Photos: Jane Reilly
Words: Judith Martin
7 November 2007
Old and new sailors met up and exchanged stories when 100 Navy veterans attended an open day at Devonport Naval base recently.
The theme of the day was “celebrating the veteran”, and the aim was to show Navy veterans how today’s Navy is run, and how it trains its personnel now.
Veteran Mr Vince McGlone, 90, a former leading seaman and gun turret captain, was one of the oldest visitors to the base.
“They treated us like royalty (at the Naval base). It was great to see how it’s all done these days.”
Mr McGlone is believed to be the oldest surviving Navy veteran in New Zealand. He joined as a seaman boy in 1932, aged 15, and served on HMS Dunedin and HMS Diomede, and then HMS Achilles. He remembers well the battle of the River Plate, in which Achilles, which was largely New Zealand-manned, fought, defeating the German Navy’s prized new concept in Naval warfare, the panzerschiffe Graf Spee.
During the open day veterans were shown around the base, and watched a sea survival display alongside the decommissioned frigate Canterbury. They were shown how suppliers, stewards, chefs, seamen and hydrographers are now trained, viewed a helicopter flying display, and visited the Navy chapel and museum. They also met the Chief of Navy, Rear Admiral David Ledson.
Open day organiser, Navy events officer Lieutenant Sarah Jardine said the day was designed so the veterans could meet up with serving personnel, have a chat, and see how things had changed since their day.
Navy chefs baked special biscuits for the veterans, and prepared other treats. Sailors and officers were on hand to answer questions, explain how today’s Navy operates, and listen to a bit of nostalgia.
“Because most of the veterans were elderly we repeated many of the activities so they would not have to stay all day. They were queuing to get in when the gates opened though, and most of them stayed all day. A lot of stories were swapped.”
Mr McGlone is proud of his Naval service. He said during the open day he heard someone mention how quickly ships can be made ready for action nowadays.
“When I was on Achilles our CO, Captain Parry, got his sailing orders at 9am on August 29, 1939. We slipped at 1.30pm – you can’t get much better than that!”
While he says he has much admiration for today’s sailors and officers, he says discipline was stricter in his day, and he feels uniforms “looked better.”
“They were tailor-made, and each fitted beautifully. They young ones today – they do a good job though.”
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