INSPIRED by ‘a very full life’ Redditch man Roger Henry Lippett has written a book on his life which began living on the Batchley Estate.
He went on to serve in the Royal Navy and wants to share his story.
He was born on January 30 1939 on the council estate, with his dad’s name Henry, being given to him as his middle name.
Here he sheds light on his life family and friends as a social record of sorts that may be of interest to his children, grandchildren and the people of Redditch.
Although he said he had never achieved great wealth or fame he felt his life had moments worth recounting.
In his words: “I now live in the beautiful city of Plymouth in Devon but I will always be a Batchley boy.
“Far have I traveled, and much have I seen and this is my story, serialised in the Redditch Standard.”
Chapter 21
AS WELL as HMS Terror in Singapore the centre for RN operations in the North Pacific was in the British territory of Hong Kong.
The shore base there was known as HMS Tamar which was situated in the Central harbour front, a prime position in Hong Kong city.
It was a Royal Navy base from 1897 to 1997 when it was eventually handed over to the Chinese Government.
It was a relatively small base and most of the berths were usually occupied with naval vessels.
Hong Kong consisted of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories.
Hong Kong in the 1960s was a most amazing place. So many different sights and smells that it seemed as if
it was different world like nothing I had ever experienced before.
Wanchai was the centre of life on Hong Kong Island. Here were shops, bars, restaurants and eating houses
and market stalls selling all manner of food and other goods of all sorts.
It teemed with life and I loved the hustle and bustle and smells of the place. It was mostly rather ramshackle two story buildings.
Hennessey Road was the main through fare and the old trams which rattled along there provided a cheap means of transport.
The Chinese love gambling and at the far end of Hennessey Road was the famous Happy Valley Race Course.
You could get anything made there. It was possible to get measured up for a suit or a pair of shoes and have them made for you in a couple of days.
My first experience of Hong Kong was of stepping ashore with Topsy who had spent time before on HMS Lincoln.
He took me to the China Fleet club which was a sort of home from home for sailors and there we enjoyed an ice cold ‘Tiger tops’ that is a pint of Tiger beer topped off with lemonade.
The China Fleet club was occupied by the Japanese during the second world war.
The second floor of the club was leased to the American Post Exchange and there I bought some jade earrings and a jade pendant for Rose and a jade pendant for Susanne.
Our final call was to Bangkok in Thailand which I found to be a most fascinating and interesting city. The film ‘The King and I’ came to mind as I viewed the ancient temples and statues of Buddha, with the smell of incense hanging in the air.
The huge statue of the Reclining Buddha was covered in gold leaf whilst another sitting Buddha was made from solid gold.
We anchored in the rather muddy river Maenad which swarmed with bum boats and other small craft selling all manner of wares.
A bustling floating market with many and varied sights and smells.
August came around and towards the end of the month we commenced the long journey home, a journey of
many weeks.
As we crossed the Indian Ocean I would sometimes take in some fresh air on the upper deck when finishing a night watch when all was quiet. In the middle of the ocean all was pitch black with no light pollution.
The sky was radiant, filled with a myriad of stars some very large and others small like bright sparkling sand. Looking over the side the sea rushing past would sometimes glow with a strange green shimmering light.
This phenomenon I believe was caused some form of microscopic marine life which gave off a fluorescent glow as the bows cleaved through the water.
