264987 Steward Neil Campbell Gillespie Royal Navy HMNB Portsmouth HMS Victory HMS Glendower HM from:158 Gallowhill Road Paisley Neil Gillespie first served on HMS Victory from 7/1/42 to 8/4/42 after spending two months training at a shore based establishment in North Wales, HMS Glendower, having entered the service on 18/11/41. He then served on HMS Nelson from 9/4/42 to 8/1/44. He returned to HMS Victory subsequently for three spells of duty,
9/1/44-28/7/44, 9/11/44-21/2/45 and 31/1/46-22/7/46.
The last of these three periods was his final assignment in the navy before being released class A, from the service.
The time that Neil spent on the Victory latterly was interrupted by time at HMS Odyssey from 29/7/44 until 8/11/44. In peacetime HMS Odyssey was the Collingwood Hotel in Ilfracombe in Devon. In wartime, it was apparently a centre for various types of specialist training for certain skills or assignments. Then from 22/2/45 to 30/1/46 he served on the aircraft carrier HMS Glory. On 6th September, 1945, the officers commanding the Japanese forces in the south west Pacific signed Instruments of Surrender at a ceremony on the flight deck of HMS Glory, which was in the St George's channel between New Britain and New Ireland in the Bismarck Archipelago close to New Guinea.
When he returned to civilian life, he lived with his wife Margaret and New born son Alexander, often known as Alistair in family circles, and later with other children Jean, Neil, Margaret and Iain. He worked with Allison the Butcher in Paisley and at King Aircraft in Hillington, Glasgow. In both cases he occupied management positions.
Although Neil served throughout the war and successfully settled to peacetime life, he sadly died in April 1962 at the age of 40.
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