On the 26/6/42 I arrived in Chatham Naval Depot.
I settled in, each day virtually the same. In the mornings, being detailed for
one of the many working parties that maintained the day to day running of the
establishment. Before leaving GANGES I was told that I had been selected
as a CW (Commission Warrant) rating, which required me to get 6 months actual
sea-time experience. If and when this had been achieved, I would be sent to an
officers training school.
My first day on the working party parade I was detailed as a messenger, operating from the officers' ward block. It was a nice clean detail with one or two "perks" from the officers' dining room; it also kept me out of the way of the "Justamo", (a verbal distortion of the word "GESTAPO".) They were the "policemen" of the Depot, they were always stopping and questioning, wanting to know where you are coming from and going to. Medical check-ups were part of the routine of being drafted to & returning from a ship. They were very necessary, considering the close living arrangements in the Depot and even more so aboard ship. Basically, it was a visual inspection by a Doctor once you had removed all your clothing. I would like to say at this point that all ratings had to take their hammocks where ever they were drafted to. A further tale of a stay in Chatham Depot was the sleeping arrangements. Every night, unless you were ashore on all night leave or on duty, you had to take your hammock down the "TUNNEL" and "sling it", an expression, meaning that you had to suspend your hammock anywhere you can find two hooks. This was a system of tunnels that had been driven into the natural contours of the chalk hills within the Depot perimeters. They were really underground air raid shelters constructed not unlike London's underground. You had to "sling" your hammock on the support girders of the tunnel where ever possible.