Lt Cdr John Murray congratulated by the Deputy Chief of Navy, Commodore Bruce Pepperell, at a celebratory luncheon. (MC08-0287-03)
23 July 2008
On 22 July 2008 Lieutenant Commander John Frazer Murray celebrated 50 years of loyal service in the Royal Navy and Royal New Zealand Navy.
Having joined the Royal Navy in 1958, he went on to join the RNZN in 1991, and is currently serving as a Lieutenant Commander in the Supply Branch. John celebrated this momentous occasion on 22 July at the Naval Base with a morning tea and a presentation.
John has a marvellous story to tell - a story that started in the Royal Navy in 1958 where he began his career as a Junior Stores Assistant Second Class, and following professional training was posted to the Royal Naval Air Station at Yeovilton with his first report written as follows ...
…”rather slow and slightly below average ability but is interested and should improve with experience and encouragement”!
This is in marked contrast to his final report prior to promotion to officer (some 16 years later), which read ..
“A first class Chief Petty Officer, whose previous excellent reports I fully endorse. I am confident he will make a good officer”.
John Murray was born during the Second World War in the village of Standish, near Stonehouse in Gloucestershire. Before joining the Royal Navy as a boy sailor, he attended Stroud Boys Secondary Technical School at Stroud, also in Gloucestershire. He is unable to recall why he decided to join the Royal Navy, but says it went against the advice of his father, who wanted him to undertake an apprenticeship. Perhaps he was attracted to the notion of travel, with two of his brothers having already emigrated (to Canada and Northern Rhodesia) by that stage.
Prior to his promotion to Sub Lieutenant, he enjoyed a varied career, be it in a cruiser such as HMS BLAKE, in hovercrafts as part of the Joint Service Hovercraft Trials Unit, in the Naval Base HMS JUFFAIR in Bahrain (working in an Aircraft Holding Unit at RAF Muharraq), or in HMS MERCURY – the RN Communications School. In 1967 he joined the RN Submarine School for what was to become a very special time in his career, as a Stores Accountant and control room watchkeeper in the Polaris Submarine HMS REPULSE. He has many fond memories of his service as a submariner, submariner stories to recall, including witnessing some exciting missile launches from the Kennedy Space Centre in Port Canaveral in Florida.
In January 1974 officer training in BRNC Dartmouth beckoned, and after further courses he began his ‘second’ career as the Stores Officer in HMS DOLPHIN, the alma mater for all submariners. He then enjoyed a couple of years in Gibraltar, followed by Service with the Royal Navy Reserves in Belfast. His next posting, as a computer systems’ designer, was interrupted by him being sprung to serve in a STUFT (ship taken up from trade) ship called the RANGATIRA, an accommodation ship, as the Senior Naval Officer – which took him to the Falklands Islands for 6 months, and to a varied and fun programme around the Falklands Islands and South Georgia.
In early 1984 he joined HMS INVINCIBLE, an aircraft carrier, as the Stores Officer, completing deployments to Northern Europe, the Mediterranean and the Caribbean, following this up with another ship, HMS DANAE, as the Supply Officer and Head of Department.
His final appointment in the Royal Navy, in June 1989, took him to HMS SULTAN, the Marine Engineering School, as the Deputy Supply Officer. It was here that he was fortunate enough to participate in Exercise Longlook, where personnel from the RN exchange with personnel in the RNZN and RAN – and that was John’s first taste of life 'down under'. He was smitten, and in September 1991 he and his wife Brenda left the United Kingdom for a new life in New Zealand. They settled in Northcote, on the North Shore.
John’s career in the Royal New Zealand Navy has been centred primarily around the Navy Supply Depot, be it as the Customer Services Manager, Inventory Manager (in a number of guises) but also as the Naval Base Supply Officer. He is currently serving as a Projects Officer in the Naval Supply Depot, using his specialist logistics knowledge.
A loyal and long serving member of two Navies, John Murray still continues to approach his duties with infectious enthusiasm. He also enjoys his hobby of woodworking, and watching cricket; particularly when the Black Caps are competing against England. John has a good sense of humour and is a natural raconteur, as one would expect given the stories he has collected. Very much a living embodiment of the Navy's core value of Commitment, he has achieved a remarkable milestone in his life, and should be enormously proud of his story so far.