# Dedication to Duty



## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

Dedication to Duty
This chilly weather reminds me of a day last century when winter was winter and men were men. I was on duty in Wick Radio, a marine radio station which maintained two distress watches and handled essential traffic. Some of us trudged from outlying hamlets through a blinding blizzard and drifts to be there for the shift. One of the lads made it from the airport, a mile and a half away, but his next door neighbour failed to turn up. That was worrying – “is he OK?” we wondered. Eventually, the chap who made it from the airport volunteered to go back and check on his mate’s wellbeing. A couple of hours later he was back – alone. “What’s happened?” we wondered, “where is he?”
“He says he’s snowed in,” was the answer.


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## stevie burgess (Oct 9, 2008)

What year was that Charlie? I lived in Milton for about a year before moving into Wick,i was just a kid then 9 years old but remember a heavy fall of snow and it would have been 1968 or 69 and the schools were closed for a week.


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## cueball44 (Feb 15, 2010)

Charlie Gregory said:


> Dedication to Duty
> This chilly weather reminds me of a day last century when winter was winter and men were men. I was on duty in Wick Radio, a marine radio station which maintained two distress watches and handled essential traffic. Some of us trudged from outlying hamlets through a blinding blizzard and drifts to be there for the shift. One of the lads made it from the airport, a mile and a half away, but his next door neighbour failed to turn up. That was worrying – “is he OK?” we wondered. Eventually, the chap who made it from the airport volunteered to go back and check on his mate’s wellbeing. A couple of hours later he was back – alone. “What’s happened?” we wondered, “where is he?”
> “He says he’s snowed in,” was the answer.


 And woman were woman and still are. In the news there is a nurse who posted a video clip of herself walking 10 miles to work through the windy snowy weather, patients wellbeing first and all that.


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## Tony Selman (Mar 8, 2006)

There is a post on the Beeb this morning of a firefighter who walked 15 miles to work in Lincolnshire and he got there ... a day early. The dedication of our nurses, doctors and firefighters, and numerous others, is fantastic. They deserve recognition and medals in weather like this, not some bloody pop star.


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## Les Gibson (Apr 24, 2004)

Well said Tony


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## King Ratt (Aug 23, 2005)

Tony Selman said:


> There is a post on the Beeb this morning of a firefighter who walked 15 miles to work in Lincolnshire and he got there ... a day early. The dedication of our nurses, doctors and firefighters, and numerous others, is fantastic. They deserve recognition and medals in weather like this, not some bloody pop star.



Exactly.


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## NoR (Mar 24, 2008)

Tony Selman said:


> There is a post on the Beeb this morning of a firefighter who walked 15 miles to work in Lincolnshire and he got there ... a day early. The dedication of our nurses, doctors and firefighters, and numerous others, is fantastic. They deserve recognition and medals in weather like this, not some bloody pop star.


What about the private sector workers ? The truck and van drivers, post men and women, and all the rest not to mention the seamen and fishermen round our coasts. This is supposed to be a marine site for God's sake .
Without these folk there would be no public sector


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## Tony Selman (Mar 8, 2006)

"and numerous other others". Not room for every job in the country. I think most people knew what I meant.


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## Larry Bennett (Aug 28, 2005)

There is a legend at GKA where following one severe snowstorm in Burnham-on-Sea (1970s/1980s), one hardy R/O soul was walking to work through the drifts when he was greeted by a shout from a window. 

"Tell them I won't be in today, I'm snowed in"

One of the GKA overseers.


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

Hi Stevie - Dunno what year it was. But I was there between '57 and '74. So it was maybe somewhere in the middle. We just thought it was hilarious at the time.


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

Yeah. I was more comfortable in those days, I knew which department I was signed on in.


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

I agree. It's right across the board. And don't forget the every day people who go on to the motorways etc in treacherous conditions to give their own food to stranded motorists. Now that's really something.


