Green Smarties

After 20 years of involvement with the Navy, which ended in the late 1980s, I can identify an aircraft carrier or a submarine; but anything in between is a blur of grey metal with a pointy end and a blunt end. Except for RFA TIDESURGE which, without any qualifications, I was allowed to steer across the South China Sea for five hours in a moment of madness. That is a ship whose shape and size I will always be able to remember. Sadly she no longer exists and has long been sent to a ships' graveyard to be reduced to razor blades.

But I have immense pride that for a while I was on the periphery of the Senior Service and shared life with someone involved in the defence of our country, wardroom rugby, RPCs (Request Pleasure of the Company). In other words alcoholic orgies. With him I endured brushes with the KGB, Special Branch, MI5 & MI6 (not all at once of course).

There were sudden surprises such as my husband being sent to the Antarctic for eight months when baby number two was imminent or finding myself in Singapore unofficially and living in a tiny flat in a Chinese village and working in the Navy Base. We were there for the final year of history before the British Forces withdrew forever on the 31 October 1971.

Life was never dull and spanned many adventures juggling three children and taking care of the home-made wine while he was away. Or jumping on a plane with a child under each arm to join him on an unaccompanied post in Hong Kong for months.

Without the sisterhood of Navy wives, some of whose stories are included in this book, life would have been much more arduous.