What's new
By:
Filters
Navy Net - Royal Navy Community

Register a free account today to join our community
Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site, connect with other members through your own private inbox and will receive smaller adverts!

Nick Carter exHMS/m Sidon Departd on his Final Patrol

N

Nutty

GCM
Robert Nick Carter ex AB UC3 a member of this Forum known as "Sidon" passed away to his final patrol yesterday in Western Australia.

Nick was one of the survivors of the explosion aboard HMs/m Sidon when a HTP torpedo exploded in a tube whilst she was secured along side the Maidstone in Portland on 16th June 1955 12 crew and a RNR Doctor from the Maidstone died. Nick was a Ganges boy who joined boats in the early 50's. After Sidon he went to SM 4 in Sydney where he took his discharge and completed his reserve time with the RAN serving aboard HMS Melbourne.

Last year Nick came to the UK for the Sidon Memorial Service arranged by "Janner" and the members of the Dorset Submariners Association. During his time in the UK Nick stayed with me for a few days and we visited Ganges and various other places from his youth. He proved to be a real old grey bearded sea dog in the style of UA from the Box.

A Gentleman!

May his soul rest in peace and our condolences go to his wife and daughter who survive him.

Chrissie and Bob Head
Murcia Spain
 
It is strange how one develops a feeling for people you correspond with on sites such as this without really knowing them. I will miss Sidon and his posts, the loss of any one diminishes us all in some way. My condolences to his family.

Peter
 
Didn't manage to strike up the banter with him at any point that I recall but am saddened to see one of our own go. RIP to him and sympathies to his family.

SF
 
One thing to add to Nuttys piece on Nick,
He devoted a lot of his time to the Scouting movement in Oz, just before coming over for Sidon he was given an award for his services to Scouting. Even though He was officially overage to be involved He still offerred advice and assistance

RIP Nick, a another good Man gone.
 
To be a submariner pre 1975 usually meant diesel boats either T`s or A`s or P`s or O`s and make no mistake the accommodation was bloody awful,if you had 3â€above your head as you lay in your bunk you were lucky. All of your kit was covered in mildew and the smell of diesel permeated the air, clothing ,bedding the only item of clothing you were allowed to take off was your shoes and your bunk was shared with your watchkeeping oppo, when he got out you got in.
But there was worse, there was the S boats, smaller even more cramped, they were designed to kill the enemy and jacks creature comforts came last,
Nick served on S boats
There was and I suppose there still is 3 navies. The fleet Air Arm, General Service and the Submarine Service, make no mistake to serve on a submarine means you are special, usually pusser picks it’s submariners for their ability to get on with one another also the training involves learning all the systems on the boat because it doesn’t matter if you are a stoker or a chef if you are walking past a certain valve and the pipe comes from the control room to open it, as the nearest you do it.
The skipper doesn’t need gold braid, he has respect and the lives of his crew are in his hands. On the old diesel boats on leaving harbour as soon as “fall out special sea dutymen†was piped and until the pipe came “fall in special sea dutymen for entering harbour†we could wear what we liked, so as you can imagine some of the rigs were pretty outrageous, Mac. McGregor the fore end stoker proudly wore a pair of overalls he had not washed in 3 years, they looked more like an oilskin they were so shiny, we all called him Black Mac. At sea everything was done quickly and properly, not because we were super efficient but more like there was an element of fear. We had to do the tank every year and we shared our boat with Australians and Canadians who served alongside us, but the conditions on board a submarine form a bond developed by a natural instinct to band together in times of danger and this bond is something that stays with you the rest of your life.
To return from a patrol meant some pretty wild runs ashore safe in the knowledge that to do no. 9s we had to be drafted into barracks, however we knew just how far we could take it and rarely overstepped the mark. Anyway in Guss in the mid sixties we were not allowed into Drake barracks , we was barred, so the whole ships company on the Token went RA married or not. Of course the buzz was some stoker off the Rorqual had put the skippers daughter up the spud but the truth be known we were just to scruffy.
This was the service that Nick belonged to, hand picked elite that were willing to endure danger and hardships in the service of the Queen.
I have to admit that when I came in from work today I was shocked to hear he had passed away and I have written this cos as a brother I believe Nick should have more than a line.

Goodbye Nick. Rest in peace.


………
 
UncleAlbert said:
To be a submariner pre 1975 usually meant diesel boats either T`s or A`s or P`s or O`s and make no mistake the accommodation was bloody awful,if you had 3â€above your head as you lay in your bunk you were lucky. All of your kit was covered in mildew and the smell of diesel permeated the air, clothing ,bedding the only item of clothing you were allowed to take off was your shoes and your bunk was shared with your watchkeeping oppo, when he got out you got in.
But there was worse, there was the S boats, smaller even more cramped, they were designed to kill the enemy and jacks creature comforts came last,
Nick served on S boats
There was and I suppose there still is 3 navies. The fleet Air Arm, General Service and the Submarine Service, make no mistake to serve on a submarine means you are special, usually pusser picks it’s submariners for their ability to get on with one another also the training involves learning all the systems on the boat because it doesn’t matter if you are a stoker or a chef if you are walking past a certain valve and the pipe comes from the control room to open it, as the nearest you do it.
The skipper doesn’t need gold braid, he has respect and the lives of his crew are in his hands. On the old diesel boats on leaving harbour as soon as “fall out special sea dutymen†was piped and until the pipe came “fall in special sea dutymen for entering harbour†we could wear what we liked, so as you can imagine some of the rigs were pretty outrageous, Mac. McGregor the fore end stoker proudly wore a pair of overalls he had not washed in 3 years, they looked more like an oilskin they were so shiny, we all called him Black Mac. At sea everything was done quickly and properly, not because we were super efficient but more like there was an element of fear. We had to do the tank every year and we shared our boat with Australians and Canadians who served alongside us, but the conditions on board a submarine form a bond developed by a natural instinct to band together in times of danger and this bond is something that stays with you the rest of your life.
To return from a patrol meant some pretty wild runs ashore safe in the knowledge that to do no. 9s we had to be drafted into barracks, however we knew just how far we could take it and rarely overstepped the mark. Anyway in Guss in the mid sixties we were not allowed into Drake barracks , we was barred, so the whole ships company on the Token went RA married or not. Of course the buzz was some stoker off the Rorqual had put the skippers daughter up the spud but the truth be known we were just to scruffy.
This was the service that Nick belonged to, hand picked elite that were willing to endure danger and hardships in the service of the Queen.
I have to admit that when I came in from work today I was shocked to hear he had passed away and I have written this cos as a brother I believe Nick should have more than a line.

Goodbye Nick. Rest in peace.


………
Click to expand...


Well put UA. I bet he is smiling down on us now.
 

Latest Threads

New Posts

Top