Update, July 2017: We are sad to announce that Peter Stewart is now a Silent Key.
17 members and 10 guests met at the Gladiator club on Tuesday 18th April to hear a fascinating talk from Peter Stewart about his early career as a wireless operator in the merchant navy and the wartime Radio Security Service (RSS) during World War Two and post-war career in the Diplomatic Wireless Service. We were privileged to hear a talk from one of the few remaining Volunteer Interceptors and RSS operators from World War Two.
Highlights of his talk included it being decided by his family, without any input from him, that at the age of 16 he should be sent to sea as a deckhand, his progress to wireless officer, having an appendectomy after swinging the lead in order to avoid a posting, being enrolled in the RSS and subsequently the Army and the boredom of sending and receiving 5 character code groups all day.
Peter is now 91 and in the days after his talk he let it be known that earlier in April he had been fitted with a pacemaker which due to complications required two hospital stays. We are very grateful to him for making the special effort to come and talk to us.
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