Having finished his training at HMS GANGES in 1929 Les first saw service as a Boy 1st.Class aboard the Dreadnought Battleship HMS.MARLBOROUGH ( Iron Duke Class) one of four (the others being HMS IRON DUKE,HMS BENBOW AND HMS EMPEROR OF INDIA). HMS Marlborough had seen action at Jutland against the German Fleet in which she had fired of 162 13.5" shells and was hit by a torpedo causing severe damage but had survived and limped home. She was transferred from the Grand Fleet in 1926 to the Atlantic Fleet and withdrawn from active service at the end of 1929 being scrapped in 1932. Dad, like most of the people of his generation who served during World War II, did not speak much about his experiences and the horrors of war (and to be truthful I never really asked) other than the odd snippet now and then like " It was either you or them" Now its been over twenty years since his death and having accessed his service record and some photographs I thought it fitting to record them for posterity.

At age seventeen Les joined HMS CURLEW (D42) a C Class (Ceres) Light Cruiser of 4200 tons commissioned (Chatham) to the 3rd. Cruiser Squadron Mediterranean Fleet. Departing 7th.January 1932 to Malta he spent until the 14th.March 1933 on a Mediterranean commission which included some notable events listed above. Leaving before the tour ended on 18th.August 1933 he returned to HMS PEMBROKE (Chatham shore base/ "Stone Frigate") to take a new position on HMS VERSATILE now as Able Seaman (having risen from Boy 1st.Class to Able Seaman whilst serving on HMS CURLEW).