Laundry Crew on Royal Navy HMS Duncan Type 45 Destroyer ?

Seque from here: https://simhq.com/forum/ubbthreads....ast-movie-or-tv-show-you-saw#Post4507151



Watching episode 3.

A $1 billion pound Destroyer HMS Duncan and the laundry crew are not Royal Navy sailors?

There was a leak in the laundry room that was flooding that floor and a floor below and the ship's Chief engineer and her engineering crew was trying to locate the source.



The laundry crew was standing around waiting for it to be repaired while the amount of laundry was piling up.



From the looks of them, they don't look like Royal Navy enlisted personnel.

The guy is wearing a t-shirt, definitely not Royal Navy uniform.



In the last photo, that's an old Asian lady standing on the edge of the machine so she doesn't get her feet wet with the leaking dirty water.

Notice how she is wearing flip flops and not Royal Navy issued boots and shoes.

She definitely is not a Royal Navy sailor.



Everyone else that was standing around helping to mop up the flooding water while the engineering crew work on locating the source are all wearing Royal Navy uniforms:



If they are civilians, I hope they are told that the ship may go to war at anytime and there is the possibility it may get sunk by the enemy and that they may die on it.

I'll have to ask 2 of my friends,they both served in the Navy,although it was a while back,things may have changed.

We do have the RFA (Royal Fleet Auxiliary) which is composed of civilians but I don't think that answers your specific question.

Thank you, Chucky.

Some info here. It's a long tradition.

https://www.navy-net.co.uk/community/threads/chinese-laundry.41489/

Thanks for the link. I just learned a lot of RN slang terms I previously had no clue about.

That was fascinating Vitesse,thanks.

I was already familiar with the term 'dhobi wallah' from 'It Ain't Half Hot Mum'

That post will give you your answer NoFlyBoy although I will still have a chat with my friends in case they have anything interesting to add.

Wow! That was interesting and educational. I read it twice and also Google some words. Thank you Vitesse.

Season 3 drop today.

https://www.channel5.com/show/warship-life-at-sea/season-3

They sending a Frigate, the

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Northumberland_(F238)

to join the HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Queen_Elizabeth_(R08)

and its fleet to intercept the Russian navy.

Isn't the floor of a ship called the deck?

Anyways, https://www.scmp.com/article/195780/hong-kong-laundrymen-continue-serving-royal-navy-ships

During Falklands/Malvinas six Hong Kong Chinese nationals working in laundry was missing, presumed dead, in the sunk of HMS "Sheffield" and HMS "Coventry".

In the book "Scram", the autor - a RAF helicopter pilot, say that two of this Chinese was seem jump from deck of "Conventry" with their life saver vest, only the life saver vest's was seem floating.

All true. When I was in the old Ark Royal (R09) for a few weeks back in 1978 (as a young RAF fg off on a one-off job), one day I had to go and arrange for my dhobi. Descended several decks into the bowels of the ship, to find a servery-type hatch fronting up for the ship’s laundry.

Behind the Chinese chap who dealt with me, was a gloomy dark space full of washing machines and dryers and pressing machines and steam and lots more Chinese chaps..



BTW the Chinese laundrymen are not the only civilians on HM ships. There is also a NAAFI manager, who runs the sailors’ “tuck shop” (snacks, sweeties (“candy”), drinks, cigarettes etc). During the 1982 Falklands War, the NAAFI manager on HMS Ardent was seen manning a machine gun as she went down under repeated Argentinian air attacks. Think he was decorated for his service.

From yesterday new episode. On that Frigate one Asian laundry man handles 1000 items of clothing each day. On this sailing there is only one guy doing laundry for the entire ship. Poor guy!

I Google it. Don't know what it was.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy,_Army_and_Air_Force_Institutes

Wiki has entry on that NAAFI guy



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Leake_(NAAFI_manager)

Wow, what a fascinating story about John Leake. RIP.