Robert TURRELL | Petty Officer with a "strong recommendation for the Chief Rate". Victorian Navy. | |||
Thomas BURTON | Master-at-Arms. Victorian Navy. | |||
Sidney BURTON | Master Mariner and Merchant Navy Captain. Victorian to between world wars. | |||
John DASH | Leading Writer | |||
Peter GODDEN | National Serviceman. Fleet Air Arm. Airborne Radar Mechanic. | |||
Godfrey (Jeff) DYKES | Warrant Officer. | |||
Phillip DYKES | Radio Operator | |||
TOTALS |
Radio Operator Phillip Dykes |
Phillip joined the Royal Navy as a rating, 20 months after I had left the Service. He joined the same Branch and became a Communicator. During his 4¾ years he served in Raleigh (his training establishment); Mercury, Warrior, the destroyer Bristol and the frigates Boxer and Phoebe. Phillip had a GCE A Level education/certificates, and I wasn't at all pleased that he had chosen such a career at the rating level. Moreover, I believe that he was wrongly recruited and advised. After basic training at Torpoint in Cornwall, he came to my alma mater, Mercury, for specialist training. His trainers were ex colleagues of mine, and the feed back was that Phillip was wrongly placed and incomparable with his peers, who were young men of a lesser ability, certainly academically, and possibly in other areas too. Phillip was just turned 19, but he was a mature young man. He was very popular and gregarious and an enthusiastic able sportsman. His joining in this manner did not make sense, but Phillip was determined that this is what he wanted; this notwithstanding his knowledge of my service career with all that that involved. Phillip did not prosper because he was bored and found his employment futile and lacking a challenge. Time and again his written reports suggested that he would be an ideal candidate for promotion to the Special Duties List (promotion from lower deck to upper deck) but that would have involved a long wait, and Phillip was losing interest rapidly. In his last ship, the Phoebe, he was finally recommended for Upper Yardsman, still a promotion to the upper deck but without the wait to become a petty officer first. By the time Phillip arrived for his full day at the Admiralty Interview Board (AIB) at Sultan in Gosport he had his sights set on civilian life. The AIB selects suitable candidates for officer training, and Phillip was not selected. When he finally decided to leave the navy, he told everybody about his decision except me, thinking that I would be displeased. I think in time he would have made a good officer, but since it wasn't to be, I was delighted when he left and found work in London. |
Certificate of Discharge |
Next, to a Captain, a Master Mariner in the Merchant Navy and also his father, a Master-at-Arms in the Royal Navy |
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Ordinary Apprentice's Indenture |
His name was Sidney Burton and he was active before, during, and after the first world war. He was married to my wife's great great aunt, one of the daughters of Robert Turrell mentioned below. We inherited all his papers (on parchment), letters and a couple of books. Subsequently, we have received copies of his birth and marriage certificates. For members of my wife's family his name was always associated with shame and his name was 'avoided': it was not until early May 2002 that we got to know the reason why. However, that 'silence' was in the 1960's, but during the first world war he pleased their Lordships at the Admiralty by manoeuvring his ship so as to avoid a submarine attack. |
Sidney Burton |
Sidney has a wonderful set of papers, too numerous for me to show them all. He was born in Gosport Hampshire on the 23rd November 1874, and his school report (from the Collegiate School Gosport) of the 27th August 1889 refers to him as being a 'very honourable, tractable and attentive boy'. He was acquainted with most of the subject taught in a good middle class school writes the Principal, consisting of the usual English subjects, French, Algebra and elementary book keeping: he has also had some acquaintance with Physical Science. Of his moral character, I cannot speak too highly. In 1891, at the age of 17, he became an apprentice to the William Lowden & Co shipping company in Liverpool,The stately sum of £28 (with ten shillings per annum for washing) due to be paid in cash at the end of the four year apprenticeship in 1895, was paid over in three whacks of £6.17.1 (£6.85), £4.12.3 (£4.62) and £4.14.6 (£4.72) between July 1893 and mid 1895, the final £11.16.2 (£11.81) being paid on successful completion of training on the 1st December 1895, when he became an Able Seaman. |
