born in wyre piddle, son of harry &amp; madeline (née winn), near pershore, worcestershire, choules joined the royal navy as a young man in 1916, and served aboard the naval training ship hms circe at plymouth. in 1917, he joined the battleship hms "revenge", which was the flagship of the first battle squadron. while serving aboard her, choules witnessed the surrender of the german imperial navy at the firth of forth in 1918, ten days after the armistice, and was also to witness the scuttling of the german fleet in scapa flow.