9. A Life Fully Lived - Part 4

HMS WARSPITE - Queen Elizabeth-class battleship
3 September 1931 - 7 November 1933

HMS Warspite

Artist: Will C Cluett

The origins of the above painting and how it came into the possession of Lt Cross is unknown. It has regrettably incurred marks and damage over the decades, but it is said that Lt Cross spoke of HMS Warspite as his favourite ship, which may explain why this painting (11x7 inches) has survived at all.
An aspect which is intriguing to this embarkation is the Invergordon Mutiny which took place from 15-16 September 1931 - see links below:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invergordon_Mutiny
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/thirties-britain/invergordon-mutiny/

Whether Mne. Cross was witness or spectator to this event we will never know, involved I don't think, because the mutiny was solely a sailors' mutiny within the Royal Navy and only affecting some ships.
Also mentioned in Wiki is that HMS Warspite "In March 1933 was rammed in fog by a Romanian passenger ship off Portugal, but did not require major repairs". (Wiki)
All of these events, the details of how it was experienced by a young Marine, will never be known.

HMS Dolphin - Royal Navy Submarine School, Gosport.

Lt. Cross was never a submariner, but his service record states his posting there from 20 November 1933 to 3 October 1934. It may be connected to his training and qualification at HMS Vernon, the shore-based Royal Navy Torpedo School in 1928, and further continuous training.

Gunnery Instructor

A lengthy period from 4 October 1934 to 20 November 1935 was spent as his 'home base' in Portsmouth. It culminated in Corporal Cross being selected for gunnery training and in qualifying for Gunnery Instructor on 23 July 1935. Upon qualification as Instructor he spent a period of three months instructing at the Sea Service Battery in Eastney, Portsmouth.

Note:- The rank of Lt. Cross at the time of the photo (course taken in 1935) is unclear. He attained the rank of Corporal in 1933, and of Sergeant in 1937, the NCO's (Non Commissioned Officers) in the photo below all appear to have Sergeant's chevrons on their sleeves, which may put a later date to these pictures. However, his Service Record states 'Passed for Gunnery Instructor' 23 July 1935.

Gunnery Instructors Course c1935.

Cross is 4th row 4th from the left.

Royal Marines Sea Service Battery c1935

Gunnery Sergeant Cross at Eastney, Portsmouth.

Three further pictures in his collection for which there is no timeline or any indication of where they were taken are the following:-

QF 12 pounder Naval Field Gun, used by Royal Marine's
up until World War II.

QF 18 pounder Field Gun widely used by British forces before
and during WWII.

Probably the breech of the Hotchkiss 3 or 6 pounder sub-calibre and it's protruding from the host gun's breech, the latter's breech block is sitting on the floor of the gun-shield to the left.
The Marines did man some of the main and secondary armament on warships. That one has taken the trouble to don ear protectors and they've summoned the aimer / trainer to his post (in whites to the left of the gun) would lend weight that the gun is being used and it's not a posed photograph.
(Credit: World Naval Ships Forums)

HMS Pembroke - Royal Navy shore base at Chatham, Kent.
21 November 1935 - 16 December 1935

This was a large shore base adjacent to the Chatham dockyard and most Royal Navy sailors and Marines passed through its gates at some stage before its closure in 1984. It had various barracks and accommodation facilities and was often the staging post for crews and sea-soldiers to gather before embarkation onto a ship. This too was the case with Cpl Cross because his record shows the name HMS ENTERPRISE in brackets behind the Pembroke entry. This indicates his imminent embarkation onto this Emerald-class light cruiser (D52). Enterprise had just had a major refit (Wiki) and so some excitement would have been felt by sailors and marines about to embark on her.

Cpl Cross was given time-off from Pembroke over the Christmas and New Year period, spending the time back in Portsmouth with his wife and only reported back to Pembroke on 23 January 1936, for what would be a lengthy time away - a period of more than two years.