Manning the ship for the arrival of the Royal Yacht
Over the last few weeks I have received many visits to my web page/blog about HMS Cockade. I have decide to re-post several photos from my Cockade days that some of you may remember of the ship or maybe recognize old shipmates.
I still have my album with many more photos that I will eventually get onto the computer. In those long ago times we had no computers, internet or email. The biggest event for us when returning to harbour was getting mail. Everyone I knew kept a photo album, the photos were in black and white, it was a sort of history or log of the two years spent in the Far East. It was our computer so to speak, we sent photos home to family and friends so they might see the amazing and exotic places we were so fortunate to visit. All changed now, who writes letters anymore? indeed, it is surely a lost art. One might wonder if today’s sailors write letters or would know how to write letters. Letter writing to girl friends and loved ones was an art and a skill. Our letters usually opened with “My Dearest Darling”or perhaps “My dearest Mary the sweetest girl in the world” I guess I probably wrote a few dandies myself. We also had a host of acronym’s to place on the back of the envelope to our sweethearts. I’ll just give you an easy one, anyone know what “SWALK” was????You will show your age if you can answer that one
Ah!!!! the good old days.
God Bless and keep reading
irishroversbooks.wordpress.com 
Sealed With A Loving Kiss. I know a lot more but had better not put them on here. Eh!
You see Tony I said some old salt would know!!!!
Author of LILY & ME , and THE ROYAL NAVY & ME Visit blog and website http://www.irishroversbooks.com
> Date: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 21:24:51 +0000 > To: irishrover1@live.com >
Cockade was my first ship. After initial training at Collingwood then to Drake where a draft to Ark Royal was thankfully altered to Cockade by means of 200 blue liners falling out of my kit bag at the drafting office window. We flew out from London in March 1955 to a hot Singapore to immediately commence ammunition ship. !8 months later flying back to London after a very enjoyable commission Several years later, whilst paying off the Tiger in Devonport ready to become a civilian, there was old D34 looking very sad with no white ensign flying ready for the scrap yard in 1963. Regards, D. Slowley, now living in Rockingham, Western Australia.
Hi Dan always good to hear from an old shipmate. In or around 1961-62 I was stationed at Guzz aboard the Taciturn. One afternoon with a shipmate we borrowed a launch and sailed up the creek to where the sad and forlorn Cockade rested awaiting scrap. I went aboard and the feeling was eerie, so silent so deserted, dirty and rusty, I could almost imagine her in her days of glory my fellow crew members cleaning the decks and polishing the brass. She was my first ship too, I did originally join HMS Whitby from Ganges but it was a very short stay (just over a week) before I flew out to Singapore to join Cockade. Take care down under hope the weather is not too hot, it certainly isn’t too hot here in Eastern Canada!!!