Venture Part-1
The Journey Begins: Joining HMCS Venture in 1961
On August 23rd, 1961 I sent the telegram accepting the RCN offer to join HMCS Venture, and a few days later a letter arrived with the formal joining instructions. In addition to the travel details (departing by train from Montreal’s Central Station on Sept 5th), there was a long list of articles I would require – all to be stored in a “steamer trunk” which was to accompany me on the train. The list included the expected items (underwear, toilet articles, alarm clock, radio, iron), and some surprises: brown brogue shoes, fedora, and collar box with studs. Fortunately my Mom’s father had worn shirts with detachable collars up until his death a decade before, so she knew what the collar box and studs were for. So off she and I went shopping. Montreal had lots of large department stores so finding a sturdy steamer trunk presented no problem, and as much as the shoes and fedora were novelties for me, they were also readily available. It did, however, take a few stops before we found a sales clerk who, after my mom’s explanation, was able to retrieve a collar box from the dark recesses of the storage room. As departure date approached, I was able to check off all the items on the list, and was all set to go.
I was blessed with a stroke of good luck in that a family friend had also been accepted to Venture and would be traveling with me on the great adventure. Cliff Brown was a year and a half older than me but our parents were close friends, and I had known Cliff for most of my childhood through fairly regular family gatherings. When we learned that we were to join Venture together, we spent many hours comparing notes and expectations. Finally the day arrived, and Cliff and his parents, and me with my family, met at the station for the final departure hugs and promises to write often. As we boarded we were each led to our own little roomette which would be our home for the next four days.
Once we had settled our bags in the tiny rooms, we rushed to the car door to give a last wave to the family and our childhood. Then it was time to explore the length of the train, and along the way we soon discovered a few more young men with a similar look who also turned out to be on their way to Venture: John Goyeche, Bob Walker, Andy Carter, Bob Baugniet, and Gord Hafner, all from Montreal, and Preben Kaersvang from Nova Scotia joined the group as we headed for the dining car. When we reached Toronto the group expanded to include Eric Nielsen,Jim McKinley, Doug Gerrard, Leith Hearne, Ray Stacey, and Roger Lee.
In Toronto the dome car was added to the train, and it became the base of operations for our group as we headed west to Winnipeg. It turned out that several members of the group were more “worldly” than the rest of us and had managed to smuggle some bottles of liquor aboard in their small suitcases. These bottles were joyously produced as night fell and the dome car emptied of the passengers who could no longer stand the commotion caused by the laughter and high spirits of the unrestrained teenagers. After a while the conductor appeared and gave us the required warning about noise. However, having the situation explained to him, he gave us a wink and after a promise that we would “keep it down”, he left us alone for the rest of the night.
When the sun brought morning light into the car there weren’t many of us still present, let alone awake. Even though not many of us were too familiar with hard liquor, apart from several calls to the great white telephone, we had suffered only one casualty – Bob Walker had lost his balance in the tiny washroom and ended up face first in the sink. The result was a chipped front tooth but he assured us that it didn’t hurt all that much and he had long expected to lose at least one front tooth playing hockey, so it wasn’t a big deal.
Up until this trip the farthest west I had been was Ottawa, so I was impressed with the seemingly never-ending trek around the top of the great lakes. And apart from the large goose statue in the town of Wawa, there didn’t appear to be much variety to the scenery of northern Ontario! After Kenora we finally crossed the border into Manitoba and soon pulled into the station at Winnipeg. As the new passengers( including Herb Harzan and Rick Kautz) climbed on board, a number of our group headed for the platform in search of a bootlegger who could replenish our stock of booze. Unfortunately the only bootlegger on-scene required two of our members to accompany him in his taxi to his stash. After paying a somewhat exorbitant amount for a few bottles of “rotgut” rye whiskey, they screamed back to the platform just as the train was about to pull out. Their safe return was greeted by loud cheers and a quick retreat to the dome car where the escapade was duly celebrated and retold again and again.
For the next 24 hours the prairies stretched on and on, through Medicine Hat, then Calgary where we picked up three more members (Don Bradley, Pete Clark and Al Bates), and we eventually made it into the foothills of the Rockies. By now the liquor was all gone and there was no further opportunity to replenish the supply, so we began to truly notice the beauty of the mountains. One more night in the dome car and then, after breakfast, we were finally heading into Vancouver. Upon descending from the train we were met by Chief Petty Officer Jupp and Petty Officer Vowles from Venture, who quickly directed us towards a waiting bus for the beautifully scenic trip on the large ferry to Vancouver Island. Then it was on the road, past Victoria and into Esquimalt, finally coming to a stop in front of the large white buildings forming a hollow square around what appeared to be a large paved parking lot.
As we descended from the bus all civility suddenly disappeared. After we put our bags in a pile beside us, another group of young men appeared ( the BC connection: Russ Rhode, Gord Davis, Mel Spotswood, Tom Rutherford, Don Prior, Tom Davidson, Pete Jubb, Lothar Drews,
Ken Johnson, R.B. Darbey), and we were formed up into three ranks for our first introduction to the navy way of doing things. A very imposing officer with two stripes on his sleeve and a smirk on his face introduced himself and the several Chiefs and Petty Officers who accompanied him. Names never to be forgotten – Lieutenant “Gunnner” Anderson, CPO Vander Haegen and PO Breen made themselves known as our parade training staff and appeared to be the most intimidating of the group. They would indeed become the most feared in the days ahead but others, CPO Jupp and PO Fowles (no longer displaying the patient demeanor we had witnessed on the trip from Vancouver), would soon join CPO Draginda, CPO Jack and several other Petty Officers as guardians who would fill upcoming days with impossible demands and much torment.
After a few words of “welcome”, Lieutenant Anderson turned us over to PO Breen who waited until the rest of the staff had left before introducing us to the “large paved parking lot”. This hallowed ground would henceforth be known as THE PARADE SQUARE and, if circumstances somehow required us to venture onto it except on parade, we would do so “AT THE DOUBLE, ON PAIN OF DEATH!”. He then went through some introductory drill movements – Right Turn, Left Turn (THE OTHER LEFT, You #@&%@ Dolt!), Quick March – and we found ourselves “marching” in some semblance of order to the accommodation block. When he ordered “Halt”, we came to a disorganized stop, and with a loud sigh he directed us inside to our selected CABINS (not rooms!).
We were given a quick introduction into the importance of maintaining the cabin in its present spotless condition, and left to store our belongings in the meager closet and drawer space available. A few minutes later he reappeared and collected us into a gaggle which he then led through the junior GUNROOM (our lounge for the next ten months) and into the dining room where he turned us over to the chief Steward CPO “Nick, the Greek” Draginda. CPO Draginda was recognized as the supreme master of the dining room and all things to do with manners and culinary knowledge, and he wasted no time in giving us some direct pointers on the proper use of the basic cutlery items in front of us. He introduced the knife, fork and spoon as if we had never come across these tools before, and with several remonstrations regarding penalties for improper use, allowed us to continue with our first meal in our new home. After dinner we were herded back to our cabins and told that we would MUSTER (gather together in one place) in the foyer of the building at 1830 (six thirty pm) when we would be introduced to our Senior Cadets. Even the most pessimistic of us had no idea what that might involve.