Richard Thomas (Mike) Doolin
Place of birth: Grantham, Lincolnshire, England
Service: Royal Navy
Rank: Boy 1st Class
Service Number: P/JX 145003
Joined Hood: 1936
Left Hood: 1937
Biographical Information:
Mike was born on 25 April 1919 in Grantham, UK to Irish parents. He joined the Royal Navy at age 16 on 12 June 1935. His service number was JX 145003. He was assigned as a Boy 2nd Class to the training establishment at H.M.S. Ganges. During his time at Ganges he was promoted to Boy 1st Class (25 January 1936). He left at Ganges on 19 March 1936 and joined the crew of the battleship H.M.S. Royal Sovereign the following day.
Mike served aboard Royal Sovereign for six months until 07 September 1936. He joined the battle cruiser H.M.S. Hood the following day. Hood, at that time was assigned to the Mediterranean Fleet. During his time in Hood, he was promoted to Ordinary Seaman (25 April 1937). He is believed to have worked with the ship's torpedoes. He remained with Hood until 23 July 1938.
Following his time in Hood, Mike returned to England to Victory Barracks, Portsmouth. He was promoted to Able Seaman on 25 Juy 1938. September and October of that year saw Mike training at Effingham and Vernon then rejoining Victory Barracks. He then joined the sloop Auckland from November 1938 to May 1940.
1940 saw Mike assigned to the following establishments/ships: Victory, Nimrod, Defiance/Centurion, and Dolphin. He was promoted to Leading Seaman in August of that year. He left Dolphin in April 1941. The remainder of 1941 saw him serve in/at Osprey, Orlando, Cormorant and the Nile. He had been promoted to Acting Petty Officer during this timeframe.
Mike left the Nile in April 1942. The rest of the year saw Mike serve in/at St Angelo, Lance and Osprey. He was promoted to Petty Officer during this timeframe. He left the Osprey in January 1943. The rest of that year saw him serve in/at Nimrod, Victory, Osprey, Dolphin, Cyclops, Maidstone and Medway II.
Mike left Medway II in Mar 44. The remainder of that year saw him serve at Victory. He left Victory in February 1945 and was assigned "next door" at Vernon. The rest of that year saw him serve at/in Eaglet, Victory and Diadem. He served in Diadem until March 1948, at which time he returned to Victory. He was assigned to Resource and Victory throughout 1948 and into 1949. He was released from service (put into reserve status) in April 1949.
During his naval service, he received the 1939-45 Star, Atlantic Star, Africa Star, Italy Star, Defence Medal and the War Medal 1939-45. After his Royal Naval service, Mike served in the Merchant Navy for a time. He later emigrated to Australia, where he worked on a dredger off Port Phillip.
Mike passed away on on 4th December 2015. His legacy lives on through his donation of the Richard Doolin Award. This award was presented by the H.M.S. Hood Association to Sea Cadets, St Austell (formerly Hood) in May 2015. It will continue to be awarded annually to the unit's most improved cadet.
History of ships served in and ratings held:
Date From | Date to | Ship | Rating | Source |
12th June 1935 | 25th January 1936 | Ganges | Boy 2nd Class | Service record (via Mike) |
26th January 1936 | 19th March 1936 | Ganges | Boy 1st Class | Service record (via Mike) |
20th March 1936 | 7th September 1936 | Royal Sovereign | Boy 1st Class | Service record (via Mike) |
8th September 1936 | 24th April 1937 | Hood | Boy 1st Class | Service record (via Mike) |
25th April 1937 | 23rd July 1938 | Hood | Ordinary Seaman | Service record (via Mike) |
13th September 1937 | 17th September 1938 | Effinham (Vimy) | Able Seaman | Service record (via Mike) |
24th July 1938 | 24th July 1938 | Victory I | Ordinary Seaman | Service record (via Mike) |
25th July 1938 | 12th September 1937 | Victory I | Able Seaman | Service record (via Mike) |
18th September 1938 | 12th October 1938 | Vernon (Vimy) | Able Seaman | Service record (via Mike) |
