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OCTOBER 2008 £1.80Turn and burn... HMS Iron Duke rushes tothe rescue of the hurricane-ravagedTurksand Caicos Islands. See page 3 for thefull story.

Picture: LA(Phot) Jay Allen. FRPU East

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leet FocusGLOBAL turbulence has dominated the media headlinesthispast month- and not just in the financial sector.For a good fortnight Hurricanes Gustav and Ike surpassed

even the ‘credit crunch’ on news bulletins. And where there’s atropical stonn, there'snever a Royal Navy warship far away.Two in this case, HMS Iron Duke and her supporting tanker

HFA Wave Ruler, who've been chasing first Gustav, then Ike,to offer what assistance they could in the storms‘ wake (seeopposite).The effects of Nature’s wrath in theCaribbeanare immediately

evident. Her effects in West Africa, caused by climate changeand other environmental factors, are less so — but equallydevastating in the long term. HMS Endurancehas visited Ghanaand Sierra Leone to highlight the importance of looking after thecountries’ delicate environment (see page 8).Harnessing the environment. in this instance the HelmandRiver. is key to the British mission in Afghanistan. UK forcessafely transported a hydro-electric turbine to Kajaki Dam in theface of insurgent activity,using the Harriers of the Naval strikeWlng as theiraerial umbrella (see page 4).The naval aviators have been in Helmand for a little over a

month — far less time than the specialist helicopter engineers ofFleet Forward Support (Air) — a small, unsung and invaluableteam whose work is championed on pages 18-19.The aviatorsand engineers are now beingjoined in Afghanistan

by the first elements of 3 Commando Brigade, includingthe Hospital Squadron: the latter prepared for some of thechallenges theyfaceat Camp Bastion with an authenticexercisein Yorkshire (see right).Not all the Corps is deploying to Helmand this winter. The

marines need to maintain theiramphibiouscapability,somethingthey do thanks in no small measure to the team at lnstow, 11Amphibious Irials and 1raInlng. We take a look behind (andbeneath)the scenes (see centre pages).The dynamic duo attached to NATO’s minehunting force,

mother ship HMS Roebuck and HMS Ledbury, have beenexercising in Italian waters, alongside the rest of the internationalforce (see page 10).The pair will are taking part in Exercise Noble Midas - as is

HMS Cumberland,which is spending theautumnwitha differentNATO group (see page 7].Surprisingly, it’s been more than five years since a Royal Navywarship sailed into Umm Qasr. Mine countermeasures vessels

Blythand Atherstonenavigated the Khawr abd Allah to step uptraining with the Iraqi Navy (see page 7).The Red Rose — HMS Lancaster - is now east of Suez after a

fairly swift passage through the Med (see page 6).She'll be joined in the Indian Ocean by HMS Horthumberland

— who's also visiting the Falklandsand Pacificon an eclectic six-month deployment (see page 5).Farther east. HMS Kent has been in Tokyo celebrating the150tlg)anniversary of Anglo-Japanese co-operation (see pages

74-1.

High summer normallymeans a tailing-offof RN activityas theFleet comes home for leave. But the ports and coastal towns ofthe British Isles have been awash with warships: inter alia HMSArgyll took part in Dartmouth Regatta (see page 20), AlbionandManchester visited Liverpool (see pages 5 and 7 respectively),Brocklesby popped across to Alderney (see page 6). and HMScampbeltownhas been in her namesake town after calling in atSt Nazaire (see page 4).Venerable destroyer HMS Exeter has returned from possibly

her last deployment — Russia. Norway and Iceland - to a spiritedwelcome in Portsmouth (see page 7).And also home — after a lengthier spell away — is aviation

training ship RFA Argus, which marked her 20th birthdaysupporting the Allied effort in the Middle East (see page 13).Talking of birthdays... HMS Clyde has celebrated her first in

the Falklands.She’s our ship of themonth (see page 12).

~_ RFAWave Ruler" ‘ . HMS Iron Duke

HMS Sabre/ScimitarFIFA Bayleaf

RFA DiligenceHMS NorthumberlandHMS Lancaster

RFA BlackRoverHMS Clyde

Plus one ballistic missile submarine on patrol somewhere beneaththe Seven Seas

Medics taste MASHTWO hundred Senior Servicemedics, nurses and surgeonswere subjected to the horrorsof war — before they even got toAfghanistan.The medics headed to Yorkshire

for the improbabI_\'—n-.1med ExerciseRoscdulu Ready, the final test for theleani of R?\"Ri\'l medical personnellJL‘f(lt‘L' they take charge oi‘ the fieldliospital at Cainp Bastion, the hub ofBritish operations in Helmand.

7: (‘.o1nmnnt‘1o Brigade led :1 Iinitl‘battle reliearszil‘ on Stilislitiry Plainin Jul_\‘.And although medics were involved

in the sprtiwliiiit exercise, there wasnothing on offer quite as specific asthe ‘workout’ provided by the Arm_\'Medical Services Training Centre nearYork.It is to meL‘lic'.~a whttt Bull Point

in Plymouth is to ni.'.ttelots: :1 semi-rcttlistit.‘ disaster environnicnt.Bull Point replicates the impact of

hurrie-tines and eurtliquzikes on islandCommunities.The :\MS‘I'(2 -.1 large liamgar turned

into it lield liospiltll mirrors medicalfacilitiesat Camp Bastion... as does thecasualties it receives.To ensure training is as authentic

as possible, amputees provide therealistn of troops who l‘lLl\'t.' lost limbsin bomb blasts — coinpletc with bloodymake-up.There's also :1 nioek-up oft: Chinook

helicopter: rather than ‘simply’ dealingwith casualties in the lield htispittil.the training Ilicilitjc is intended to givel‘l‘lt_'Lllt_‘;ll personnel the full Bastionexperience »— and that means movingpatients from the helicopter throughthe base to the hospital.As we‘\'e lczitured in these pages

before, the medics c1on’t purely lookalter British personnel in theatre: theyoften have to aid locals \voum‘led li_\''l‘a|eh-.1n attacks.

So there were also civilian casualtiesto cope with in York, plus .'-\fgli:minterpreters to help the medical lctllnfi."The troops will get top—cIass

inedictil care delivered by highly-lrziined niedicztl experts," said Lt CdrAli lloliti-.111, Olliccr Coininzinding theHospital Squadron ~ which has nowdeployed to Helmand.“We will beworkingout ofa st:ite—ol'—

the—;1rt llutsplltll and although therewillbe challenges, we will Llll be pro\'idin_s_zthe troops with \vorld—class support."0 A medic tends to a bloody‘casualty’during theexercise

Picture: L/\IPhol) 'Knotty‘ Knott. FRPU East

HMS ChathamHMS MontroseHMS RamseyHMS BlythHMS AtherstoneHMS Chiddinglold857 NASRFA Cardigan BayRFAWave Knight

4}"

Satellite imagery courtesy of NASA

O Calm after the storm... HMS Iron Duke's Lynx heads off on a recce of theTurksand Caicos Islands in the wake of Hurricane Ike

TWICE in a week was manreminded of his impotencein the the face of MotherNature's merciless fury.

And twice in the space ofa weekdid British sailors bringaid — and hope -A to bat-tered island communitiesas first Hurricane Gustavthen Ike tore throughthe Caribbean beforeventing their wrath onmainland USA.

The world’s media~ and, to be fair, theemergency services --

were all geared up forGustav bludgconingits way through NewOrleans much as Katrinadid three years before withdevastatingconsequences.

It did not. But Gustav was farfrom a damp squib, as communitiesacross the Caribbeanwill testify.

Frigate HMS lron Duke andtanker RFA \‘\'/ave Ruler — bothin the region on anti-drug patrols— hung on to Gustav’s coat tails,

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NAVY NIEW-"S, OCTOBER 2008 3‘S3’/"

tseandu‘uaueRe!(toqd}e|:sa.m;otd

ers on t e stormremaining 24} hours behindthe hurricane, waiting to offerassistance to islands struck by theSKOTITI.

Those included the Caymans— mercifully not exposed to the

full force of Gustav, butwas still battered by windswhich topped l00mph.

The frigate arrivedoff the islands the

morning after thehurricane struck andimmediatel_\-' took thedistricteommissionerup in the ship’sLynx to survey thedamage.That flight — and

the photographic datait collected - allowed the

ship and the Commissioner toassess what aid would be needed.

It was followed by a similarrecceof Little Caynian and CaymanBrac with the islands‘ governor,Stuart Jack, aboard the L_vnx.

He left assured that progresswas being made in clearing up— and assured that if a more

potent storm struck, considerableassistarice from the RN-RF.»\dtio would he on hand altnostimmediately.

Even as Gustav was stillbarrclling northwards. a morepotent stornt »- lke -- was brewing.

lke ‘enjo_ved‘, if that's the word,considerably more media attentionthan its predecessor.

It proved tobe considerablymore devastzitingtoo, certainly forthe people ofthe Turks and(luicos Islands.

The ill—f:Jted chain l'lLlLi alreadybeen lashed by Hurricane Hanna,which did little datnage, but didllood some oi‘ the landsciipc.

Ike was less forgiving but atleast some good fortune was onthe side of islanclers.

Just a fortnight before Ikestruck. Iron Duke had been in theTurks and (Z-aieos. 'I‘l1e subject?Disaster relief in the event of ahurricane.

So, broadly speaking. the island

hard.”“|ke hit Grand Turkvery

- Lt Cdr Dean Bassett

knew what to expect from the\':t\'}'... and the .\':I\')' knew whatto expect from locals should ithurricane strike.

\‘Ii'hich it did. Ike sin-ashed intothe island chain with winds of upto 135inph rztvagitttz buildings.

As soon as the hurricane hadpassed, an eight~n1un teittn waslanded b_\' Iron Duke initially

to assess thedainage.

“Ike hitGr-and Turk\'er_\' ltard," saidIron DLtkc'slixecutivc

Ofticer, Lt Cdr De-an Bassett, oneof the lirst sailors ashore —- b-.1rel_\'ten hours after the storm strtick.

“.-\ll areas were witltoutelectricity and most areas withoutrunning water or food."

As in the Caym:-in Islands. theship sent her l._vnx aloft to gatherinformation about the extent ofthe devastation.

The results of the recce flightwere sobering in the extrente.

"About 5*") per cent ofall houses

on (3rand'l‘urkhad severe damageoi‘ some kind either completelyde.~;trog.'cd or the roof had beenretnovcd," said Iron Duke's (IOCdr Mark .\'e\\'l;md_

"’l‘he scene was completeL‘lt.‘\’:I.s'I;illon in our c_\'csand we're not experts attltis.“

Not experts perhaps,

'I'he_\' handed out bottled water.They restored power to Grand'l'urk's reverse osmosis plants.source of the island's fresh water.They restored power to the health

clinic, .‘-\nd all thewhile the Lynxbuzzed around, ferryingfuel, food and water to the

outlying islands.“\‘\"e made significant

but the RN and RF.-\ are progress." said Cdrntasters ol'itnprovis-.11ion Newland.am.l‘t:an do‘. "Water. food and

As proved by Grand shelter were all at a'l'urk’s hospital. satist'actor_v and\\}'ithin three hours sustainable level.of the lirst sailors “'l'he mood in ourarriving. once ward group was buoyant.was lit for use one moreand patients and stall wereenioying warm meal.

liurthcr afield, the 81": NASLynx was ferrying food and cleanwater to isolated communities,while a team from Iron Dukecleared the runway at the island'sairport to allow aid flights toarrive.

For three days the sailors toiled.'l'he_\' put up IL‘l‘l‘lp0X'Z'lI‘_\’ roofs.

l'In e:-tceptionally proudof both ships‘ companies."Hurricanes passed, the two

ships resumed their counter-drugsoperations. and joined the Dutchfrigate I-lNI..\lS Van Speijk forexercises.

O Cometh the wrath of God...(Below) sailors grapple with thedevastation caused by Ike inGrand Turk

4 NAVYNEWS, OCTOBER 2008

;fi-A GLOBAL REACH'

1twice in twomonthsIll!‘somersetTHERE'S a double dose ofSomerset in her native countythisautumn.

Several membersof theship's company left the frigatebehind in Devonport andheaded east to catch up withaffiliates: the Royal BritishLegion and Baytree School inWeston-super-Mare. the Mayorof Wells and Sea Cadet unitsin Glastonburyand Weston-super-Mare.

They hadn't seen the sailors.led by Commanding Officer CdrRob Wilson, for some time: theType 23 spent more than sevenmonths away thisyear withNATO in the Mediterranean.

Having left the ship behindlast month, the ship’s companywill be bringing it with them ontheir second visit.

The ship will serve as thehost for the launch of theRoyal British Legion’s annualpoppy appeal when she visitsAvonrnouthon October29.

For Somerset folk who havenot had or will not have thechance to see the ship or hermen and women in person.they have been at least ableto hear about the frigate'sexploits.

Tony Smedleyof TauntonHospital Radio visited theshipto record a special edition of hisweekend request programme.

The show. broadcast topatients in Taunton'sMusgrovePark Hospital (and also on theApple AM website). featureda Desert Island Discs-styleinterview with Cdr Wilson andinput from the rest of his ship’scompany.

lllll suffering'l0CI|Styears’SOME of the leading figuresin naval circles agree thattoday's — and tomorrow's —

Senior Service is "grievouslyweakened” by years of under-funding.

Forrner First Sea LordsAdmiral of the Fleet Sir JulianOswald and Admiral Sir JockSlater and ex-Commander-in-Chief Fleet Sir John Treacher,plus counterparts from theArmy and RAF. have all puttheir names to a report bythe UK National DefenceAssociation.

The group was formed tocampaign for improved fundingfor Britain's military. it believesthe Forces have not been sostarved of money since the‘locust ears‘ of the 1930s.

The N is roughly halfthe size it was in 1982. yetit has been involved in fiveconflicts in the past decade -

Kosovo, Bosnia. Sierra Leone.Afghanistan and Iraq — whilethe UK depends more than everon seaborne trade.

The report — Overcomingthe Defence Crisis - saysmoney must be pumped intomodernising the RFA. provisionof replacementType 22/23frigates. a stronger Fleetsubmarine force. as well asrecruitment and retention.

“Our very existence dependson being able to defend ourhome waters and our sea linesof communication around theworld, yet our Navy has beengrievouslyweakened.” theassociation warns.

Whitehall contends many ofthe claims and demands madeby the report.

"The defence budget isexperiencing its longest periodof sustained real growth forover 30 years,” said an MODspokesman.

“AdditionalTreasury fundingallows us to deliver urgent andcutting-edge equipment totheatre.

“Our Armed Forces arecurrently working very hard,continuously displaying theprofessionalism.bravery andexcellence that make them thebest in theworld."

O A Naval Strike Wing Harrier high above thewaters of the Kajaki Lake during Operation Oqab Tsuka...

V. In :51: “""'

The Qlllltl SllB|lllBl‘IlSNAVAL jets were theangels on the shouldersof British forces involvedin the nation's mostimportant mission yet inAfghanistan.

Two years after RoyalMarines seized the KajakiDam on the Helmand River,a large convoy was dispatchedfrom Kandahar to deliver ahuge turbine for the dam’shydro-electric power station.

Operation Oqab Tsuka (Pashtufor ‘caglc’ssummit‘) was central tothe British aim ofbringingstabilityback to Helmand — and aboveall power to support the rcgion’sinhabitants and their economy.

The turbine components wereflown into Kandahar, the aerialhub of all Allied operations insouthernAfghanistan.

But the only way of transportingit to Kajaki was by road (orin many cases dirt track), in aconvoy (or, more properly,combatlogistic patrol) of more than 80vehicles, trundling slowly throughHclmand — and through terrainwhere insurgents were known tobe operating.

That meant air power as wellas ground power was neededto shepherd the slow—movingconvoy to its destination — Apachegunships, Chinooks and I-larricrGR7s and GR9s of the NavalStrikeWing.

Six Harriers were ready at anyone time to support the turbinemove. The jets rcconnoitred theroute before the convoy set off,provided an ‘umbrella’ over theheads of the vehicles, and actedas a reassuring presence for thetroops escorting the turbine.

It took several days for thecolumn to reach Kajaki ~ with air-to-air refuelling helping to sustainthe Harriers.

The turbine move did attractthe attention of the insurgents, buta shield ofAllied troops fanned outat theside of thecolumn to protectthe vital piece of machinery.

“For some maintainers, thiswasthe first experience of witnessingjets returning somewhat lighterthan they had taken off," said CdrKev Seymour, Naval Strike WingCommandingOfficer.

"The adrenalin rush of

refuclling, re-arming andpreparing the jets to goagain reminded them ofjust why we're here."

Naval aviators are justover a month into theirthird tour of duty withtheir bomber variants ofthe Harrier.

The turbine move was themost high-profile British action inI-Iclmand in months — and amongthe final acts under the tutelage of16 Air Assault Brigade.

The soldiers are now on theirway home and the diverse taskforce that is 3 Commando Brigadeis knuckling down at the start ofits six months in theatre.

For the initial stretch ofthattourof duty, the Naval StrikeWing willprovide key aerial support to thegreen berets (Fleet Air Arm andRAF Harrier crews take it in four-monthlyturns in Afghanistan).

Whether it's Army or RoyalMarines running operations, thepace oflife in Kandahar for air andground crew alike is punishing.

The working day begins,obviously, at llpm (that’s GMT,it’s actually 3.30am the followingday in Afghanistan...) with thewatch handover.

Each ‘shift’ beginswith a round-up of issues — weather,engineeringstatus of the Harriers, enemyactivity,ground forces activity.

This is just the opening gambitof the planning for every mission.

