Care home veteran learnt the 'true value of friendship' from 66 years in Royal Navy

A care home resident who spent nearly three quarters of a century in the navy has spoken of his time as a Royal Navy engineer, criss-crossing the globe in submarines and mine sweepers.

John Mundy, aged 84, who lives at the Croft Meadow care home in the West Sussex village of Steyning, has been enthralling staff and family members with tales of his seafaring adventures.

The care home resident began his career in the navy as a stoker in the boiler room and later worked as an engineer. He said: "I spent time on three ships and a submarine. I really enjoyed my time stationed in Malta best of all."

Mr Mundy has Parkinson’s but remains lucid in his retelling of his naval adventures, although by his own admission he has moments when he forgets the details. One thing he does remember is why he joined the Royal Navy in the first place. “There wasn’t much work about,” he said. “It was hard to get a job back then. I miss all the moving around of the navy and the comradeship of all my friends there. The navy really taught me the value of friendship.”

He first joined the navy on 21 October, 1951 at the age of 17. Mr Mundy travelled across the globe, visiting countries including Australia, Singapore, Japan, South Africa and the Caribbean - crossing the equator and the arctic several times. He was fortunate to have joined the navy during peacetime ‘not long after the Korean war’. Mr Mundy spent 22 years at sea in total. He spent nine years on submarines and was especially proud to have been part of the Queen’s coronation celebrations on the Falkland Islands.

'Sent to the arctic for cold water trials "but it wasn't cold enough!'

The 84-year-old recently gave a presentation about his travels to other residents at the care home he and his wife call home. Croft Meadow care home's manager Sharalee Thrumble said: “We invited family, friends and, of course, our residents to listen. We even had a sing song with John leading a round of ‘What will we do with the drunken sailor? As a resident John is a real character and likes to tease staff and have a joke.”

During the talk, staff and residents were treated to Mr Mundy’s amusing anecdotes. He said: “One of my favourites memories from my time in the navy is when our ship was sent to the Arctic for cold water trials – but when we got there, it just wasn't cold enough!”

Dangerous work on the mine sweepers

Mr Mundy and another resident, Peter Jeffreys, received a visit from officers and sailors currently serving on HMS Shoreham.The trip was organised by care home staff after they heard that the Royal Navy mine-hunting ship was returning to Shoreham following a recent NATO deployment in the Balkans.

“They really were great fun,” said Mr Mundy. "They spent time explaining to us what work they did and the type of ship they were on. I even received a medal from them. The HMS Shoreham is actually a minesweeper, which was the type of ship I finished up on.”

Working on a minesweeper was a potentially dangerous job, although Mr Mundy modestly joked that it was “the divers who had the dangerous work; I was safely installed in the engine room.”

The secret of a happy marriage

Mr Munday moved into Croft Meadow care home with his wife in 2015. They recently celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary with friends and family and also received a card of congratulations from the Queen.

The couple first met in West Grinstead one Christmas when Audrey was 22 and John was 20. Mr Munday was on leave from the navy at the time and took her to see the Glen Miller Story for their first date. After marrying in 1957, the couple had two sons and a daughter. Audrey Munday believes the secret to her happy marriage is to "give and take and work things out together” but her husband says the important thing is to “trust one another”.

According to care home manager Sharalee Thrumble: "The pair are very popular with the other residents here at Croft Meadow and always get involved with daily activities at the home and lead very active lives.”

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