All aboard HMS Otter
Margaret Mather has fond memories of the day Grandpa Malcolm took her to work with him...
ow many children can say their grandpa took them on a submarine that he’d helped to build?
My grandpa was a riveter and welder by trade and spent all of his working life at Scotts Shipyard and Engineering Company in Greenock, Inverclyde.
All through the Second World War he, and his fellow workers, built ships for the Royal Navy. His job was dangerous, often bitterly cold and the noise was
Hdeafening. Dangling precariously on the side of a huge ship, he’d have to shout at the top of his voice if he wanted to be heard. This left him with a problem at home. When talking to anyone, he would shout. If he asked a question, it would be loud and booming. We used to tease him about it but he never got out of
Ready for duty: HMS Otter at Greenock in 1961 the habit. The intense and repetitive noise from the riveting left him hard of hearing and we ended up shouting back at him, to make ourselves heard.
‘Dangling precariously on the side of the huge ship, the noise was deafening...’
I was ten in 1961 when Grandpa asked if I would like to go on board the submarine he had worked on, HMS Otter. I jumped at the chance. It was an Oberon-class submarine and commissioned by the Royal Navy the following year.
The open day soon arrived and the sun was out as we made our way to the shipyard. I was so excited, jabbering all the way there. Grandpa was on good form, telling me lots of corny jokes, many of which I’d heard before. He also said that he part-owned the shipyard because his name was Malcolm Scott. My dad told me not to believe everything that Grandpa said.
I remember boarding the submarine and marvelling at all the shiny steel inside. I also remember how small the rooms were and how narrow the stairs. Even to a ten-year-old, everything seemed small. Grandpa pointed out the areas on the submarine where he had worked and I looked on in awe. I was always proud of my grandpa but that day I was fit to burst.
After everyone had been served with food and soft drinks in a marquee in the shipyard, all the children were presented with a triangular-shaped pencil with HMS Otter printed on it and a pencil case. I carried mine home with great care and after proudly showing them to my mother, put them in my school bag ready for Monday. I couldn’t wait to tell everyone about my visit.
I ran all the way to Kilmacolm Primary school, clutching my satchel tightly to my chest. I was on cloud nine and bursting to tell the class my story. We all sat down at our desks and I gently placed the pencil case on top. Then the teacher said the words I’d been waiting for.
“Now, children, what did you all do at the weekend? My hand shot up.
“Margaret, tell us about your weekend.”
“Well…”
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