Interview with Warrant Officer Gary "Doc" Sandercock

Narrator: Sandercock, Gary “Doc” 1942- Interviewer: Interviewed by Declan Smyth Interview Date and Location 11 March 2024, Victoria BC. Synopsis: This interview was with Gary Sandercock, the only member of the Canadian Army to ever serve on a Royal Canadian Navy Submarine. We explore how exactly this happened in the interview, but also including his time in Cyprus and career in NATO subs. Additionally, we discuss training exercises, interactions with fellow sailors, and the unique position of working as a medic on a submarine. 0:00 – 29:30 - Introductory questions (how an army medic ends up in the submarine service, start of service, end of service, occupational responsibilities) 29:30 – 52:00 - General questions about the nature of service (training, working conditions, deployments) 52:00 - - More technical questions about service (Missions, the different systems of the subs, problems that may have arisen during deployment) Suggested Clip(s) for Archive: At the very beginning of the interview, I address the fact that Gary is the only individual from the Canadian Army to ever qualify, let alone serve, on a RCN sub. This is mentioned a few times more throughout the interview, but I felt this was an interesting point, so I mentioned it right at the outset.

In Collection:

• Canadian Military Oral Histories

Contributor

• Sandercock, Gary
• Smyth, Declan

Subject

• Submarines (Ships)
• Canada. Canadian Armed Forces
• Canada. Royal Canadian Navy
• Military history
• Soldiers

Language

• eng

Identifier

• Interview #SC141_SG_915

Keyword

• Medical Assistant Lvl 1-4 Course
• Diving
• HMCS Grilse
• Hawaii
• Boatswain/Bosun
• Conning Tower
• Skipper
• Torpedoes
• Honolulu
• Baolo/Tench Class subs
• War Games
• Army
• Sick Bay
• Japan
• Juan de Fuca

Date created

• March 11, 2024

Relation

• Part of the Military Oral History Class collection of interviews (HIST 426, 2024).

Resource type

• Moving Image

Rights statement

• In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Extent

• 01:12:27

Alternative title

• Cold Warriors: The Royal Canadian Navy

Geographic Coverage

• Japan
• Hawaii

Coordinates

• 20.78785, -156.38612
• 35.68536, 139.75309

Physical Repository

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Collection

• Canadian Military Oral History Collection

Provider

• University of Victoria (B.C.). Library

Genre

• reminiscences
• oral histories (literary genre)
• interviews
• video recordings (physical artifacts)

Archival item identifier

• Accession Number: 2025-002; Series 4; Item: 915

Fonds title

• Military oral history collection

Fonds identifier

• SC141

Is referenced by

• Special Collections Finding Aid: https://uvic2.coppul.archivematica.org/military-oral-history-collection

Technical note

• Interview recorded in digital format for UVic Special Collections in 2024. Recorded in digital format by interviewer. Keywords supplied by interviewer. Metadata by KD.

Rights

• This interview has been posted with the understanding that it may be used for research purposes only. Should the interviewee or their heirs have any objections to this interview being accessible on the Internet, it will be removed promptly. Contact UVic Special Collections for permission if using for other than research purposes: speccoll@uvic.ca

DOI

•  https://doi.org/10.58066/g7qq-ye94