Thursday 9 April 2009

Here you go Albion


The one thing about being an independent blogger is that you can say "bugger it all" and post something different for a change.

Albion left a comment about how to break the Government monopoly and mentioned the great pirate radio station, Radio Caroline that was anchored of Felixstowe Port, where I later learned to Scuba dive at the age of 16 way back in 65.

And bang it was 1964 again and I was back at the stone frigate, HMS Ganges waiting for Caroline to come on air with the jingle that I sometimes hear in my mind today. The same jingle as played in the video above. Caroline had started broadcasting, just before I joined the Mob, the Andrew, The Royal Navy as a baby sailor. A TROG. A Trained Rating of Ganges.

And the guys in the image linked, Class 283, were from my old Division Exmouth, from the starboard side of our shared mess. I was class 284 on the port side. Even Numbers to port, odd number to Starboard. No photo I am afraid.

I even remember P. Bonds navy number. As we were lining up for issue with them, his last number ended up as 007 because of the navy's sense of humour. I was pushed in front and became 006. I am not a number I am a free man.

Sailing, shooting, boxing, navigation, etc. Great times and great memories brought back by that jingle and we met up on many ships and in many ports. The BNP will hopefully bring back these military schools for future servicemen.

Thanks for the memory Albion.

Here is the full song Caroline by The Fortunes

Search for Ganges top left of blog, for articles about Ganges on this site.