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

Wonder if that story has its roots in Wickradio? Which really did happen. I was on duty that day so I know. I could even name names. But it wouldn't be appropriate.


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

Hi R65..... I never heard of 5 mile limit. A mate of mine lived out at Watten - 8 miles from Wick, no questions asked.


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

R651400 said:


> Thanks Charlie.. Oic then was Ken Foster a stickler for rules and regs some he possibly made up himself.
> Incidentally I was at Leith NC with Paul Vohra (SI) in '55 and he has been sk for a few years now. Tom McLennan sk and final GKR OiC was on my GKA induction course in late '63 and looks as if he spent his entire wkg life at GKR..
> At the very least would've thought that merited a knighthood!


Hi R651 - yeah I knew about Tom via my wife's Aunt who lives in the same road. And I knew about Paul too. I knew them both well. Tom was very guarded about his age - kind of a Peter Pan character. And Paul was that Last of the Real Characters - Charlie


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## stevie burgess (Oct 9, 2008)

Charlie Gregory said:


> Hi Stevie - Dunno what year it was. But I was there between '57 and '74. So it was maybe somewhere in the middle. We just thought it was hilarious at the time.


Not to worry Charlie but i'm quite sure it was '68-'69 winter...was some heap of snow and a few snowmen made in the garden on the week of school haha!


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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

I saw Ken Foster mentioned in #16 . 

He had already had his 'Dedication to Duty' back in the 1953 floods when he was at GKZ. In an account of his experiences, Eric Robinson, says he, John Handford and Ken Foster organised the evacuation of women and children from the railway station in Sutton on Sea in an RAF Lorry, then waited for the next one and did the same. There was just enough room for the three of them to cling on to the back of this lorry, but being unable to see clearly where the road was through the water, it ran off into the ditch, only saved by a telegraph pole. The stalwart three then set off to bring help wading through the floods. John Handford says Ken was flagging by this time having been in the water almost continuously for close on 24 hours, and was 'beginning to lose interest in life'. Eric Robinson says that he and John 'more or less bullied him on'. John Handford was on duty when the station flooded.

GKZ was back on the air from a Mobile Station on a hillside 15 miles away three days later.

All this was 65 years ago this January 31st.

David
+


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## GW3OQK (Jun 10, 2010)

Hello Charlie
How about starting a thread on the experiences of a Radio Surveyor. We met in Cardiff in the 80's but the heyday of Real Characters was on its way out then
73, Andrew Fairgrieve


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

*Yeah but no but yeah but..*



GW3OQK said:


> Hello Charlie
> How about starting a thread on the experiences of a Radio Surveyor. We met in Cardiff in the 80's but the heyday of Real Characters was on its way out then
> 73, Andrew Fairgrieve


Hi Andrew... God... I know your name but I can't place you. Remind me... But you're dead right. After the '80s the real characters were swept under the PC - Pratt's Carpet. We certainly had a full set of them on the docks.


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

Hi Andrew... God... I know your name but I can't place you. Remind me... But you're dead right. After the '80s the real characters were swept under the PC - Pratt's Carpet. We certainly had a full set of them on the docks.


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

Hi Andy - weren't you an independent radio company, marketing your own equipment - or something like that?


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## IAN M (Jan 17, 2009)

Some of the names I remember from my time at GKR (1953/54) may be of interest. 

Bruce Mackie (O/C), Robbie Sutherland, Owen Owen, Alec Ogilvie, Jimmy Kay, John Scott, Murray, Laing, Peter Madden, Sandy McIvor and Donald Mackenzie. The latter became the O/C at Port Patrick (GPK) before becoming the Surveyor at Leith. Alec Ogilvie also became an O/C, but I don't know where. I think Murray got a transfer to GND. Peter Madden was the most uncommunicative colleague I ever worked with, as he went through every day without chatting to anybody, but a nice chap for all that. Laing was tall and strong and I believe later got into trouble for lifting the O/C at GNI off his feet.


