BRIAN AUGER Married to Janet. Children: David aged 45 & Carol aged 42. 3 grandchildren.
Now living in Lee-on-Solent.                                                        
                                                                                                                           Brian as an apprentice
At CONDOR from September 1950 to May 1953.                                                                                            
Left the RN on the 27th April, 1973.                                                                                                                 

RN CAREER
      " As '5s', we did about four months on HMS THESEUS, part of which was spent painting it for the Spithead Review before sailing to the Med. - and that was my total sea time. I had a day on a frigate, returning from a rugby match at Guernsey, and a couple of hours on HMS ARK ROYAL as the guest of Richard Van Kempen one Christmas when she was visiting Valetta, Malta. This came in handy later on because I was able to say: 'ARK ROYAL' when asked what was my last ship!
      "As a '4', I spent some time at 'Sleepy Hollow' (the Aircraft Holding Unit at Lossiemouth) with plenty of time for cricket behind the hangar. I was then moved to HMS DAEDALUS in charge of Tiger Moths and the Dope Shop - which was very handy. With a crew of mostly WRNS, I built a Tiger Moth from spare parts and it was a very satisfying achievement when it received an Air Worthiness Certificate."

Brian in THESEUS


      "I failed the first '3s' oral examination because I could not remember how to turn a taper, and the Examining Board did not know a lot about Tiger Moths. (I had done an Avon engine course at Rolls Royce, but did not mention this). Eventually, I was returned to Lossiemouth as 'Scimitar Trained', because of my Avon course, but before I left Lee-on-Solent, I had my scheduled draft delayed because of my daughter's pending birth. As the aircraft activity was virtually at an end, the only useful job going at the time was as a rum rate for the Chief's Mess. It's strange the things one remembers because this job only lasted a month. Anyway, I joined Lossiemouth and was shown a Scimitar - number 610 - mainly in bits, and I was told, 'That's yours - and by the way, you are Duty Chief today' (which meant attending to the aircraft on the 'line'. It was quite an experience as, apart from never having seen it, I had not even heard of pressure refuelling. It was almost as bad when I had to 'run' one up for the first time. However, with never a faint heart and the volume on my lap, I somehow got away with it."
      "While I was there at Lossiemouth, I was not cleared for married quarters as I was pending foreign service. I recall the AEO suggesting that I should volunteer for 803 Sqdn, as he would be taking it over. I declined the suggestion and my foreign service turned out to be Malta. I had two-and-a-half very happy years there. Then I returned to Arbroath as an Instructor. While I was there, I did a week's youth leadership course at ROYAL ARTHUR and, while enjoying the hospitality of that Mess decided that I wouldn't mind a spell there. I recall that President Kennedy was assassinated the day I returned to Arbroath and not long after that I learned that I was going to ROYAL ARTHUR and married quarters were already allocated at Chippenham."
      "This move turned out to be my final involvement with the FAA, as I stayed with the General Service until I left the RN. While I was at ROYAL ARTHUR, I helped to introduce management into what had primarily been a leadership course. The logical follow-on to that was for me to join the work-study group at VICTORY (now NELSON). On completion of the course, I had a short spell at the Barracks and DOLPHIN before moving to Whitehall. It was certainly a different way of life! It was my introduction to computers and IBM, as we used IBM's services for a documentation study. I then returned to the work-study school (renamed the Management School) as an instructor and while I was there, notice of a foreign draft came through. However, it was concluded that I would be more usefully employed where I was than being returned to the FAA as an 'out-of-touch' AA. So that is where I stayed, and I was fortunate enough to be able to fit in an HNC in Business Studies at Tooting Technical College. Because MBO became the 'in' thing at that time, I found myself on several Management Accountancy courses at London and Bristol."

POST-RN CAREER
      "My first civilian job was with the Personnel Department at Marconi as a consultant on a job evaluation study, which was being conducted there. IBM was then in the process of moving to Portsmouth and fortunately took me on - primarily in their Finance Methods & Procedures Department. It was a good company to work for and I even got in some foreign time (First Class, of course!). I finally retired at 58. Having declined one offer, I couldn't refuse the second redundancy package on offer. It wasn't called 'redundancy' because that was an alien word at IBM, but that was what it was.
      "Since I retired, I have virtually had more sea time than when I was in the RN. I have certainly seen much more of the world and enjoyed being at sea, as it has been considerably more comfortable than being in dear old THESEUS.
      "Until very recently, I have been lucky to have very few health problems, but they appear to be catching up lately. I'm not completely falling to bits but it feels like it sometimes, and a wrong diagnosis hasn't helped. I'm getting old, I'm told. True, but it is not readily accepted. The main problem I have is a wonky knee, which could badly affect my plans for the next couple of years. You see, I am the vice captain of the Hampshire, Isle of Wight & Channel Isles Golf Club Past Captains, and I am due to be Captain next year. We have, amongst other commitments, 14 matches to play against other counties and the Captain plays in all of them. Whether I will be able to accept this honour remains to be seen."