RNXS

I was a member of this vaunted organisation from 1990 to 1992. This was the closest I came to being RN, apart from my visit to the Recruiting office in 1991, I think I also saw one other member of RR owning up to membership.

Wanted to start a thread to see if anyone else wanted to own up and if they had any good dits from their time, will supply some of my own if I see any other culprits and as time/work permits.

I was sad to see it go in 1994, even though I had already left, an interesting group of individuals who gave their time on a voluntary basis.

 

Hi E-B, yes I'm one of the guilty parties, though there are one or two others here I recall, including my Ganges mad friend Seacat (he didn't go there, I did!) who I have recently discovered was in the RNXS. I found this out when I recently suggested he join to find out if I should consider rejoining, following some suggestions by fellow RumRationers - all very complicated! :roll: I think his reputation in the organisation was considerably better than mine! :lol: You know what a reputation we old matelots can get under the influence, and we can be less than polite when making comments about some officers' dress sense when in civvies ashore! :lol: You know, I bet he turns out to be an ex-RNXS HOU! Now that would be embarrassing with some of the things I've said! :lol:

I was sadly drafted to Comms Branch. No escape. Had hoped to try out the Seaman Branch to find out what they get up to. I should have played thick in my test paper! What about you?

 

Hey Noz,

Hope your typing skills were up to it, those telexes could come thick and fast.
I was actually 2nd Generation RNXS. My mum was in originally from 80-86, in the Comms branch. I was invited to join when she came back for a visit from the USA in 89.

I was actually in the engineering branch, so got to go afloat. Did some OOA trips, but never to foreign climes. Normally Blythe, Dundee or Rosyth.

Also had great fun on the courses, one day Firefigthing in Rosyth being beasted by the CPO fire-fighter, kept forgetting we were uniformed or was it uninformed "civilians" and had no idea what marching was, or doubling, or proper spacing when at attention or at ease.

 

Hi,

I was a member of the RNXS for 3 years until it was disbanded - my ONLY naval service. I tried for the RN but failed to be passed as fit enough to serve on anything but "skimmers". I only wanted to serve on submarines. I do regret that decision now, especially having read Rum Ration - there is incredable comradeship exhibited here, but it is too late!

I was in London Unit in the Joint Ops/Comms Branch at HMS President & before that on HMS Chrysanthamum (I am not sure how it is spelt). My HOU was Hugh Sterling, a really great guy. I never completed my training in time to qualify as a QNX so remained an NX. If they ever got set up again and I could wangle my way through the medical I would definately rejoin. I thought naval training was excellent - certainly vastly superior to what the RAF have to offer. The RN coursework was challenging and intellectually stimulating and the TP course was like learning to use a primitive computer - punched paper tape and binary! I loved it! I am sorry that we didn't get to use some of the more sophisticated communication equiptment the professional RN people used, but perhaps they could only trust us with morse keys, TPs, etc!

What was the Engineering Branch like?

PS: Nozzy is an oldish friend - I met him during my criminology course at Birkbeck. He's a bit eccentric - but then as he went to Ganges that probably explains it. As he says, I am fascinated by a place I never had the (mis)fortune to go to! For the record he was 19 when I was born in 1963!

 

Hi SeaCat,

I was in the Grimsby Unit, the red-headed step child of the Humber Area. Our Engineering Unit was great, we had 2 Chief engineers, Stan who was the most Senior Engineer, had been with RNXS since the early 60's I believe and served on the Ham class IMS, He also helped out with the SCC, and was the engineer on their Fleet Tender too. Our Main Chiefy(who's name I sadly forget it being 14 yrs ago) actually helped build the Loyal class @ Dunstons, so he really knew what was what.

Stan was also into Western line dancing, so sometimes would come to training nights dressed as a cowboy, obviously not on inspection nights.

During one of our training weekends we attempted to create an instructional video. It was very useful if you wanted instruction in how to swear. I remember very clearly the training on running the fire main with an standalone pump, if the main pumps were disabled. The fire mains were to charged with AFFF, our chiefy managed to add an extra F, so now it was Aqueous F*cking Foam Forming Film. So the instructional Video was great if you turned down the volume, if we could have subtitled I think it might have been of use.

Also we came up with the new RNXS rank of Number 1 Bilge coolie, (the Steve McQueen movie, The Sand Pebbles had been on one Sunday afternoon). So when anyone asked who we were , if the overalls and steaming boots were not enough of a giveaway, we were "Number 1 Bilge coolie".

Great days, with a great bunch of guys.

Off topic, my Dad was also a Shotley escapee, so I too have a strange affinity to the place.

 

The most dedicated unselfish people you could ever come accross , and they were all rewarded by being given the bullet

 

Thanks for re-raising this topic again Percey! Of course NN and Seacat should both really be expunged as they are the same person...That's where an obsession with the G-Place gets you!

I'm awaiting a comment from Geoffrey on this one!

Right now that I've cleared the air a bit...

For my comments read Seacat's! That's quite enough of those, for the moment at least!

 

I must be honest - I sorely miss the RNXS - even if I was only one of the few people in our unit who's actually been taught to march! :lol: You got to meet people from all walks of life which is not something I often do, and got to meet some real characters. I loved walking down The Embankment from my office to HMS Chrissy whilst it was there (whilst I was still serving in the ROC - I was also attending Seamanship training meetings on Chrissy - as a guest, I hasten to add) then when he ROC was disbanded, or in Majorspeak "Stood Down", I joined the RNXS. Bit annoyed though - another 11 months in the ROC and I'd have qualified for my LSCG medal for 12 years of undetected crime. I don't know about the RN - but in the ROC your boys' time counted towards getting your medal as you did exactly the same job as the grown-ups - but were barred from any heavy lifting unaided by an adult! Still, had I joined at 15 instead of 16 I'd have got my medal :evil: It would have been nice to have been able to transfer my service in though!

