Laura Harris 1 - You don't realise the stuff that goes on
Name: Laura Harris
Rate: Chef
Service: 2001 - present
Job: Chef on HMS Illustrious
Laura Harris joined the Navy in 2001. She completed her 8-week basic training at HMS Raleigh and then stayed on at Raleigh for her Chef training.
In 2003 Laura joined her first ship, the aircraft carrier and flagship HMS Ark Royal. Her second and current ship, HMS Illustrious, is also an aircraft carrier. Carriers carry a crew of over 1000 people, so there are a lot of meals to prepare.
In the clip below Laura remembers how she felt on her first day onboard her first ship, HMS Ark Royal.
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Extract Text (Duration1.08)
So I had to do a couple of hours in the galley in the morning and then got told to, that you could go to bed and obviously come back at work at night. So it was kind of weird not seeing everybody about [voice over ships tannoy system] and but being down the mess and all the different noises and things that were going on like the pipe, the piping system and just asking questions really about people who'd been on a long time and, you know, what goes on and what there is to do. You don't realise with the stuff that goes on when you're at sea, you just see a ship that floats around but the stuff that goes on inside it is quite a big thing. There's training, there's, you don't realise that there's gyms in small places. If you want to go rowing you can go on a rowing machine down the small compartment. There's a church you can go down there, which is just below where we live. The hanger, especially when there's helicopters and the jets that are in there you kind of like, like just exploring but, you know, "wow I'm actually on a warship, and this is what happens" kind of thing, it takes a while to sink in.
You don't realise the stuff that goes on
1.08 mins - mp3 File
You have to get up early if you want a decent shower
1.32 mins - mp3 File
Some of the young girls have been mothered quite a lot
0.57 mins - mp3 File
How old were you when you joined HMS Illustrious?
0.57 mins - mp3 File
Securing for Sea State 7
0.38 mins - mp3 File
People think there are magic shutters
1.15 mins - mp3 File
