My thoughts on paper...
Given the opportunity by the web site organisers I thought it time I put some words down of my
memories of HMAS Leeuwin in 1974 and Marks Morrow 46th.
I was a country kid who hadn't been exposed too much of anything when I was accepted into the RAN in the January 1974 intake.
It was a good three hour drive down to Melbourne from our country town so to get there early in the morning of 2nd January
we must have left well before dawn.
I can recall arriving at the recruitment centre in the CBD to see a number of buses outside....
Ominous?!!
I remember being ushered into a room at the recruitment centre with a large number of strange looking long haired boys,
put my right hand up, repeating a number of words and signing a piece of paper and that was it.
That day was pretty much
a blur, as were a few days but the majority of good memories are as clear as happening yesterday.
In our backyard where I grew up about a year before I joined.
The next memory is being ushered onto one of the buses and being seated up the back and trying to remember that dam number I
had just been issued with. Didn't think I could ever remember it but now I guess like every other serviceman it is nearly
ever pin number I have ever had.
Arriving at Leeuwin was like arriving on the other side of the country, which it was, a long way for a country kid who'd
hardly ever left home. Mustered in to the parade hall and being lined up for the first time but certainly not the last,
we received a steaming hot cup of cocoa in those green plastic cups and slab of fruit cake you could hide under. That
was the first time hearing the term, 'burn your throat.'
I think the next morning was the line up at the barbers. I had sort of long hair but looking back at a photo I looked
like a girl, but a lot of the boys went from looking pretty smug before going in and pretty sheepish coming back out
with a short back and sides. The next line up was down at the clothing store and that bloody yellow line we weren't
supposed to cross. Do you think the clothing store clerk had heart problems in later life cause he sure nearly burst
a blood vessel when addressing us new grubs. All these blue and white funny looking stiff cloths and being called a
'pin head' when measure for a cap. Prick!
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I guess the next few days and weeks were a bit of a blur but a few things stood out. I recall with pleasure the sessions
we had at the blocks outside sitting with Rick being taught stuff. How to wash our cloths, how then to iron them, to
put our names of them and then to set up a kit muster.
Does anyone still fold their cloths like that when they pack a
suitcase? I do!
We learned how to polish our shoes, to use gallons of fabulon and for some of us, shave. I remember these sessions with
a lot of joy and have set me up for life.
A photo of me sent back to my family.
As you can recall, anything we did, we had to line up, especially for meals. Wasn't that operation a miracle? To feed
that many growing boys three meals a day seven days a week. First in the scran hall was the green cups and the limers,
some good and some bad. A strong brew was just about undrinkable but it certainly quenched a thirst. I think nearly
everyone always got to scran for breakfast and wouldn't the nutritionists have a field day with the food these days.
Those fried eggs cooked in the egg trays awash in oil that could be easily used a hockey pucks certainly put a lining
on our stomachs. But it all came together when we got scran hall duty. Washing those hundreds of dishes, sweeping
that huge hall and having to get up at the crack of dawn to start breakfast again the next day.
Living in the blocks with all you guys was also an experience. I cannot recall exactly who I bunked with but I do
remember it was done alphabetically so I can figure it out. But these boys aren't the ones I recall specifically.
There were certainly a few characters and events to remember.
Who threw the mattress out of the top floor which caused a midnight muster outside in those wonderfully comfortable PJ's?
Those nights no-one apart from the perpetrators who knew what was going on, only to find ourselves doubling around the
parade ground with those 303's at the high point arms. I recall the 'fight nights' and any number of things we used to
get up to. Someone one day discovered a couple of full cans of beer in the block roof. We copped so much from that but
I recall the rumour was they were so rusty we couldn't possibly have been the culprits. Although I do recall we were
experts at jumping the top fence to retrieve pizzas and hamburgers that were thoughtfully delivered.
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We spit polished shoes, god I still do it, were extremely fit and loved it when we were finally let loose on Fremantle.
I was allocated a 'sponsor' family who lived way way out of town who had sponsors JR's for years. But I think I spent
about two weekends with them, I wanted to be in the city, not the sticks again. I recall fondly the boxing tournament
that was held in the parade hall over a period of a couple of nights. I think I only had three fights but somehow got
into the final of my (skinny) weight division against a Rhodes Howden fellow who had the biggest nose. All that Rick
said to me all during the three rounds was "uppercut, uppercut". I did and clocked him a couple of beauties but failed
to get the judges vote. It is one of the only photo's I have on my time in Leeuwin.
I do also remember we were subject to a few medical experiments during out time. Where we all lined up outside
sickbay and were air injected a flu shot.....that must have been a first. Summer days playing cricket and Aussie
rules on those beautifully manicured ovals were a great pleasure to me, lots of fun. Although the swimming test
wasn't such a blast. Couldn't swim to save myself self so to 'backward swimmers' I went. Treading water in those
god awfully heavy overalls and then a few laps, at least the weather was ok. I obviously passed but me thinks only just.
JR Boxing Tournament.
It was only after six months I was selected to become an Officer Candidate. Now I regret it but then, but who knew?
It meant leaving the intake and move blocks, being in school all day plus then doing three hours every night of the week
as well. It was just too much and I quickly flunked out. I think back now and the sad bit was I wasn't then allowed to
rejoin the intake. I spent our passing out parade still in the OC ranks.
To this day I still haven't seen a photo of me during that last few weeks or the passing out parade lot.
Sometimes I wonder if I was even there?
But I guess it all turned out for the best. I recall my days at Leeuwin like they were yesterday and thank all those
involved for their patience and expertise, who taught us so well to be men.
I left Leeuwin and went to Cerberus to become an ETC rating, then to Harman and then the Swan was my first seagoing posting.
I have many highlights of my naval career that spanned nearly 21 years, including taking the Adelaide to the gulf war and
being lucky enough to have four postings to Adelaide over those years.
Mess Undress in the CPO's mess of the Adelaide,
alongside in Hong Kong waiting for a coctail party.
I ended up as a Chief Petty Officer ETC at Maritime HQ at Kuttabul, but after 21 years and not a lot of hope of promotion I decided to exit and go and join the big bad world.
That is another story......
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