Towards the end of the days of the Royal Naval Service, 1919, I was posted to Barlow, where HMR33 was under construction. Barlow was in Yorkshire, near Selby. I knew where Selby was, as a Sunderland man. Selby was “way down south, near York”.

Barlow must have been the best RNAS station to be posted to, just a small group of officers and ratings, the potential crew of the wonderful new airship HMR33.

When we arrived, the “ship” was about half to three-quarters built, and, among other things, our duties were to make ourselves useful and get to know the construction of the whole airship. We took a great interest in our official duties, but some, I believe, were also interested in the girls working on the ship, which, after all, added a bit of romance, especially to an RNAS station.