In 1983 after completing my GCSE's I was unsure of what I wanted to do, at first I decided in the summer holidays that I would return to the sixth form to do my A level's but during the start of the term, I had also decided that I would join the forces,

and I was also looking for full time employment, so I was really unclear about what I wanted to do in life, I started the enrollment process to join the Royal Navy and I also remember that I was actively writting off to lots of companies for employment.

I remember that two weeks before my interview with the Navy I was given a full time Apprentership as a Labority Technician, in the old Tyssen's coal briquette factory in Bynea, which had been recently been aquired BP oil and it had started trading as Taybrite, so I decided that I wouldn't join up full time with the navy.

The careers officer in the Royal Navy accepted my decision but said if that was my choice why don't you join the Navy Reserves and before I knew it I had a full time job as an apprentise in Taybrite plus I was also in the RNR,

I fully enjoyed my time in the RNR, I was training twice a week on a Tuesday and Thursday and within six months I was part of the crew taking our minesweeper out to sea and I was part of the crew almost once every three weeks, the ship would go out every weekend from Barry Docks but there was a rota to ensure everyone in the base had an opportunity to go to sea.

If I remember correctly you had to attend the training a minimum of 50 nights a year each night was one credit but if you were short a weekend at sea counted counted as 4 nights training credit,

plus you also had to do a minimum of a full fortnight with the full time navy on a shore base or on a full time royal navy vessel

I took my two weeks induction training in HMS Raleigh which was the base where all new recruits into the Royal Navy completed their basic training, I also attended HMS Drake another Royal Naval Base which specialised in training the Radio and Signal operators and new recuits would attend this base after their six weeks basic training.

As well as serving on the South Wales Mine sweeper HMS Waveney in my five years within the RNR I served on HMS Intrepid and i actually joined this crew for a full four month period when Intrepid was seconded as an officer training ship, i also sailed on HMS Fife and HMS London

HMS London had been out in the Gulf for four whole months and when she docked in Cyprus the Navy flew her crew home for extended shore leave and flew out 150 shore based staff to sail her back home and i was part of the team that brought her home,

I also sailed on HMS Arethusa which had been adopted by the City of Swansea and made regular visits to Swansea before being decomissioned, and during a Nato exercise in Norway I was seconded during the exercise off Intrepid onto the Danish vessel Dana Anglia which was a civilian vessel that helped during the exercise carrying marines who were practising beach and land assaults along the coast of Norway, and I also remember spending two whole weeks in the shore base on Gibralta.

I don't regret serving the five years that I served with the Royal Navy Reserves but had I known that Taybrite would have struggled after the miners strike and that the coal industry would be hard hit by Maggie's Thatcher's government who imported cheap foreign coal as a counter measure to counter the strike I would have joined the navy full time eighteen months earlier because I was made redundant, 

Taybrite would purchase coal dust from the coal washeries and add bitumen which was an oil bye product from the BP refinery and mix them to make a smokless fuel briquette, but as stated above during and shortly after the miners strike, there was a glut of cheap foreign imported coal available and Taybrite had approx 8 months production stacked in its yard, ie if they had stopped production they had enough stock in their yard to match 8 months of sales and orders, as a result I was called into the office and made redundant 18 months into my three year apprentership.

Anyway you might be wondering why I decided to share some of my fond memories from twenty five years ago.

Its because I was honoured this week to take part in offering the freedom of the county to Royal Welsh and during the event I was asked by several guests from the forces including some of the older retired veterans that took part did I have any relatives or conections with the forces, after sharing lots of stories in the reception at Carmarthen Leisure centre I went home and dug out some old photos, they were in black and white and were taken by the ships photographer, but below is of photo taken as HMS Intrepid left Napels in full dress uniform and i'm the one standing under the main colours on the aft end.

Once the crew were off deck and we were beyond the outer harbour walls, it was my responsibility to haul the colours down whilst the cheif would hoist the Sea Ensign.