With the trials and tribulations of basic training over and our passing out parade complete, a short leave was issued and were on our way home. I shared my train ride with Tit, Buster and others travelling towards the Midlands, the North West or Wales. We were full of laughter, aspirations and beer and spent our time discussing where we'd be in twelve months time while swearing eternal friendship.

The Weapons Electrical training school is at HMS Collingwood in Fareham, Hampshire. Buster, Tit and I would all be heading there in ten days time, but to different sections. My chosen pathway was to join the Radio Electrical branch of W/E, while both Buster and Tit had opted for the Ordinance Electrical branch. Sandy Saunders would be joining me as would one or two others from basic, but the majority of 35X would either be joining Buster or moving into the Control Electrical branch.

To explain Weapons Electrical in essence: Ordinance Electrical take care of the main power systems on ships and shore bases, Control Electrical maintain and control all the fighting systems aboard ships, and we Radio Electrical types look after all the communications, direction finding and RADAR kit. The W/E branch is quite diverse.

Staggering off the train at Newport with my Navy issue suitcase and pusser's kitbag, my first thoughts were of finding my girlfriend and getting a pint or several in before heading to the family home. Lesley was walking towards me, smiling and my heart beat faster as I dumped my bags wrapped her in my arms and pulled her body into my own. Stirrings in my nether region reminded me of my recent enforced celibacy and suddenly the idea of more beer didn't seem quite so important.

We exited the station to find no taxis in residence, so walked the short distance down Cambrian Road to The Greyhound. This had been my 'town local' for the past few years and walking in Lesley and I were greeted by calls of “'eh up, the fleet's in” or “Lock up your daughters, the navy's arrived” and the like. I called a general hello, found drinks already waiting for us on the bar and a number of hands waiting to grab mine: how nice it is to have friends. We joined the crowd, slurped the beer, laughed and joked but I slipped away after a little while and 'phoned a taxi to whisk us away.

Making love to Lesley that night was a marathon session pushed on by a greedy need. The first attempt was over all too quickly, but the second, third and forth were much more satisfying!

I spent my leave making my away around the various family members, drinking and having unlimited sex: absolute heaven. I even got in a game of rugby when it turned out my old friends in the Monsanto club team were short of a prop. What more could a boy ask for? The ten days soon skipped by though and as my departure drew nearer my thoughts turned to meeting up with Tit and Buster again either on the train or when I arrived at Collingwood.

My journey down to Fareham was uneventful and although I scanned the compartments I saw no sign of my mates; we were obviously travelling on different trains. I found a taxi at Fareham station and was soon paying off the driver at Collingwood's main gate. My first impression was that HMS Collingwood was much bigger than HMS Raleigh and looked a lot more modern.

One of the things you get used to in the Navy is joining new ships at strange times of the day: commonly a sailor must join his new ship before 07:00 so theoretically can travel through the night. I'd travelled down on the morning train to Portsmouth Harbour and by mid afternoon was settled in my new mess, had found my way to my designated dining hall and the location of the NAFFI.

It was late afternoon and I was laying on my bunk reading a book when the mess door burst open and there stood the two reprobates I'd hoped to find on the train. Buster was talking about food and Tit calling for beer; I navigated both to the NAFFI via the dining hall. With stomachs lined, the beer slipped down a treat; when we eventually got back to the mess we were all three sheets to the wind. We'd arrived.

The following morning I joined the rest of my new class as we worked our way through the ship's joining routine. Visits to various offices, classrooms and workshops and introductions to officers and senior rates we'd get to know during our stay at Collingwood. As Radio Electrical Mechanics our branch training would last nine months.

During the first couple of weeks our training would be cross-matched with both Ordinance and Control branches. There's a general need for all electrical types to know and understand some basic principles, like Ohm's Law and current flow. We also needed to know how to solder, wire wrap and insulate. These simple practical exercises and mathematical routines could just as easily be achieved in a large groups as in small.

Life was interesting during the working day, even if some of the theory wasn't exactly new to me. The initial training over, we split into our branch classes and got down to more complex tasks. One of ours was to build a simple valve based radio receiver. We did this from scratch, folding an aluminium base to hold the wiring harness. Valve bases were inserted into the base unit to hold the tubes and all ancillary components, with the exception of the tuning dial and power transformer unit, were mounted beneath the surface. I was stunned to find, when my ungainly beast was completed, plugged into the mains and switched on, that as a radio it worked!

Alongside our educational activities, we spent time on the parade ground and in the gymnasium. I also spent some time in the pool, for my own satisfaction as much as anything because I was determined to improve my aquatic prowess.

My off duty hours consisted of evenings in the NAFFI either with my new friends or with Buster and Tit, visits to the base cinema and trips into Fareham. I kept promising myself I'd go and explore Portsmouth at some stage, but hadn't ventured that far as yet. I'd also made a tentative enquiry about the ship's rugby club and arranged myself a trial with them. The other thing I did a lot was write letters home: we had no telephone back then, so I used to write to Lesley pretty much every day. This became a habit and continued during my time at sea, when other forms of communication were virtually non-existent. Looking back on it now, I must have kept Basildon Bond in business!