Why did you decide to become a submariner?

My father was a submariner, so I was fortunate enough to hear all the great stories of their operations and life onboard the ‘boat’ (only submarines are called ‘boats’ in the Royal Navy).

I was particularly interested in the sorts of highly classified, varied, and relatively impactful operations that submariners undertook – lots of sneaking around unseen gathering information on opponents without their knowledge, whilst having weaponry capable of sinking aircraft carriers (for the types of submarine I was on – ‘attack boats’ or ‘hunter killers’) or having the responsibility of the nation’s nuclear arsenal.

The submarine is also more complex than the space shuttle, and operates in an extreme environment with added complexities of how to deal with a nuclear power plant, complex weapons, and more mundane problems like storage space and waste! The wide variety of things to think about in any given day is mentally challenging and these facets appealed to me.

Being a submariner doesn’t sound like it would suit everyone, what attributes do you think one would need?

Whilst somewhat of a cliché, one really need to be able to get on with a relatively wide variety of people and personalities. We go to sea for long periods (in some cases over 100 days) with the same 160 (ish) people in a tight enclosed space of approx. 100m long.

One also needs to learn fast. Whilst there is shore based training that you have to do, the majority of the training is ‘on-the-job’ to become qualified. Qualification is a gruelling task, and each person on the boat has to know every valve and what to do in an emergency. You learn the submarine end to end in about 3 months from joining, whilst doing your job for 12 hours a day. The personal pride and
acceptance of the crew members once fully qualified worth the hard work.

Mental fortitude – there are some tough times where the work load is immense, so knowing how to deal with the high stress environment is key. You need to understand yourself, and how you can develop coping mechanisms under stressful conditions.

What was the personal space like on a submarine?

Space of any sort is premium! As an Officer, I had a small cupboard the size of maybe 6 shoe boxes to store my belongings (2 changes of uniform, boots, shoes, cap, foul weather gear, civilian clothes, wash kit, socks /underwear for 7 days, ipad/personal entertainment) and a storage space under the mattress which was about 8cm deep for books and other items.

I liken it to living in a train with no windows. The space feels roughly the same. In the sleeping quarters, you would have a "train sized space” with 3 bunks stacked on each side, which you would sometimes share with someone else – called “hot-bunking” where they get up to go on watch (go to shift), and I would come off watch (finish my shift) and get straight into that same bed – you get used to it, and do often have a personal sleeping bag or different sheets!

There isn’t really any other private space, all recreational spaces are shared. The Wardroom (where the Officers live, work, and eat) was about 3m x 3m for 24 people (very rarely at the same time!!)

What is a long trip on a submarine like?

Routine is the key, and you need to get the body used to working to the hours of work you keep. For example, my working hours were often 0100 – 0700, then again 1300 – 1900. In between that, as the Navigator, I would need to do my preparations for upcoming transits/operations so that we would get to where we needed to be on time and safely. I would also need to exercise, complete any qualification /learning needed done (qualification is *never* complete!), cleaning, and hopefully get some sleep. I would average about 5 hours per day for sleep, but this varies on what is happening on operations.

The strangest feeling is having no communications with anyone outside the submarine, other than for orders or the news which comes in periodically. We wouldn’t have any communication with family or friends, so you needed to get to know the people around you well. You were often so busy, there wasn’t time to dwell on missing people. However, people used to take photos of loved ones to put on the ‘bulkhead’ (walls) in your bunk space.

Regular drills were also critical to success. People can’t always remember everything, so we would do emergency drills every few days, where we would simulate an emergency (fire, flood, hydraulic fluid burst) and run all the equipment out and act as if it were a real emergency. People throw themselves into these, and the reactions to real events become muscle memory. Clear unambiguous orders – people need the clarity of what we are there to do, and who will be doing exactly what tasks, orders are sharp and short and give people the direction to pull together and achieve whatever is needed. The food routine is always important – this helps tell what day it is! So, roast dinner on Sundays, Fish and Chips on Friday, Curry on Wednesday is always a good marker of the week. Maintenance of morale is a principle we all live by – bad food is one of the quickest ways to reduce morale!

The government has advised us to keep communicating with friends and family, and to maintain some sort of routine. Do you have any advice for people about either of these things, or about another ‘survival’ tip?

Both great pieces of advice (see above!). Two additions from me:

1. Share the jobs out evenly and do them to the best of your ability. Nothing saps morale as much as the perception of unbalanced work. Cooking, cleaning, making beds, tidying rooms, cutting the grass, putting the bins out, etc. etc. These are all tasks that everyone finds dull in different amounts, but sharing them out and ticking one off every day means it doesn’t become a massive task.

2. Communicating with family and friends is important, but also remember to communicate within the household both positive and on what is annoying you (be nice, though). Honest, open, and empathetic communication will head off a lot of arguments, so don’t bottle things up. These are stressful times for many people, so looking out for one another should help to alleviate any tension in the household. Knowing how people normally act and spotting any changes in their demeanour or personality can really help in understanding how people are feeling. If you spot something, even someone asking “how are you feeling?” or “are you ok?” may just give someone the catalyst to nip anything in the bud early.

Do you have any tips for people who are at a loose end for something to do during this time that one could do at home?

Board games. In submarines every mess deck (where people live) has a game called ‘Uckers’ which is an advanced version of Ludo, and has been played in the Royal Navy for decades. So, why not invent a board game that everyone can play?

Fruit growing challenge – grow your own tomatoes from tomatoes, strawberries from strawberries, etc.

Climb Ben Nevis up and down the stairs.

Start a family newspaper… every couple of days, interview someone in the family (even via video conferencing) and publish it with a joke, a fact of the day, and a made up advert for something silly (paper clip, butter knife, bit of string, the last chocolate covered hob nob) be inventive.

How does this experience compare to spending time on a submarine? Are there any similarities or vast differences?

It is more similar than I thought, only I don’t see as many people face to face as when I was at sea. I definitely get more sunlight, and the view out the window is better (i.e. there is one!!). The routine is definitely the same, and the concept of getting the head down to some work and the need to build eating time or relaxing time into the day is the same.

There is definitely a case of “eat, sleep, work, repeat!”

We have been seeing on social media and the news about the negatives of this situation, are there any positives that you can see about this experience?

I think the shift in flexibility of the way people work will be a benefit. Not everyone has some of the benefit of being able to work from home, but the shift in my eyes is the option of flexibility.

Most people I know have found they are talking more often with their families who aren’t necessarily in the same house – the advances of technology have made this significantly easier. The ability to video conference people has meant that more people speak on a regular basis in a group. I’ve had virtual drinks and dinner with my brother, for example, and I don’t get to see him very often.

We are now a nation of quiz-maniacs! How bad can it be if people are researching questions and stretching their general knowledge though regular quizzes with friends and family!? I have brushed off a lot of my GCSE and A-Level knowledge!

The Curious Times would like to thank our retired Sub-Mariner friend for taking the time to answer our questions. You've given us lots to think about, and plenty of positive tips to help us cope with lockdown life!