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Thread: Gunnery Course

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    Default Gunnery Course

    My grandfather - John Stanley Corkish - joined the MN in 1904 as a Deck Boy at the age of 16. First ship was Port Kingston, bound for Jamaica. I have several of his discharge book and wonder if anyone out there can help me in interpreting the very basic information the books give.
    In July 1918 he was on HMS Sunhill, Crystal Palace on a Gunnery Course. I have a photo of him, with others, very likely on this Course. The next three notes in the discharge book show him on SS Crawley as 3rd mate but under 'description of voyage' it just says 'Admiralty'. These go from Aug 1918 to May 1919, the last say 'North Atlantic' under description of voyage.
    Can anyone help me out here - why send him on a Gunnery Course? What would the voyage have been just to be described as 'Admiralty? Why / Where the North Atlantic?
    Please forgive my ignorance of the MN and modern history ... but I really want to find out more about my grandfather [who died when I was 4].
    I am organising an Armistice Commemoration in my local church in October and Im keen to highlight the organisations, people etc who are so often forgotten in any conversation of WW1... including the MN.I have the letter sent to my grandmother when his ship, Tringa, was torpedoed in 1915. Im hoping my grand daughter - aged 8 - will read out the letter at the event....making the connection across three generations.
    Any help or comments would be gratefully received.
    Betty Haynes

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    Default Re: Gunnery Course

    As regards the gunnery course this was probably to train him as part of a gun crew on a merchant ship. In those days it was part of the Geneva convention or a similar convention at the time that a MN vessel could carry a 4 inch or similar weapon on the after castle pointing aft or Abeam as a means of defence and remain under the title of merchant ship. Or he could have been receiving training for becoming a gun crew on an armed merchant cruiser. In later years such courses were titled merchant navy defence courses and entailed also other means of warfare more modern to present times. His records of North Atlantic only sounds as though he was attached to some form of naval party. May be mine sweeping or convoy duties. JWS. PS Ref. To naval parties have seen it somewhere a list of such. Maybe you just Google it you might get lucky and it may come up. Every naval party had a number. These naval parties were world wide at one time. Regards JWS.
    Last edited by j.sabourn; 11th July 2018 at 03:22 PM.

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    Default Re: Gunnery Course

    Hi, During WW11 I was in the merchant Navy and had gunnery training, gave me a certificate of competence and 10 shillings. Was assigned to supplement DEMS gunners on all ships I sailed on 'till end of war. Eric

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    Default Re: Gunnery Course

    Eric in later years they had upgraded the money to five guineas to allow for inflation ,but took away the guns and gave you a three hundred knot gunsight to play with to pretend to line up six hundred knot planes. maybe this was the first of the armed forces cut backs. cheers JWS.

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    Default Re: Gunnery Course

    Remembering the old episodes of Dad's Army when you didn't have the gun to fire where you supposed to go bang in a very loud voice when you had them lined up
    Rob Page R855150 - British & Commonwealth Shipping ( 1965 - 1973 ) Gulf Oil -( 1973 - 1975 ) Sealink ( 1975 - 1986 )

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    Default Re: Gunnery Course

    In 1962 Rob, you would have turned the sprinkler systems on, which you didnt have , put as many bulkheads between yourself and the atmosphere and prayed the first air burst was a fizzler. 24 years later in the highest paid industry in the world and amid all the boasting about their safety 167 men died partly due to vessels still not having sprinkler systems and gas alarms. Safety is a word meaning different things to different people . The armed forces if what one reads is correct, if entering any kind of real conflict will once again go into action with one hand tied behind back. The idea of coming under the command of our european allies fills a lot with foreboding, it does to me anyway, I look to history as it always has a way of repeating itself. cheers JWS

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    Default Re: Gunnery Course

    the current interpretation means all the ticks in the boxes , perfect paperwork , never mind what really happens
    Rob Page R855150 - British & Commonwealth Shipping ( 1965 - 1973 ) Gulf Oil -( 1973 - 1975 ) Sealink ( 1975 - 1986 )

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    Default Re: Gunnery Course

    JWS, Later in the Royal Artillery I got to teach the 40mm Bofors, but still later went back to sea 'till 1956. Cheers

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    Default Re: Gunnery Course

    It brought back a memory of joining ceiling in 1975 I was second engineer on the TSS Maid of Kent on the Weymouth Cherbourg run .
    The first time I came on the return trip from Cherbourg on a Wednesday afternoon I was stood on the control platform and all of a sudden there was an Almighty bang followed by two more coming from the Hull plating I went into what the hell is going off mode and the motorman thought it was highly and arius apparently every Thursday afternoon they had the Royal Navy play time of Portland Bill and I think it was the old frigates that had a three barrelled depth charge arrangement on the back . It went on for about 20 minutes once you got used to it it wasn't too bad but it was an awful shock for the first time
    Rob Page R855150 - British & Commonwealth Shipping ( 1965 - 1973 ) Gulf Oil -( 1973 - 1975 ) Sealink ( 1975 - 1986 )

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    Default Re: Gunnery Course

    Thank you so much for your reply JWS, much appreciated. Betty

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