I Think I Prefer the Tinned Variety

Click a link to read the story from the beginning: Joining the Fleet Air Arm October 15th 1942 Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa 1943 H.M.S. Spurwing 1943 Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa October 1943 - November 1944 Hastings, near Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Africa 1943 - 1944 Visit of Admiral Peters to H.M.S. Spurwing January 1944 The Radio Section H.M.S. Spurwing 1944 Day Trip to Marampa February 6th 1944 Lumley Beach, Freetown, Sierra Leone March 26th 1944 The Concert April 1944 An Evening of Tribal Dances 22nd April 1944 H.M.S. Spurwing | H.M.S. Nabaron H.M.S. Nabaron MONAB 4 MSR6 1945 Ponam, The Admiralty Islands, British Pacific Fleet 1945 The End of the War

I Think I Prefer the Tinned Variety Blog  has joined   Writing a Family History .  Hope to see you there!  More books at Spurwing ebooks

Saturday 1 st January 1944 " Rang in the New Year well and truly on the ship’s bell. Nearly all the officers and ratings were in various stages of inebriation. The first lieutenant vainly trying to drink someone’s health from a bottle with the top still on. Foul taste in mouth this morning due to excess of port wine ." That's what my dad (Norman Buckle) wrote in his diary on New Year's Day 1944. He was stationed at H.M.S. Spurwing, the Royal Navy Air Base at Hastings, near Freetown in Sierra Leone, West Africa. He was nineteen years old. This photo was in Norman's collection; he hasn't made clear whether or not it's the New Year's Eve celebrations. Looks like it was a fun night though. Considering that high temperatures and humidity made a posting to Freetown very unpopular with services personnel they look like they're making the best of it!  Freetown was surrounded by malarial mangrove swamps and the humidity was so