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Originally Posted by Lamri

Effing hell BH, does your family have colours and "March on the Guard and Band" at get togethers?

I have "Sunset" as my text message alert , love it if it goes off in the club ,

As a kid I only ever wanted to join the navy. I went to the navy careers office the day I left school. Had the exam 2 weeks later followed by an interview, had a medical approx 3 weeks later and failed it due to less that good hearing in my right ear, caused by various ear infections as a kid. Kept a close interest in the RN ever since. Thats why I am here. My best mates son joined the navy in May 2006 and is loving every second of it.

I'm hoping to join as a Warfare Officer,
One Uncle was in the Royal Corps of Transport as a driver.
Another Uncle was an Engineering Officer in the RN for years, I managed to get work experience with him, got to see HMS Collingrad's Simulators, very lucky with that, better than some of my mates who worked in Boots!
Grandad was in the Greenjackets.
Great-grandparents fought in the First World War.

I also have a large amount of friends either in, or joining the services as well.

Originally Posted by dondon

Originally Posted by Lamri

Effing hell BH, does your family have colours and "March on the Guard and Band" at get togethers?

I have "Sunset" as my text message alert , love it if it goes off in the club ,

*whispers* My ringtone is "On the Quarterdeck" played by Her Majesty's finest Military Band

Originally Posted by ukdaytona

Oh, forgot to say work with an ex Submariner - think he was torpedo tube tester and in a previous job worked for 11 years with an Ex FAA (He was from HMS Beagle days)

How many times was he actually fired at something and has he ever sunk anything of significance?

As my login suggests, 'other half is a matelot'. Was totally new to 'life in blue' until I got married and then I moved to Pompey and have never looked back. I work for FLEET HQ as .....dare i say it....a civil servant...but working with mainly matelots and booties, I have a great appreciation of everything you lot do, go through, workloads, so called 'harmony' time (pah!).......I may work for the grey suits in whitehall but don't agree with the bullsh*t

I thought joining the grey suit brigade would help with getting to know the abbreviations, acroymns.....all things RN and it has. I can come home, when OH is around, we can talk about work (of course, dependant on subject, confidentiality etc) and he can offload and so can I. I realise, maybe more than some spouses etc that it isn't a 6 mth cruise around the globe, cracking scran, a cabin to yourself, sunbathing on the flight deck and fags on the quarter deck as and when (I do know that drunken hopne calls on runs ashore are interesting!! lol) Infact, I have proably been on more ships than OH has in his time in the RN.

This site is fantastic and it should replace the internet and intranet sites within the RN - much more informative to new/old RN and Bootnecks and straight to the point. I can access this site at work but can't 'rearparty' I wonder why......probably because MOD want to be able to see what Jack talk about, the buzz etc and not what 'er or him indoors' as to say...

Sorry about my drip and words, I know you lot want good old jack on here and not his missus.
Take care all and keep up the good work, it is people like you that make today's RN great.

- maternal great grandfather: Wiltshire Regt, WW1, KIA Salonika. 3 of his sons also saw active service in WW1 - 2 in Wilts Regt; 1 in RAMC. 1 later became a "soldier of fortune" 'out East' - survived, and retired to live in some style in Cheltenham, where he died of old age in his own bed.
- paternal great grandfather: Havildar Major, Skinner's Horse, Indian Army - fought in both World Wars! Was "mixed race" (English gipsy/ Indian - a long story!) - not good in India at Independence, so came "home"(he'd last visited Britain in 1913!) and lived in Yorkshire until his death in late 1960s.
- Paternal grandfather: Auxiliary Unit, Home Guard, & later Army Commando, WW2.
- great uncle: CSM Somerset Light Infantry, WW2 - survived Battle of the Odon, Normandy etc. Later, post WW2, served extensively in Africa where, amongst other things, he trained one Idi Amin!!!? Said Amin was a good soldier, but "a little strange" - but that may just have been hindsight talking!
- another great uncle was regular RN (subs): survived many patrols throughout WW2, but sadly died of a heart attack whilst instructing at Dolphin, 1950s.
- cousin: Col(retd) RM.
- uncle: 5 years in REME (made sgt); went to med schl as a mature student (army cadetship), and subsequently served 5 yrs as an MO in RAMC.
- father: regular soldier (Green Howards/ REME) for 33 years. Retired well before the "cut-off" as a brigadier.
- brother: regular soldier for 24 years (infantry/ special forces).
- sister: 2 years in QARANC.
- bro-in-law: 22 years RAMC.
- myself: ocdt RMAS - had to leave due to previously undiagnosed heart defect. Oh well!

Most of mother's family were army including Great Grandad who was an RSM in The Staffordshire Regiment in the First World War. His dad had been in the Indian Army; uncle at Arnhem, uncle in the Glorious Glosters at Imjin, two of dad's brothers died together on the same day at Monte Cassino. Two aunts who died at Bergen-Belsen. One survived and married a Russian Army doctor. Two brothers who were Para Reg.

Best family dit ever was from my Gran who told me once about her honeymoon in 1916 with Grandad who was on leave from the Royal Army Flying Corps in France. He took her to Dublin for a week over Easter and they were caught up in the uprising. She remembered him throwing himself on top of her in a shop doorway and covering her with his great-coat as the glass fell down on them and the bullets whizzed about. Said that she would never forget the sound of his hob-nails scrabbling on the marble floor as he tried to push her to safety.

Never forget her wagging her finger at me just before I headed to Armagh and telling me to be careful....

RM