13th October 1938 | 18th November 1938 | Victory I | Able Seaman | Service record (via Mike) |
19th November 1938 | 3rd December 1939 | Aukland | Able Seaman | Service record (via Mike) |
4th December 1939 | 9th May 1940 | Cochrane II (Aukland) | Able Seaman | Service record (via Mike) |
10th May 1940 | 12th June 1940 | Victory I | Able Seaman | Service record (via Mike) |
13th June 1940 | 24th July 1940 | Nimrod | Able Seaman | Service record (via Mike) |
25th July 1940 | 6th August 1940 | Defence (Centurion) | Able Seaman | Service record (via Mike) |
7th August 1940 | 4th October 1940 | Defence (Centurion) | Acting Leading Seaman | Service record (via Mike) |
5th October 1940 | 10th April 1941 | Dolphin (L129) | Acting Leading Seaman | Service record (via Mike) |
11th April 1941 | 21st April 1941 | Osprey | Acting Leading Seaman | Service record (via Mike) |
22nd April 1941 | 6th July 1941 | Orlando (Lance) | Acting Leading Seaman | Service record (via Mike) |
7th July 1941 | 31st August 1941 | Orlando (Lance) | Acting Petty Officer (Temporary) | Service record (via Mike) |
1st September 1941 | 31st October 1941 | Cormorant (Lance) | Acting Petty Officer (Temporary) | Service record (via Mike) |
1st November 1941 | 5th April 1942 | Nile (Lance) | Acting Petty Officer (Temporary) | Service record (via Mike) |
6th April 1942 | 6th July 1942 | St. Angelo | Acting Petty Officer (Temporary) | Service record (via Mike) |
7th July 1942 | 2nd September 1942 | St. Angelo | Petty Officer | Service record (via Mike) |
3rd September 1942 | 25th October 1942 | Lance | Petty Officer | Service record (via Mike) |
26th October 1942 | 8th January 1943 | Osprey | Petty Officer | Service record (via Mike) |
9th January 1943 | 5th February 1943 | Nimrod | Petty Officer | Service record (via Mike) |
6th February 1943 | 11th February 1943 | Osprey | Petty Officer | Service record (via Mike) |
12th February 1943 | 3rd March 1943 | Victory | Petty Officer | Service record (via Mike) |
4th March 1943 | 10th April 1943 | Dolphin (S/Ms) | Petty Officer (Temporary) | Service record (via Mike) |
11th April 1943 | 23rd June 1943 | Cyclops (S/Ms) | Petty Officer (Temporary) | Service record (via Mike) |
24th June 1943 | 13th July 1943 | Dolphin (S/Ms) | Petty Officer (Temporary) | Service record (via Mike) |
14th July 1943 | 19th August 1943 | Maidstone (S/Ms) | Petty Officer (Temporary) | Service record (via Mike) |
20th August 1943 | 20th February 1944 | Medway II (S/Ms) | Petty Officer (Temporary) | Service record (via Mike) |
21st February 1944 | 31st March 1944 | Medway II (S/Ms) | Petty Officer | Service record (via Mike) |
1st April 1944 | 30th November 1944 | Victory | Petty Officer | Service record (via Mike) |
1st December 1944 | 20th February 1945 | Victory | PTRTI 2nd Class | Service record (via Mike) |
21st February 1945 | 10th July 1945 | Vernon | PTRTI 2nd Class | Service record (via Mike) |
11th July 1945 | 18th September 1945 | Eaglet | PTRTI 2nd Class | Service record (via Mike) |
19th September 1945 | 21st October 1945 | Victory | PTRTI 2nd Class | Service record (via Mike) |
22nd October 1945 | 16th March 1948 | Diadem | PTRTI 2nd Class | Service record (via Mike) |
17th March 1948 | 17th March 1948 | Victory | PTRTI 2nd Class | Service record (via Mike) |
18th March 1948 | 7th March 1949 | Resource (S.O.R.F.) | PTRTI 2nd Class | Service record (via Mike) |
8th March 1949 | 24th April 1949 | Victory | PTRTI 2nd Class | Service record (via Mike) |
25th April 1949 | Released to reserve | PTRTI 2nd Class | Service record (via Mike) |
Additional Photos |
Mike and his class at Ganges |
Mike and his wife in 2007. |
No known memorials
Sources
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
'Register of Deaths of Naval Ratings' (data extracted by Director of Naval Personnel (Disclosure Cell), Navy Command HQ, 2009)
John Tyson, e-mail 2 April 1003