Captain Tony McCrum’s naval career started in 1932. He survived the
sinking of HMS Skipjack at Dunkirk and went on to serve on minesweepers and at sea
during the landings at Salerno. His wartime experiences were recently
published as Sunk by Stukas.
This book covers the second part of his naval career between 1945 and
1963. Having arrived back in Plymouth from Trincomlee as a lieutenant aboard
the destroyer Tarter in November 1945, his first appointment was as senior
instructor at the RN Signals School in Devonport. There then followed two
appointments as Flag Lieutenant; first to Admiral Pridham-Wippell, CinC Plymouth
Command and then Admiral Sir Rhoderick McGrigor, CinC Home Fleet, where he was
also Deputy Fleet Communications Officer. He was based on the admiral’s
flagship, the battleship HMS Duke of York which he joined in 1947. The fleet
exercised in the Atlantic and Mediterranean and ‘showed the flag’ in various
ports in the USA, Caribbean Islands and the Baltic. In May 1948 he was
promoted Lt. Commander. In 1950 he instructed at the main Naval Signals School at Leyedene House near
Petersfield.
Promoted Commander, now 32 years of age, he was surprised to be
appointed to accompany King George VI on a state visit to Australia and New Zealand.
This was to be aboard the liner SS Gothic as there was no Royal Yacht at that
time. However after months of preparation the voyage was cancelled because of
the King’s terminal illness and the coronation of Britain’s new
Queen.
In November 1954 he took his first command, HMS Concord, a destroyer
in the 8th Destroyer Squadron based in Hong
Kong. During his eighteen month captaincy of this ship he saw action
off the coast of Malaya and a lengthy visit to Australia to
assist in the aftermath of a hurricane. After a spell ashore as Training
Commander at HMS Ganges and after promotion to Captain in 1958, he was sent to
Norway on the staff of the CinC
Northern European Command. In November 1960 he was again given a seagoing
command. He was to skipper HMS Meon and responsibility for the Amphibious
Warfare Squadron in the Persian Gulf. The
squadron composed of Meon, two tank-landing ships, four tank-landing craft and a
Rhino (a pontoon-like vessel for the shallow-water landing of tanks). He was
ordered to cover an area extending from the East African coast, the Red Sea and
to the Persian Gulf. Having worked-up this
mixed bunch of vessels and their crews, plus army personnel he was confronted
with the defence of Kuwait when it was threatened by the
Iraqi dictator General Kassem in 1961. He was charged with landing the twelve
tanks in his squadron to defend Kuwait’s main port of Shuwaikh. This was successfully carried
out under difficult circumstances and the Iraqi invasion was defeated. After 42
years in the RN, Tony retired to be with his wife and young
family.
