Mervyn Mitton Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 (edited) I recenty posted - on Police - some history of an Inspector in the, now defunct, British South Africa Police . (Rhodesia.) However, in 1944 - at the age of 18 - he joined a contingent of young men from Rhodesia, who joined and served in the Royal Navy. He wrote and showed pictures from his service days in a very good autobiography - '50 Magic Years In Rhodesia ' - his name is Brick Bryson. I thought I would show a few details of his Naval service - already a period being forgotten. He is now 86 and in a nursing home having suffered a severe stroke. The young Rhodesians were sent down to Durban for basic training - and having had six weeks to learn 'everything' they embarked on an old troopship for a dangerous trip to Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). After disembarking they found themselves on board a new Colonial Class medium cruiser - H.M.S.CEYLON. She had heavy armament including nine 6 inch guns. He took part in a number of fleet actions against the Japanese forces - including in the Andaman Islands and the Nicobar Islands. British possessions which had been seized. The cap was his original issue - however, the photo is dated 1945 so, the Captain must have immediately had the cap tallies changed when war ceased. HMS was on tallies during hostilities - not the ship name. This tally could have been paid for privately - it has raised bullion lettering, which is not standard issue. He was an AB and served in the middle gun on A turret. Edited April 20, 2010 by Mervyn Mitton Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted April 20, 2010 Author Share Posted April 20, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted April 20, 2010 Author Share Posted April 20, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted April 20, 2010 Author Share Posted April 20, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted April 20, 2010 Author Share Posted April 20, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mervyn Mitton Posted April 20, 2010 Author Share Posted April 20, 2010 A FAMILY AT WAR : Bryson ; on top right - his Brother. A Flt.Lt in the RAF. Shot down and a POW. Mother - a corporal in charge of packing parachutes. On right : Father - a Squadron Leader and served in Europe in command of one of Rhodesia's three fighter squadrons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Wolfe Posted April 20, 2010 Share Posted April 20, 2010 An interesting fellow and an equally interesting family. Thanks for posting this Mervyn. Regards Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peter monahan Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 An interesting fellow and an equally interesting family. Thanks for posting this Mervyn. Regards Brian Hear, hear! Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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