My Guestbook

And I must say Bill, You have done a Sterling job of it and I am sure that you have achieved what you set out to do, This site will be sorely missed, well I will certainly miss it, thank God, or whoever is responsible for them, we have the computer and the telephone, so I will still be able to pester you as usual!!

I wish all our members, Still Waters, and the best of health.

Julian Best. FWT

Ex Killick Stoker.

Three weeks today when my contract with the Server closes.

I can only hope that over the past twelve years, I have managed to define what our Ship was and what it did throughout its Life on the Oceans of the World.

So, while I will miss it, all good things come to an end, so while I am able to pull the plug so to speak, I am closing the web site in July 2014.

Happy Days Shipmates and Readers.

Hi Julian

Well FWT, the magic number of 60,000 has been acheived, so maybe now I can die happy?

250!I cannot see it happening myself Bill, but wonders will never cease! I was expecting o see the photo of our ship, the one taken alongside in Gib, or was I wrong again, we already have it, that's the usual reply!! that means I'll have to keep on looking!

Not much news around on this site these days, where is everyone? I'm off to my hammock anyway 2330. will check in again next week, and see if the 250 has been reduced!

F W T.

Just a mere 250 more visitors to record to satisfy me that 60,000 have read this web site will be enough for me to close this Site with some satisfaction.

May see some of you in Torquay next month????

Great site, anyone remember Petty Officer Stoker Mechanic Fred Staniforth 1951 ?

Sorry BJ, not on my Commission, so good luck with any responses you may get in reply.

Yours aye,

Editor Bill

It has been more than 40 years since the last "TOT" was issued to the royal Navy, which means that few, if any, serving members have felt that relaxing glow that we felt when hearing those hallowed words or the the bugle call, "Up Spririts".

Can you remember those cold, wet, forenoon watches, or a hard morning ammunitioning ship? Then, down to the mess for dinner, but first, the TOT. The rum bosun was standing there, measure in hand (and if you were green enough, his thumb in the measure to be sure that there was some left in the fanny to be shared between him and the marker). After that you could eat anything that the galley had served up.

Occasionally it was someones birthday and sippers were dished out, He would be hidden away in the oilskin locker to sleep it off with a freindly eye watching over him.

But "UP SPIRITS" is just another of those Royal Navy traditions that have been lost.

Did you Know that the origional issue of rum was 1/2 pint of neaters per day? Now That would have been something to write home about!

The sun is over the yardarm and I can hear a faint bugle call. Time for a tot of..Yes you have guessed it, where is the bottle?

Jan Birch (come round, the walk will do you good).

Would only wish that I could accept your invite for sippers, but, I reckon by the time I got to Whyalla Jenkins, it would have evaporated.....

Recall my becoming a 'T' and visits to various Senior Rates Messes for the Traditional Sippers of Neaters, and being laid out in the Cinema, the former Port Side Hangar, and watched over by my fellow mess mates, who were on Watch over me apparently. Not that I recall much of that day, save for the back slapping and cheering when I sank my first Tot in One! Was that another Tradition in those days? If is wasn't then, I was still Green at the time, eh?

Read more of the Tot on our Web Site where Jan has made a past contribution, oh, and be quick about it, as there are just over a hundred days left before the Web Site comes to an end.

I note that the numbers of visitors to the Site are not overwhelming, so as I approach the end of this web site, I would really hope to reach in excess of 60000 visitors.

I know that on the Original Site there were in excess of 12000, but, I would not wish to count them in the numbers for the existing site, so if I may ask you to invite your contacts to access the site,then, my hopes maybe achieved?

Yours aye,

Bill Hartland

Editor www.hmsgambia.com

Just had a relaxing half hour reading the New Entry in the " LINKS PAGE " So many thanks to our Web Master for that, Nice one Bill, I have printed it off, all seven sheets, so it will now be added to my Gambia file, quite a bit in that file now, I have a file for all the ships I served on, 1st one was Devonshire, Officer Cadet training cruiser, then Triumph, the carrier, that took over those duties from Devonshire, Enard Bay, Mounts Bay, Alaunia, Orion, Barrage, ( coal burner, boom defence, HARD WORK!! that's when I discovered why they called us stokers!!, Howe, Barbastell ( another coal burner!! no bullshit on those coal burners though!. Gambia with my Brother on the same commission, good job my Mother didn't see us on some of those runs ashore on that comission!!!!!! Then a horrible draft to the WRNS camp St Beaudox, nine months tending the boilers, and one or two wrens!!! another good job that my Mother didn't see!!!! Someone in Drake must have thought that I was on to a cushy number, so they bunged me on a plane and sent out to the Med to join Girdleness, the rockets they sent up from that ship put all our Guy Fawkes celibrations to shame!!

Sorry if I've bored you, well not really, this is my Afternoon Watch, so I call the shots, or will Bill have the last say!!!!

Take care everyone, don't go doing anything too energetic.

F,W,T,

Web Master edit. Julian it was St Budeaux just across the water from HMS Drake.

just having a look! Nothing new, so I'll leave and check again next week!!

I expect you are all dreading the Wales team heading your way for the Six Nations!

Julian. aka. F W T.

Editor on convalesence at Somerset Legion House for a week, so will be in touch next month. Countdown is also still active, just in case you were wondering....