samkydd

I saw this fly-on-the-bulkhead documentary when it was first televised 31 years ago, and I hadn't seen it since. I went to a car boot on Sunday and picked up the DVD boxed set of the series for a fiver and watched some of it last night.

Very enjoyable, but sad in a way because the Navy back then seemed to be in decline (Merlyn Rees was the Home Secretary then I think, responsible for more cuts than Sweeney Todd) but it's even worse now!

One strange thing was that the civilian trousers the ratings wore when going ashore were wider and baggier than the naval uniform's bellbottoms! Back then most civvies had longish hair which seemed to suit the post-hippy era fashions of the 70s, but when you see service blokes with short hair wearing the same fashions they looked daft!

There was a follow-up series eight years later I believe so I'll keep an eye open for that! Does anyone remember the name of the other naval documentary series from the early 90s? Was it on board HMS Endurance?

"...the chairman of Littlewoods stores made a Keynote speech!"

hankoler

Was it called " Antarctica".??

samkydd

I’ve no idea. I couldn’t even find Sailor mentioned on IMDB and yet it was a very famous documentary of its type. Fortunately the Sailor Eight Years On programme is included in the DVD set I bought.

In this follow-up programme it was very sad to see the Ark Royal barely recognisable as it was being butchered in a scrapyard, witnessed tearfully by the retired Master at Arms from the original series.

It is arguably the most famous British ship of the 20th century,and IMHO it should have become part of our heritage as it was just as valid as our other museum pieces; The Cutty Sark, The Victory, Gypsy Moth IV, HMS Belfast etc. It could also have housed a fine collection of post war aircraft used on the carrier including the Buccaneer, the magnificent Phantom, The Fairey Gannet and assorted helicopters.

It is also sad to see one of the featured sailor/airman LA “Twinkle” Powell, now retired from the navy after a lifetime and finding life in civvy street hard to adjust to.

"...the chairman of Littlewoods stores made a Keynote speech!"

Steve Crook

One of the things the services have never been all that good at. Unless you're of a very high rank they don't offer much to help you adjust

Steve

DB7

To be fair times have changed and a nuclear sub can launch as much devastation as a Washington hawk would require. The big battleships the US possess are nothing more than floating platforms for the Tomohawk missile. We will soon have new aircraft carriers taking to the see - bloody massive things similar to those of the US and the French one that keeps breaking down.

Private Widdle

Was it HMS Brilliant?

samkydd

It could well have been, it's listed on IMDB as being out in 1995 which sounds about right. Unfortunately there's not much information about the programme.

Whenever I watched this type of documentary I'd feel very proud of our services, which probably goes back to what I can remember about Two Way Family Favourites on the radio. Servicemen throughout the empire and their families back home would communicate via the BBC, and Christmas was always the sad time when Able Seaman Herbert Laycock, only son of Mr and Mrs Laycock of Shard End, Birmingham would be stuck in BFPO28 until March, "......so here's Tom Jones singing Green Green Grass of Home".

Dame Starry

YDSL x.

The Christmas countdown has begun - don't leave it all until the last minute!