Willum, QE2 Technical Radio Officer, 1978 - 1988

[Willum]

Thanks to Rod Fair (author of 48-Oh! the wardy magazine) for pointing me at this forum. Hello to all shipmates 1978-88 I was Technical Radio Officer but sometimes better known for singing daft songs and morris dancing. We had a very good era, in the days when the wardroom was a popular and civilised place run by Joe Yexley, usually with Chris Connerty manning the phone. I married the Ships Harpist Sarah Deere-Jones and we just had our 25th Anniv. Now in North Cornwall where we run the Cornwall Harp Centre and I am now director of various companies involved in Electronic Inventions some of which come off.
Rod and I plus others used to run the Wardroom Show toward the end of the World cruise. This was a variety show accent on the variety, one the Cruise director decided it was so good he would put it on in the Double room, there may have been a radio controlled cockroach involved.
Short list of highlights, well, where to begin? Tristan da Cunha where Peter Hughes and I mended the islands radio transmitter. Maiden call at Sydney. Harry Secombe performing in the wardy for Jinx and Debbies engagement. The Gilbert & Sullivan soc roping me and Bob Venning into the chorus. Meeting Larry Hagman, and the MCC at Columbo Ian Botham Keith Fletcher Derek Underwood Blowers David Gower. Connerty loved that.
Jean Nash's crew show in the Theatre, making the video 'Tyrone What Happened?' with Vincent Price, Then there was he ghastliness of the Bremerhaven re-engining buts that's another story. (Hmm what happened to Mike Novak?). 
Sarah has written about her times in the book Maiden Voyage featured on Radio4 Excess baggage.

Willum. Wardroom number 107 you're welcome to a 2nd line on me.

[riskygizmo]

Welcome back to the Wardy, Mr. Willum, Sir.

[Alan Snelson]

Hi Willum,

Great to have you on board, I have no doubt you have many more tales to tell and an eager audience here. I remember bringing a TV I had bought in Singapore up to you as it would not work on PAL. You had it going in a very short time and it lasted for about 20 years.

I live in Bude, so we are probably quite near neighbours.

[Willum]

 Hello Alan,  Thats a famous name in ships photography, I recall a Christine Snelson too. And Stuart Hunter-Cox.
Yes we're between Whitstone & Week St Mary out in the wilds. I'm on Christmas-card terms with a few of the old chaps like Phil & Helen Rentell and Chris Haughton and Jim Barlow.
I have a pile of your old photos to scan in when I've time, that'd be an enjoyable task. I do after-dinner and club talks about the QE2 for Rotary and Radio clubs. Enjoying the website, its very big isn't it! Hi to chippy Bill Bailey if you're reading.

Cheers

[Willum]

Hello Neil,
Now Horsburgh is a famous name too, Angus and Moira so did you perhaps follow in fathers footsteps or a meringue (am I rang?)

[Alan Snelson]

Hello Alan,  Thats a famous name in ships photography, I recall a Christine Snelson too. And Stuart Hunter-Cox.
Yes we're between Whitstone & Week St Mary out in the wilds. I'm on Christmas-card terms with a few of the old chaps like Phil & Helen Rentell and Chris Haughton and Jim Barlow.
I have a pile of your old photos to scan in when I've time, that'd be an enjoyable task. I do after-dinner and club talks about the QE2 for Rotary and Radio clubs. Enjoying the website, its very big isn't it! Hi to chippy Bill Bailey if you're reading.

Cheers

Christine is, of course, my sister and Stuart Hunter-Cox our former boss and owner of Ocean Pictures. I have been trying to track Stuart down for some time now but so far he has proved elusive. My sister married a farmer and lives up in Cheshire, she has a few businesses on the go, based on their farm. Nothing to do with photography though.

Glad to hear you are enjoying the website, there certainly is plenty to see here and an enormous amount of enthusiasm and affection for QE2 amongst the members. It is great to hear that you are still helping to keep the legend alive through your talks. Looking forward to seeing some of your photos when you get chance to scan them.

Yes you are just up the road from us, small world.

[Rod]

Welcome Willum...YOU MADE IT! The early crew is taking over! We have a Fair, a Willum, a Bailey a Bateson, even a Horsbrush!
Whatever happened to "Lad"?

[Willum]

 Ah, Rodders, good day lad. Well CCC (wardroom number 121)  was last heard of taxi-driving in downtown Chelt-en-ham. This is odd as he never had a driving license when I knew him. 'Good evening, this IS the Wardroom' : 'So I said to Brian Statham, now look 'ere lad' :  'Half way between, Playboy magazine, and what the dog did today' : 'So I said the the old 'Boge, ....  - We actually employed this chap in charge of comms. His memoirs were to be entitled 'The world through the wardroom window. Bil Warwick called it 'The most exclusive club in the world' well, next to those who have walked on the moon then perhaps it was.

Long after Don Butterworth retired, I was at a cocktail party and a pax said 'Ah wasn't the wardroom president called 'The Bugler?' - 'Close I said'

I wonder what happened to the Wardroom Visitors book? And do you remember the Percy Thrower club and the Grimmy award, and the picture of 'midnight in Hong Kong' that hung upside down in the Wardroom until the painter herself came to view it!

And theres more where that came from.  'The Queer God Bless He'  as the rum barrel once said.

Willum

[Rod]

Yes Willum, I remember it well. Hong Kong at night I told about on here. Some of the other stories are a bit riquee!


This is after all a rather refined forum.;

[SaraSteiner]

Oh Willum
I remember you well (I was Steiners manageress 1979/80) Also known as Sara as there were two Sallie/y's in the salon.
I spent many a 'happy' evening in the wardroom and am sure I have some photo's of you when I can get the time to sort them and scan them. I also have a cassette of you singing and playing guitar.
I'm now living in South Africa but still have a house in England and come back for a few weeks each year.
As Alan said, it's so nice that some of the 'oldies' are coming onto this forum.
regards
Sallie (Sarah)

[Willum]

 Hello Sally Steiners
Ah them were the days. I think you came from Nottingham if I remember rightly, my brother is in Bestwood Village. This website is quite something and a credit to the operators thereof. I'm not sure if you were there at the time but I still have a copy of the film we did with Tim Castle and Cliff Morris and Tyrone Beresford (Terry Foskett) now transferred to DVD. Sarah and I both now self employed, She is touring with NADFAS and is now an expert on the history of the harp while I am still inventing electronics principally with ATMs and Deutsche Bahn so managing to carve out a living. We live in a remote valley near Bude/Boscastle with 11 acres and 3 horses and Sarah and I opted for 'dogs not sprogs'!! (Scottish Deerhounds)
The worlds focus has been on S.A. recently obviously, hope the post-Mandela era is as positive as the recent years. You're not missing much here at the moment the string of storms is continuing this week.

I'm going to see if this DVD is up-loadable.
All the best from Sarah & me for 2012 Sally.

[Jim Bennett]

Hello Willum,

Do you need a wobble board player for your ensemble?

My rates are still quite reasonable!

 

[Rod]

"An old Senior Second lay dying, curled up in the MCR chair"

[Willum]

"An old Senior Second lay dying, curled up in the MCR chair"

Tie the 12-4 down sport.

[Rod]

Willum, Jim, we shouldn't annoy the other members, giving the song one line at a time.
But we were back by Joe Loss in the Double Room!

"We sailed on the QE2 Blue, we sailed on the QE2.
We sailed on the QE2 Blue, and what the hell did we do??