Ray had a long career of engineering experience. His talent led to him being headhunted by Chr. Salvesen & Co. for work in South Georgia as part of the helicopter crew. Helicopters were used to help factory ships at sea spot whales, allowing whale catchers to follow the migrating whales.
On board the factory ship, the top deck was where the helicopters were kept in a hangar between the two funnels. It was a busy job on board, as every morning, at first light, they would pull the helicopters out to the hangars, unfold the rotor blades, attach the floats and carry out pre-flight checks and re-fuelling whilst the pilots had their breakfast. Once airborne, the pilots were looking for the ‘slick’ the give-away circles left by whale tails after they have dived, or for blows.
Ray was very fit and loved sport, he represented the Navy on several occasions. On board the ship and down in the Antarctic he liked to keep himself busy, walking when he could, taking photos, writing letters, making scrimshaw and playing football/sports when possible, singing and playing cards.
Ray enjoyed his time down in the Antarctic. He liked sharing stories about his time there with his family and doing slide shows and showing pictures. It was a hard life, in small claustrophobic quarters, and very smelly, life would have been very different in the confines of the ship.