HMS President was altogether different - I preferred being afloat on a real ship. Pressy was very comfy though - but it wasn't the same - it didn't have the history. I didn't "feel" the history when I entered it as I had done upon entering Chrissy. The classrooms didn't have the same atmosphere. Ironically when the RNXS got the chop too and I joined the MVS (before long-term medical problems forced me to withdraw) we did our MVS training onboard HMS Belfast where the SCC met. I much preferred those conditions! Again a real ship imbued with bags of history and atmosphere. Oh yes, and it was nice and cramped - just what I like! :lol:

Steve.

 

Couldn't agree more. I was with the MoD at the time and just before they got the Bullet. I was told to go up to the Unit at Orkney to service and set to work their Cr*pto Kit. Was met on the day by the lovely old Dear (well she was in her 60's anyway - quite old for a laddie in his 20's) Anyhow did the job and got to meet some of the most dedicated people in the Service community. I had to stay for 24 hours (No flight untill the next day) so Your's truly had a really good time drinking the local brew (Skullsplitter - pure evil) and dancing the night away at the local Bop.
The next time I saw the RNXS was at the decommissioning of HMS Claverhouse. As sad day for the RNR - but sadder for the RNXS.

 

What pissed me off was the the US Navy knew we were to get the chop 2 years before any of us did!!! Anglo-American co-operation was very good. Sadly our own government hadn't got the guts to tell us and it was all hush-hush at the time. :evil:

 

Glad to see some more people on here talking about RNXS.

Loved most of my time there, only time wasn't that happy was when myself and my oppo from Grimsby Engineering branch had pissed off the AEO? (Area Engineering Officer), a carpenter from Goole.

He handed us over the Cox, because he didn't have any shitty jobs for us to do, so we ended up painting ship, normally a Seaman job, we were at sea and was a little choppy ended up spilling more paint on the Skipper's nice clean deck, needless to say Skipper was not happy.

 

On marching, remember watching the Rememberance Concert in the Albert Hall on the Beeb.

Introductions of all the uniformed contingents including volunteer civilians. Squeezed in between the Brownies and the WRVS was the RNXS!!!!
They all looked like Godfrey from Dad's Army.

The look on the Guards RSM was classic the guy was apopleptic. Calling time for the five or so members of the contingent. who then bimbled down the steps all at their own time out of step with the music, each other and reality.

 

We was drilled into perfection... beforehand :lol: Interestingly only a few in London Unit had any idea how to march! It would have been a good idea to have a week's basic training at Raleigh - nothing as strenous as the RNR lot suffered mind - just to teach everyone the basics - such as how to salute, march, wear uniform and beret correctly (some of those berets!) and sewing, dhobeying, etc. I must admit one of the attractions of the RNXS were the opportunities to do short training courses at different naval training establishments. Some of my unit had been to the G-Place to do their Comms training in the late 60s - lucky them! One told me how unimpressed she was with the trainees falling asleep on the busses to the station... they were going on leave whilst the RNXS were starting a brief training spell.

 

I was a dual draftee at collingwood. We were ship company who had other roles in the event that UK came under attack. We trained in boarding, and searching, interrogation etc. tooled up with the dreaded SMG and **** off sticks. Our training consisted of sleeping in an old scout nissen hut in Grimsby and doing boarding exercises with the RNXS there who would "play russian".
Also did port security against RNXS "Playing IRA" with bags of flour to represent bombs / grenades.
Thoroughly jolly japes indeed.
Any of you RNXS types remember such fun?

 

An enduring memory was when I (as a S/Lt RNR) was OOD at PHQ Orkney and in charge of the Colour Party for sunset. Everything went very smoothly but I couldn't take my eyes off the elderly lady to my left wearing carpet slippers.

I met a number of RNXS people (Orkney, Hull, Middlesborough, Milford Haven) during my time and they were a fabulous bunch of people - very friendly, hard working and an absolute delight to work (and socialise) with

 

I've gone to work with slippers on before now... She was clearly an academic/intellectual. All that thinking means that mundane things such as dress code become insignificant by constrast to what matters. Am reading about developments in German Civil Law (1914-45) at the moment. I have come to work wearing a beige Merino wool sock on my left foot and a pink cotton sock on my right foot! Nil desperandum.

 

So you never dressed up as booties at Wildfire and got strip searched by the RNXS with a CNX(W) in charge? Damn!

 

Easy Tiger, keep it in your pants :roll:

 

exploding_blancmange

Just seen the old post re RNXS and MVS

I thought you might like to know the MVS have recently started up a unit at Grimsby--on the MV Hambledon (Fleet Tender) berthed in Royal/ Alexandra Dock.

If you (or others) can walk unaided you be welcome as Crew /engineers/skippers etc etc and if you can't we will still help you to come onboard for a look around; for more info and photos see this website www.islandofhope.co.uk/ my telephone number (01268 .....)is there too -if you want to talk

For your info -- I am not ex RN/RNXS/MVS so I am not into marine speak or abbreviation I can just manage Starboard in on the Right,,,er or is it the left :thanks:

Thanks for reading.
.
Philip B

 

They must have included NZB..... I'm sure I recognised his hairy back.

Happy days :twisted:

Actually I was extremely embarassed at the time! Arrgh! Naked booties!