hi all im trying to identify this sailor his picture was keptin a wallet by my late grandad according to my granma he was my grandfathers best friend during the war,dont know if before .
my grandad was in the royal marines the last places he served was madras rangoon singapore padang parang columbo then blighty on thier way home they were on different ships the ship with the sailor was sunk and he was killed this was i think towards the end of the war , does the badge on his arm give any clues
any help, thank
Hi all
The photo was taken during WW2, when the ship's name was left off the cap tally and only embroded with HMS.
Looking at the badge, and being an ex-mateloe, I would say that he was either a Wireless telegraphist 3rd or 2nd Class, a Sparker, or as someone else said, a Signaller, or Bunting Tosser. They were the guys that sent morse code using lamps, of signals using flags, or Bunting.
A 'hook' is common languae for an anchor, which is the badge of a Leading Hand and is commonly known as a Hooky.
If there would be stripes, or chevrons like a Corporal in the Army, each stripe detotes 4 years good conduct, the maximum being 3. It is also said that they represent 4 years of 'undetected crime!'
Hope that helps out a bit.
Ken