It normallytakes aroundseven hours to draw up allthe information— charts,intelligence picture, data— for each Naval StrikeWing mission (althoughHarriers also wait on the

standings ready to takeoff in a flash if the scramble

bell sounds).Seven hours is a long time to

wait before clambering into thecockpit, so grabbing some grub isa good idea.

We would not, of course, be sobold as to say the Naval StrikeWing want for nothing (alcohol,for a start, is banned), butfacilitiesare pretty comprehensiveat Kandahar.

There's 21 Subway, Pizza Hut,Burger King and, most beloved ofall by the fliers,Tim Hortons.

“When morale is low, or youare having a bad day, get yourselfdown to Timmy‘s,” says AET‘Archie’ Gcmmell.

The l\'a1r-y l\"etvs team werea little sceptical: what sort ofestablishment could Timmy‘s be?

Well, it's a coffee and doughnutshop—cum—cafe (Phew - Ed) whose“ice caps and doughnuts can't bebeaten," says Archie.

Thankfully, there are threegyms (to work off the doughnutsevidently‘): a NAAFI and its USequivalent, PX, for those little (orbig) treats.

But you don't need money to

create a little slice of home.In Alan Titchmarsli—fashion,

the naval aviators have created afenced garden (with bird table,kennel and benches).

'‘Don’t let mi: mislead people,”says AET Christopher Peart.“Between the coffee and pizzas,sunbathingand snake-wrangling—

we do work.“With regular missions,

scheduled maintenance and day-to-day events, things can quicklyheat up."

Indeed it can. For alongsidethe busy daily routine of plannedmissions, there are also unplannedmissions — war, unsurprisingly,never runs to timetables...

Several aircraft wait on thetarmac, assigned with theirengineers and pilots to GCAS —

Ground Close Air Support. Whenthe GCAS bell sounds, as the signnext to it imparts: rim like hell.

In true Battle of Britain fashion,the pilots dash for their aircraftand head off to provide urgentsupport for ground troops caughtin a spot of bother.

Excluding such spur—of—the—moment crises, the day normallyends at noon ~ 4.30pm local time— as the afternoon shift take over...and the exhausted fliers andground crcw head forTimmy’s orfor ‘home’.

Accommodation is, says Archie,“better than that of ‘Cell Block’Frccby back at Cottcsmorc.”

The air-conditioned cabins alsohave a lovely vista: the airfieldblast wall.

Still, life for the ‘Kandaharces'is rather better than it is for thosejust passing through the air base.

Accommodation for those onRSOI (deep breath — Reception,Staging, Onward—movementand Integration) is, shall we say,rudimentary: a big tent crammedwith beds which warms up nicelyin the Afghan sun.

And talking of theenvironment...

“It’s not too had out here onceyou get past the six inches of duston everything, poisonous snakesand football-sized spiders — andwho could forget the constantchance of a rocket attack,”explainsAET Peart.I You can follow the day-to-daylives of the Naval Strike Wingvia their blog at iivww.roya|-navy.mod.uk/server/show/nav.7075

Whistle-stoptour for HMScamnlieltownHMS Campbeltown has seenthe last of her home port formore than a year.

The frigate is not headingoff on a marathondeployment.however. She's paying apoignant visit to France,heading to her namesake town.then steaming to Flosythfor amulti-millionpound refit.

France first, and theportwhere theship and her sailorswere immortalised more thansix decades ago.

In March 1942. the previousCampbeltown,a former USdestroyer, rammed thedry dockat St Nazaire and was blown upby hidden charges.

The explosion rendered thedry dock useless for five years— and scuppered any hope thattheGermans might use it fortheirsurface fleet.

CampbeItown'scaptain thatfateful day Lt Cdr StephenHalden Beattie earned the VCfor his bravery.

Sixty-six years later his sonNick sailed with the modern-day frigate and membersoftheSt Nazaire Association totake part in a memorial servicewith the ship's company in theFrench port, followed by a civicreception.

There are more receptions instore for Campbeltown'ssailorswhen she heads to theScottishtown for which she is namedto catch up with locals andaffiliates,taking some to sea fora day.

Afterthatthere's a spell ofexercises in Scottish watersbefore heading for Rosythandrefit.

The ship's company will bereduced from around 250 to just35 as theType 22 undergoes amajor overhaul to her machineryand weapons systems.

“Afterwhat's been a verybusy period for theship withalot of time away on operations,we have two very importantvisits before going into refit.”said Lt Cdr Colin Williams,Campbe|town’sCO.

“Most of theship's companywill be assigned to differentvessels. so we'd like to expressour thanksto all our friends inDevonport for thesupport wehave received and say ‘Au revoir— see you in 2009'."

0 to lie liackat sea...HELICOPTERcarrier HMSOcean has finallyescaped theconfines of the basin which hasbeen her home for the past year.

Britain’s largest warship is nowon a tidal berth in her home port,one step closer to resuming herduties.

The assault ship — aka ‘TheMighty O’ as we’ve just learned ~

needed a thorough overhaul afterher first decade of service whichsaw her involved in pretty muchevery major operation Britain'sForces have been committed to inthe past ten years, notably SierraLeone and Iraq.

All that left her pretty wornout, hence the lengthyspell withengineers from Babcock who gaveher machinery a comprehensivemakeover and improved theaccommodation areas both forthe ship’s company and herembarked forces of aviators andRoyal Marines.

The ship’s company begantrotting back on board in July,firing up generators and airconditioning plants (for the firsttime in 12 months).

Ocean has a hectic autumnahead: sea trials followed byoperational sea training.

She'll be at the hub of a majoramphibiousdeployment headingcast of Suez in the new year.I More observant readers oflast month's Ship of the Monthquite rightly pointed out thatthe previous Ocean, the aircraftcarrier, was broken up in 1962,not 1952. Apologies, we hit thewrong key...

lining or(Pem)lir-nkeSIX months in Rosyth are upfor the ship’s company of HMSPembroke as they begin the longroad to the Gulf.

The Sandown-class minecountermeasures vessel will beheading to Bahrain with HMSGrimsby to replace sisters Blythand Ramsey as their lengthyspellin the .Middle East draws to anend.

Both replacements havereceived overhauls ahead of theirimpending deployments.

Machinery was revamped,a new sonar was installed andnew weapons mounts were fittedin keeping with her impendingmission.

Pembroke emerged fromRosyth’s ship shed in July afterlive months’ work and finallyreturned to Faslane to beginworl<—up.

And although it was a rottensummer, the gods were smilingupon Pembroke; the 600-milepassage from the Forth to theClyde was blessed by stunningweather,spectacular scenery and:3 smattering of wildlife.

It took :1 little over two days tocover the passage, helped alongby new “super-slippery paint".

This, of course, was not a timefor sightseeing; it was a time topractise navigation, run in themachinery and train new hands(several of whom had never beento sea before).

That training was just a gentletaster of what was to come: fiveweeks of intense workout with theFlag Oflicer Sea Training team(currently ongoing).

Once she sails through thatshe’ll head east in tandem withGrimsby.

HOW do you sail through the three principaloceans but not do a global deployment?

The men and womenNorthumberlandhave the answer, having setoff on one of the most varied deploymentsin TCCCIII years.

On a wonderful summer’s day inPlymouth (ie overcast skies and coat.-'jumper weather). families gathered onThe Hoe and at De\'il‘s Point (pcirnredubirvc) to wish loved ones God Speed.

The deployment begins in earnest eastol" Suez in support of Operation Cal-ash,one of the security operations enforced byAllied maritime powers.

But why stop in the Indian Ocean?The core of the l'rigate’s tour olduty comes around

the Falklands, providing reassurance toCitizens and UK interests in the South Atlantic.

And that means a trip around the Cape of GoodHope to move between the Indian and AtlanticOceans.

And if you’ve passed one of the great capes in the

O Albiondominates theMersey waterfront as shes berthedat Liverpoofs cruise liner terminalPicture: L/\(Phol) Dan Hooper, HMS AlbionChester draws in Albion

ASSAULT ship HMS Albion willbe out of action for the next sixor so months as she undergoesa major overhaul in Devonport.

Before the engineers,shipwrights and technicians gotto grips with her, the warshipsailed with aliiliates aboardto Liverpool — as close as the18.000-tonne vessel can get toher adopted city of Chester.

Those guests includedChester’s Lord Mayor, Cheshirepolice officers, Sea Cadetsand Royal Naval Associationveterans.

They were joined by around200 dignitaries for an officialreception once Albion arrivedon the Mersey.

The visit wasn’t all about Very

H MS

Important Personages.The gangway was opened

to the public, 1,500 of whomcame aboard to see Albion'scavernous loading dock andother impressive facilities.

And then it was on the bus(quite a few buses actually)for the relatively short trip toChester. where Albion's sailorsand marines celebrated theFreedom of theCity by marchingthrough its historic streets intraditional fashion. cheered onby its residents.

Even more popular. perhaps.was the ensuing rig run duringwhich the sailors and greenberets, we're told, "made themost of Chester's hospitality".

All good things come to an

southern oceans, why not complete the set?Yes, after her spell around the Falklands,

Northumberland will navigate.

treacherous waters of Cape Horn before» hugging the western coast of South

’ America, nipping through the PanamaCanal, calling in on the Caribbean,and

the more

...\\’-"hich is why some of the ship’scompany are calling their deployment a

‘partial global’.“\'l/ithover six monthsaway from home,

I and my crew will of course miss the lovedones that we leave behind." said Commanding

Officer Cdr Martin Simpson.British

the seas.

vessels

“We also know that we are fullilling duties thatare important to the UK and all countries which use

“Our role in providing safe passage to all legaland deterring those that aren't remains as

important and as relevant today as it was 100 yearsago." Picture: l.A(Phol) Jenny Lodge. FRPU Drake

end, and now Albion's as muchbuilding site as she is warship,undergoing a £27m upgrade.

On top of the usualmaintenance, over the winterthe experts at Babcock inDevonport will be improvingthe ship's living quarters andweapons and combat systems.

Albion returns to the Fleetnext May and will spend theremainder of 2009 workingup, taking over from her sisterBulwark as the on-call assaultship at the end of the year.

For more information while onWelComE Customer Contact Ce

NAVY NIEWS, OCTOBER 2008

GLOBAL REAC "".'4 5.‘

Canine nine nineFOR all their rufty-tuftyness, deep down you know our fliers arejust big softies.

So when Lt Pete McCormick spolonginglyat him, he had to help.

Except he was several score feet in theair at the controls of aSea King... and the doleful eyes belonged to a collie stuck half-way up a Cornish cliff.

The 771 NAS Sea King from Culdrose had been scrambled torescue two walkers cut off by theBristol Channel near WatergateBay, Newquay.

And that's something the helicopter crew did safely, but inthehmiddle of the rescue pilot Pete saw two eyes peering backat im.

"We managed to lower our aircrewman, P0 Jason Bibby, on tothe cliff and saw thattheeyes belonged to a collie that looked abit like Shep [Ask your parents —- Ed]," said Pete.

Aircraft commander Lt Cdr Mike Luscombe takes up thetale: “Despite the noise from the helicopter, the dog was verypleased to see Jason — but he was obviously in pain becausehe growled.

"Jason managed to calm him down and noticed that he had abroken paw."

The injured creature was scoopedinside the helicopter before beingCoastguard, then to a local vets.

As it turned out, the dog - Yossy - had been missing for aweek; now patched up, he's been reunited with his owner.

"Yossy was a lovely dog — he was as good as gold while hesat in the back of the aircraft, obviously pleased to be taken tosafety," said Mike.

The ordeal did cost Yossy his leg — the vets were unable tosave it — but he did gain some new friends,who came to see himafter he recovered from his operation (pictured above).

tted two doleful eyes looking

up in a harness and landedhanded over first to the

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3

OCTOBER 2008

Eli)» GLOBAL REACHBrocklesbychannelsher energiesLAST month it was Sark, thismonth her neighbour Alderneyreceived a visit from a Britishwarship.Sark hadn't seen a vessel

flying theWhite Ensign in aquarter of a century (HMSCattistock put that right).The people of Alderney

hadn't been starved of an RNvisitor for quite so long.But it was still six years since

fishery protection ship HMSAlderney paid her farewell visitto the isle.Minehunter HMS Brocklesby

plugged thatgap, anchoring inAlderney Harbour off the villageof Bray, whose inhabitantswere ratherchuffed to see thesailors.Despite being a boat ride

away, many islanders took theopportunity to tour this rarevisitor — especially Alderney'syouth groups (theCubs wereratherawestruck by thewarship's 30mm main gun).And one in every 24 Alderney

residents — or 100 spectators ifyou prefer — turned up to watchthe ship's football team take onthe island's finest.The locals proved too

good for the sailors — five ofwhom had never played withthe Brocklesby side before —

dispatching thevisitors 4-0 ona glorious summer's day.The minehunter men weren't

worn out by their sportingexertions and went on atour of the island — the thirdlargest in the Channel Islandchain — to see the capital StAnne and some of the historicfortifications safeguardingAlderney from invasion.Before departing,

Brocklesby's C0 Lt Cdr TomTredray presented items fromthe RN TrophyStore to theisland's president, Sir NormanBrowse, as well as a ship'splaque.“My ship's company worked

fantasticallyhard to bringBrocklesby to Alderney — andwe had a great time there." saidLt Cdr Tredray.Brocklesby's ship's company

had only recently taken chargeof their vessel when theyheaded across the Channel.They had previously

been in charge of her sisterChiddingfold in the Gulf as partof the rotation of the entireHunt-class squadron throughtheMiddle East (see page 2).

“IE angels(Ii MBPSBVENGINEERS from fisheryprotection ship HMS Merseysaved the lives — and boat —of Danish trawlermenwhentheNorth Sea threatenedtoovenivhelm it.The Portsmouth-basedpatrol

vessel was workingwith theDutch around 40 miles off theNetherlandscoast when shepicked up a mayday from theDanish fishing boat Inger Lis adozen miles away.Mersey's seaboat was

dispatched with LET[ME)Gerard Crummey and ET(ME)Tom Randall aboard to help theDanes.The duo found water five

feet deep in the engine room —

and the Inger Lis‘ engine itselfalmost submerged.A heavy duty pump was sent

across from Mersey and within15 minutes the two sailors hadthe engine room free of wateronce more.They found the source of the

leak — near the traw|er's rudder— but theywere unable to fixit and stop several gallons ofthe North Sea pouring in everyminute. Thankfully,the pumpskept the sea at bay.The stricken vessel was

eventually towed into portby a Dutch lifeboat, whiletheMersey men returned totheir ship to resume fisheryprotection patrols.

0 Darkskies... Gibraltar lies in theshadowj "particularlyeerie cloud as Lancasterarrives

Red is the colourBARELY had the distinctive droning of Merlin enginesfaded over the Solent than HMS Lancaster was half aworld away beginning her six-monthtour of duty.The frigate received a traditional send—off from families and a

vintage Lancaster bomber, kindly provided by the RAF wheneverthewarship heads off on or back from deployment.The characteristic sound of the fabled bomber may (or

may not) have drowned out an equally distinctive noise— ET William ‘Kiddie‘ Child dressed in traditional Scottishgarb. playing the bagpipes as the frigate passed RoundTower.Lancaster's latest deployment takes her east of Sue:

— increasinglythehome of theType 23 fleet - in supportof Allied operations to deny criminals and terroristsuse of the high seas.The Red Rose frigate paid a lightning visit to Gib —

but not too lightning that her sailors couldn't attemptthe Flock Race under particularlyominous skies; Nelsonwas the first man to the top, AB Nelson Smith that is.Then it was a pretty swift crossing of the Med too. The

passage from the Rock to Soudha Bay in Crete, Lancaster'snext port of call, was crammed with fire drills, live firing tests.machinery breakdown exercises, men overboard (not real ones),and finallya Merlin crash on the flight deck (again, not a real one).There was a little time for relaxation, however — an Olympic-

themed ‘hands to bathe‘ courtesy of a hurriedly-installed ‘divingboard’.

The stop in Soudha (for fuel) proved barely any longer than thestop in Gib (some sailors did manage to get ashore in the port!resort of Chania).Next stop, Suez. The warship passed through the famous canal

in the middle of a convoy of merchant ships - container vesselsand tankers.

It was, said Surg Lt Nic ‘The Doc‘ Dodds, “one of theoddest cavalcades I have ever seen”. It was also not a lotof fun."Our boys — upper—deck weapons crew — were standingbehind the Miniguns and GPMGS in the sweltering heat,ever vigilant for attack, sweat in eyes, Kevlar bodyarmour and combats on, as time dribbled endlesslyby," the surgeon added.Thankfully, nothing lasts for ever. and the drab

backdrop of Suez soon gave way first to the Red Sea.,]'i then to the Gulf of Aden.‘I Lancaster is now attached to Operation Calash,the security sweep of the Red Sea and Indian Oceanwhich attempts to strangle piracy, drug smuggling,

people trafficking and other illegal activitieson these busywaters.

“The mood onboard has definitely changed now — calmer, moremethodical, more tense. It‘s here and now that the deploymentproper begins."You can follow Lancaster's deployment courtesy of Nic The

Doc's internet diary (blog) at www.royaI-navy.mod.uklserver/showlnav.7076

llrgyll dealsBI‘ilIlBIOI'lIS3 major IIIIIWCOCAINE worth more than £5mwas seized in ajoint operationinvolving the RN and Customsofficials.HMS Argyll and two Customs

cutters bore down on a yacht15 miles off the Cornish coast,the last act in a major criminalinvestigation overseen by theUK’s Serious Organised CrimeAgency — ‘Britain's FBI‘.The trio struck at dawn,

searching the 35ft Ronin andfinding three large sacks hiddencontaining around 100 1kgbags of cocaine.Officials say an important

blow has been delivered to anorganised criminal network inthe capital.“All of us were delighted

to be able to contribute. Weroutinely train with personnelfrom otheragencies and it isgratifying to be reminded thatthe training works and to knowwe have made a difference,“said Cdr Peter Olive, Argy|l'sCommanding Officer.Two men were arrested

aboard the Ronin, which hadcome from the Caribbean; athird man was later arrested inLondon.The yacht was taken

to Plymouthfor forensicexamination.

