Another day in Lowestoft

Lowestoft plays one small part in Robinetta's own history. In 1939 Denys Rayner took her to Beaumaris for the war. After being called up, in common with a number of RNVR officers he was assigned to the Royal Naval Patrol Service. The RNPS commandeered the Sparrow's Nest in Belle Vue Park for it's headquarters and the building now on that site has a small museum. The RNPS used fishing trawlers as mine sweepers and anti-submarine vessels. A common tactic was to tow a "hammer fuse" behind the trawler which would detonate the mine. If lucky, the trawler would be far enough ahead to escape. It was dangerous work.

Rayner tells of his time at the Sparrow's Nest in his book Escort. He was given the job of assigning crews to ships. Like his predecessor, when he found a crew and ship he liked, he put his own name down as captain and jumped aboard.

We didn't find any mention of Rayner in the museum, but it is a fascinating record of a lesser known part of British Naval history.

We also took our ball bearings around three different bike shops looking for a match. The third shop had eight that were the right size, but we needed ten. At least we were able to identify that they were 7/32".