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His very first Certificate of Discharge (loose pieces of paper replaced later on by a Continuous Certificate of Discharge in a Passport type booklet) shown below, shows that his date of engagement coincided with the end of his apprenticeship (1/12/95) whilst actually at sea, and that he left the vessel in Dunkirk on the 14/3/96 as an able seaman. Getting work cannot have been easy, or, he didn't like being away from home too often because he next signed on 4 months later, for a 13 month commitment leaving on the 14/8/97 whilst his ship was in Le Havre by which time he had become a Mate. |
Sidney Burton Discharge Certifcate |
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One full year later almost to the day, he sailed as the 2nd Mate in a very small vessel (136 reg tonnage) from Portsmouth to Constantinople and back being discharged 4 months later. Again another lengthy break of 4 months before going back to sea for a goodly 14 months on the Cathcart Park of 453 reg tonnage, being promoted in the last 2 months to 1st Mate. |
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Sidney BurtonLast Discharge Certificate |
This was the last of his loose Certificates which brings us up to 27/9/1900 when he was aged 26 and had been at sea for 9 years. However, although there is no supporting Discharge Certificate, this is the last letter concerning his service up to an including mid 1901. On the 2nd July 1902 he married Edith Kate (known as Kit), the youngest of the five daughters mentioned below (in white), of the next sailor, Robert Turrell. |
Sidney BurtonRoyal Mail Steam Packet Company Letter |
Sidney Burton's Wedding Day |
This lovely picture is of their wedding day. Here I show you the level of intimacy from (about to be) husband to wife. Whilst people of my generation may have signed the back of their letter envelope with such caveats as SWALK and BURMA, Sidney always drew a picture; a caricature! Here are just a few of them.
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Letter to Kit |
Occasionally, he would 'tease' Kit by sending a geographical picture of his whereabouts as a post card without adding a text, and on one occasion, he actually sent the card to her address using Morse code symbols. Here in this picture the obverse is his ship and the reverse is the address of his wife. In this picture, he tells his dearest of his movement by adding script to the obverse, whilst clearly, his wife's address is in doubt. (here, the script says "We don't know if we shall go back to Barbados again, or come straight from Jamaica" and the reverse reads. Apart from Sidney himself, take note of Sidney's father, a Master at Arms (Chief Petty Officer) in the Royal Navy and author of the letter below in the second row - left, and Robert Turrell (see 'Finally......' below) the bride's father second row - right. Sidney and Kit had no children. Amongst Sidney's papers I found the following letter, written on the back of a parchment RN Service Certificate. It is a most touching and tender letter, and one which makes me see a Jossman (the Navy's colloquial name for a MAA -a Navy policeman) in a new light!. It was written in July 1890 when Sidney was 16. Just in case you find it difficult to read, I have retyped the letter underneath the original. |
Letter to Sidney |
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How long he lasted with Mr Lowe is not documented, nor is his fathers reaction to him leaving his apprenticeship for a life at sea. If his father wrote in this manner for a 16 year old going to work in the local town, what must he have written for a 17 year old leaving home to 'rough it' at sea? Moreover, I wonder whether he chose the merchant navy instead of the Royal because of his fathers career? |
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In October 1901, Sidney was awarded his Masters Certificate for "foreign-going steamships" and if you look at the left hand side endorsed in ink, the certificate also allowed him to be the 1st Mate of a square rigged sailing vessel. Fantastic stuff! Up until the first world war his wife used to go to sea with him!From hereonin, the so called orderliness of the merchant marine is flawed and not to be trusted! His next Certificate of Discharge, now in a passport-type booklet, shows that he joined the steamship Eider at Southampton on the 16th July 1904 as 2nd officer. It looks as though he was 'testing the situation' after a long absence from the sea and that he either didn't like it or that domestic pressure forced him back to civilian shore employment. It was not the case. Notwithstanding the recordings on these Certificates, the following two letters give a factual account of his time at sea and his appointments. |
