Bruce, I guess you were before the mixed crew malarkey came in that must get very interesting to control at times.
Oh yes way before mixed crews, we had WRNS in our shore establishments and on certain operations such as Northern Ireland. They were always a welcome distraction and they very much enjoyed being attached to the Marines as they were made to feel special, have to say they worked hard and did a grand job. The other welcome ladies were the Queen Alexandra Nurses who were with us during the Falklands War, they did a sterling job in difficult conditions. When I had to go into Stonehouse Royal Naval Hospital for a spot of repair the Naval Nurses always had us Royal Marines iron their Headdress which had seven pleats (representing the seven seas) in it, those days are gone now. We were great at ironing because our uniform shirts had pleats which had to be perfect so our reputation went before us. SWMBO still has me iron anything with pleats or creases in!!!!
