On July 12th 1940 Vice Admiral Stephenson came out of retirement and was tasked with setting up the training base HMS Western Isles at Tobermory, which became the Royal Navy's anti-submarine training school for the remainder of the Second World War. Between July and October of the same year, 144 unescorted boats and 73 escorted boats were sunk so Stephenson quickly realised that the task of training these reservists required a different approach.
He believed that the most important priority was instilling the importance of discipine, a determination to win and training the recruits in tehnical proficiency, "to impress them with a feeling of urgency." Stephenson would roar out orders:-
"I'here's a bomb just gone down your funnel - what are you going to do about it!" "I'hat's a U-boat on your port bow - what are you going to do?" One day he boarded a vessel without being seen, crept up behind the oblivious recruit, and whispered in his ear: " There's a fire on the mess-deck!" "Oh yes sir," replied the crew member. "We always keep a good fire on down there."
But the Admiral wasn't always beaten that easily. A frequently recounted anecdote is that when inspecting a corvette and its crew, Stephenson suddenly threw his hat on the deck and called it an unexploded bomb. A trainee immediately kicked it into the water so while Stephenson commended him for quick action, he wanted his hat back! He pointed to his elaborate gold braided hat, floating on the waves and shouted "that's a man overboard - what are you going to do about that!" So the trainee had to jump over the side of the boat and into the water to rescue his cap.
The list of anecdotes is endless and TV personality Richard Baker who served on convoy vessels during the Second World War was sent for training to Tobermory. It's here he first met Vice Admiral Stephenson and in 1972 wrote a very readable account of this great man entitled The Terror of Tobermory. This provides a fascinating insight into the Royal Navy during its heyday. It also paints a new picture of Tobermory to anyone who knows the town and tells the story of a remarkable man who did much to help Britain's war effort in the most unlikely of settings.