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Continuous Cerfificate of Discharge |
The Continuous Certificate of Discharge booklet showing front cover, ownership details, and three ship entries. In his records are many letters from shipping companies vouching for his 'sober and steady manner': his 'ability to handle men and ships well': his 'diligence and trustworthiness', and every report speaks highly about his morals. All, without exception, recommend him to other shipping companies as an outstanding officer. He left the Eider in June 1915, the last entry in his Continuous Certificate of Discharge booklet, but this is incorrect as the letters show. Can you imagine his pride at receiving the following letter? He was now the Master of a merchantman employed on Government duties in war time! I am the proud owner of his War Instructions for British Merchant Ships 1917 Confidential Book - CB 415 copy number 2299. It has the proverbial lead-lined front and back cover so that when thrown overboard it would sink to the bottom rapidly denying the enemy capture of it. It is fascinating to read and it has many pictures of the silhouettes of our own warships and those of the enemy, plus some photographs of same. After the war, the CB was given to Sidney as a memento of his War Service. |
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CB 415 Cover and inside cover.Final Letter in Sidney Burton's documents. |
Here, I show you the front cover of the CB and the inside of the front cover.On the 2nd of May 1918, Sidney took evasive action to thwart an attack on his ship by a German U-Boat. As a consequence of that action, he received the following letter from The Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth, Admiral S.C. Colville. As a reward for saving his ship, Sidney received £50 and his lookout £10 from Admiralty funds. Undoubtedly, he would have been awarded WW1 medals but they are missing from his documents.After the end of WW1, he continued at sea serving as a Chief Officer on the British salvage steamer "Semper Paratus", and the final letter of his documents reads as follows:- It is my intention to research further into his death and his final resting place, and if I am successful in that pursuit I will add those details here. My final thought is that Sydney must have done some wrong on the domestic front to be so out of favour by the time I arrived on the scene in 1961. I am pleased and proud that I have been able to tell his story as a sailor, for there is no doubt that he served his country well both in peace and in war.Since writing this, my wife has been in touch with her elderly cousin (John Dash) of Gosport Hampshire, who recalls the fate of Sidney Burton post April 1923, the date of the last letter above. Seemingly, he moved to become a Master of a White Star ship, the same shipping company which had owned the Titanic. He had taken his ship to the South American port of Curacao. Whilst ashore, a gale blew up (or was blowing at the time he left his ship) and the 1st Mate lost control of the ship resulting in a grounding? Like all Captain's, Sidney was held responsible for hazarding his ship, and at an enquiry, lost his Masters certificate, and therefore his job. He took a job ashore at the White Star offices in Southampton, which he again lost when Cunard bought White Star out. The poor man evidently found it hard to find a suitable job befitting his qualifications and experience, and ended his days as a rigger in Southampton docks. By all accounts he was a very heavy smoker and he died on the 27th July 1939 (on my first birthday) when aged 64 years and 7 months. Kit (his wife) died in 1985 aged 99 years and 3 months. These pictures show auntie Kit in 1984 when she was 98 years of age. They are taken at our home in Woodside, Gosport, the first showing Beryl (with the lovely legs) - mostly!! : and the second showing the children Steven, Phillip and Matthew - with their great great great aunty. |
Letter from Commander-in-Chief Portsmouth.Award of £50. |
Lloyds of London Infosheet. |
