Mutinies, dropped hatches and down tools...

[Deleted 493]

C'mon then people.

Give us your best dits, reference these.

 

[Nutty]

Better than a mutiny is to submit a request to transfer or be drafted to any other ship or establishment in the Royal Navy. Unless things have changed they "powers that be" can refuse your request but not refuse to pass it on to the next up in the chain of command.

The more that submit a request the better. Do not give them any evidence of a conspiracy which may allow them to treat it as a muntiny.

Why does it work, because Capt S/M or whoever will want to know page by page, line by line why half the J/R's or S/R's on a particular boat want to move. Normally the bunhouse has sorted the problem out before it reachs ears outside the ship/boat.

As I am 33 years out of the mob and live in Spain and receive no pension I am bomb proof. And yes I was on a boat in the 60's when at 4 am all the forward mess walked off, across the CA Destroyer to whom we were moored in Portland Harbour and sat on the jetty until the 1st Lt sorted out the Spare Crew Coxswain who had just joined us and was well pissed.

Request forms flew in later that night when we returned from a day as clockwork mouse.

Nutty

PS May I advise anyone who posts on this to keep details to a very minimum

 

[PartTimePongo]

Well said Nutty. Personally, I'd prefer any anecdotes on this subject to be so old , they were written by candlelight with a quill and carry the seal of Admiral Lord Effingham.

In other words, do NOT be specific.

ie.

Ship - Skimmer/Boat
Location - On the Briney/alongside somewhere on Planet Earth
Year - 20th Century.

You get the drift.

PTP

 

[andym]

i was told of a riot in DQ's Nelson in the early to mid 80's.A chef on leave told me about it.Not chuffed to be called out and given an SLR and go and sort the riot out.I have no other details.

 

[PartTimer]

There is a very inetresting, but unfortuantely classified, book about mutinies and other similar events over the decades in the RN, and how they were dealt with it (or not as the case may be). One I particularly remember from the book was a cruiser in the 1930s - ships company muster aft. Unpopular order given and ships company almost mutinies, only saved by RM Sergeant at the back of the gathering who sees the trouble brewing andf double marches his RM squad straight through the centre of the assembled company, splitting up the crowd and thus reducing tension.

 

[UncleAlbert]

A piece of pis

A Long time ago and far far away, I was doing my bit for Her Imperial Majesty by doing Landover driver and postie for the Fleet Maintenance Group in Singapore Dockyard.
When one bright sunny morning a Micky Mouse came round the corner and rafted up next to our workshops.

I noticed it but thought nothing of it as I ran round the dockyard doing my usual errands.

Reporting back early afternoon I was told , see Lt Scott he has a job for you, “come with me†says Scotty looking very serious we have been asked to do something and climbing into the Landover we headed off towards Sambawang village.
It seemed that the Mickey Mouse had been doing a lot of sea time and the crew, who were mostly married accompanied and living local were getting a bit chocker with all the sea time. Anyway they had got in that morning and the skipper came on the tannoy to say they was going back to sea at 1600hrs. Now the crew didn`t go much on this and instead of turning to getting the boat ready for sea, decided to go down to the Ville and have a couple of drinks till the Skipper came to his senses, making a few suggestions as they left as to what he could do with his boat and his OBE if he ever got it..
“I aint going in there†says I “Come on Stokes†says Scotty “you know a couple of them and if they hit me then that’s the end but with you it don`t matterâ€. By this time the singing in the bar was building and the whole village shook to the strains of “fcuk erm all, fcuk erm all. The long and the short and the tall.â€
I gingerly pushed open the double doors and peered into the blackness, then suddenly the singing stopped. As my eyes got used to the dark I saw this shape coming towards me dragging his knuckles along the floor and stopping 3†away from my nose. Whadda you want says he “Ive just come to give you all a lift back says I “Stick him in the monsoon drain†shouted this voice from the darkness.
“Ok†says the deck ape “but we all go back together, go get us a lorry.â€
“A what!†Says Scotty back outside “where we gonna get one of those from?†“Well I’ve got a dockyard license for a lorry so we could try the transport choky.†Says I “Let’s go†says Scotty.

Finding a lorry with the keys in we climbed aboard, as I started the engine a door burst open in the corner of the yard and the choky transport manager came running across, as I let the clutch out I saw him swing up into the back of the lorry and coming down to the front started to bash on the cab all the time swearing at us in malay. Passing the cinema there was a pedestrian crossing so I screeched to a halt. As soon as I stopped he was out the back probably thinking it was the main gate, anyway as soon as he got level with the drivers door I was off and as he tried to swing back onboard he missed his footing and did a perfect double salsa into the monsoon drain. The last I saw in the the reversing mirror he was standing in the drain in the distance hopping around waving his fist.
Arriving at the Ville I swung the lorry in behind the food stalls and got it right outside the doors and all 20 of erm climbed aboard. All the way back we was treated to loud navy songs with a big cheer every time I crutched the gears, which, as the lorry had a crash gearbox, was every time I changed gear.
Arriving back at the boat they all quickly jumped out and lined up on the wall, later we found out why as someone had mustered his kit in the back of the lorry, then to a man they all pisssed down the side of the boat to the cry of It`s a piece of pisss.
The skipper then appeared and managed to get them on board. Soon we heard the sound of the two Deltics starting and it seemed they were off.
Then the engines stopped.
As they was inboard of another minesweeper, when the order came to slip they had answered no, as they had come out in sympathy. So it was again down to me and Lt. Scott to go and get the duty watch off the Triumph to move the rafted boat.