A DaringrescueALTHOUGH she's not evenofficiallyentered Naval serviceyet, Type 45 HMS Daringis already making her markaround the nation's coast,rushing to the rescue of afishing vessel off Arran.The destroyer. crewed by

both Royal Navy and BVTSurface Fleet staff, put hersea trials in the Firth of Clydeon hold when she picked upa distress call from the IrishtrawlerPaloma.Sixteen minutes later Daring

arrived at the scene to find the33ft fishing boat taking on waterat an alarming rate.Daring launchedher own

fast inflatableboat and BVT'sweapons and Outfit EngineerWillie Brownless boardedPaloma to help the twocrewmen. Althoughthewaterwas already up to the levelof theengine room plates,he judged the boat would beable to regain her stabilitybypumping out thewater.Shortly afterwards lifeboats

from Arran and Troonarrived toescort Paloma safely back totheAyrshire coast.

FarewellIntrepidTHE numberof surviving shipsfrom the Falklandscampaignis one fewer, sadly,as workbegins dismantlingHMSIntrepid.The assault ship, which was

key to re-taking the SouthAtlantic islands in 1982, wastowed out of Portsmouth lastmonth, bound for the breaker'syard.

_ Aintrepid and her sisterFearless were spared a similarfate a generation ago — adecision which was vindicatedwithin monthswhen Argentinainvaded the Falklands.Liberatingthe islands proved

to be the landing ships’ finesthour.Intrepid spent the last dozen

years of her life laid up inPortsmouthwaiting for a callfor action which never came.Her sister is already being

broken up (or ‘recycled’ inmodern parlance) in Ghent.British firm Leavesley

International won thecontract to dismantlehersister on Merseyside in an‘environmentally-friendly‘manner.

The nobleSausageIT’S been two years since HMSCumberlandwas last on the frontline — but wait no longer, for she’sGulf—bound.

The Devonport-basedfrigate has undergone a majoroverhaul in her home port and,after successfully completingOperational Sea Training,hasfinallydeployed once more.

The Mighty Sausage — sheflies a large banger when she’srefuelling — is joining a NATOtask force, Standing MaritimeGroup 2, for the autumn.

The cosmopolitan task group— it currently comprises warshipsfrom Germany,Greece-,'I'urkeyand the US, withan Italian vesselas command ship under RearAdmiral Giovanni Ciumicro —

gathered in the Spanish port ofRota before patrolling the Med.

Aside from the usual briefingsand presentations, there weresome more personal ‘getting toknow yous’.

Various sporting activitieswere organised between theinternational sailors, includingfootball and volleyball.

Once at sea, the bondingcontinued as the force conducteda series of anti-aircraft and anti-smuggling exercises to welcomeCumberlandto the fold andhelp the frigate and her ship’scompany get used to the NATOway of working.

A 1\'at{_\r i'\'ewx went to press,the task group could be found inthe Adriaticand eastern .\/led forNATO \var games, Noble Midas,which will cement the ships’position as NATO ReactionForce.

From there the force slipsthrough the Suez Canal, intothe Red Sea and on ultimatelyinto the Gulfto exercise with thenavies of Qatar and Kuwait.

The force has a twofoldmission: to safeguard the seasby keeping tabs on all shippingmovements and to spread theNATO and maritime securityword among friendlynations. llllll‘tlIWES!IIHSSEQB llll‘BIISV BBBLlVERPO0L'Snew cruise linerhosted yet anotherwarship, thistime HMS Manchester.

Ark Royal, Portland andMersey among others havealready berthed at theimpressive facility...and HMSAlbion (see page 5) had barelyleft when theType 42 destroyerarrived.

Liverpool is as close asthe destroyer can get toManchester; she can fitdown the ship canal to theLancastrian metropolis...but the bridges spanning itwouldn't do her masts a lot ofgood.

_ _Once in Liverpool, the BusyBee invited cadets and reserveforces aboard for a reception,plus membersof the public forthe obligatory ‘ship open tovisitors‘ afternoon.

Then it was a short trip alongthe M62 to Manchester for aservice of thanksgivingin thecity's cathedral, followed by acivic reception hosted by thecity council.

This was the first visit to theNorth West by the destroyerin 18 months; a large chunk of2007 and 2008 was devoted toescorting the US carrier Harry STruman in the Gulf.

The ship spends the restof the year on work-upandexercises before deploying tothe South Atlantic in 2009.

AFTER a five-yearhiatus, British warshipsreturned to the Iraqi portthey helped re-open asco-operation betweenthetwo navies is stepped up.

In the spring of 2003, an RN-led minehunting force cleared theway into Umm Qasr, allowing thefirst shipment of humanitarian aidto sail up the Khawr Abd Allah inRFA Sir Galahad.

Five years down the line, theport -— a stone’s throw from theKuwaiti border — is thegateway for80 per cent of Iraq’s imports andhome to the re-born Iraqi Navy.

The latter are being taughtand trained by Allied sailors andmarines of the Naval TransitionTeam, headed by the Royal Navy.

The Iraqi Navy will double interms of personnel and quadruplein terms of number of ships inthe coming months — the first ofa new batch of patrol boats will bedelivered next year.

‘\\l’ith that in mind, workinghand—in—hand withAllied warshipsis key to nurturing the Iraqi sailors

and marines so they can one daytake charge of all security patrolsin their own waters — hence thereturn of RN vessels to UmmQasr.

I _ _Ftttingly, it was two minecountermeasure vessels whichmade that return journey »- HMShips Blyth and Atherstone — justas minehunters had cleared theway in March 2003.

“Britain’s commitment to thedevelopment oflraq is progressingwell and was evident during ourstay,” enthused Lt Cdr SteveHolloway,Atherstone‘sCO.

“The visit has shown there’sincreased stability in the regionand bodes well for the future ofIraq and its armed forces."

And after a five-year absencefrom the port, the RN‘s outgoingcommander in the Gulf theatre,Cdre KeithWinstanley, said moreBritish vessels would be calling in.

“The Iraqi Navy continues tomake steady progress towardsthe time when we will see themin command of operations in thenorthern Gulf. The visit of Blythand Atherstone to Umm Qasris an important step along that

I O Ship's companies, Naval Transition Teampersonneland Iraqi sailors and marines muster on HM ShipsBlyth(foreground)and Atherstonein Umm Qasr

path,"he added.Blyth has new masters in the

latest roulement of minehuntingcrews in the Gulf as part ofthe Aintree deployment (HMSRamsey is the other half of theduo) to keep the ships east of Suezfor a sustained period.

The current custodians of Blythare — or rather were — the ship‘scompany of sister ship HNIS\\i"alney,although for some there’sa distinct feeling of déjri till.

CO Lt Cdr John Craig is onhis third spell in charge of theSandown-class ship. His X0 LtAdrian Rowberry was ops officerof HMS Ramsey whose coxswainwas PO(D) Dickson...who’s comeacross to Blyth, as have fellow‘Rams;-yers' LS ‘Cocky’ Cookeand AB(M'\X") ‘Flash’ Gordon.

Other things stay the same inthe Gulf, too. It's still ‘redders’ —

45‘C — for example.“It’s hard to believe that we

would ever look back on Faslaneweather fondly, but we do,” saidLt Cdr Craig.

The Aintree force is based inBahrain, which offers plenty forthe sailors to do — except last

ll WflI'IllWflllllllllflllll‘ Ellfltfll‘THERE was a hearty welcomehome for veteran destroyerHMS Exeter at the end of herwhistle-stop summer tour ofthe North Atlantic.

Tugs fired up their watercannonand two Hawkjets racedoverhead. a bugler, er. bugledon Round Tower, surroundedby friends and family of theship's company and Exeter82 Association veterans whotook the ship through theFalklandsconflict(pictured '

below].Deploymentstolceland.

Norway and Russia..

lasting a few weeks donot ordinarily receive

such a greeting.But this was, perhaps, the

destroyers final homecoming.She's going into extendedreadiness ahead of paying offnext year.

So if this was to be the finalwelcome for a loyal servant.best make it a memorable one.

Joining Exeter for theoccasion was DeputyCommander-in-Chief Fleet,Vice Admiral Paul Boissier.who thanked the ship'scompany for their efforts andrewarded Lt ‘Shakey' Stevensfor his long service and goodconduct with the appropriate

medal (leaving ‘Shakey' “for once lost for words").LETIWE) Shaun Graham wasequally dumbfounded when hereceived the same recognitionfrom theadmiral.

The VIP departed beforeExeter's historic entry intoPortsmouth — but not beforeC0 Cdr Paul Brown hadpresented a cheque for Helpfor Heroes on behalf of theship's company.“Regardless of the lengthof time away, it's always anemotional time returning to ourhome port - and the prospectof being reunited with familiesand friends." Cdr Brown

added.

month. Ramadan, the holiestmonth in the Islamic calendar, ranthroughout September, shuttingBahrain’s bars and restaurants.

Also closed, though forrefurbishment rather thanfor religious reasons, was thestate’s only golf course... whichwas particularly galling for oneBlyth sailor, especially after he’dconvinced airline staffat Heathrowto allow his set of clubs on theflight out to the Middle East.

This is the last changeoverof Sandown crews for thisdeployment; the current ships‘companies will bring the vesselshome — but two more minecountermeasures vessels will beheading in the opposite directionfrom Faslane to keep the Britishend up in Bahrain.

NAVYNL-IWS, OCTOBER 2008 7

GLOBAL REACH18 sailorssacked alterdr-ugs shameEIGHTEEN sailors weredismissed from their ship ~ andfrom the Service — after testingpositive for cocaine use ondeployment.

The Compulsory Drugs Testteam arrived unannouncedon HMS Liverpool after thedestroyer had visited Santos inBrazil.

Their tests revealed that 18of the ship’s company — fromdifferent messes and of differentranks — had taken cocaine.

The sailors were immediatelyremoved from the ship andflown home. They have nowbeen discharged from the SeniorService in line with the RN’s‘zero tolerance‘ policy on the useof illegal substances.

Official figures show that fewerthan one in every 250 sailors andRoyal Marines tested for drug usegive a positive resu|t.’I'he figurefor comparative tests in civvystreet is seven in every I00.

WE'VE SBBIIyou ll8lIII‘B...OH HOW thegood folk of HMSIllustrious must love Plymouth.

For the second time thisyear. the Harrier carrier is backin the bosom of Flag OfficerSea Training.

Lusty didn't especially enjoyher first trip at the beginningof the year when all her trialsand tribulations were capturedon camera by the Channel 5documentary Warship.

That training was meant to(and did] whip her into shapefor her deployment east ofSuez.

Since returning from theIndian Ocean, the ship'sundergone some much-needed TLC in Portsmouth(interspersed with Meet yourNavy).

A new ‘tenn' has broughtnew sailors aboard and newchallenges. hence the need forthe full FOST package — aheadof exercises around the UK forthe remainder of 2008. ‘33.’

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0 AB(HM)AmberCarr soaks up thesights ofFreetown"as HMS Endurancearrives in Sierra Leone

N0 ice lll |l€ll‘€llllSBFROM white to green.

The frozen expanses ofAntarctica have been replacedby the lushness ofwest Africaas ice ship HMS Endurancesailed into uncharted waters —

uncharted for her.Yet the message banged by the

Red Plum drum — the effects ofclimate change and importanceof environmental responsibility— remain the same whether thebackdrop is bergs and ice shelvesor rich Africanvegetation.

The icebreaker/survey shipis on an 18-month deploymentaway from her home base ofPortsmouth.

lnstead of heading for theSolent after her spell of surveyingaround Antarctica, she headedfor Simon’s Town in South Africafor some much needed TLCafter being exposed to the harshconditions associated with the icycontinent.

But what happens in Antarctica— and its Northern Hemispherecounterpart -— directly. andindirectly, impacts upon the livesand livelihoods of people in \\I-"estAfrica,and much further afield.

And so it was that Enduranceedged up the African coast, firstto Ghana, then to Sierra Leone,hosting government leaders,meteorologists, scientists andBritish officials for brainstormingsessions to discuss the way ahead.

Ghana's coastal strip mightappear lush, but in the north ofthe land climatic changes andshifts are making their presencefelt.

Clearing forests and a dramaticdrop in rainfall — 20 per cent

less now falls than in the l980shas led to the desert creeping

ever southwards and invadinglarmland.

As in the West, so in WestAfrica: the only real changeenvironmentally is effected whenenvironmental issues becomepr=I:'r:'mI issues.

“Africanleaders are _vet to fullygrasp the implications on thecontinent of the phenomenon ofclimate change, yet the evidenceis all around us," said SeanDoolan, regional advisorfor the UK's Departmentfor InternationalDevelopment.

And although localconditions and issues,such as deforestation,are playing their part,Endurance’s COCapt Bob Tarrantand his team are inno doubt that whathappens in his ship’s

oil fields are potential targets forpirates and terrorists.

So Enduranceshowed Ghanaianauthorities how the RN gathersintelligence and deals with suchthorny issues.

Around 100 Ghanaian militaryand civilian personnel spent fourdays with the British sailors andmarines, who imparted practicaland theoretical skills includingmaritime security, fisheryprotection, boarding, search andrescue and customs procedures.

“The professional skillsand energy withwhich theRoyal Naw has provided

such high—quality trainingwill be reflected by the

increased effectivenessof our navy," said LtKenneth Sarbah, theGhanaian liaisonoflicer for the spell oftraining,

“lt‘s been a veryrewarding few days,"

normal domain and Capt Tarrant said ofwhat happens in West lindurance‘s week inAfrica are connected. Ghana.

“\V"e and the scientists from the “I've been thrilled with theBritish Antarctic Survey witness vigour with which my ship'sfirs-t hand the acute effects ofthe changes to the world'sclimate in our e\-'eryda_v workingenvironment.” Capt Tarrantadded.

Climate change is just onechallenge facing Ghana’s leaders.Perhaps more pressing on adziy-to-day basis is piracy andsmuggling.

Fish thievespoach an estimated£40m of, er, fish every year fromGhanaian waters, there's growingevidence of drug smuggling viathe beaches and the country's

company have used their uniquemix of skills and expertise tosupport their colleagues in theGhanaian Navy.”

.'\-lercifully, it wasn‘t all piracy,terrorism and ‘the end of theworld is nigh’ in Ghana. Therewas plenty of hope too.

A sizeable number oflindurance’s sailors and Royall\-larines headed to an orphanagewhose (10 or so youngsters neededa bit of help sprucing up theirfacilities,but above all they neededto see a few friendl_v faces.

And so aside from smarteningthe grounds and building anew kitchen (or is it :1 galleynow?) the Endurance team sang.played football and cricket andhanded out Pompey kits to theyoungsters.

“The best part was just beingwith the children,“ said ‘Bish‘Rev Ralph Barber, Endurance’schaplain.

“They had nothing.but were . .

so friendly, so happy. At ntimes we all felt emotional."And there was one more treat

for the children, when the olderones were invited on board theicebreztker.

“The whole entourage came toa grinding hall at :1 set of stairs,"said Capt Tarrant.

“'l‘hey‘dnever seen stairs beforeand didn‘t know how touse them.

"They had neverhad ice creams eitherand wanted to keep thewooden lollipop sticks.“

Much of 1indurance’s workin Ghana was repeated along thecoast in Sierra Leone, withthe ship also carrying outsurveys on the approachesto Freetown. the country'scapital and principal port.

Once safely alongside, theRed Plum hosted a day-longseminar on climate change andthe importance of looking afterSierra I.eone‘s environment whichis, in parts, under threat fromdeforestation and illegal mining.

Among the figures aboard theice ship for the discussion wereSierra Leone's vice president,Samuel Samsumana.

pictures:Ialphot)kazwilliams.

hmsendurance

PICTUREthe Crusades and you conjureup images of knights and Saracens,sandy fortresses and mediaevalcities.

Scotland prohuhl_\' doesn't figure.(Iitirtigortn (:l'US‘.1(IL‘ OS was intended to give RN

personnel north of the border a taste ofthe outdoors- in line with I-‘leer IIQK growing einphnsis on

tid\.‘L‘nILlt‘tItl.\ traiining (:\'l') and iinbuing sailors andinitrines with added inorul l.0Ll_L'_I'Il1C.‘5.\.

'I'hree ti\'e—d-uy p-ael<:ige.\ ol‘ 2.iL‘lIl'IIIL'.\’ ehiel'|_\'hiking. wzilking '.ll'lLI climbing were ot'gutti.\ed bythe teitm at the .-\'I' Store in Clyde Nitvitl Btise. whothen deeitmped to the other side oi" Scotland and the('T;iii'n_r:orm \':ttion:il l’:irl<_

I’-.trtieiptints till volunteers arrived atRothiemurehusLodge. near .~\\'iemore.and were sooninvolved in at nine—l;i1onietre (li\‘e—mile) ‘leg stretch‘through the Clitiltiiiiziin Gap. E1 loop beginning andending tit the lodge.

'I‘he_\' were then divided into groups for thet‘ollo\t'ing three tI;l_\‘hi rock eliinhing :it lIuntl_v‘s(hive and (Zummingstoii. it -18—kiloinetre (it)-mile)inotintitin bikiitg day around Loch an Iiilein L1l'lLI the(‘ilenmore Forest. and zilso ii 2U—l<ilometre [I2—mile] BLACK SWAN CLASS 1943

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hill walk. laitggiiig two .\lllI1K‘US, Ben .\I:Is:dui and(Iitiriitzoriii an 7't'il!L'.