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

IAN M said:


> Some of the names I remember from my time at GKR (1953/54) may be of interest.
> 
> Bruce Mackie (O/C), Robbie Sutherland, Owen Owen, Alec Ogilvie, Jimmy Kay, John Scott, Murray, Laing, Peter Madden, Sandy McIvor and Donald Mackenzie. The latter became the O/C at Port Patrick (GPK) before becoming the Surveyor at Leith. Alec Ogilvie also became an O/C, but I don't know where. I think Murray got a transfer to GND. Peter Madden was the most uncommunicative colleague I ever worked with, as he went through every day without chatting to anybody, but a nice chap for all that. Laing was tall and strong and I believe later got into trouble for lifting the O/C at GNI off his feet.


Hi Ian - never met Mackay, Ogilvie or Mackenzie but know them by name and repute. I knew all the rest well, guess they are all SKs now. I had many a toe to toe with Owen Owen in his day, ratty little bugger. But he had a terrible tragedy in the end. We saw his wife go past the station pushing their granddaughter in a pram. The next we knew, she was dead, killed by a car that ran into her back. The child escaped uninjured.


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## GW3OQK (Jun 10, 2010)

Yes Charlie. Dedication to Design has kept me in business since 87 but now I'm part time. AMI Marine VDR and SMIDS did me well. Now I can dedicate myself to Longbow Archery and Playing Bluegrass Banjo
73 Andy .


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

GW3OQK said:


> Yes Charlie. Dedication to Design has kept me in business since 87 but now I'm part time. AMI Marine VDR and SMIDS did me well. Now I can dedicate myself to Longbow Archery and Playing Bluegrass Banjo
> 73 Andy .


Ah great, Andy. It all started coming back after I replied to you. I enjoyed my time on the docks and met a lot of interesting people. I don't know who we knew in common. But Nev Ianson is long gone. Brian Yarwood is retired and in Diss, Norfolk I think. Bryan Richards is in Cowbridge and going strong. I still exchange Christmas cards with Mike Hooks, ex SAIT, sometimes hear from Brian Thatcher, Decca. And that's about it really. Keep up the banjo and longbow, sounds good. Charlie


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

R651400 said:


> _*Some 1963/64 RO1's from Cullercoats/GCC and Stonehaven/GND most probably sk but dedicated to their craft and after 55 years worthy of cyber-posterity..
> GCC.. OiC Ken Grundy, Bob Maxie, Bill Baker, Freddy ...., Gil Newport, Eric Howell, Dick Proud, Ian Fox..
> GND..OiC Ken Foster, Bob Fox, Jimmy Trail, Eddy and Bob Adams (brothers), Don Macpherson, Archie Berry, Alex Watters, Norman Murray, Adam Reid, Eddy Jones.*_


The only one there that I ever met was Ken Foster. Knew Ernie Sargent and Charlie Mearns, both GKR/GND... a few other names allude me.


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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

Charlie - This is the GKZ Ops room dated April 1952. Not certain, but that looks like Ken top of picture. 

David
+


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## Larry Bennett (Aug 28, 2005)

IAN M said:


> Some of the names I remember from my time at GKR (1953/54) may be of interest.
> 
> Laing was tall and strong and I believe later got into trouble for lifting the O/C at GNI off his feet.


There was a memorable incident at GKA when one of the R/Os hung the assistant station manager's jacket up on the wall. Unfortunately the ASM was wearing it at the time.....


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

david.hopcroft said:


> Charlie - This is the GKZ Ops room dated April 1952. Not certain, but that looks like Ken top of picture.
> 
> David
> +


Hi David - yes it could be... but my memory of him is a bit vague after all these years


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

Larry Bennett said:


> There was a memorable incident at GKA when one of the R/Os hung the assistant station manager's jacket up on the wall. Unfortunately the ASM was wearing it at the time.....


