HMS Hermes First Commission - 1960

Hi Richard

I found these old photos a while ago and attempted to send them to you as they might be of interest to some of our ex-colleagues. I'm not very confident that you ever received them so I am trying again.

This was a very young band with most of us straight out of training. There were two one badgers in Dennis Swann and Pete McRoy and only 5 drew their tot at the beginning and that included the NCOs.

Being brand new, Hermes got involved in many exercises and that involved the band keeping watches in the Ops room and Radar display room where a certain PO was heard to say "You can't break this equipment" but of course he didn't know Ginge Couch at that time. Being new also ensured we went far and wide showing off our latest gear and we thus visited the Med, Far East and Scandanavia but we missed out on the USA due to a threatened invasion of Kuwait. Shades of things to come?

Unfortunately some of this band have passed on namely B/Mr Maurice Pearce, Brian Gammon, Pete McRoy and Ginge Couch, but I am lucky enough to meet Alan Hooky Walker and Terry Freestone fairly often who were both in Hermes in 1960.

Best wishes
Bob Baker

HMS Hermes First Commission - 1960

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