LIFE IN A BLUE
SUIT
It is not what you do that makes you who you are. But who you are that makes you do what you
do.
They say who we are is determined by a mixture of genes
and culture. The genes come from a
unique mix of our biological parents genes which are implanted at
conception. They are added to and
moulded into a unique person in our mother’s womb. Who we are is then shaped by our culture
and experiences, first in childhood and then adulthood. Our
basic nature is fixed by our genes and early childhood. The skeleton as it were is fleshed
out as we grow, moulded and shaped by
the culture we are brought up in and the experiences we go through. Culture can though change, awareness of early experiences
help correct the harm done earlier on. Or
reinforced and made worse by subsequence experiences.
And so in 1965 I joined the Royal Navy, the introduction to which was at HMS Raleigh
where the adventure began. From the
basic training and square bashing I went off to HMS Pembroke in Chatham to do
my professional training as a Store keeper.
I had started my working life as a trainee electrician for the Coal
Board and wanted to continue in that profession. Little did I realise at the time by running
away to sea God had set His face against my calling as a Salvation Army officer and was
to make me a watchman over the house of Israel (Ezekiel 3:17
"Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel;
so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me.” This I was not to know until 20 years later
when I had come out of the Navy and become a Management Accountant. A Management Accountant is different from a
Financial Accountant in that he is employed by a firm or company to keep watch
over the affairs of the organisation.
To give account on a daily basis to the Board for the financial well being
of the firm. To advise it on the best
use of its resources. A financial
accountant in the main someone outside the organisation, to represent the
finances in the best possible light to the outside world. But as I said I knew nothing about all that, my plans were clear. I would serve for 9
years in the Navy, gain the experience and the confidence which comes with experience. Save up and go into the Salvation Army
Training College on my 27th birthday.
So much for the plans of mice and men.
Life in the Royal Navy was great, full of life and
adventure. First posting after my
training was to RNAS Culdrose in Helston Cornwall and my real first taste of
girls, wine and roses. I went into the Navy fully determined to
maintain my witness as a Salvation Army Christian. No drinking, no smoking and definitely no women until I
was married. Well the no smoking part
I have kept to this day. No sex with my girl also made
it but not for the lack of trying. The
problem there was all the “nice” girls that love a sailor didn’t go to church
and I did. The trouble was I tried
running with the hare and the hounds. Jolly
Jack tar on a Saturday and the Salvation Army on Sunday. After 18 months of that jolly jape I was
posted to my first ship HMS Jaguar based in Chatham, Kent. The Jaguar was a small Anti-submarine frigate with a crew
of just under 200. Shortly after
joining the ship God confronted me and said “Choose. You can run with the hounds or with the
hare. You either enjoy being a jolly Jack
Tar and all that the men in blue suits get up to or follow me. You cannot do both” I chose Him
The ship left shortly after that encounter for a cruise
around the world or at least half way round then back taking just under two years before returning to the UK.. First Gibraltar and then down the African
coast to South Africa to make our base in Simonstown, the South African Naval base 10 miles or so
from Cape Town. At each port of call I
found a local Salvation Army or if there wasn't one, a local church. In Cape Town I had the strange experience of
going around the streets and market place playing “carols” in shorts and short
sleeved shirts. Until then I had only
played wrapped up in heavy coats, scarves and thick woollen mittens, Deep snow crisp and even one year hot blazing sunshine the next. I still not
sure which one I prefer. As for
Christmas day. After the Army in the
morning, a bar-be-que on the beach in the afternoon.
From Cape Town we sailed into the Indian
Ocean, calling first at Port Elizabeth
then Durban South Africa. There I met
and fell in love with a beautiful young girl called Brenda and from that moment on, started scheming of ways to leave the Navy,
return to South Africa and marry her. But in the meantime Jaguar continued showing the flag and reached the Seychelles before turning round and
heading back to Cape Town via Durban. Yippee. In Cape Town Brenda came down and spent a
week with me before we sailed off to South America and Rio de Janerio. From there the Antarctic round the Cape and up the other side to the Panama
canal, calling on all ports on the way. Once through the canal, Bermuda and then home. I
may have chosen to follow God and no more wine, women and song but the trip
around the world was great and I had the best time of my life
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