And when not yoinping and climbing around thel-Iighl;md.\. there were plenty t\I‘I'l1l11_QSi to keep the£ltI\'Ct‘lILll‘0lt5 buiteh busy (or help them relax): health.\pLl. quiz night. barbecue. plus visits to some til" the(‘.-.ii1‘i1gorin.~;‘ culture.

“I:eet‘1h:tel< from this _\‘e;ti"s personnel eonlirinedthitt (Iairngorin (ll’U.\'.1tIL‘ \\'‘.IS 11 resouiiding stieees-.,“enthused I’()(l"I‘) Rob (ireethzim.

“It was -.1 }’tl1_\'.\lL‘;llI_\‘ and mentziIly—dern;indingweekbut also it very eiiio_\'-able one. which ticked all the

right boxes iintl L‘IL‘IlI)itL.‘I_\' iieliievetl its aim of T.tll-Ringpeople out of their eoinfort zone in LlL'I1:IllL’I1}._',lI'I§.',I1|.IIenjoy-.1ble en\‘ironment.“

Indeed. on thehackoi't'eetlb'.iel-<from this _ve:ir‘.s trip,it will return next year (etiimini._:l_\' titled (liiiriigornt(‘.rti-‘tide U0). likely to he run as two foi'tnightl_\'piiekziges.

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A LEADING SPECIALIST IN MILITARY LAW

.1: .:fiii'fii?7i‘fil%Ifi A testing time

with NBRITISH ship HMS Ledburyhas been busy putting hermine-hunting skills to thetest in the Mediterranean,as part of an eight-strongNATO MCM group led byHMS Roebuck.

The minehunter, operatingas part of SNMCMGI (or inlong-speak Standing NATO MineCounter Measures Group 1), hasbeen putting her minc—huntingsystctns through their paces atthe NATO Underwater ResearchCentre (NURC) off the Coast ofLa Spczia, Italy.

The tests involve Ledbury, p 5the other MCMVs oi‘ the group,seeking out ordnance ovcr sec-tions of the seabed, where exercisemines have been laid in locationsknown only to the NURC staff.

The ships thcn com-pare their results with therecorded locations of themines, allowing accu-rate assessment of theirdetection abilities — inLedbury’s case with aparticular eye to her2193 Sonar in thewarm and complexwaters of the westernMediterranean.

The Hunt’s command-ing officer Lt Cdr ChrisNelson admitted: “It’s a greatprivilege to be able to use thesefacilitiesto test our minc detectioncapabilityand also the abilitiesofthe ship’s crew.

“It has been :1 testing time andwe have been able to learn a lotwhich should serve us wellin future work with the taskgroup and beyond."

Survey ship HMSRoebuck is now the long-est serving mcmbcr oftheGroup, having beenflagship since January2008.

During this taskingshe is the Commandand Control ship for theNATO staff who watchover the actions of their‘family’during operations.

HMS Roebuck is expected toreturn to her role as :1 coastalsurvey vessel when she is releasedfrom MCM support duties inearly 200‘).

The NATO minehunting groupwas joined by some new mem-bers over the summer includingthe Estonian ship ENS AdmiralCowan.

For Royal Naval eyes thiswas a familiar face as the mine-hunter had prcviousl_\' been HMSSandown, the first of class for theBritish .'VlCMVs which are nowbased in Scotland.

After a tnulti-million poundrefit the Estonians took receiptof three Sandowns in 2007 — thebiggest purchase of the EstonianNavy since joining NATO.

The ship’s new namehowever is also Royal Naval, as

ttro

she is named after AdmiralWalter‘Tich’ Cowan who, as a com-modorc, commanded the Britishlst Light Cruiser Squadron thatfought alongside the Estonlztns in

their battle for independencein 1919.

ENS Admiral Cowanwas the first Estonian vessel

to enter the MediterraneanSea as part of the coun-try’s commitment toNAT0.

Her commandingolliccr I.t Cdr Johan-Elias Scliamaa said:“The ship and her crew

have Certainly welcomedthe opportunity to work

as part of SNMCMG1.“The professionalism of my

people and the capabilities of myship are sure to be tested.

“The experience will stand usin good stead and bcncfit theGroup during out time togetherin the Med."

just as well since shortlyafter joining the Group,Admiral Cowan and her

counterparts from the UK,Germany, Belgium, the

Netherlands, France,Italy and Nortvaybegan a busy pro-gramme of exerciseswhich culminated inExercise Noble Midas,

which was due to takeplace in the western and

central Mediterranean asi\'at;v i\’ez::: went to press.The group will also join up with

its sister force, SNMCMG2,whichoperates in the Mediterraneanthroughout the year.

ll7’t'tIt rltmiks In Sirrg Lt SiiififtraRoy0 (top left) German MCM FGSHamburg, HMS Roebuck.Dutch HNLMS Urk and Esto-nian ENS Admiral Cowan in theMediterranean0 (top) Ledbury leads therest of the task group intoLisbon under the 25 of AprilBridge0 (left) Divert St’ Smyth onboard Ledbury's dive boat afteridentifying a possible contact0 (below) Dutch ship HNLMSUrk. HMS Roebuck, BelgianBNS Lobelia and Italian ITSNumanaPictures: Surg Ll Sudipta Roy.

S./Lt Matt Thomas. LET(MEi David Fenton

©CrownCopyright.imagesfrom

www.delenceimages.mod.ul<

NAVY NE\‘£"S, OCTOBER 2008 1 1

Register to vote

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TheElectoralCommission

OROYALAIR FORCE

12 NAVY !\'E\‘l"S, OCTOBER 2008C SHIPS OF THE ROYAL NAVYNo.634

llelleting 0|] 3 llI‘St yearMPUS fugit, as the

Romans said.Yes, believe it or not it's 12

months since HMS Clydearrived in the Falklands to takeover guardianship of the islands‘\V‘:I[L'l'S.

And it‘s amazing just how manymiles you can clock up patrollingthis southerlyoutpost of empire ina year ~ 27.000 nautical miles tobe precise.

Much of that mileage has beenaccrued getting to know the 770-plus islands in the Falklandsarchipelago,

Some of those she's come toknow rather better than others;Mare Harbour is her home port,while Clyde has called in onStanley, the islands‘ capital, onseven occasions — eight ifyou counther visit as i\'ut=_i- .’\'crrs went to pressto celebrate her lirst birthday.

But not all Clyde’s time is spentin the Falklands.

She's paid two visits to SouthGeorgia (most recently in companywith HMS Liverpool) and hasmade one foray into the Pacific tosail to Valparaiso in Chile via thePatagonian Canals.

That was the highlight of herfirst year ~ but none of the presentship‘s company remembers it asthey’ve just changed over. Regularrotation of sailors keeps the ship’scompany fresh (82 sailors have sofar been rotated through the shipsince she arrived in the islands).

Day—to—day business revolvesaround defence of the Falklands,working hand—in—hand with RAFand Army units in the islands,conducting exercises, and gettingto know the locals in this scatteredislands community.

Clyde was the lirst completewarship built in Portsmouth inmore than three decades in VT

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Shipbuilding’s new yard (thefirm had built sections of Type45 destroyers, but not a wholevessel).

She's similar, though notidentical to her older sisters Tyne,Mersey and Severn — notably abeefed up main gun (30mm not

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past and present, by internationallyrenowned artist Mike Badrocke.

20mm) and an improved flightdeck.

One thing she shares with hersiblings is ownership: VT ownClyde and lease her to the RN,initially for live years.

The aim is to keep the patrolvessel in the South Atlantic for the

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Originally published in Navy News, the newspaper of the Royal Navy.NQU. .U.Kl3.F_.E9_EQ§IA.§E_- El.l_>_l’o_s__t_a_gVe t5_._00 - Oyers_e;a_sfgsttt_g_eA£_§_.00 JToiorder simply phone 023 9282 6040 — or write to:

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Frommost Clydes

duration of her career, carryingout maintenance work and relits

then until theenjoyed

Class: River-class OffshorePatrol Vessel (Helicopter)Pennant number: P257Motto: Clwo (strength)Builder: VT Shipbuilding.PortsmouthLaunched: June 14, 2006Commissioned: January30. 2007Displacement:1,962 tonsLength: 81.5 metresBeam: 13.6 metresDraught: 3.8 metresSpeed: 20+ knotsRange: 7,800 nauticalmilesat 12ktsComplement: 36Propulsion: 2 x Ruston12RK 270 engines,controllable pitchpropellers, 280kW bowthruster. 3 x 250kW maingenerators. 1 x emergencygenerator, VTC control andmonitoring system,Annament: 1 x 30mmBMARC gun. 5 x GPMG.2 x Mk-14 Minigun19305,

solid ifin the southern hemisphere ratherthan bringing Clyde all the wayhome.

That also means that unlikeher predecessors Durnbarton andLeeds Castles, only one ship isrequired to patrol the Falklands.

As befittingthe great river — andcentre of shipbuilding V for whichshe is named, Clyde has had manypredecessors, eight to be precise.

The Clyde lineage begins inI790 with :1 38—gun l'Ifth—rate.

unspectacular careers.That changed with the seventh

Clyde, a large Rix-'er—classsubmarine which crippled theGerman battleship Gneisenau,mauled Italian shipping in the.\-iediterranean, and finally struckagainst Japanese shipping in thelatter stages of W'orld \V"ar 2. Sheearned all three of the ship’s battlehonours.

The boat was scrapped in I940,but the name was resurrected

Sea boats: 1 x Pacific22,1 x Rigid Raider Mk IIIHelicopter: Flight deckcan accommodateLynx,Sea King or Merlin

within a decade as a Ton-classminesweeper. HMS Crichton,launched in 1953, was quicklyretitled Clyde, a name she boreuntil the vessel was broken upmore than 30 years later.

HEROES or THE ROYAL NAVY No.54

Lt William Nathan Hewett VCAS IMPFIEGNABLE fortresses go. the crimson and the slopes of Careenage Ravine were abastioéiblof Sevastopol has proven to be rather

n e.e Wehrmacht battered its way through the

fortificationsto raise theswastikain thesummerof 1942. Within two years, the Red Army hadbooted it out again.

Pregnable it might be, but Sevastopol hasalways been a tough nut to crack. as the Alliedarmies learned in theautumnand winter of 1854-55 during the first modern siege of the fortressc .nine Tsar'samiies were on a high. Just thedabefore they had beaten off an assault by Britiscavalry in a valley near Balaclava.

In due course. theCharge of theLight Brigadewould enter military and lite mythology. buton October 26 1854 British orces were stillreeling from the loss of two out of three of theirfinest cavalry.

In the wake of their victory. the Russianarmies swept forward, detennined to dislodgethe invaderand throwhim into the BlackSea.

Four thousand Russians swarmed forward,intent upon smashing the British right flank atSevastopol. including a battery manned by anaval brigade.

At the head of the battery stood a prickly'hl.lI'|lOf naval officer, 20-year-old Lt Williamathan Wrights Hewett - known, perhaps

not affectionately, as ‘Bully’ - whose fierytemperament was matched by his doggedness.

In the heat of battle, commands and ordersbecame muddled - a recurring theme in theCrimean War.

withtheRussians bearingdown on his battery.Hewett received orders to spike his gun and fallbackwith his men.

H “l;letire?" he snarled. “Retire be damned!re II

Under ferocious Russian rifle fire, he and hismen slowed the gun around, blew the parapetawayand thenfired not into theadvancingRussian ranks at po nt-blank range.

The enemy attack faltered. The Russians fellback, but Hewett showed them no mercy. Hereplaced grapeshot with solid 68lb rounds andcontinued to pour fine on his foe.

And so, the Russian steamrollerwas rapulsed

chamel house of slaughtered infantry.Sevastopolwould eventuallyfall to the invader

- but not until the lollowing year.And the cannons which once ringed the

fortress and were now in British hands wouldeventually be carried back to the mother islewhere their metal would forge a new award forgallantry.

_‘Bully’ Hewett was only thefifthman to receivetheVictoria cross from the monarch for which itwas named.

Such patronage did his naval career no harm:in the subsequent three decades he rose to therank of vice admiral, eventuallycommandingtheChannel Squadron.

With age and higher rank, he became no less'ckly(he clashed regularlywitha young ‘Jackie’shot. an equally forthright figure, aboard HMS

Ocean) but he remained hlghly-regarded byhis contemporaries asa first-rate leader:

He died in 1888at Haslar and wasburied with fullhonours In alavish ceremonyat HighlandR o a dCemetery inSouthsea.

drawn on UK bank Or phone us for payment by Credit Cflrdswllth.UK 3. Abroad.Please notezrtemx shown not actual size. Please allow up to 28 days for delivery.

KeeBIRTHDAY girl RFA Argushas returned to her homeport of Falmouth after a ten-month deployment in theMiddle East.

The ship has been serving asan aviation platform for 854 and857 Naval Air Squadrons basedat RNAS Culdrose.

While on deployment, RFA

-

Argus celebrated her 20thbirthday, 3,000 miles fromhome.

She has been serving asa base for Sea King Mark 7helicopters, which have beenkeeping an eye on life in theArabian Gulf.

This surveillance allowsthe identification of abnormalactivity, so that other surface

units can intercept, leading tomajor drugs busts such as theseizure made in June.

The aviation training shipdemonstratedherlull capabilitiesthroughout the deployment,providing supplies for HMSEdinburgh and HMS Argyll.

On the anniversaryD-Day, she even conducted aReplenishment at Sea (RAS) to

Germany's FGS Emden.Not content with leaving it

at that, the ‘all-seeing‘ ship'sCasualty Receiving Facility(CRF) remained ready for actionduring her time away.

International military figureswho had an opportunity towitness the hospitals capabilitywere surprised at the efficiencywith which the unit runs on the

multi-functional ship.

This year marks RFA Argus’20th as a ship of the Royal FleetAuxiliary. after being acquiredas a container ship in 1986.

The medical centre was addedin readiness for her participationin the 1991 Gulf War.

RFA Argus is the tenth Britishnaval ship to bear the name,and the most recent of the 20th

g with traditioncentury was an aircraft carrierwhich acted as the eyes of thefleet.

Fitting, as the current RFAArgus seems to be living up tothat tradition.O Mk 7 Sea Kings (Airborne Sur-veillance and Control) on RFAArgus’ flightdeck during her tenmonth Op Calash deployment tothe Middle East

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l4 NAVYNEWS, OCTOBER 2008

— —

HE journey from Shanghai had been slow andtedious for HMS Retribution, using sails instead of

paddle wheels to conserve a dwindling coal supply.The siezim trig: e‘s decks were 'em\vdei.i with ziriillerymen iiml

(fihines-e ihuurers-. id she iuweel lug _!1llnlJti:]t its site ed; 1 c userto‘i"edu, her route ITILlri{CLl In‘ the 1 ss e til‘ HMS l~‘Lii'iuus‘. hem‘High (‘.nininis's‘it\i1er to Ch "1 Lord

. ;_.,in..'\l;'in_\' of her hflllttrs u stricken with illness. and she herself was

scarred from particip:iti:.sn in the.~\nglo—Chines'e W'ar which soughtto pry open the stubborn door tothe Celestial Kjiigdom.But Ftirious an-cl Retribution

were ltaines at odds with Elgin‘smission —

. though a show ofstrength, in the manner of the.-\iner'ieim Commodore Perry andhis ‘Black Ships’ some five yearsbefore, certainly helped set thescene for the British diplomats.The signing of the Treaty of

Amity and Commerce with Japanmarked the start of 150 yearsof oFfiL‘i'il links between the twocnuntiies, usually cordial t.houghwith appalling exceptions.Ycdo now goes by the name

of Tokyo, there is no Retr utiunur I-'tii'i'uus in the R.\' I-1e and buurd rook -_1_|;iines Bund theme," ing is no hunger an lshllc with (in Astnn .\ irtin on the ietty

the price at \i'li:tie\'er fuel and the em-‘s_

. - will b l'nrmiii_e :1 speet . . .

the siiiltirs iif HMS Kent British tirms also dist 'i_\'eti theiretitiltl eert:iinl_\' not aifttird tn wires on htiiirtl tltiring :1 l)elk:i14.'elung sh on their is beds its littitistry I when the shipthe ‘ype 23 frigate visiteti the ltusteeljiipii . militiiry_lL1p:lI1L‘.\C e:ipit:il. tmtl L1\l -

It fell Kent to displiiy the The RN dele ttlul\V' 'te lin gI'l in the Lind nf theRising Sun 1' an ;ietiun— tteketl UK Chief of Stzil‘iitniitl1—loi1i: Visit which eoiiicidedwith the 150th ttnniv sary uf thesigning of theTre.-\l‘ter 1] _i:i‘;ind3 al Ltttel fnritml

welcome by wanese iiflicitils.it Britislt I-itnlazissy reecpiiuii on

who conducted eliplutti. .

But while L ebrittinns to niiirkthe '.!t‘lnl\'L‘t'\‘(! l-l1l'l'l]<.‘Li :1 i.‘entr;ilpliinl-< in the ship's P1'(.‘gl'{ll‘l1Il'lI.‘.there were plenty nl’ other'.!Cli\'l'liL'H zind l:l.\l-is in keep the

O Clockwise from top left: Kent sailors reach the top of Mount Fujiin time to watch the sun rise; AB(WS) Cox protects the ship whilecoming alongside in Okinawa; Kent rehearses replenishment atsea approaches with USNS Ftappahannock (foreground) and USSMcCampbell,' Kent on exercise as seen from JS Murasame; Kentapproaches JS Murasame during a passing exercise or passex;the spectacular skylineof Tokyo; HMS Kent give a 21-gun salute onarrival in Tokyo; a tall-:0 drummer on board Kent during theDefenceIndustry DayPictures: LA(Phot) Owen King

and highspirits

ship's L'ump:1n_\' in high \'pil'i't\ andfighting fnrm.

