Gilbert Garrigues (France)

Born in Normandy in 1931 , 20 Km south of Rouen I became Radio Officer after one year at the “ Ecole d’Hydrographie de Paris “ 1950-1951 .I worked as Radio Officer (and purser) on many liberty ships , Empire ships , cargo-ships and passengers ships , mainly with the shipping company “Nouvelle Compagnie Havraise Péninsulaire “. This company sent her ships to load in Indian Ocean , Madagascar , South Africa and also into the Persian Gulf = my call signs were FPPO – FOBO – FPOV – FNQW – FPOO – FNQF – FPGX – FNQS – FNQA – FNQB – FNQD – FNQO – and so on …. I served one year in the french Navy on the oceanic mine sweeper “Garigliano” FASL . We took this new ship in the shipyard of Tacoma-Seattle in 1954 to bring her back to France. I left the merchant navy in 1963 and entered as electronics engineer in the firm “ SAGEM” of Paris where I worked 23 years on inertial navigation systems for missiles and planes. Retired in 1987 in the same place where I was born.