We recently had the pleasure of spending an hour in the company of the two stalwarts of the local branch of the Royal Naval Association, Keith and Yvonne Crawford.
Keith told us of his early days in the Royal Navy and the square bashing he had to endure as part of his basic training.
He later joined the Fleet Air Arm as a technician and worked his way up working on much of the Navy’s aeronautical equipment based all around the UK including the RNAS HQ at Yeovilton as well as overseas.
He thoroughly enjoyed his time in the Senior Service and left just before the Falklands crisis, although he told us he was due to be recalled had the emergency continued beyond the six weeks it did.
During his time in the Navy he had met and married local girl Yvonne and settled in married quarters.
She became very involved with navy life during that time and latterly took an active part in Keith’s work with the RNA.
Like Keith she has thoroughly enjoyed this work and has accompanied Keith to his various engagements as vice chairman of the national RNA, when for instance he laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in Whitehall on Remembrance Sunday one year.
Keith has recently had to relinquish this post due to ill health but he’s made such a good recovery that he’s already thinking and hopes to put his name forward in future should a vacancy arise.
All in all we learned a great deal about Navy life and you can hear the full interview on our website: www.tulip-radio.co.uk follow the links to the podcast section.