Probably had it coming to him


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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

This is a 1947 view. The Rx bottom is the W4 GPO house Rx on the main RT 2182 watch point. Right is the WT point hence the DF gonio. and also a W4. Anyone recognise the aforementioned John Handford on WT ? Still don't know what the RT2 point RX is.

After the flood, donations were distributed as shown. I think the £100 may have been Marconi's.

Don't spend it all at once lads !!

David


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

The interesting thing that jogs my memory among the pictures is the gonio. Wick covered a big slice of the North Atlantic, much of it thick with trawlers of every nationality. That meant a lot of distress cases. We used to average around 135 "cases" a year, not all distress, but including various panpan/xxx, like medico and man overboard or, for those of a more correct bent, person overboard cases etc. Every time you heard a distress or urgency call you took a quick snap bearing - so, along with flank stations, we got a cocked hat. Sometimes, especially when ships ran aground the cocked hat was more accurate than the skipper's position. Maybe that's why he ran aground. Anyway, when you were on 500 you had to take a snap of one of the coast stations every hour. I suppose it was to keep your hand-in and check the DF for accuracy. You entered the bearing and weather conditions in a special log book. I was once pulled up by Sandy Mowat for entering the wx as "miserable." He said, "misery is a feeling, not a weather condition." PC to the end.


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## trotterdotpom (Apr 29, 2005)

Coincidentally, wasn't 135m the much used trawler working frequency (or, more correctly, wavelength) ... or am I imagining that?

John T


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

david.hopcroft said:


> After the flood, donations were distributed as shown.


I see the accounts were countersigned by R M Billington. When I went to work at Marconi Marine's HQ in Chelmsford in 1967, he was the head honcho on the marine radio side of the GPO and led the UK delegation to various ITU and other conferences. At that time the Post Office were the regulatory body for maritime radio affairs.


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## david.hopcroft (Jun 29, 2005)

Ron - RMB did actually pay a visit. This is him in the middle.

David
+


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

He didn't look too much different in the late 1960's, David.


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

R651400 said:


> hardly if ever acknowledged the RO2's and I was told used to come on duty in his RO MN uniform until it wore out!


Ha....another crazy sparky...

I remember going to a party on another ship. As you do, I looked for the R/O. His cabin and the radio room were locked.

When I went back to the smokeroom and remarked that my opposite number must be ashore, I was told that he never went ashore...and that he locked himself in the radio room....

I laughed...but they were deadly serious....(EEK)


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## Troppo (Feb 18, 2010)

What? Never!


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## 5TT (May 3, 2008)

> I can't recall to what but when Gil was on duty the Isetta was always chained to the station building somehow.


You absolutely had to do this. I owned a Heinkel bubble car while at tech which was very similar to the Isetta, and my "mates" would find it hilariously funny to carry it away and hide it behind a tree or wherever.

My old Heinkel, which once transported 5 (five) thirsty student R/Os to the local pub and back, lives on in a museum in Birmingham.

= Adrian +


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## Ron Stringer (Mar 15, 2005)

5TT said:


> I owned a Heinkel bubble car while at tech which was very similar to the Isetta, and my "mates" would find it hilariously funny to carry it away and hide it behind a tree or wherever.


While in the sixth form at school we took the physics master's Bond Minicar (red with a white canvas folding roof) and placed it across the benches in the Physics Lab. Had to fold the roof and take the wheels off to get it through the doorways.

We were used to taking wheels off cars, since another highly entertaining joke (we thought) was to hang the wheels of a teacher's car, one on each face of the square ventilation pillar that stood above the roof of the school hall.


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## 5TT (May 3, 2008)

And then one day you found the teacher's car anchored to the school building with a sturdy chain and heavy duty padlock, I feel for that man


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Coast stations in some ways resembled ships in the sense happy or unhappy. 
Compared with Stonehaven which was a daily barrel of laughs Cullercoats was a dismal and fragmented crew and I was glad when I transferred to GND. Later I heard one of the RO1 names I mentioned previously who will remain nameless here tried to pull rank on a freshly joined burly Irish RO2 and was promptly frog-marched to the toilet, head stuffed down the pan as far as possible and then flushed.


