WALKED OFF SHIP

Evening Star, Issue 25776, 26 April 1946, Page 8

WALKED OFF SHIP

NAVAL OFFICERS COURT ' MARTIALLED FIFTEEN DISMISSED THE SERVICE LONDON, April'24. Fifteen naval officers pleaded not guilty at a court martial at Portsmouth to a*charge of refusing to sail in;the parent tank landing ship Fifeness from New York, on January.3o, on account of the accommodation assigned to them. They are mostly temporary or sub-lieutenants from many parts of Britain and Northern Ireland, with, in addition, a temporary gunner and a chief steward. The prosecution alleged that when shown the accommodation a number of the accused complained on the lines that " we are officers and this is not good enough." They complained that the sleeping quarters were labelled "native quarters." Other labels were " native bathroom " and "native latrine." It became clear that the accused were leaving the ship after seeing only part of the, accommodation The commanding officer, Commander Joseph Vivian, expressed, the opinion that the accommodation was adequate, and said he did not intend to make any alterations. The accused later left the ship. The prosecution stated that the only thing " native " about the sleeping or other quarters was the label, which gave a false impression. Captain Vivian, in evidence, said that the labels were put up by the builders, and did not convey anything. All the 15 were found guilty and dismissed from the service.