Watching the Micky Mouse slowly make it`s way down the basin we both breathed a big sigh of relief.
Well sir , it looks like they`ve got away with it says I.
Then as we looked the boat made a right turn into the main channel and just kept on turning.
It seems the killick stoker had put one engine ahead and the other astern and then smashed the watchkeepers.

Oh well says Scotty you can`t win erm all, let`s get this lorry back.




…………………..
A nice story, it didn`t happen, I was never in Singapore, or even in the Andrew.

 

[hangarat]

Thank's for that.No i aint a jurno, a crusher or any member of any legit orginisation, just a dit i have rememberd for years and have wonderd about.

 

[UncleAlbert]

Blimy…I wrote that ages ago……just like to apologise to any ex minesweeperites but as an ignorant stoker I always used to refer to any minesweeper as a micky mouse…sorry…no more hate mail please….

True story though ...with most ending up back in Pompey DQ`s……

 

[sussex2]

A certain incident on an LPD in the 70's when an awful lot of the comms staff refused to turn to.
Despite having been on a long exercise, and the rest of the crew being given shore leave in Malta; the SCO decided that the comms staff needed more 'training'.
A couple of LRO's lost their hooks and the SCO left the ship - matter ended, but bitter tastes all around.

 

[sussex2]

Blimy…I wrote that ages ago……just like to apologise to any ex minesweeperites but as an ignorant stoker I always used to refer to any minesweeper as a micky mouse…sorry…no more hate mail please….

True story though ...with most ending up back in Pompey DQ`s……

Certainly not hate mail, simply a point of reference.
Take an inshore minehunter working a five day week over an eight month season.
Translate that into actual sea hours and you may well find that the big grey navy shrinks by comparison.
Add dank conditions, including 30deg rolls inside Plymouth breakwater, and being considered a shore draft and you will find there would be quite a lot to moan about.
Upside would be that being detached from the Grey Funnel Line gave a great deal of independence. Plus a certain camaraderie that persists to this day.
Add excellent food from a single chef (with supplies bumped up by passing fishing boats)and of course being self catering, then things were not too bad at all. In fact they were very good.

 

[Always_a_Civvy]

Blimy…I wrote that ages ago……just like to apologise to any ex minesweeperites but as an ignorant stoker I always used to refer to any minesweeper as a micky mouse…sorry…no more hate mail please….

True story though ...with most ending up back in Pompey DQ`s……

And there was ignorant Civvy thinking you meant THE Micky Mouse!

Great dit Uncle Albert. Can I write your biography?

 

[In_my_day]

Well said Nutty. Personally, I'd prefer any anecdotes on this subject to be so old , they were written by candlelight with a quill and carry the seal of Admiral Lord Effingham.

In other words, do NOT be specific.

ie.

Ship - Skimmer/Boat
Location - On the Briney/alongside somewhere on Planet Earth
Year - 20th Century.

You get the drift.

PTP

Well, let me ask a question that accords with this (if it's possible). Was there a incident on a skimmer in the Southern Briney during a particular mass gathering of the of the RN. Dit is a certain dept locked themselves in their messdeck and another dept went to persuade them to return to duty. The skimmer then moved from present position and role East to a less arduous (dangerous) task? Told to me by Det Cpl of the [email protected]#$%^&*+ and confirmed in a roundabout way by the Nav of the same when I worked for him several years later ([email protected]#$%^&*+ was not the ship and did a first class piece of work on the gunline)

Sorry SPB but history is fact and many a mutiny feature large in RN history and have helped make the RN what it is today(an overworked, underfunded coastal defence force!!).

IMD

 

[Nutty]

Well said Nutty. Personally, I'd prefer any anecdotes on this subject to be so old , they were written by candlelight with a quill and carry the seal of Admiral Lord Effingham.

In other words, do NOT be specific.

ie.

Ship - Skimmer/Boat
Location - On the Briney/alongside somewhere on Planet Earth
Year - 20th Century.

You get the drift.

PTP

Well, let me ask a question that accords with this (if it's possible). Was there a incident on a skimmer in the Southern Briney during a particular mass gathering of the of the RN. Dit is a certain dept locked themselves in their messdeck and another dept went to persuade them to return to duty. The skimmer then moved from present position and role East to a less arduous (dangerous) task? Told to me by Det Cpl of the [email protected]#$%^&*+ and confirmed in a roundabout way by the Nav of the same when I worked for him several years later ([email protected]#$%^&*+ was not the ship and did a first class piece of work on the gunline)

Sorry SPB but history is fact and many a mutiny feature large in RN history and have helped make the RN what it is today(an overworked, underfunded coastal defence force!!).