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Coast stations in some ways resembled ships in the sense happy or unhappy. 
Compared with Stonehaven which was a daily barrel of laughs Cullercoats was a dismal and fragmented crew and I was glad when I transferred to GND. Later I heard one of the RO1 names I mentioned previously (who will remain incognito here) tried to pull rank on a freshly joined burly Irish RO2 and was promptly frog-marched to the toilet, head stuffed down the pan as far as possible and then flushed.


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## R719220 (Oct 5, 2011)

R651400 said:


> .....a freshly joined burly Irish RO2...


I worked with him in later years. Great bloke and I remember him with much affection.


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

If you still have contact give him my very best on a job well done.


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

R651400 said:


> Thanks for an insight into coast station DF procedure. Can you remember which stations GKR logged for their daily bearing test?
> DF had all but disappeared when I joined Cullercoats GCC Dec '63 except one gonio still on a secondary bay.
> It must have been operational as l recall RO1 Bill Baker used to be permanently attached to it. Baker an oddball hardly if ever acknowledged the RO2's and I was told used to come on duty in his RO MN uniform until it wore out!


HI R651400 – It’s hard to remember which stations we took snap bearings of. After all, it’s 2 or 3 lifetimes ago. However, I definitely remember Stonehaven – GND... PCH – Scheveningen... and DAN – Nordeich. They were easy, loud and clear and regular as clockwork as they announced their traffic lists. I’m also pretty sure we did OXZ – Lyngby. We also did some of the more southerly Norwegian Stations. After all, Wick is looking Stavanger in the eyes which is in Rogaland country – LGB.
That reminds me why we had so many “cases” throughout the year. Apart from our own patch, we “covered” all the Norwegian stations, plus Faeroe and Reykjavik – TFA. That’s because our trawler “clients” were spread all over those waters, not to mention Bear Island – LJB and the White Sea. So if we intercepted any station up there handling a “case” we copied it, then sent a quick QUF or QUD to GND and re-broadcast on the trawler frequencies, followed by all the usual distress reporting to the Admiralty, Lloyds and Coastguard. Hope this puts you in the picture.


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## Charlie Gregory (May 19, 2012)

I can’t resist joining in the conversation about mad sparkies. We had beut in Wick – let him be called What’s-A-Name, fat as a blubber whale, crafty as a fox. He never did a stroke, yet he worked twice as hard as everyone else – just to avoid doing the job. In the afternoons he used to have snooze, sitting at his point. Every now and again, Jimmy Kaye, the overseer would bellow down his ear-hole. W-A-N would then jerk up and gaze about him, eyes wide open like a startled deer and say, “I heard ever word Jimmy, heard every word.” He never stopped eating either. I remember one horror-ridden day when I needed to do number 2s and headed for the bog. When I pushed open the cell door, there was W-A-N, trousers round his ankles, stuffing biscuits down trap while pumping out planet-killing gas. Startled, he proffered a sweaty hand, “Do you want a biscuit, Charlie?” ses he. “No thanks,” ses I.
His best sea story was the time he gave the cap’n a false weather report so that he would take the ship round Cape Horn instead of through the Strait.


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Thanks again for the coast station DF update Charlie. Had a feeling the test bearings would include Scandinavian and German coast plus GND. 
With pedant oic Mowat woe betide any log entry that differed from the target station's QTH in the ITU list of Coast and Ship Stations?


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## R651400 (Jun 18, 2005)

Thanks again for the coast station DF update Charlie. 
Had a feeling the test bearings would include Scandinavian and German coast plus GND. 
With pedant oic Mowat woe betide any log entry that differed from the target station's QTH in the ITU list of Coast & Ship Stations?


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