As an update at the 5th June 2002, my request for details to Lloyds of London and to the keeper of the White Star Archives has been but one way - from me to them. It is nearly a month since I first wrote and I am awaiting an acknowledgement of receipt of my letter. Things move very slowly and the frustration continues! Today, the 4th of July I finally got an answer from Lloyds. Regrettable they do not keep personal details. However, they have referred me to another section of Lloyds at the Guildhall Library in London. Their letter had as an enclosure, an Infosheet which looks as though "Lloyd's Captains Register 1868-1947" will have all the answers I need to finished this story! Let us hope so. |
Service Certificate |
| HMS Resource |
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Naval MessageCertificate of Naval Service |
The piece of naval message pad to the left is from the Commanding Officer of HMS Resource Lieutenant Commander (N) T.M. Sowerby Royal Navy Voluntary Reserve.The dist (distribution) line on the bottom shows that it had a full and wide distribution including the W/R (Wardroom); WOs' NBs (Warrant Officers noticeboards) Ship's NBs. It covers the period May 1945 to November 1945 (post war) when HMS Resource steamed 8850 miles. |
To help you understand better where LEYTE, MANUS, SYDNEY and HONG KONG are relative to each other, look at the following map. |
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As an added feature to John's story, visiting Leyte in 1945 only months after the end of the BIGGEST SEA BATTLE OF ALL TIME was fought between the Japanese and the American navies, must have been an emotional affairs. The Battle of Leyte Gulf remains a story of raw sea power which destroyed the Japanese Navy and therefore heralded the end of the Second World War. Beneath the waters over which John sailed in his ship HMS Resource, lay thousands of Japanese dead sailors and a lesser amount of American sailors. When the battle finished on the 27th October 1944, the toll against the Imperial Japanese Navy had been heavy. Of the 65 ships that started, 26 were sunk including the entire force of Japanese carriers, three battleships and ten cruisers. Even the flagship Musashi had gone down. For the sinking of these 26 ships, the United States Navy had lost 6 capital ships out of a total of 166. The 6 ships sunk included a light aircraft carrier and some small carriers and destroyers. 4 days of hard battle had ended in a Japanese defeat of great magnitude. This is a list of the MAJOR ships which took part. There were many others not listed here.Ships taking part in the Battle for Leyte Gulf |
Ships Name | Ships book number | Rating | Entry | Discharge or Transfer | Years | Days |
Character |
Ability in |
G.C.Badge | Remarks | Captain's signature | ||||
End of 1st year | End of 2nd year | On Discharge | Seamanship | Gunnery | Small Arm Drills | ||||||||||
Tribune | 159 | ord | 25July53 | 31March55 | Good | * | |||||||||
Tribune | 159 | AB | 1April55 | 6June56 | Good | * | |||||||||
Victory | 20235 | AB | 7June56 | 7July56 | Not given | Run from leave | * | ||||||||
Fisguard | 12 | AB | 14July56 | 13Sept56 | Not given | * | |||||||||
Blenheim - for Osborne tender | 17 | AB | 14Sept56 | 4Oct56 | Bad | Something (erased) unfit for service in Osborne | * | ||||||||
Princess Royal | 491 | AB | 5Oct56 | 31Dec57 | Good | * | |||||||||
Princess Royal | 491 | 2c F Top | 1Jan58 | 5Dec59 | Good | * | |||||||||
Megdra | 26 | Cap F Top | 22March60 | 29Aug61 | Good | V.Good | Bedding 30 Aug 60 | * | |||||||
Warrior | 387 | Cap F Top | 30Aug61 | 30Sept62 | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | A qualification dated 14Oct64 V.Good |
T.M. 1June62 V.Good |
V.Good | One 1Sep63 | Hospital | * | ||
Warrior | 387 | Cap Fcle | 1Oct62 | 3Aug64 | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | * | ||||
Warrior | 387 | Cap Fcle | 4Aug64 | 22Nov64 | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | * | ||||
Excellent | 1629 | Cap Fcle | 23Nov64 | 1Sept65 | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | Two | * | ||||||
Excellent | 1629 | Cap Fcle | 2Sept65 | 31Dec65 | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | * | |||||||
Excellent | 1629 | Cap Fcle | 1Jan66 | 6Feb66 | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | * | |||||||
Prince Albert | 56 | `Bo Mate | 7Feb66 | 10Oct66 | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | * | ||||
Excellent | 1298 | Bo Mate | 11Oct66 | 21Jan67 | V.Good | V.Good | V.Good | * | |||||||
* All signed by the same officer, the Captain of H.M.S. Excellent! |