I Think I Prefer the Tinned Variety

Earlier in the blog I wrote about my dad's war-time experiences when he was stationed at H.M.S. Nabaron  http://tinned-variety.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/hms-nabaron-monab-4-msr6-1945.html on Ponam Island in the Pacific Ocean. When I was researching the background for I Think I Prefer the Tinned Variety I read several books and websites that had a few references to H.M.S. Nabaron - but not a lot (as someone famously once said). Nevertheless, from time to time, I continue the search and yesterday stumbled upon this fantastic insignia which seems to really sum up the place and the situation. You can read more of the story in   I Think I Prefer the Tinned Variety: The Diary of a Petty Officer in the Fleet Air Arm during World War II by N. Buckle & C. Murray at  http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009QXEUG2  and http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009QXEUG2

When Norman arrived back in the UK, in December 1944, he was given a couple of weeks leave before he was sent for more training at H.M.S. Gosling at Warrington (Cheshire). Norman's job in the Fleet Air Arm was that of a radio mechanic and the training at H.M.S. Gosling was for air fitters and air mechanics and for those working on electronics and radar. On March 10th 1945, Norman was sent to Liverpool for embarkation on R.M.S. (Royal Merchant Ship) Empress of Scotland . He wrote in his diary: Left England. A party of girls from the dockers' canteen sang songs as we left the dock trying to cheer us up. By Hell, but I felt terrible watching England slip away once again. The Empress of Scotland was a beautiful liner built in 1929 by Fairfield Shipbuilding at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland. Originally known as The Empress of Japan , on conversion to a troop carrier her name had been changed on the special orders of Winston Churchill as it was against regulations

I Think I Prefer the Tinned Variety:  The Diary of a Petty Officer in the Fleet Air Arm  during World War II  by N. Buckle & C. Murray http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B009QXEUG2 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009QXEUG2

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

I won't be posting anything new here until after Christmas. Why not call in at Writing a Family History instead which has had several up-dates recently? If you would like to see all the photographs for I Think I Prefer the Tinned Variety in one array, they're at Spurwing ebooks . Just follow the link and scroll down the page. Thanks for stopping by my blog. If you read with a Kindle, iPad, Kobo, Nook, iPhone you can get a free copy of Julia's Room by Michael Murray at any of the main ebook retailers. There are some links here if you're interested. Hope you have a Very Happy Christmas and see you again in 2014.

Last time I posted on this Blog I mentioned I was trying to get hold of a copy of Ponam - A Base of the Forgotten Fleet by Harry J Bannister and that Waterstones were on the case trying to fulfil my order. Unfortunately, they sent an email the other day to say the book was unavailable. I've looked on Ebay and on a couple of specialist book-sites and there's no sign of it there either; so I suppose that's that. I'm disappointed because I thought the book might have a really full account of what went on on Ponam Island in 1945. My dad didn't write much in his diary once he got there and afterwards he told a relative they all thought they were going to die so I don't suppose writing about it was very high on his priority list at the time. During the 1950s when we were growing up, our dad never talked about his war-time experiences and we weren't all that interested anyway. Sadly he died when he was in his mid-fifties and now we do want to know what happ

A reader called "Frank" has posted a fantastic review on the Amazon site in both U.K and U.S.A. for  I Think I Prefer the Tinned Variety: The Diary of a Petty Officer in the Fleet Air Arm during World War II . Thank you so much "Frank" and I'm delighted you enjoyed the book and took the trouble to post your thoughts about it. I've been involved in ebook publishing since the start of 2012 and one of the many wonderful aspects is the personal feedback that comes from readers. Many thanks to everyone who has reviewed our books; you can check out our other books from this page if you're interested or visit our website . If you've read  I Think I Prefer the Tinned Variety: The Diary of a Petty Officer in the Fleet Air Arm during World War II you'll know that my dad, Norman Buckle, went out to an airbase on Ponam Isalnd in the Pacific Ocean as part of the British Pacific Fleet. When I was trying to piece together the story of his experiences

October 15th is the first anniversary of the publication of I Think I Prefer the Tinned Variety: The Diary of a Petty Officer in the Fleet Air Arm during World War II . I published the book exactly one year ago on the exact same date as my dad, Norman Buckle, joined the Fleet Air Arm of the Royal Navy in 1942. Seventy one years ago, World War II uprooted my father from a coal mining village in South Yorkshire and transported him thousands of miles to Sierra Leone in West Africa and later to a tropical island in the Pacific Ocean via Sydney, Australia. I Think I Prefer the Tinned Variety: The Diary of a Petty Officer in the Fleet Air Arm during World War II is a short, annotated diary which records Norman's experiences and the on-going banalities of everyday life on a naval air-base far away from home. Since publication there have been over one thousand downloads of I Think I Prefer the Tinned Variety and I've been overwhelmed by the interest the book has generated am