Colin Hamilton – How Family Grams worked

Never any problem apart from the family grams that you get sent saying, “I’ve bought a house.” (laughs).

Simon: Yes. Do you know if she knew that they were being read before they were being delivered?

Oh yes.

Simon: So everyone’s conscious of that.

They are. There must be at least half a dozen people at least read them.

If you said you were going to get a family gram every week, if you didn’t get one then somebody from the off crew would go round and say, “Is there any problem, why haven’t you … because your husband’s at sea worrying about not getting a family gram?”

So, you had to think of that. For God’s sake, send me anything, but quite often they’d have codes. They got crafty; they have codes. Most of them didn’t make sense (laughs) and we were just straightforward. I’ve got nothing hide.

Simon: So, hidden words that meant different meanings but perhaps if you read it as a sentence, didn’t make any sense at all.

Yes, that’s right. So, it was silly really. Thirty words, you know, what can you say in thirty words and it’s still the same I think. They can’t send anything, you can only receive, which was fine. I didn’t have to write any letters (laughs).

Simon: Right. But the arrival of that was an important event for you.

Oh it was, it was, yes, and if you didn’t get one, you’d think ‘Oh my God, what’s happened?’ 

Simon: So, you figured something bad had happened and it had been censored.

You were initially asked, if there was bad news, would you want it straight away or would you want it 24 hours before the submarine got back or would you want it when the submarine is alongside.

Well, if you had just sailed and then your wife and kids were killed in a car crash two days out, you won’t surface, and they won’t come back. That’s it, so what’s the point of hearing then?