The ship coittitietetl tundetn:Imlim_' Lmtl \'er_\' tli1Teret1texercise" the tint with elementsof the L \';i\'_\'\ Pziei "e Fleet. the5L‘CUIlt.l with [liL'J:l}1{1I1LM. .\l;iritimeSell‘ Defence Force (_|.\lSl)l-5).

For the first, Kent \mrl>:ed with.~\nierie-an .-\rleigh—Burke destro_vei'USS .\’te(‘.ampbeIland supply shipUS '5 Ri!ppL1l1:ll'll1l\Cl(.based withthe Seventh Fleet :itYnkustik:i.in itiVUUI'-Ll‘.l_\' Llllll-.HLllZ\i'l'lLiI'il'lL‘.anti-air.Lind electronic wtirfaire exercixe.itiewpurtntitig bnurtling operaitimisand gunnery drills.

_l-.ip;incxe tlC\‘[l‘(\_\‘t:l‘JS .\lUI‘:1S!'l1C‘ the fncm of the \LICOI'|d

exercise. ciwering Lilili-!x'1.ll3II‘i:|l'll‘tL'wttrllire and e<l1ip—lt;1ndlin;: skills‘.

Ker1t‘s Principal \‘&'-'-.irt':treOfficer. Lt (Idr .\1:n'k .*\t1tlei':;ui1.said: “It went a long way In t‘urtherstrengthen Lll!'CL1Ll_\' strong tie>hetween the ].\lSI')l7 and the R;\'

and \\'L1’S p:1TllCL|l11rl_\.' pnignuntgiven that this week 150 ye:ir.~' ttgnthe first 1ICCOrkl\ were si,t.tt'tcLl."

The um ships also excltattgedpersimnel during the exercise.

One ml" the must iennic lil1LlgI:\;nf japan ix" the *%:lCI'L‘(l \'(\lCCll‘ltIMuunt l’uji. itntl ttltnost :1 qtutrterul'tl1efrigtItt:'.<(.'Ul]'IP‘.lI1_\'ln11tlLZ it tothe summit at '3.77(mi (13,388!-t).

The Kent lL‘:1I11, led by 1i.\'ectIti\'eOllicer Lt Ctlr Mike Smith. lir<tclimbed to u niuttntain refuge at2,SOUni (‘J.1Sbft‘; where, (15 thewind rose. they rested 0\'L‘l'i'|.l§.'_l'l[and enj0_\'etl :1 simple Jiipiitiesedinner ufbeef, rice and green tea.

Thefinalpushtothesummitproved challenging. andnot everyone made itthrough driving. freezingrainacrossslipperypumicestone in time to watch thesunrise.1.-\(l’hut) Owen King did make

it (tbrttiimtely. as he t\';is takingthe piClLtrt:.s...) and tallitli “It wasonly after live minutes uf'elimbin;.v.it dawned on me how hard it W315going to lie.

“I \\'£Ix‘ \>cr_v luck_\‘ to be able inelimb such -.1 beautiful mountain.zilthnugh I don't think I will make‘.1 lizihit of climbing any more forquite some time my lcgs ttml-t

three tlatys tn ret:m.'er."The lC.‘5$-(lLlVL‘I1[Uf(Vl.lSwere ulw

able to marvel :11 all that Japan liuslo t)lTL'l'. bttlli liixluric (trzttiquilpal:tCe2~‘.. tctiiplcs and gardens)and modern (designer shuppiiig.l)isne_\'ltmd'l'uk_\'o and ltarsiulze).

liven though the subtlerelements may he lust tn the gm_'jinur outsider. it was <till part ufthe experience Iiir the I'k*s of LtCdr Sue Btirruws, whu \ ted thetemple of Senswii in Tokyo.

“ l.i\'er_\'une \\".!.\queuing to throwcoins and how in front nl';I templefor mine reason. nu l did tun andthen tlntde :1 tvisli." she xztitl.

“It turned nut later that wase>tz1ctl_\' the right thing to du —

altliuugh I‘m still waiting for my\l'i.\'l1 to cume true..."

Lt Cdr Smith said the ship‘scomp-.m_\' reeugni-sed thesigtiificaiiee of the visit: “TheUK and japan continue to enjoystrung diplnniiitic and commerciallinksa. and the opportunity."to deinunstratte that the UK iscontinuing to engage in this re;.tiunis an important part til‘ HMSKent‘s tu.sking.“

to N.-\VY I\'E\‘l'S, OCTOBER 2008

Brighter futurefor old Unicorn

ICTORY. CuttySark. Belfast. MaryRose. Great Britain.

Warrior. Unicorn.Unicorn?Dundee. :1 cit_\' with '.l proud

sealiztring history and the homeoi" Capt Scott's research shipDisco\'er_\'. has another itiaritintegent hidden away.

.\lo.~.t people will never h;t\'elteard of her. and her stor_\' is. ontlte tltee oi‘ it. none [(30 proiiiising.

She was built _\'e:ir.s alter\'-apoleon succtintbeel to stomachcancer on St Helena. and waslatittclted straight into reserve.

The R.\' never even raised timast on her. and she langtiished‘in ordiit;tr_\" for decades. eitlteridle or as a powder hulk: she wasLilniost used as :1 hospital shipduring ‘:1 cholera epidemic.

Unicorn made just onesea voyage. when she wastowed north by the paddlesloop Salamander to theTay in late1873.She never llitigltt a \‘.':II'. and

never lired it gun iit anger. but thisCinderella \\'dT'\l1l|7 bears closerset-uting.-.

For a start, lfnicorn I.\ probablytlte only Georgian man o‘war totake the surrender ol'a U-hoat.

And tliou_-_vh tier guns never spilliron. the ship still claimed one

eneinf; victim.Bertlted in Earl Grey l)m..'l<.

she first acted as the new HQ andtraining ship for (‘.l'_\'de I)i\'is' inof llte RNR, later to become 'l'ayDitisioit R.\'\"'R.

The moi’ which liad been builton to hei' before launch pi'o\'idedexcellent aceotntnodatiott forlraiiting and parades.

In both world wars slit: becamea regional naval headquarters.

Dtiring the Great W’-ar sheenlisted and trained

large numbers oi" recruitst tnaityoi‘ whom went on to liglit withdistinction in the trenches withthe Royal .\’-.t\'al l)i\'ision.

Her silver band, which .stir\'i\'estoday under another name. was-.i source of pride in Dundee. anddisplayed on Unicorn are tlte band'siit'is_:in-.il instrtititeiits, recoveredIront Bulflltllh alter the war.

In \‘\"orld ‘W-.ir 3 slit: was the'.ILln1ini.\Il".lIl\‘L' centre for non-civilian shipping on tlte 'lii_\' andfor nearby ll.\lS Atitbrtise. tltemtiltiniitioniil Ninth SubitiariiteFlotilla base. which includedl"reitelt. Dutch and l’oli~;l1boats.'.tiidlotir .\'or\\'et:ian ininesweepers.

Llnienrii was also :1 wirelesstele_e,r;tph_\' tr;tiitin_e, administrationcentre for \'\"rens. and boasted aitiittiature title range.

Ironicull_\‘. she ‘look the L.'—ho:itsurrender on .\l;t_\' ll I‘)-l5. L1 weekafter \\'-at" iit litirope had ended.

(ierittan commanderUlur/t'tiiu.iiit Karl Johst had losteonttiet with his htise and wastiita\i'ai'e that liostilitieswere over.

He surrendered his boat C3 520aboard Unieorn. and his Nazi dirkis still on displ;t_\' on board.

L'nicorn's onl_\' victim was theU—boat‘s exeetitive ollieer. whobashed his head on a low fr-.iitie onleaving the ship; a pliotogrtiplt ondisplay sliows tlte nt-an rtibbiitg hishead tnotnents later.

Such oddities alone would notmerit l,'nicorn‘s presermtioit.1.ucl<il_vslteh:tdfaritioretoollcrtltestudent of maritinte ari:l1aenlog_v.alliet liriitly grasped by her lastcaptain. Rennie Stewart.

liis tireless and valuable workis carried ontoday in partby l'll\ won

l.t Cdr Roderick Stewart.Unicorn was linally paid oil in

N08, when the R.\' moved to newstone t’1‘i_eate ll.\lS (‘.atnperdo\\'n.which was demolished four yearsago the same late wliieh Ctiietiriiinight have c>tpet.‘ted.eitherbrokenup or sunk by practice guitfire.

But (Iapt Stewart lll'tll‘.\l‘ltlllL‘Llan tI1'I'l]_\' of supporters. a numberwith considerable influence (thecurrent patron is the PrincessRoyal. wlto took over ltoiti hergrandtnotlter). and the resultiiigL'tiit.‘orn Preserviititin Stieict)‘threw the old ship a lifeline.

She was tin iittegral part ofthe British deterrent in the wakeof the Napoleonic \\"ars. \\'l‘lC!lthe (iu\‘t:t'I11ncl1I embarked on abuilding prograinme to ensure nottatioiiwouldseektotal<ead\‘antageof perceived we:tkites~.es.

Unicorn, with Trincomaleein Hartlepool, is a survivorof the successful Leda~class frigates. based ona French design and builtbetween 1800 and 1830.Fast and powerlult they were

the last word in sailing: \\".!rsl1i.sllIt:I':lll_\‘. By the time lfnicorn

\\'(t.\' alloat. the X-.t\'j.' \\':ts -.tlre:td_\'dabbling withsteinii engines.

But the ideasof Sir RobertSeppings. Sur\'e_\‘orof the I\‘a\'_v l.'H‘1 3-52, are ele-ai‘l_\'

visible in Unieorti, ,

p:trtieularl_\' the /'iron strettgtheititigbrackets whichpaved the \\'a}' forsteam power andiron hulls.

She now sitsliirloi'nl_\' in a basinsurrounded by

i'ede\'elopineitt. but even withouteasy access to the eit_\' centre. shestill attracts 1tl.tlt}U people it ‘\'e-ar.

“l’»asie:illy.this is in the wroii<,:positioit.“ said ship tnana_<.ter Bohl"lo\'ell. “'l‘het'e is not much tobring people down here and thento the ship.

"I lopel‘ti|l_\' we will be movin_t:that will make a big difl'ereitee.“

That Iuove. it" all goes to plantwill see Llnicorn l‘ntJ\'C to :1 newsite on the i‘ede\'eloped river front.close to the Discovery and linkedto the city centre by remodelledroads. paths and cycle routes.

It is halt'a ntile as the erow tlies.though she will need to cross tothe south bank of the 'lit_\' on herway to pass tlirough the n:tei;::tbleeh-.tnnel. Iltt‘)1‘<.‘ than doubling: thedistance.

If the dream becomes reality.she will join another old (Zliailtatnman o'war on public displayl-[MS Victory was launched in thesatne _\".irtl six decades earlier.

And that l1ci'it:1_i:e is olwiotis assoon as you step aboard » ziltlioiitzlismaller than Y\'elsun‘s ilagsliip.Citietirit sliarcs the look andparticularly the di\;tineti\‘e smell ofseasoned timber. ttir and rope.!!www.lrigateunicorn.org

O Clockwise from top: Unicorns figurehead;the roofed main deck: the ship ‘s sturdy stern.a distinctive Seppings innovation; a secondfigurehead displayed inside: Unicorn at herberth in Dundee

An I IUJUV

‘F 'v //‘

,5?--'.

’//

cu... , si..,_~ \I\ Did-inf!

-,.. arrr

A Iengthgrprocéss"EVERY Wings that comes in hereand sees the two-island designthrows their hands up in horror.But theyall walk away happy.”So says Steve Dowdell, the mission

system director for the future carrierunder design by theCarrier Alliance.There are a few conceptual issues for

the navy's air carrier people to come toterms with.Principal among them the realisation

that there's a 20-minute walk betweenthe bridge and Flyco, isolated withintheir own individual towers on thecarrier's expansive flightdeck.The putative members of the WE

department might also blink in horrorat the 1.740km of b|own—fibre cablingthat will support the mission systemembeddedwithin these new carriers.However the engineers of BAE

Systems Integrated SystemsTechnologies (Insyte) insist that theirhard work in the planning will winanyone using the mission systemaround.There‘ll also beafew raised eyebrows

at the Ml:‘l'0C’s office: “No longera window either, which I'm slightlynervous about. I do like theweathermanto know what's out there," remarkedCdr Simon Petitt, the Naval officerembedded in the team.But he's reassured by the strength

of the integrated METOC system whichfeeds in to the office.All these elements are only part of

the massive mission system whichneeds to be functioning smoothly forthe carrier's arrival; main componentsinclude thecombat system with radars,airtraffic control. navigationand bridge.voice, data and video networks in aninformationsystem,andcommunicationsystems.The mission system team are focused

on identifying any problems early in theprogramme — where changes can bemade before construction is under way.To this end they have built scale

mock-ups of several of the com-partments, watching as real matelotsrun through their everyday jobs, and

tweaking thedesigns in response.One example is within Flyco, where

theteam created a raised podium at thecentral position to ensure thateye-linesdown to the deck were uninterrupted.An additional bridge-wing was

another addition that became clearafter some time spent monitoring theuse of thatspace.The team have also spent time

developing an Air Group ManagementApplication (AGMAl. Cdr Petitt said:"The aim of it is to help the operatorsmove the aircraft around the deck.Aircraft carriers currently use stickymodels of theaircraft on a metal ship."And it works with eight or nine

aircraft, but when you're looking at 30plus, it starts to become a much morecomplex jigsaw. We realised early onthat in order to reach our sortie rategeneration, it was important that theyhad some help to do that.“AGMA has been tested on HMS

Illustriouswhere they found it so usefultheywanted to keep it.”He added: “We want to keep the

sortie rate as lean as possible.“One area thatwe've learnt a lot from

the current carriers is layout. We'vecompletely rearranged the currentcarriers so that the aircrew just walkthrough a series of briefings, ratherthan having to dot here, there andeverywhere as theycunentlydo.“it sounds like common sense, but

common—sense isn't all that common.“They make no secret that they'renot

lookingto bring in ground-breakingnewtechnology on the future carrier. SteveDowdell admits plainly: “A no surprisesculture is what we're aiming for."They want to know that the

technology on board is proven; thatthedifferent systems work with each other;that the people on board will knowwhat they need to do.They're keeping the innovation firmly

in their approach, drawing togetherthe disparate strands of technology.vision and people early in the processto smooth the arrival of these big, bigships.

Countering the unpredictable

__Mnnrr-’li'sirn - rxucn - lll Minn - Mlsmt

vvvvw.mbda-systems.com

NAVYNEWS, OCTOBER 2008 17

I8 NAVYNEWS, OCTOBER 2008

0 Cracksin theouter skin (top) and innerfuselage of a Chinook— justone of themany engineering challenges theFleet Forward Support(Air) team must contend with in Afghanistan and (below) a Minigunfitted to a Chinook - witha chute to get rid of spent cartridge cases,as designed by thenavalair engineers

NEED initial FREELEGAL ADVICE?