IMD

IMD

If you feel that this historical information should be published on this Forum then perhaps YOU should do so quoting names, dates, ships, locations and your sources.

If you are not prepared to do that or are uncertain of your facts then shut the **** up.

Nutty

 

[Seaweed]

Depot ship, fifties, on its annual foreign jolly. Brown baggers not happy to be away from home. FO2's flagship (FO2 demon flamenco dancer but that's another story) so has to be extra smart. Hands turned to in working rig to clean ship, then clean into No 1s for Procedure Alpha entry top foreign port, then shift back to 8s for part of ship.

Hands fall in for entering harbour etc (all Ninja's abbreviations). Jimmy looks over back of bridge to well deck, sees some sailors still in 8s. Yells at Buffer 'Tell those cattle to get below'. So they did. And stayed there.

Jaunty goes forward to explain game rules but is pelted with tomatoes (still in their tins).

Now it happens that one of the Mids had gained enormous brownie points with Jack after diving into Portland harbour in December to rescue the ship's cat which some disaffected body had chucked over the side. This Mid now goes forward & talks Jack back to work. Various proceedings at Captain's table but all very quiet & M word never mentioned. 1st Lt court martialled and dismissed his ship.

 

[Seaweed]

Jack trooped for something sufficiently serious for the OOD to be required by the regulations to order him into Close Arrest (OODs had no discretion in this whatever - aim is to stop Jack doing something daft and making his position even worse).

This OOD was quite the nicest officer in the ship, Old Etonian, polite to everybody, never got promoted. OOD: 'Commander's Report, Close Arrest.' Defaulter: 'I'll give you f..ing close arrest!!', leans across the table, THUMP!. Striking Superior Officer added to charge sheet. The only incident of striking an officer I can recall from all those years. Two hundred years earlier that would have got Jack triced up the grating for a 48.

 

[Always_a_Civvy]

Jack trooped for something sufficiently serious for the OOD to be required by the regulations to order him into Close Arrest (OODs had no discretion in this whatever - aim is to stop Jack doing something daft and making his position even worse).

This OOD was quite the nicest officer in the ship, Old Etonian, polite to everybody, never got promoted. OOD: 'Commander's Report, Close Arrest.' Defaulter: 'I'll give you f..ing close arrest!!', leans across the table, THUMP!. Striking Superior Officer added to charge sheet. The only incident of striking an officer I can recall from all those years. Two hundred years earlier that would have got Jack triced up the grating for a 48.

One hundred years ago Jack would have been hanged!

 

[Nutty]

Jack trooped for something sufficiently serious for the OOD to be required by the regulations to order him into Close Arrest (OODs had no discretion in this whatever - aim is to stop Jack doing something daft and making his position even worse).

This OOD was quite the nicest officer in the ship, Old Etonian, polite to everybody, never got promoted. OOD: 'Commander's Report, Close Arrest.' Defaulter: 'I'll give you f..ing close arrest!!', leans across the table, THUMP!. Striking Superior Officer added to charge sheet. The only incident of striking an officer I can recall from all those years. Two hundred years earlier that would have got Jack triced up the grating for a 48.

One hundred years ago Jack would have been hanged!

Steve

I00 years ago they had the power to hang Jack but in Edwardian times it would never have happened.

Nutty

 

[Jack77]

There is a very inetresting, but unfortuantely classified, book about mutinies and other similar events over the decades in the RN, and how they were dealt with it (or not as the case may be). One I particularly remember from the book was a cruiser in the 1930s - ships company muster aft. Unpopular order given and ships company almost mutinies, only saved by RM Sergeant at the back of the gathering who sees the trouble brewing andf double marches his RM squad straight through the centre of the assembled company, splitting up the crowd and thus reducing tension.

You Poms are a secretive lot! There is very interesting and totally unclassified book about mutinies and similar events in the RAN, written by LCDR Tom Frame, called, obviously "Mutiny". I lent my copy to a mate several years ago and never got it back! I had not realised that in 80 odd years of existance there could be so many organised disputes with authority.

 

[lsadirty]

I think Part Timer is referring to CB 3027 and 3027A, which are historical accounts of Naval Mutinies ( copies of this are like gold dust if you can ever see them): there is also CB 3326 " The Maintenance of Discipline in the Royal Navy". For those with an interest in particular mutinies and access to the National Archive, try searching the catalogue under ADM 156 and 178. For those old enough to remember the IVESTON fiasco, look under ADM 330. Saw most of these when I was at MoD when the Open Government Intiative happened in the late 80s/early90s. They show how the Admiralty crapped on the Invergordon mutineers with their promises of "no recriminations" after the incident. I particularly recommend reading the accounts of mutinies on the APOLLO in Guzz in 1958, NORTHWAY and LOTHIAN in 1945 - no OPSEC or PERSEC involved, all freely available at Kew.

 

[sgtpepperband]

...Sorry SPB but history is fact and many a mutiny feature large in RN history and have helped make the RN what it is today(an overworked, underfunded coastal defence force!!).

IMD

Erm, I've not posted on this thread for a variety of reasons, but I assume you were referring to PTP, who you quoted in your post?!

Apology acepted...

SPB

:?