Gay, Reginald Brighton, Chief Petty Officer, 1904-1975.
Photograph album of the Commission of HMS BERWICK, Plymouth to Singapore 1934-1935. Also includes pictures of Spanish civil war refugees being embarked on HMS DEVONSHIRE.
Diary of the Commission of HMS BERWICK, October 1934 - AUGUST 1936, Mediterranean and China station, kept by R. B. Gay.
Correspondence, 1962-1975, including Gay's naval Service record, Gunnery History Sheet and naval Education Test Certificate. Also included is a biographical essay concerning Gay's career at sea, (written by his second wife) and a letter from maritime writer Alan Villiers, regretting he will not be able to write up RB Gay's career history for publication.
Souvenir photograph of the first commission of HMS BERWICK, November 1934- October 1935, Mediterranean and China station, with map and ports of call. Certificate of appreciation for war service 1939-1945, from the parish of Warleggan (Cornwall) for RG Gay.
Large certificate 'Crossing the line' certificate R.B.Gay, HMS DANAE, 1930.
Administrative / biographical background
Reginald Brighton Gay volunteered for the Navy in 1921. As an ordinary seaman he began in submarines on the China Station. He was promoted to able seaman in 1923. By this time he had also become a successful Welter weight boxer, becoming 'Champion of the China fleet' in 1924. He was seconded to the Canadian Navy in 1928, where he taught diving and gunnery. He became leading seaman in 1929 and by 1935 he had become acting petty officer and chief petty officer in August 1940 (the highest rank of the 'lower deck'). Shortly before the war he joined HMS RODNEY. Later he enjoyed the dubious distinction of having been torpedoed three times, off Lagos and twice off Freetown. He was invalided out of the Navy in August 1945, having served throughout the war and completed 24 years at sea. He turned to farming in Cornwall and died in 1975.
Diary of the Commission of HMS BERWICK, October 1934 - AUGUST 1936, Mediterranean and China station, kept by R. B. Gay.
Correspondence, 1962-1975, including Gay's naval Service record, Gunnery History Sheet and naval Education Test Certificate. Also included is a biographical essay concerning Gay's career at sea, (written by his second wife) and a letter from maritime writer Alan Villiers, regretting he will not be able to write up RB Gay's career history for publication.
Souvenir photograph of the first commission of HMS BERWICK, November 1934- October 1935, Mediterranean and China station, with map and ports of call. Certificate of appreciation for war service 1939-1945, from the parish of Warleggan (Cornwall) for RG Gay.
Large certificate 'Crossing the line' certificate R.B.Gay, HMS DANAE, 1930.
Administrative / biographical background
Reginald Brighton Gay volunteered for the Navy in 1921. As an ordinary seaman he began in submarines on the China Station. He was promoted to able seaman in 1923. By this time he had also become a successful Welter weight boxer, becoming 'Champion of the China fleet' in 1924. He was seconded to the Canadian Navy in 1928, where he taught diving and gunnery. He became leading seaman in 1929 and by 1935 he had become acting petty officer and chief petty officer in August 1940 (the highest rank of the 'lower deck'). Shortly before the war he joined HMS RODNEY. Later he enjoyed the dubious distinction of having been torpedoed three times, off Lagos and twice off Freetown. He was invalided out of the Navy in August 1945, having served throughout the war and completed 24 years at sea. He turned to farming in Cornwall and died in 1975.
Record Details
| Item reference: | RBG; MSS/80/076.0 MSS/80/076 MS1980/076 |
|---|---|
| Catalogue Section: | Personal collections |
| Level: | COLLECTION |
| Extent: | 1 box and 1 oversize volume |
| Date made: | 1930-1975 |
| Credit: | National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London |