Then contact:

A Nationwide networkof highly experienced Independent SolicitorsWho advise and represent Service Personnel. Reservists. the

Civil Service and their Families

Contact:0845 601 1 260

orwww.forcesIaw.comfor a Local Lawyer who

SPEAKS YOUR LANGUAGECOURTSMARTIAL - DISCIPLINARYPROCEDURES - EMPLOYMENTand REINSTATEMENTof RESERVE FORCES PERSONNEL - SERVICE

INVESTIGATIONS - CRIME - HOUSE or BUSINESS PURCHASEor SALE including LSAP's - DIVORCE CHILDRENPENSIONS andTERMINALGRANTS - ACCIDENTSand COMPENSATION - ARMED

FORCES COMPENSATION SCHEME PREVIEW - WILLS orDEATH of a RELATIVE

Can we fix it?ON A dark yet moonlitnight in Afghanistan,the blades of a Chinookwhipped up the dust atCamp Bastion beforecarrying the helicopterinto theHelmand sky.Tonight's mission was routine

— or as routine as any flight inthis troubled land is — an hour-long hop to Kandahar airbase.The helicopter had barely

lifted off the hub of Britishoperations in Afghanistan whena loud bang startled the crew inthe rear cabin.Fearing theworst, theystarted

looking for bullet holes.They found something even

larger. A Ioadmaster realised hecould see stars through theskinof theaircraft above his head.Aftera quick lookwitha torch,

thecrew realised thattheyhad aproblem.One of the main lift frames

attaching the rear rotor to theaircraft had crackedand theskinhad cracked with it, opening upthe aircraft to the stars above.The flight crew pondered

their fate. Should they set theChinook down in the middleof Afghanistan, knowing theTaleban were down there — andthata multi-millionpoundaircraftmight have to be destroyed by aHarrier to prevent it falling intoenemy hands?The captain was patched

through to Kandahar. Therewas a specialist team of aircraftstructural repairers on thebase.In his pit, a naval aircraft

engineer officer slept soundly— until a duty officer rousedhim and hurried him to the opsTOOTH.After a quick brief, the

lieutenant was passed theradio mike to advise theChinook fliers — only too wellaware of the consequencesof giving instructions to landimmediately.He discussed the crack with

the aircrew, weighed up thesituation. then decided the

Chinookwas safe to continue itsjourney— with a caveat.“Gentle manouvres only and

monitor the crack for furtherpropagation," he advised. "Itthe crack starts to get biggerrapidly. you'll have to landimmediately."A fewminutes later, theaircraft

landed safely at Kandahar.Phew. Now the only thing left tofigure out was how to fix it...Which is where the naval

aircraft structural repair teamcome in; you might rememberthem as the Mobile AircraftSupport Unit (MASU), butthey’verecently been reorganised (seebelow for the new addition tothe ‘family') and renamed FleetForward Support (Air).They do what flightlunitl

squadron engineers generallycannotThe entire UK Anned Forces‘

inventory of helicopters fallsunder these naval engineers’wings - RAF, Army Air Corps,Fleet Air Arm it doesn't matter(the RAF deal with fixed-wingrepairs).“You know how theyadvertise the RAC and AAas the ‘fourth emergencyservice’? Well. we’re it fordamaged helicopters.“Wheneverthere'sa call, we're

there," says Lt Andy Stancliffe."Helicopters are helicopters —

we can look at an Apache oneday, Lynx the next day, Chinookthe day after that. We havecorporate experiencegoingbackover 40 years to call upon."Most of the 100 or so MASU

staff are based at Fleetlandsin Gosport, but given Britain'scurrent emphasis on operationsin Afghanistan. a five-strongteam of engineers is permanentlybased in Afghanistan. Theteam covers repairs to all UKhelicopters out there — and evenhas a limited fixed wing repaircapabilitythanksto theadditionof a sergeant from its RAFcousins at St Athan.The Kandahar

conducted moreteam hasthan 100

structural repairs in Afghanistan- mostly the result of wear andtear rather than enemy action.and mostly involving RAFChinooks. Beyond the obviousdangers, with the heat and thedust, it's a gruelling tour of duty:two months on. two monthsoff.And it's not just a case of

sitting in a hangar waiting for ahelicopter to bedelivered so youcan fix it. Wherever a helicopteris damaged, invariably that'swhere you'll find theFleet FS(Air)engineers.“When your aircraft structure

fails it's not always in aconvenient location," says CdrNigel Higgins. Fleet FS(Air)'sCommandingOfficer.And if, in the middle of the

Afghan steppe. you cannot fixthat Sea King or Chinook andyou cannot recover the aircraftby road or air, there is the lastresort: blow it up to preventit falling into enemy hands. Atleast three airframes have metthis fate in theatre.Even seemingly minor battle

damage in Afghanistan canhave major ramifications in thelong tenn.You could. for example, leave

a bullet hole in a helicopterfuselage. In the short tenn, itis just a hole and the aircraft isstill flyable. But over time. thestresses and strains placed onthe aircraft. plus exposure totheelements. mean the hole willgrow. And that's not good. So. astitch in time saves nine.It's the environment and

tempo of operations rather thanenemy action which takes itstoll more than anything else inHelmand, however.One lesson from Afghanistan

is the strain of flying Chinookswith the rear tailgate down,invariablywitha gunner perchedon it. Engineers began to noticecracks appearing in the rearof one of the helicopters. Theycalled in the ‘fourth emergencyservice‘ to have a look.“Had it failed. the whole rear

turret, including rotors andengine could have come off.”

As well as fixing thecrack, theteam has also provided adviceto therest of theChinook fleet toprevent other helicopters fallingvictim to the same problem.It's easy to focus on

Afghanistan and Iraq — they arethe concentrations of effort byBritain's anned forces.But there are eleven other

three-strong MASU teamsdedicated to the rest of theworld. And they're no less busy.The global map at the

engineers‘ H0 is littered withdots marking recent repairmissions.

b ()Beginning of JudithChalmersit.Vancouver, Japan. South

Korea. Malaysia, Kenya. mostof the Gulf. Sierra Leone. Belize.Norway. Falklands, Bosnia,Gibraltar.(End of JudithChalmers bit.)And then there's Istanbul and

a Merlin which almost tell of theflight deck of HMS Illustrious(you might have read about itin the nationals. who thought itwas most amusing...).A repair officer flew out first

to inspect thestricken bird. tookcopious photographsand finallyproduced an action plan for therepair team... who flew out tomeet Lusty in Gib and fixed thehelicopter, such that it could flywith the rest of 814 NAS' Tigerswhen they returned to Culdroseen masse.Whether it's workingon a ship

rolling around in the Atlanticor stuck out in the middle ofthe Afghan steppe, what'sinvariably required is ingenuityand innovation.“It's a job which requires

improvisation." explains CdrHiggins. “Take one Chinookrepair the team did recently. A‘full’ repair would have takensix weeks. We did an expedientrepair in 12 days.”Expediency and innovation

invariably lead to invention...and here we come to another.critical role for the MASU team:aircraft service modification.If a helicopterneeds an urgent.An institution where

TO ALMOST everyone in theaviation world, mention theletters M I G and the mostlikely response is Russianjets.Except in Gosport.Less publicisedthanthefabled

Soviet aircraft manufacturer,butcrucial to the safety of Britain'shelicopter fleet, is the Fleet FS(Air) Materials Integrity Group(MIG), housed in a collection ofanonymous brick buildings atFleetlands.MIG is a mix of internationally

recognised scientists (there areremarkablyfew men and womenin white coats wanderingaroundits corridors, disappointingly)and Service personnelwhothrowtheir front—line experiences andexpertise into themix.Their aim is to ensure that a

helicopter does not fail (ie crash)becauseone of its componentsfailed materially (hence thegroup's name).But any helicopter, be it

aboard HMS Somerset in theMed. in Basra airbase. or beingused to training rookie Sea Kingcrews in Yeovilton. requires

constant monitoring.Given the emphasis on British

operations in the Gulf andAfghanistan in the past decade.there's been particularly closescrutiny of the impact of thoseharsh environmentson thehard-workedwhirlybirds.Squadron engineers carry out

regular servicing, but they alsosend regular samples containingsmall metal particles in the oilworn from the bearings andgears, back to Gosport.Here. using processes

ranging from the Mk1Eyeball, to sophisticatedanalytical equipment such asspectrometers and electronmicroscopes. the samples areanalysed for what should - andshouldn't ~ be there.Such is the nature of engines

and gearboxes that there willalways be some traces orparticles of metal in oil - theimportant questions are: howmuch and which metal?with 40 years‘

experience tod r a w

upon, a huge database ofmetallic wear conditions hasbeen compiledallowing the MIGteam to pinpoint which particularcomponent the metal camefrom — allowing the scientists inturn to advise the front—line unitswhether the engine or gearboxneeds to be replaced .

The system works. "I've beenworking here for 24 years andI have never lost an aircraft onmy watch due to a predictablefailure," says the head of the‘wear debris analysis‘ team(the nature of their work meansthe MIG-ers must remainanonymous).That, of course. does not

mean that helicopters have notbeen lost for manifold reasonsover thepast half century.Most peoplewill have heard of

the Air Accidents InvestigationBranch. Perhaps less wellknown is

the scientific work done by theMIG team. Their aim is thesame,however: to assist in detenniningthecause of an aircraft crash."The 550,000 question is:

was the damage caused by thecrash or did it actually causethecrash?," explains one of thescientific investigators.Take a Lynx which came down

heavilyon Salisbury Plain: its tailrotor drive shaft — vital for theaircraft's stability— had failed.Was it the heavy landing

which caused it or had it failedbefore the Lynx came down?An inspection from the MIGexperts determined it was thefomier... and thankfullyit wasn'ta problem across theentire Lynxfleet.“One simple indication is

the filaments in the lights on awarning panel. If theycan proveto have been heated at thetime of a crash, then that's an

indication that one

I8 NAVYNEWS, OCTOBER 2008

0 Cracksin theouter skin (top) and innerfuselage of a Chinook— justone of themany engineering challenges theFleet Forward Support(Air) team must contend with in Afghanistan and (below) a Minigunfitted to a Chinook - witha chute to get rid of spent cartridge cases,as designed by thenavalair engineers

NEED initial FREELEGAL ADVICE?

Then contact:

A Nationwide networkof highly experienced Independent SolicitorsWho advise and represent Service Personnel. Reservists. the

Civil Service and their Families

Contact:0845 601 1 260

orwww.forcesIaw.comfor a Local Lawyer who

SPEAKS YOUR LANGUAGECOURTSMARTIAL - DISCIPLINARYPROCEDURES - EMPLOYMENTand REINSTATEMENTof RESERVE FORCES PERSONNEL - SERVICE

INVESTIGATIONS - CRIME - HOUSE or BUSINESS PURCHASEor SALE including LSAP's - DIVORCE CHILDRENPENSIONS andTERMINALGRANTS - ACCIDENTSand COMPENSATION - ARMED

FORCES COMPENSATION SCHEME PREVIEW - WILLS orDEATH of a RELATIVE

Can we fix it?ON A dark yet moonlitnight in Afghanistan,the blades of a Chinookwhipped up the dust atCamp Bastion beforecarrying the helicopterinto theHelmand sky.Tonight's mission was routine

— or as routine as any flight inthis troubled land is — an hour-long hop to Kandahar airbase.The helicopter had barely

lifted off the hub of Britishoperations in Afghanistan whena loud bang startled the crew inthe rear cabin.Fearing theworst, theystarted

looking for bullet holes.They found something even

larger. A Ioadmaster realised hecould see stars through theskinof theaircraft above his head.Aftera quick lookwitha torch,

thecrew realised thattheyhad aproblem.One of the main lift frames

attaching the rear rotor to theaircraft had crackedand theskinhad cracked with it, opening upthe aircraft to the stars above.The flight crew pondered

their fate. Should they set theChinook down in the middleof Afghanistan, knowing theTaleban were down there — andthata multi-millionpoundaircraftmight have to be destroyed by aHarrier to prevent it falling intoenemy hands?The captain was patched

through to Kandahar. Therewas a specialist team of aircraftstructural repairers on thebase.In his pit, a naval aircraft

engineer officer slept soundly— until a duty officer rousedhim and hurried him to the opsTOOTH.After a quick brief, the

lieutenant was passed theradio mike to advise theChinook fliers — only too wellaware of the consequencesof giving instructions to landimmediately.He discussed the crack with

the aircrew, weighed up thesituation. then decided the

Chinookwas safe to continue itsjourney— with a caveat.“Gentle manouvres only and

monitor the crack for furtherpropagation," he advised. "Itthe crack starts to get biggerrapidly. you'll have to landimmediately."A fewminutes later, theaircraft

landed safely at Kandahar.Phew. Now the only thing left tofigure out was how to fix it...Which is where the naval

aircraft structural repair teamcome in; you might rememberthem as the Mobile AircraftSupport Unit (MASU), butthey’verecently been reorganised (seebelow for the new addition tothe ‘family') and renamed FleetForward Support (Air).They do what flightlunitl

squadron engineers generallycannotThe entire UK Anned Forces‘

inventory of helicopters fallsunder these naval engineers’wings - RAF, Army Air Corps,Fleet Air Arm it doesn't matter(the RAF deal with fixed-wingrepairs).“You know how theyadvertise the RAC and AAas the ‘fourth emergencyservice’? Well. we’re it fordamaged helicopters.“Wheneverthere'sa call, we're

there," says Lt Andy Stancliffe."Helicopters are helicopters —

we can look at an Apache oneday, Lynx the next day, Chinookthe day after that. We havecorporate experiencegoingbackover 40 years to call upon."Most of the 100 or so MASU

staff are based at Fleetlandsin Gosport, but given Britain'scurrent emphasis on operationsin Afghanistan. a five-strongteam of engineers is permanentlybased in Afghanistan. Theteam covers repairs to all UKhelicopters out there — and evenhas a limited fixed wing repaircapabilitythanksto theadditionof a sergeant from its RAFcousins at St Athan.The Kandahar

conducted moreteam hasthan 100

structural repairs in Afghanistan- mostly the result of wear andtear rather than enemy action.and mostly involving RAFChinooks. Beyond the obviousdangers, with the heat and thedust, it's a gruelling tour of duty:two months on. two monthsoff.And it's not just a case of

sitting in a hangar waiting for ahelicopter to bedelivered so youcan fix it. Wherever a helicopteris damaged, invariably that'swhere you'll find theFleet FS(Air)engineers.“When your aircraft structure

fails it's not always in aconvenient location," says CdrNigel Higgins. Fleet FS(Air)'sCommandingOfficer.And if, in the middle of the

Afghan steppe. you cannot fixthat Sea King or Chinook andyou cannot recover the aircraftby road or air, there is the lastresort: blow it up to preventit falling into enemy hands. Atleast three airframes have metthis fate in theatre.Even seemingly minor battle

damage in Afghanistan canhave major ramifications in thelong tenn.You could. for example, leave

a bullet hole in a helicopterfuselage. In the short tenn, itis just a hole and the aircraft isstill flyable. But over time. thestresses and strains placed onthe aircraft. plus exposure totheelements. mean the hole willgrow. And that's not good. So. astitch in time saves nine.It's the environment and

tempo of operations rather thanenemy action which takes itstoll more than anything else inHelmand, however.One lesson from Afghanistan

is the strain of flying Chinookswith the rear tailgate down,invariablywitha gunner perchedon it. Engineers began to noticecracks appearing in the rearof one of the helicopters. Theycalled in the ‘fourth emergencyservice‘ to have a look.“Had it failed. the whole rear

turret, including rotors andengine could have come off.”

As well as fixing thecrack, theteam has also provided adviceto therest of theChinook fleet toprevent other helicopters fallingvictim to the same problem.It's easy to focus on

Afghanistan and Iraq — they arethe concentrations of effort byBritain's anned forces.But there are eleven other

three-strong MASU teamsdedicated to the rest of theworld. And they're no less busy.The global map at the

engineers‘ H0 is littered withdots marking recent repairmissions.

b ()Beginning of JudithChalmersit.Vancouver, Japan. South

Korea. Malaysia, Kenya. mostof the Gulf. Sierra Leone. Belize.Norway. Falklands, Bosnia,Gibraltar.(End of JudithChalmers bit.)And then there's Istanbul and

a Merlin which almost tell of theflight deck of HMS Illustrious(you might have read about itin the nationals. who thought itwas most amusing...).A repair officer flew out first

to inspect thestricken bird. tookcopious photographsand finallyproduced an action plan for therepair team... who flew out tomeet Lusty in Gib and fixed thehelicopter, such that it could flywith the rest of 814 NAS' Tigerswhen they returned to Culdroseen masse.Whether it's workingon a ship

rolling around in the Atlanticor stuck out in the middle ofthe Afghan steppe, what'sinvariably required is ingenuityand innovation.“It's a job which requires

improvisation." explains CdrHiggins. “Take one Chinookrepair the team did recently. A‘full’ repair would have takensix weeks. We did an expedientrepair in 12 days.”Expediency and innovation

invariably lead to invention...and here we come to another.critical role for the MASU team:aircraft service modification.If a helicopterneeds an urgent.An institution where

TO ALMOST everyone in theaviation world, mention theletters M I G and the mostlikely response is Russianjets.Except in Gosport.Less publicisedthanthefabled

Soviet aircraft manufacturer,butcrucial to the safety of Britain'shelicopter fleet, is the Fleet FS(Air) Materials Integrity Group(MIG), housed in a collection ofanonymous brick buildings atFleetlands.MIG is a mix of internationally

recognised scientists (there areremarkablyfew men and womenin white coats wanderingaroundits corridors, disappointingly)and Service personnelwhothrowtheir front—line experiences andexpertise into themix.Their aim is to ensure that a

helicopter does not fail (ie crash)becauseone of its componentsfailed materially (hence thegroup's name).But any helicopter, be it

aboard HMS Somerset in theMed. in Basra airbase. or beingused to training rookie Sea Kingcrews in Yeovilton. requires

constant monitoring.Given the emphasis on British

operations in the Gulf andAfghanistan in the past decade.there's been particularly closescrutiny of the impact of thoseharsh environmentson thehard-workedwhirlybirds.Squadron engineers carry out

regular servicing, but they alsosend regular samples containingsmall metal particles in the oilworn from the bearings andgears, back to Gosport.Here. using processes

ranging from the Mk1Eyeball, to sophisticatedanalytical equipment such asspectrometers and electronmicroscopes. the samples areanalysed for what should - andshouldn't ~ be there.Such is the nature of engines

and gearboxes that there willalways be some traces orparticles of metal in oil - theimportant questions are: howmuch and which metal?with 40 years‘

experience tod r a w

upon, a huge database ofmetallic wear conditions hasbeen compiledallowing the MIGteam to pinpoint which particularcomponent the metal camefrom — allowing the scientists inturn to advise the front—line unitswhether the engine or gearboxneeds to be replaced .

