The following images have been selected from the Naval Historical Society’s archive and the Gordon Hill Collection in particular. They provide insight into the lighter moments in the life of Stores Assistant Gordon Hill who served in HMAS Vendetta from September 1938 until May 1941. Vendetta was his first ship. He continued serving post WW2 retiring as a Chief Petty Officer in 1950. Service in in the Mediterranean Sea at the time was particularly dangerous with the threat of enemy attack ever present.
Against Navy policy Gordon kept a diary which he later typed and incorporated into a scrap book along with a collection of photographs and newspaper cuttings. He then published a book, ‘My Naval Sojourn: 1938 – 1950’.
Historians and readers of naval history are fortunate that Gordon Hill has provided such an excellent record and the photographs of his exploits during naval service.
