Interview with Lieutenant Commander (Ret'd) Charlie Hierons on Submarines in the Royal Canadian Navy

Narrator: Hieron, Charles (Charlie) J. Dec 30, 1948. Interviewer: Interviewed by Austin Follestad. Interview Date and Location 15 March 2024, Victoria BC. Via Zoom. Synopsis: Charles (Charlie) Hierons, was born in Croyden England, and eventually moved to Epson. He attempted to join the Merchant Marine at 15, but it didn’t work out. He then applied to the Royal Navy as a ‘boy entry.’ He describes his early years in the Royal Navy as particularly brutal. He eventually sought to become an artificer, and trained at HMS Fisgard. After training he eventually volunteered for submarines and served on a nuclear submarine. He was eventually asked to apply to become an officer, which he was accepted for. His career in the Royal Navy was cut short after an argument with his Commanding Officer. He decided to move to Canada where he continued to serve on submarines. He remembers choosing to serve on submarines because he wanted to be on the winning side. He recalls that serving on a nuclear submarine and a diesel-electric submarine was a very different experience. He saw training and the acquisition of one’s ‘dolphins’ as a very important part of submarine life. He remembers tense moments of politics during his service on a ship loaned to the RN during the Falklands war, in which they debated what flag to fly. He recalls almost being arrested in the US as he was technically a British citizen on a Canadian submarine. He recalls the development and testing of new mk24 torpedoes. He also participated in the rescue effort after the Ocean Ranger disaster. He remembers that ‘opposed transit’ ASW exercises were extremely grueling, to the point that he once fell asleep on a periscope. He remembers that submariners were extremely close to one another, and that it was because of training for him. He remembers a visit by Pierre Trudeau that resulted in political pressure to push through inadequate Canadian officers, which almost ended in disaster. He remembers extensive manpower issues. Eventually he was promoted to LCdr and became a combat systems trainer in Victoria. He remembers having to sneak away from the submarine community. He served on MARPAC on the West Coast to prepare Victoria-Class submarines for service there. He served on a torpedo test range working with Americans and serving on American subs for a bit. In his opinion the biggest change in RCN submarines during his time there was that they had become just like a ‘job’ and had lost much of their espirit de corps. 0:00 – 2:16 – Life before the military. 2:16 – 5:31 – Life in the Royal Navy as a ‘boy entry.’ 5:31 – 7:24 – Continued training. 7:24 – 10:20 – Becoming an officer. 10:20 – 12:56 – Discharge from the Royal Navy. 12:56 – 18:35 – Coming to Canada. 18:35 – 20:11 – Why choose to serve on Submarines? 20:11 – 33:53 – Serving on Nuclear Submarines versus Diesel Electric Submarines. 33:53 – 36:00 – Serving as a Training Officer. 36:00 – 41:09 – Serving on a RN Submarine exchange during the Falklands War. 41:09 – 46:23 – Role of RCN Submarines after his exchange. 46:23 – 51:31 – Experience with Submarine Training Exercises. 51:31 – 1:04:06 – Submarine Society/Importance of Training. 1:04:06 – 1:08:20 – Service after Submarines. 1:08:20 – 1:09:40 – Serving on American submarines. 1:09:40 – 1:16:02 – Opinion on changes within RCN submarines. 1:09:40 – 1:16:02 – Opinion on changes within RCN submarines. Suggested Clip(s) for Archive: 41:09 – 46:23 – Serving as a Canadian Submarine Crew during the Falklands War

In Collection:

• Canadian Military Oral Histories

Contributor

• Follestad, Austin
• Hieron, Charles

Subject

• Soldiers
• Falkland Islands War (1982)
• Submarines (Ships)
• Submarine warfare
• Cold War (1945-1989)
• Canada. Royal Canadian Navy
• Military education
• Military exchanges

Language

• eng

Identifier

• Interview #SC141_HC_906

Keyword

• Opposed Transit
• Diesel Electric
• MARPAC
• Anti-Submarine Warfare
• Electrical Engineering
• US Navy
• Falklands War
• Mk24
• Mk8
• Pierre Trudeau
• Boy Entry
• Cold War
• Submarines
• Torpedoes
• Exchanges
• British
• Victoria-Class
• Oberon-Class
• Polaris-Class
• HMCS Okanagan
• Artificer
• Ocean Ranger
• Naval Officer
• Nuclear
• O-Boats
• Royal Navy
• Royal Canadian Navy
• Perisher
• NATO
• Dolphins

Date created

• March 15, 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

• 01:16:02

Alternative title

• FROM MICE TO SOUP TO DOLPHINS: UNDERSTANDING THE LEGACY OF THE CANADIAN SUBMARINE SERVICE TOWARDS THE END OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Physical Repository

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

Collection

• Canadian Military Oral History Collection

Provider

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

Genre

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

Archival item identifier

• Accession Number: 2025-002; Series 1; Item: 906

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/jqnt-2014