The system works. "I've beenworking here for 24 years andI have never lost an aircraft onmy watch due to a predictablefailure," says the head of the‘wear debris analysis‘ team(the nature of their work meansthe MIG-ers must remainanonymous).That, of course. does not

mean that helicopters have notbeen lost for manifold reasonsover thepast half century.Most peoplewill have heard of

the Air Accidents InvestigationBranch. Perhaps less wellknown is

the scientific work done by theMIG team. Their aim is thesame,however: to assist in detenniningthecause of an aircraft crash."The 550,000 question is:

was the damage caused by thecrash or did it actually causethecrash?," explains one of thescientific investigators.Take a Lynx which came down

heavilyon Salisbury Plain: its tailrotor drive shaft — vital for theaircraft's stability— had failed.Was it the heavy landing

which caused it or had it failedbefore the Lynx came down?An inspection from the MIGexperts determined it was thefomier... and thankfullyit wasn'ta problem across theentire Lynxfleet.“One simple indication is

the filaments in the lights on awarning panel. If theycan proveto have been heated at thetime of a crash, then that's an

indication that one

Ell .\l.»\\-"Y ?\'l{\\I'S.0(i'l'()l§liREllllfi

O A wave from an aircrewman as a Merlin from the Flying Tigersperfonns in rather murky skies over Britannia Royal Naval CollegeduringDartmouthRegatta Picture: Lt Chris Simpson, 314 NAS

-L’4«St Dunstan’sAn independent future for blindex—Service men and women

Craig Lundberg,St Dunstaner

Show-stoppersAFTERlast month‘s appearance at the Tall Ship's parade in Liverpool and MeetYour Navy in Portsmouth, the spotlight continued to focus on HMS Argyll.The frigate was named as guardship for the four~day Dartmouth Regatta,

the annual festival of sail in the shadow of the alma mater of the naval officercorps.She wasn't the sole RN asset on display. The Flying Tigers (814 HAS) sent a

Merlin to perform a ten-minute Show over the Devonshire town and the BlackCats. the FlN‘s Lynx display team, also dropped in.Once again this summer, the British weatherdid throwa spanner in theworks,

causing some aerial displays (including a parachute jump) to be cancelled.And the RAF muscled in on RN ‘home turf‘ by dispatching (1) the Battle

of Britain memorial flight to raise the curtain on the regatta, (2) a EurofighterTyphoon for a demonstration of raw — and roar — power and (3) the Red Arrowsto wow crowds on the busiest day of the festival.That's enough of the Crabs. for they weren't the only ones making noise

in Dartmouth. Argyll fired an 11—gun salute as she arrived on the river, beforeopening her decks to the public, who arrived by passenger boat from the shore.More than 2,000 people made the trip, while Sea Cadets were treated to guided

tours.The regatta transforms an otherwise fairly sleepy coastal

town into a hustling. bustling trap for tourists andsailors.

Not all the sporting activity occurs onthe Dart, however. An all-ranks tug of warteam headed ashore and almost lifted thetrophy. coming second of 16 sides hauling

and straining.On a more formal level, Argyll hosted an

official dinner for dignitaries. plus a flight deckreception for local VIPs.After a high-profile dmgs bust [see page 6), the

ship is now off the west coast of Scotland for NATO war gamesbefore paying her first visit to her affiliatedcity of Glasgow.Back on the south coast, another regatta hosted not one but two vessels:

HMS Tyne and RFA Mounts Bay. Both were in the Cornish port of Fowey (aswere the Red Arrows], with landing craft ferrying tourists out to the auxiliary— at16,000 tons she’s far too large to come alongside.Meanwhile in Wales... There was no regatta for HMS Cornwall, just three

well-deserved days at Cardiff's Britannia Quay — a visit which coincided with SeaSunday, a celebration/commemorationof the lives of seafarers.Cornwall also opened her gangway to visitors and invited local Sea Cadets

on board for a tour.And let's not forget Northern Ireland. The Sea Cadets certainly didn't as they

staged their national regatta in Carrickfergus... something which demanded asizeable RN presence.Survey ship HMS Enterprise — recently seen in Belfast Bay — was the largest,if not necessarily loudest. Senior Service asset on show.For a start. the Commando Display Team showed the good folk of Northern

Ireland the art of unarmed combat.And their musical comrades were in action throughout the weekend. The

Corps of Drums performed at Bangor's Clifton School before a full RM BandEtaged a concert in the town's conference centre for Seafarers UK and the Seaadets.That wasn't theend to the Corps‘ musical input at the regatta; therewere two

daytime concerts to perform beforea Beat Retreat brought the curtain down onthe festival, accompaniedby a firework and laser display.

it it,_e>ttraordinaryworkofSt Dunstan’s.3blish.ed in 1915, St Dunstan’s provides‘ “ u'ppor't and training for visually

0 inside a British nuclear submarine with Subsafe

GAMES and serious aren’twords that you see linkedtoo often.But at the University of

Birming am. Prof or RobertStone is leading a small teamlooking at : rious gaming, tt'ri'te.iHalt ( ll.Thcrcs more than enough

new pers out there bemoaningthe ‘Pla station Generation‘ — butlast year Chief of the General StaffGen r Richard Dannatt pra .

dthe bilitiesof the Pl ‘

Afghanis n rid Iraq.There is .1 wave

of people joiningthe Services whohave grown tip ina world of chal-lenges generated within computergames, and the scientists and psy-chologists of the Hum n FactorsIntegration Defence lechnologyCentre (I-IFI DT J are loo inginto ways to harness that learn-ing experience into valuable toolsfor the countr Armed Forces,including the Royal Navy.There is, of course, no substi-

tute for the real thing.You want to explore the interior

of-.1 British nuclear submarine?Ofc .urse, _vou w it to clainberdownin. ‘ one and so. for on ’elf.‘X m to fire ii m gun? Then

_ves, ideally you're stood on theupper deck of a gr ship firingreal ammunition at cal targets.But that's not alwa ' pus. 'blc ~

for teasons of geography, timing,cost, and global commitments.And so the potential of games

technolo v that can be loaded onto a dc. top PC is being unlocat Birmingham by Profs. ‘trStone and his lead developer RobGut. l

S e of it "mply aboutteaching familia t_v and cor-rect procedure, some of it aboutmanaging expectation, some of itabout recogiii. rig access is limitedto the real thing but people stillneed the training"Ei rything do is drix n b

Prof Ston.

.

ll out as tohow effect 'e thi form ofsimula-tion is," he ded. “\X"e are try-ing to inter SI people in gettinginvolved, tr_ ng to placate thosepeople who invested many tens,

“The jury is still out asto how effective this

~form of simulation is" “5

even hun— dreds,of thousands of poundsin virtual reality technology andnever want to touch the stuffagain, and we’re trying to producedemonstrators th t help de-riskthe selection prt. .

“If it works — great. th ' cango out for tender to he built. If itdoesn’t, it costs nothing."Prof Stone himself h'

ground in virtual realitxabsolutely frank about its failings:“Expensive and unreliable tech-nolo -

_ just didn't work."So when I came to the univer-

decided that ifwe‘re going todo somethingthatis really oing tomake a diherent. .i got to workon pretty humble

laptops. and it's got to be L vel-oped using software that can bedistributed more-or—less free ofcharge, otherwise no one is goingto use it."Before joining their first sub-

marines, junior submari ers aretaken through a course of lecturesand briefings in Plyntouthto learntheir wa around and know wheresafe wquipnient can be found.The sit in a classroom before

lectures and sl‘ ‘, with modelsand CLl[L\\\

_

discussed beforetheir eyes,In the next six months, if cur-

rent evaluation trials go well,future submarine s will look attheir computer scr -n and movesmoothlyaround in de the virtualworld of the subn rine under anew project, SubSale.Subsafe actu-

ally grew iutof some initialwork done forI-‘lag OfficerSubmarines back

sor was int-oltcdin developing the gun simulatorsat HMS Collingwood.

' asibilitystudiesante to us and

‘Do _\ u think on can usertual reality to help people

become more spatially aware ofthe It in of SSN and SSBN?‘ Sowe d we would look at it.“A out two and a half years

ago, the gu). ‘it Abbe W-'ood gotin touch with us and 1 for that

“I decided that ifwe‘re going to dosomethingthat is

really going to make adifference, it's got to

in - work on pretty humblelaptops"

ld report.They introduced us to a

small company in Sh tesburycalled Incredible Box. Togetherwe‘ve produced this demonstra-tion for the Submarine Schoolcalled SubS; ‘.“SubSal'e

everytliing wehoped to do forF(.)Si\"l back inthe 1990s butcouldn‘t be auseof the effort, thesoftware to Is, the computerswere prohib ely expe .

“\\’.-'e have dentonstratcd it atL nnport and I-‘ ane: and it hasl't.‘LLl ‘ed some ace ides. Even thesurface fleet looking at it now.“And so the nest six monthswillc this interactive 3D it

being put to th t t by real sub-mariners in Devonport.It do n‘t take long for the mind

to atljust to the virtual world,particularly when s eh meticulouscare has been taken to mea: ire,record and photograph the r it_\-‘.Subs-afe uses freely available

games iftw-are. and allows usersto mo - smoothly around thedeck oi the submarine, throughhatch

.and into compartments.

finding their \ ' to alarm switch-es and

. fety kit such as fire e.guishers.Anotlier demonstrator being

dwelt ed in Birmingham is theDillon rninigun trainer, completewith a realistic grip to mirror thereal gun’s controls.“The m st important piece of

the human factors work i thismanual ll'l[|. ce,getting used tothe handling, thefiring, the dialsand ivhtitever,"remarked ProfStone.Pres the trigger

on at minigun andeht half—second delay

.

much but it's enough todisori ntate for a moment.

'hen trainees press that but-ton lor the first time and nothinghappens. even for half a secoi .

think ‘what's happeningnd they relax," hi. idded.

‘hen the weapon kit. s down.And that's what we’ve been trying[0 FCCTCECC."‘\\-'e"rc still working on that

O A virtual Scylla on the seabed, a project that is being worked on with theNationalMarine Aquariumand theMarine BiologicalAssociation

“We assume theyknow how to use ahypodermic. They’vegot to make the rightdecisions to save thisvirtual guy's |ife.“

a fair amount ofnrclnanc into thesea and got to get back on track."The gun lires a distincti ’

'hosepipe' trail as the virtual bul-lets hit the virtualwater The splash-es aren't right yet.I m told, theync to be bigger.and create morevisual disturbancearound the exact

site of the bullet entry.Fortunately submarines are not

often lost on the sea—be but the'

- ‘tic submersiblcs suchthe [R5 or the new .\l.'\TO

submarine rescue s‘ tent stillhave to be trained and ready torespond.Once again the team in

Birmingham are able to use exist-ing games technologies to create:1 realistic portrayal of a strickensubmarine em ing from themurky gloom of the seabed,Birmingham's Rob Guest has

developed new techniq ‘s andeffe is to recreate the distortionsof light and bubble trails, thepull of currents and the push ofmotors, the onboard cameras ofthe virtual submarine appc ringon the \ irtual screens ofthc. irtualinterior.The realm of defence medicine

is also within the I-IFI DTC’sand here the focus is on dec.

.

training — making the right choicesin the right time as the pres-sure piles on, which wh- e theappearance, sounds and distrac-tit-ms of a realistic environmentare ke_v to putting the user into thethickof the acProf Stone sat : “\\3"e vc been

working with the Royal Centrefor Defence Medicine, lo king atwhether or not the seriou gamesconcept can work for training s ir-

gcons going over to Afghanis anfor procedures that the_\-"re notnornia1l_ familiarwith.“Th re in :1 virtual field hos-

pital [L t or on b iard RFA Argus,and it's a de on trainer, nota skills trainer. Wu: assume theyknow how to u a cannula or ah_\ odermic. They got to makethe right deci ‘on-s thin four anda half minutes to save this virtual

Th re is a continuum of train-ing teclinologi " here At one endwe've got decision— ed training.and at the other end we’ve gotbasic skills trainin“And what w

for skills trainer_

to be rigorriu about what thescenario looks like, you can usesimple graphi backed up \ 'threalistic inter (‘L s, like the mini-gun.“\\'i'heii _vou move on to decision

making, we need to pay muchmore attention to thesight‘ and sounds, bccwill influence the next ClCL“For medical training, that

decision needs to be right firsttime everv time.“

I rd that end, Prof Stonecan't \ ait to start using I Iat-est off-the—shelf discot '

of hardware that brings reasmells to the training simulation.

f)iJT_‘flUIl' dc submarine, an_vone.”~

'3‘Jat whltsandBay

-1 1Fauna Check ABC: Anaeslhetlst

,decisi'on-basetftrainlnyarvirtualworld DU"

01 I

O

OR the first timein 13 years thebroad pennantof a Fleservist

commodore has beendeployed at sea as hisforces tackled a high-tempo weekend ofintensive training.

Cdre StephenCommodore MariiiineReserves, presided over agathering of more than 100 ofthe South \X-"est‘s reservists atand oil Portland.

The grotintl—bre:iking event.rtin and eo-ordinated under theatispices oI'Cdre Jamie Miller,.\'a\':1|Regional C.0l‘l1l‘l1iIl1Li<.‘l' \V-"esternEngliind.saw potential new recruitsas well as serving reservists fromHMS Forward (Birttiiiiglutin),HMS Flying Fox (Bristol), HMSCambria (South \\I':tles) and HMSVivid (I’lj.'mouth)sail otit on hoardRoyal Fleet .-\uxiliLtr_\' supply shipliort Austin for :1 series ol" reiilistietraining exercises.

This wzis the tirst time since theRNR gave Lip its own fleet ofs-hipsin 1095 that such :1 large trainingexercise has taken plziee at sea.enabling resei'\*ists to hone theirgeneral l1fl\‘i]l and seniiitiiisliip skills

Thorne,

""-i-4- '*.-v:p‘;‘_..__, ,

t.¢._

and to sliow the t-olunteer reserveforces at their best, developing theiriIpL'i‘:llinI'|11l cripiihilitt‘.

All the Ltcti\'it_\' wits captured byLi BBC South West reporter, andsuhsequentl_\' broadcast on prime-time news progriiniines over twoLl(1_\'.\'.

The reservists made full use of the ttLixili:ir_\" st:3te—ot‘—t|1e—L1rt facil-

ities, with Type 22 frigate HMSCLll'|'ll‘3L‘1'l:\l1Lland L1 Lynx helicop-ter from 702 N:1\';Il :\ir Squztvtlron.hosed tit Yeovilton,llown by reserv-ists, also joining in to add to thetraining Value,

The boat triinsfer out to the aux-iliary on I-‘riclziy evening prtwieleelthe first ehiillenge I‘L‘l:1Ii\'L'l_\' sim-ple in the right gear. but for thosewho lldtl corne sir-.1i,=,*ht t‘i-om workthere was the problem of stiitczisesand keeping civ\'_v suits and the likefrom being, sotiketl in $L‘1l\\':.lT.CI'.

1..;\i _I,.

There was at late-eveningbriefingfor all before they turned in re'.1t:l_\'for Lin e:1rl_\'—moming eleptirttire.

One of the participants was LtCllfis I’:iri'_\‘ RNR. who was lrzlilulon board I-‘ort Austin h_\' the BBCreporter.

Lt Parry sztidz "For mziny thiswas their first experience of actu-ally getting z1t\'n_t' to sea. hi7.;irrethough this soum‘ls.

“This weekend w:t.s' meant to‘expose-‘ new £ll'lLl potential recruitsto the se:t—going experience, as wellas keeping the sziltier of sea dogstip to speed.

“Indeed. for me. this was my lirstexperience of being zilloat with theRFA in nearly ['3 _\'e;irs."

The reservists were divided intoteams, who IHfl\'L‘Ll through the var-ious parts ol‘ the ship to unL‘lert:1l<etraining during the weekend.

Exercises iI‘lL.'iLlLlCLl weapon O Clockwise from above: HMS Cumberlandduring thetraining weekend;LCIS NathanDuke (HMS Cambria)climbs aboard; a fast and furious game of flight deck hockey; LA Pyne signals to a Lynx from 702 NavalAir Squadron; Flight deck crew wait to go into action; CPO Daisy Adams RNR (HMS Vivid) joins in withthe SODS opera; Logs Laura Meeling {HMS Vivid) undergoes firefighting training; ABSea Michael ‘Nobby'Clarke (HMS Flying Fox) practises weapons drill; Cdre Jamie Miller travels between RFA Fort Austin andHMS Cumberlandbyjackstaytransfer; sailors take a more familiarform of transport; POSea ‘Snowy’ Dixonand Logs Nick Hand, both of HMS FlyingFox, help with the flightdeck barbecue

Pictures: LA(Phot) Alex Cave (FRPU East)

and ziniphihinus \\'zirt';ire triiining.danitige control 11l'lLl lireligliiitig.and (1 \'t1riet_\' of tasks tlesigiied tniitiprzwe eutniiitiiitl and letitlersliipskills.

.\leml\ers of the RNR‘s .-\hu\'eWitter Force Pl'UT.C[_"[l0I1 (A\'€"l*'l’)hrtineh irziinetl on board In further<.'lt.‘\'Clup their wertpmis and eunihtitteelmiques, atlluwiiig them to pruvideti deterrent force capable nfgtitirditigships :m_\'\\‘l'IL‘l’L2 in the world in timesuflieighieiied threat levels.

‘Hie RNR Air Branch tuuk overRI-‘A Fort .-\Listit1'.s flight deck forthe weekeiitl. 1ll'lLl more than 20t‘eser\'ists experienced the IL‘l‘l‘il:\'il'l;.'.but t_‘Xl'lllJ1‘;1Ill1g feeling of being.\'I.l.\p|.‘nLlCt‘lmet the t\CL‘L1l1 on :1 lightitIt:l»:st;i_\‘ between Fort .-‘tustin andIIMS Cuniherlimd us the [\\‘0 shipssteamed tilting the ('lh;inne1.

Sport tilsn hzid ii place. includingat fiLTliL‘l_\"Cn)’lIL'5'lCLldeck litiekeyemiipetititm which n.slt.‘K1!s'il‘1l_\'aimed to develop teamwork.

'Ilie RN spurt fetittires :1 ropering for it ptick. nitiking it clnser inice llncl-i::_\‘ than the field vers-imi

o-""""u

llintigh it is "zi cluse relative of thethrust LlLl!1gt.'l’ULl$ sport on Earthmixed hockey." sziitl I.t I’:irr_v.

And the reservists. even llvtiiidtime for that all impurt-um tiiivaltrtiditioti im Siitiirtlriy eveningthe SODS (Ship's Operatic andDrtmititie Stn.'it:l_\‘) Uperu wliieliproved to he :1 huge success. despite(nr perliaps because of) the \'-ttrittbleqtitility Ur the piirticiptiiits.

By Slll‘lL‘l'ti}‘ lunch-time the wlinlething was over.

