John Andrews (1939-). Royal Navy, Aberystwyth

Disgrifiad

John Andrews was born just 5months before the outbreak of WW2 in Birkenhead. Very sadly John lost his brother and two sisters as the result of a Luftwaffe bombing attack on Birkenhead which destroyed the family house. For a period during the War, John was evacuated to Llangollen before returning to Birkenhead. Inspired by stories from a great uncle who had served at sea during WW1, John joined the Navy as soon as he was old enough in 1955, aged 16yrs, training as a junior engineer mechanic. For the next five years or so, he served on former WW2 ships sailing across the world and was engaged in the Suez Crisis.
In Singapore, John had the opportunity to experience life on board a Royal Navy submarine and decided then and there that his future lay as a Submariner. John spent the next seven years serving on conventional submarines and then the remaining sixteen years of his Royal Navy career on nuclear submarines becoming Charge Chief Mech and was actively involved in the Royal Navy’s underwater activities designed to counter the Soviet submarine threat.
In civilian life, John’s employment included working as ‘Test Team Leader’ at ‘Sizewell B’ nuclear power station in Suffolk. In 1985 he moved to Aberystwyth, working as a support worker in Aberystwyth Day Centre and then drew upon his considerable engineering experience to help to restore the Funicular Cliff Railway located on Constitution Hill in Aberystwyth. John is currently secretary of the Aberystwyth Branch of the Royal British Legion and is the Wales Branch Treasurer of the Submariners Association.