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Charles Sheppard
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Sheppard's early career
Sheppard's early career
Charles Sheppard entered the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth in 1923. He states that:
'I had always wanted to go into the Navy, I had never had any other ambition...and so I was very fortunate I suppose really that I achieved my ambition by the age of thirteen.'
He joined HMS Valiant as a sea going cadet at age 17 in order to gain further instruction. He then progressed to being a midshipman after eight months service. Sheppard had the opportunity to sail to various foreign ports, such as Malta, Algiers and Beijing, during his time as a midshipman. Sheppard remembers:
'We were at a place called Ching Won Tau, and we were given two and a half days leave to visit Peking [Beijing] and before we left the ship we were actually in the boat, alongside it was a cruisers dispatch, the Commander lent over side and said "Midshipmen can stay as long as their money lasts!".'
Drawing of Whangpoo River showing berths of foreign warships in 1927, from Midshipman's journal of C S Sheppard. (RNM)
The Navy were involved in various anti-piracy operations at this time. Sheppard reflects on the purpose of the British fleet out in China at this time:
'In China it [the Royal Navy] was rather more active, you had this anti-piracy and we spent a lot of our time in going from one port to another, from Hong Kong up to Amoy, and from Amoy we go on up to somewhere else, Shanghai, and so on, and there it was to show the flag and be there in case the British residents had to be evacuated, we had landing parties organised.'
Sheppard also served as a midshipman on various other ships, including HMS Eagle, HMS Wren, HMS Dartmouth, HMS Despatch and HMS Resolution.
Sheppard joined the submarine service in 1929 and served onboard submarines for the following few years. He again travelled abroad, visiting China, Hong Kong and Gibraltar.
Letter of appointment of C S Sheppard as Sub-Lieutenant onboard the China Station Submarine Depot Ship, HMS Medway, 1929. (RNM)
Sheppard also visited Japan in 1931 whilst serving on the submarine, HMS Pandora. He writes in his memoirs that he fell 'in love with Japan...and I only remembered the friendliness of the people we met, and the beauty of the country.'
Sheppard was unable to continue serving on submarines due to the deterioration of his eyesight. He then served on the sloop, HMS Shoreham, in the Persian Gulf. He contracted malaria and had to return to Britain in 1935.
