Commander John Jenkyn PARRY OBE PhD Royal Navy

John Parry entered the Royal Navy as a Boy Seaman at HMS St. George, on the Isle of Man, at the age of fifteen in June 1945. He retired voluntarily from the service in February 1980.

He was a very well liked man described by his fellows as cheerful, enthusiastic, fit and sober, helpful to all who needed his help, always ready to step in to assist others if he could, giving level-headed advice.

John was born in Hampton, Middlesex on 7 August 1929. He described his father as an entrepreneur. His first ships were the cruisers HMS Leander and HMS Cleopatra. A keen sportsman and a good footballer who by the age of twenty had been advanced to Petty Officer, he was in 1952 selected for a commission, subject to qualifying as a Fixed Wing Pilot. He failed to achieve the flying standard required and, declining the opportunity to become an Observer in 1953, he took the only other avenue to commissioned rank available at the time which was on the Special Duties List. This needed additional qualifications, which he obtained, and he was promoted Sub-Lieutenant in 1956. While gaining his qualifications he served in HMS Cygnet.

Having played football for the RN he also played for Corinthian Casuals, Harwich and Parkeston, and while a Commissioned Gunner in 1956 for Tooting and Mitcham FC in the Athenian League.

Between 1956 and 1960 he served in HMS Obdurate, HMS Chieftain and HMS Tyne, then the Home Fleet flagship. He qualified as a Clearance Diving Officer in 1960 and was promoted to Lieutenant the same year. His first CD job was with the AUWE Diving Team at Portland. He completed the Long TAS Course in 1963 and served as TAS Officer in HMS Brighton until 1965. He was a Staff Officer Instructor at the SD Officers’ School until 1966, when he attended the Royal Naval Staff Course. Having passed the Ship Command Examinations in 1967 he was promoted Lieutenant Commander.

From 1968 until 1969 he was the last Staff MCD and Officer-in-Charge of the Malta Clearance Diving Team.

He served his first term in the MOD at the Staff MCD desk of the Directorate of Naval Operational Requirements until, in 1971 he was appointed Head of the Minewarfare Section (IMW) of HMS Vernon. He became the MCD Training Officer (MCDTO) in Vernon in 1972, before taking a sabbatical at Essex University in 1973/74.

He was the Commanding Officer of HMS Reclaim between 1974 and 1975, a period of his service that he particularly enjoyed, carrying out many and varied operations, including a helicopter recovery in foul weather and before the Russians could snatch the wreckage, and in 1975 he was promoted Commander.

Between 1975 and 1978 he served his second spell in the MOD at the Staff MCD desk of the Directorate of Naval Warfare. This was a rewarding period for him and he was involved in two projects that captivated him; the 1976-77 operation to recover the Gateway of Diocletian and the Temple of Augustus from the submerged Island of Philae in Upper Egypt; and Operation Rheostat III, when, as Commanding Officer of Naval Party 1006 he conducted the critical mine clearance operations of the approaches to Port Said, Egypt, between 1 April and 14 May 1978, with a team of largely inexperienced young Clearance Divers from HMS Vernon, under testing conditions. He was awarded the OBE in the New Year’s Honours in 1978, for his exceptional service in general and particularly for his work in DNW over the previous two years.

His last appointment between 1978 and 1979 was in NATO as the Staff Officer Operations to the Commander, Eastern Mediterranean.

He was also the most highly educated member of the Clearance Diving Branch; his desire to educate himself starting late in his career. While working in the MOD in 1969, and staying up in London during the week, he decided to fill the nights productively with study. Having achieved the entry requirements, he went on to Essex University in the 1973-74 academic year and was awarded a B.Sc from London University and an M.A. from Essex University in 1975. After leaving the RN he worked in academia, firstly at Liverpool University from 1980 to 1989, as a Senior Administrator for Student affairs and Part-time Lecturer, being awarded an M. Phil. by the University in 1988. He moved to Southampton College of Further Education in 1992 as Senior Administrator. Between 1989 and 1998 he was an Honorary Senior Fellow in the School of Archaeology, Classics and Oriental Studies of the University of Liverpool. He retired from paid employment in 1994 and researched for his Ph.D, which he was awarded in 1999, aged 70. His interests were in Ancient History, Classical Art and Archaeology; his research involved the Greek and Roman civilisations.

He married Joan in 1952, who survives him with their two children, Christopher and Ann. Rear Admiral Chris Parry CBE, currently Director General of the Development, Concepts and Doctrine Centre at Shrivenham, brought him immense pride.