and I gleamed a wealth of farming knowledge from that. I erected fencing and gates and turned the 27 acres into a nice little farm and stocked it with sheep, pigs, goats, chooks and turkeys etc. I learned how to kill, skin, gut and hang the meat of the sheep and pigs and young goats etc and we became self reliant for meat. After 18 months, the local Shire boss asked me to drive a truck for them on a contract basis for 4 months. This led to full time work as a Truck driver and Back Hoe Operator as a vacancy had arisen at the end of the 4 month period. I later moved onto Front End Loaders and was trained up on driving the John Deere Grader - a task that is definitely NOT as easy as it looks. After 5 or 6 years of this work, a niggling ex Navy Injury with the knees and lower back became worse and eventually I was forced to quit the Shire. I rested back to my Hobby Farm work during the week but ran a petrol station as a relief manager on weekends in a nearby town 20 Kilometers away. Then my neighbor's father retired and I was employed on a casual basis with him. We always got on great as neighbors and friends and Dave was very easy to work for. After 5 years however - my back went completely and I spent 2 weeks in hospital in traction. 2 disks in my lower back had eventually given way from the Navy accident (Late night RAS in very rough seas) and prolapsed upon the sciatic nerve column running down the left leg. The pain has never stopped and I never returned to work. We sold our hobby farm as the wife had also hurt her back in a fall whilst employed as the gardener at the local hospital so we decided to retire to Perth where better medical facilities were. Over the last 5 years that we have been fully retired, I went to war with DVA and eventually received the TPI Pension as a permanent disability was preventing me from ever being gainfully employed. My wife has become my official "Carer" so on her small pension and my CPO's DFRDB pension plus now the TPI Pension. We remain forever Pensioners but living life as best we can. We have a Ford Explorer V8 4x4 and a Brand new Coromal Caravan so we have taken up a lot of caravanning over the past couple of years, and well into the future.... I missed the Navy for many years and often regretted getting out but I knew in my heart that it was just time for me to move on. The Navy was starting to change too much for me. Women were starting to creep onto warships though I never had to experience it (luckily). Just as I was leaving the Swan she was being stripped of all her Armament and quarters were being made for 6 Wrans to be posted to the ship as a trial onboard a warship. The Moresby had trialed women at sea first and it was not working out very well. Swan's Ikara Magazine was turned into a Junior Sailors Rec Space and Swans Role was being downgraded to a training ship - a floating classroom for Middies and Long Navigational course Officers. My love for the Navy never failed and I spent most of my 22+ years at sea on various postings - the Moresby being the best by miles.
THE FUTURE
Looking to the future, my wife and I plan to tour Australia with the new caravan next year hopefully but always - we will be wandering off for a few weeks here and there with our new toy and we have been to several overseas countries since I left the Navy.... 6 weeks in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales being my most favorite, followed by time in North America, Canada and Alaska as well as being in Phuket a few months after the Tsunami went through the place. A couple of sea touring voyages with the P&O Lines and plans for another soon from Fremantle to SE Asia and returning via the East Coast of Africa and the Seychelles. Health problems aside - we are both happy with life and looking brightly towards the future and life in general.