User:Sjcrook/sandbox

Stan Richardson (13th October 1919 - 1st December 2023) was a Royal Navy veteran who served on HMS Nelson and HMS Illustrious during the Second World War. His Service Number was FX80767.

Royal Navy Career
Richardson joined the Royal Navy in April 1936, aged 16, as a Boy Seaman. On 13th October 1937, at age 18, his official time in the Navy began, with him volunteering for 12 years service.

The first ship he served on was the battleship HMS Royal Sovereign, based at Portsmouth. In April 1937 he served on HMS Nelson, the flagship of the home fleet. During this period the Second World War was declared. Stan remained on the Nelson until September 1939. Following this he joined the Fleet Air Arm and served at RAF Locking in Weston-Super-Mare for training with the RAF. Subsequently he joined 765 Squadron, a sea plane training squadron. Following this he joined 882 Squadron, an interceptor squadron. In March 1942 he joined the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious. In March 1943 he left the Illustrious. Later in the war he served at various land bases, including Bermuda and Ceylon, where he was in May 1945 when the war ended. He left the Navy in October 1949.

Post-War years
In 1950 he married a Navy Wren and together they had a son. He joined electrical retailer Rumbelows in a role opening shops in the south of England, becoming an area manager. He later retired and settled in East Preston, West Sussex.