“Everyone is shattered butit's time to change hats andbecome a civilian again,"said Lt Parry."StmI'I I will be lietidiiig ntTla:iel:

home and then to the nliiee for thel1t\1'I‘n:1l .\lund:i_\' niurning ruutine.

“Snrnetimes it's just (1 hit surreal‘goon! weekeiid - wlittt did you

get up tn?‘ iiiust ctilleagues ask as

ptirt of the post iveekencl return towurl-: ritual.

‘“l"'leu- in in helicopter. hungout in the middle of the Channel(litCl".lll_\'), put out -.1 few lites and

I

eturn to sea

huhhed around on a 20.00U—tmine\VL1l'Sl'|lp _\'uu?‘

“.\-lost colleagues tlun't hotliertiskiiig 1ll1}‘Il10TC. I wntider \i'l1_\'?"

(Itlr l):ivid l\'tt_\'. .\’l:11'i[iI‘t1L‘Reserves Stiift‘ Officer for theSmithW st. said: “This \\‘:15 :1 muststiecessllil trtiiniiig event for theSmith \‘s'-'est's .\lnritime Reserves.and liuge1_\' eiiju~_cable."

Ctlre Miller 11LlLlCLli “l\'ntliingbeats training ii-.1\'a| personneltitlu-.11. no iii-utter if they are regular01" reserve.

“R17 Fort Atistiii, :i.s the RFA‘l'l;ig.sliip' training ship. w:is theidetil plzitfnrtii for my requirementswith the ship perl‘ui'ming superbly.

“The pi'ul'ession:i1 andentlitisitisiic ptirtieiptttinti of her'.sl‘iip"s CU!I‘i[\:I!1_\' in Llll the \i'eekend‘e.-;lL‘[i\‘ltiL‘N has made this the successit has been

“:\iitl HMS Clllllbcrlillltl.despitethe riguurs of OST. prn\'ided tifantastic rzitige i\i‘sei'\'iCes tun.

“'I'his has been the best reginntiltraining exercise since the days of.\-‘lC.\‘l I0 l't1LIs[t:I'il'iguti Gibr;iltz1r.“

A at

t t-a3_.r5¥

2-‘l NAVYNEWS, OCTOBER 2008

ROYAL MARINES lnstow isa unique location. Everyonesays so.

Everyone down there will tellyou it is because of the sevendistinct and distinctive types ofbeach, terrain and water aroundhere.

But it’s also unique because ofthe distinct and distinctive typesof work done down here.

Part research centre, parttraining base, part trials unit;

part Royal Marine, part civilservant, and a little bit RN; partland vehicles, part boats; partamphibious bit-of-both —- it’salmost impossible to label RMInstow, writes Helm Craven.

But all these separate cogs arean essential part of the RoyalMarines’ war—machine. Take an_vone of them away, and somewhereon a distant shore you risk theMarines grinding to a halt.

Major John Lugg. the man in

charge at Instow, states it simply:“If we don’t get it right here,those big ships couldn't get thelanding force ashore. The UK‘samphibious excellence startshere.”

There may be some people inthe Navy who dispute that. But itis a simple fact.

Amphibious ships exist todeliver the punch of the RoyalMarines to the shore.

There are two ways that can

happen, by air with the skills ofthe Commando Helicopter Force— if bulk and weight and time-scales aren’t prohibitive.

Or by sea.And at some point those big

ships hand over their charges tothose small boats that cross theshallow waters from sea to shore.

nd 11 Amphibious Trialsand Training at Instow, part)f 1 Assault Group RM,

is focused on all the means andmethods that make that journeyfrom ship to shore and beyond thebeach possible.

“if it has to cross the beach,"explained Maj Lugg, “we haveto know it can survive a depth of1.5m of water.”

It means that llA'I'l’ have tomake sure that the right kit existsto make that journey at the bestspeed with the least risk.

It means that IIATT haveto make sure that the vehicles,trucks, heavy plant that comeashore for a landing can makethat shallow crossing from boat tobeach.And ask anyone - seawateris the enemy of engines.

It means that IIATThave to make sure that anyMarine driving those vehiclesknows how to waterproof theengine and kit, drive from thesteep ramp of a shifting landingcraft headlong into wavesat depths of up to man height in

,1

0 (left) A trials gunboat variant of the Offshore Raiding Craft is put thpaces at RM Instow; (above) the Beast turns back the Devonshire wave

driving through thedip tank in an adapted Land-RoverHappy landingsthe pitch-blackof night.

And so to my first bit of first-person experience...

The Land-Rover tips slightlyand water starts floodingin aroundmy ankles. In seconds it’s up tomy chest and the windscreen isnothingbut a wall of murky greenwater.

This is the third time I’ve beenthrough this,but this time I’m theone in the driving seat.

A driving seat from which thewater is trying to lift me; the samepressure of water is deprivingme of the familiar feel of theaccelerator pedal.

“Put your foot down,” says themarine next to me cheerfully. So Ido, as the specially-adapted Land-Rovcr surges back up the steepslope and onto dry land again.

“Now imagine doing that froma moving landing craft, againstsurging waves, in the dark.”

At Royal Marines Instow thedip tank is an early visit in drivertraining. Over the course of myone-day visit, I'll return to thedip tank in bigger and biggervehicles.

The BRV (or Beast as it’scommonly called by Marines) isa particularly striking transit, itsLeopard-tank base rears about theslope before the Beast pivots downto land witha satisfying thuduponits tracks.

It was dramatic enough on theinside of the cab, I've no notionwhat it looked like to an outsider.

Although the men and womenwho work at Instow are no longereasily impressed by such feats;day in, day out, LandRovers,Vikings, Pinzgaucrs, MAN trucks,Beasts, prototypes, trial vehicles,demonstrators, WW2 DUl(Wsroar into and out of the dip tankon their way to acceptance, trials,training or the various other tasksthat are undertaken in this NorthDevon camp.

Its out~of—the-way locationmisleads into an out-of-the—wayperception. This is no sleepyhollow, no backwater of dozingdotage.

The vast BRV is under thecareful guardianship of VehicleMechanic Steve Bailey.Its functionis inherent in its full name — beachrecovery vehicle, using its heftyweight and impressive strengthto pull or push vehicles, landingcraft, even tanks to shore or backout to sea.

At Instow it is used fortraining the green beret VehicleMechanics; and to train thelanding craft drivers; and torecover brokendown vehicles; ohand there‘:only a handful of themin service, and the only people0 (top left) A MAN military truck's ability

who know how to look after them,how to machine the necessaryparts, how to drive them are all inInstow. They’re also the ones whochecked out the BRV before it wasallowed into service.

“l’vc got a certain amount ofpride in these," admitted Steve,trying to avert his eyes from thedistractions of sea water drippinginside his pristine charge.

He should have pride in theBRV. This man knows everythingthere is to know about the Beast.Although he might not havebuilt it in the first place, themanufacturers who did are nowout of business — so if any of thefour Beasts needs fixing, tweakingor replacement parts, Instow iswhere the expertise lies.

“The old Centurion BARVwas considerably lighter, withthe driver ultimately underwaterrelying on the commander toguide him. It was a bit of a crewnightmare.

“The Centurion was ademandingbit of kit. But with thisthe crew comfort is fantastic, andthe reliabilityis very good.”

he sandy beach at Instow,from a holidaymaker’seye, looks rather lovely

(particularly if you like watchingmen in green berets).But forlanding craft men it offers theworst case scenario for a beachlanding -— a long shallow rise of1:120.

Nearby there are steep shelvingbeaches, pebble shores, mud flatsand riverine crossings, open seawith heavy surf, dunc~strewntraining areas, and shelteredcoastlines that can be used inalmost any conditions.

There's nowhere else like this inthe UK offering all these training,trialling and experimentingchallenges on the doorstep.

Out at sea craft and vessels arealso being put through their pacesby the combination of marines,engineers and specialists that arehoused within Instow’s fence.

An Offshore Raiding Craft(ORC) bristlingwithguns is beingthrown about in the shelteredwaters — this is a possible newconfiguration for the ORC that'sworth is being judged by the menof Instow. (“Being bootneckswe wanted guns on it,” I'm toldsuccinctly.)

This is a gunboat variantwith the driver’s console movedamidships, and a heavy claddingof armour around its hull.

To me, it looks impressive. Butfor the Marines on board, thereare real tactical issues thathave tobe resolved.

“The expertise here is second

to cope with salt water istested at Instow from an LCU; the Beast (or BRV) pulls an LCVPashore

NAVYNEWS, OCTOBER 2008 25

rou h itsas: flight)

to none, the team are renownedfor their abilities,”said Maj Lugg.“These guys look at a piece ofequipment and if it doesn’t comeup to scratch, theywill say so.”

Is it actually going to be fastenough with all that weight ofarmour? What’s the visibilitylike for the boat driver? Do thegunners have the line of sight theyneed? Is their footing secure onthe tilting,slithery deck?

Because this thingcan just stop.Throw the lever and the bucketsthat propel the thing forwardthrough wateriets are thrown intoreverse. And it smashes to a crash-stop in the length of the boat.

And a handbrake turn atsea is something impressive tobehold. And slightly alarming toexperience.

In November 2006 a rigidraider came under attack in Iraq,with members of the patrol killedand injured. The call came backto lnstow to find a solution now.

From early starts to midnightfinishes, and even overnight,the marines, the engineers, thecraftsmenof lnstow toiledtogetherto stop this happening again.

Six weeks later another raidercame under attack — 71 blastfragments slammed into the boat.And no one was injured.

Thanks to the armour claddingdeveloped through the long hours,the hard work, and the technicalknow-how of the men and womenat lnstow.

Sgt Maj ‘Spud’ Bartlett was inthat first boat. Now he’s one ofthe 14 Royal Marines at IIATTwho are bringing their front-line experience to bear on themen, boats and vehicles that passthrough lnstow.

Their operational know-howis balanced by the corporateknowledge of the 47 civilians whoresearch, design, drive, build andmaintain the vehicles at the site.

Pete Moore of the Craft wingsaid: “The armouring of theraiders was an urgent, out-of-the-blue job. But that’s what we’rehere for. It's one of the morerewarding ones — we get to see theeffect of our work very quickly.There’s instant feedback.”

It’s a point echoed by many ofthe civilians working at the base.

“One of the pleasures of this jobis that we’re very close to the enduser," said Syd Kyte.

Syd’s particular area ofexpertise lies with the massiveCase tractors that lay the trackwayalong the beach,the coiled carpetsof linked metal that permit lesshefty vehicles the grip to cross thesand, shale, pebbles or mud of theshoreline.

After hearing comments fromthe Marines who had come tolnstow about the difficulties ofhauling in the metal track, Syd

and his team engineered a bit ofkit to make their lives easier. Itmeets with firm approval amongthe Marines using it.

he military wing andHQ support the threedelivery wings, individually

responsible for training, craft andvehicles. But individual doesn'treally factor into life at Insto\v,because almost every serial ismade up of a mix of the base’swings.

Getting a driver to take hiswater-proofed Land—Rover off alandingcraft and to the shore callson training wing, and craft wing,and vehicle wing, and militarywing, and HQ — to make sureall the different moving parts areavailable at the same time.

But then, amphibious warfareis all about getting all the movingparts to the right places at theright time.

To that end, early next yearlnstow is expecting the arrivalof the trials demonstrator of thefuture Fast Landing Craft.

A full-size Pacscat (partially air-cushioned supported catamaran)is being built currently inSouthampton, and the finishedcraft (part conventional LCU,part catamaran, part hovercraft)will be sent down to lnstow to beput through its paces.

David Graham, a former RoyalMarine who heads up the CraftWing, explained: “What we'relooking at here is something thathasn’t been done before.

“The doctrine these days is tolaunch over the horizon — forprotection and tactical surprise."

The aim is to find a landingcraftthat can deliver a main battletankashore at 25 knots, and get off thebeach again at speed.

“So we‘re build-ing a technologydemonstrator forPacscat. Becausewe don’t actuallyknow that it’s goingto work. The theorysays it will."

He adds: “W2:spend most ofour time finding ‘——

c 0 tn m e r c i a l '

solutions to militaryproblems."

He admits tosome fundamentaldifierences betweenthe two —- “Whilethey spend theirtime trying not torun aground, that'sexactly what wehave to do. We haveto run aground,

_

but in a controlled -

manner.”lnstow stands

outside of industry, ..

pulling in knowledge -

from across defence, Qinetiq,DSTL, AbbeyWood, and to bigbusiness beyond — “I don't carewho makes it, so long as it worksand the Ministry can afford it,”states David. “I see our strengthas being this tnix of technicalknowledge and operationalexperience — and we're tied tonobody."

But it’s not just the big bits ofkit like landingcraft beingwatchedover here. The team at lnstowhave recently brought into servicea handheld electronic navigationsystem, small enough and sturdyenough to be of practical use toMarines in small raiding craft.

And from the depths of agoldmine in SouthAfrica, 1 lA'ITplucked a piece of hydrographytechnology that they adaptedinto a beach profiler — in Norwayearlier this year it proved itself,producing a swift detailed readoutof the shallows that are essentialfor beachreconnaissance.

realise how this small corner ofDevon is watching the world

and continually bringing lessonsback to improve the lives of theRoyal Marines.

How an organisation thatcherishes vintage World War 2DUKWs as the best craft tosupport its training is bringingin cutting-edge technology tosharpen the war machine.

How this tiny, motley crewof civil servants and Marinesare mapping out a future foramphibiouswarfare.

How much fun they are allhaving.

What the hell, how much funI’m having, as I clamber up intoa MAN truck for my fourth ‘dip’of the day...

I t doesn't take long at lnstow to’33:;r" -

I

0 (Top right) The Beastleaves the dip tank afterrinsing off the lnstowsea-wafer,‘ a Land-Roverloses its unwanted cargoof water after a quickdip; and the Case withits spool of trackwayworkson the shallow lnstowshore

Pictures:Greg Barrott,

11 ATT Sqn

30 N.-\\'Y l\‘Ii\V'S. ()(I'I‘()B1-llvl 2008‘

0 Veterans of Operation Banner are joined by VIPS at a service of commemoration atSf Paui's Cathedralin London Picture: Harland Ouarringlon (MOD)

- 100 Years of Naval Aviationis the themeof the 2009 Navy News Calendar.

Service_I-etlects onoperation Banner

A §l5RVI St I’-.tul'.~; Czttltctlrullias been 11 COI‘t‘tI‘t1t2I‘l10t‘tttL‘thewnrk Zlllkl satcrilices of more than‘3U0,l_)t)l_) members of the AriitedFor" who served in .\IorthernIrcl.tnd.

Some 2.000 veterans nt" ()per-munBanner were inined by the Prince of\‘\":tle\. the l)tt<:lt<:3~.\. ut‘ (fnrnwttll. Prime.\'lini.\ter (‘mrtlun Brown and B11 ne~a.\lhtitcher in :1 ceremony \\'l\iCl‘ireflectedon the efllirtx of" Service perm: el and<.'iei1 \'L‘l'\.':Il1t.~. tn brim: peace In thel’rm'inee over 35 5, ntun_\' i.i1‘\\'h:.nnpaid with their in

Bttglers of the Royal .\'l-1rine.~; Band.l’nt‘t~tnutith. \t)tll'lLl£.‘Ll the l.;ist Pu-»twhen the eut1§_'.reg:1ttn|i rememberedthe T63 ser men llllkl women who

on l3‘llll]L‘1'withutiillirmed

* - the

Prince (. mrles wore lull ceremonialunititrm. his own FL iment. TheI{u_\':tl Regintent of \\"-.1les. \\’:t.\ thelir.\l unit deplnved tn the streetsuf \'nrthern lti.l.1nd at the start ofOperation Banner in l()l'i*).

I)r Rieltztrti :trtre.\. the Bialmpof I_n11duti gave 1 \L‘Tl'l1l_tt'l during the

‘ ' nU1li\‘L'l'll‘C ‘hnli' ding.

in}; thems blessed

.\lurelun-ti.u rL'.\t1l’[ of

A memorialname til‘ the «trier tinn.1*-elivre heing.: lit

The candle _n1huli<ed all memberat" the l-‘tu'ces.- who were killed in the'I‘ruuhles.

liullnwitig the ser\'iCL‘ T00 \'eter;In\.murelted t1truui_.:lt llte e _\' tn theLondon (3 ildh'.ill.'l‘hel’rinL‘e nl'\V".1le\took the salute.

Defence Seerel;n'_\' l)<:\ liruwtte.

Full colour photographsof jets, helicopters and action shots including ships arefeatured in thisyear's calendar accompanied by some interesting facts and figures.To order simply phone: 01159 399797Or write to:2009 Navy News Calendar Offer3 Church View, Canalside, llkeston Road, Sandiacre, NottinghamNG10 SEA

Buy online atCheques payable to ‘Navy News’ to accompanyorders. For orders outside the UK. payment can be made by

ChequellnternationalMoney Order in 12 Sterling and drawn on a UK Bank.

who also attended the L‘.L‘1'Cl'l'tuI1_\'.\;' ' i‘“'Ihtl;t_\' we p-.1_\' tribute to the hundr isof Il'li_1tl.\:lt1Ll\' of Servicemen ntuiwomen with .~aer\‘etl on this nperntimiand to the en l mu»; en tl‘ll'\LlIlt'It‘t thatthey made rm rd» :1 l:istitt5.: peace inNut‘lhei'n Ireltlnd.

“'l'he_\' \L'TVL'Llwith the eh-.tr-.1eteriatietletertttitttttimi. xeltl "as andpmll‘ ionatlism that typ our .-\rn1ed[Raf

"In ptirtieultir l.U'\li.l:\' we remember.with humility. gr-ntitttde and res weet.tltme who lost their lives on UpermiimBanner.

“'I‘he n-.1tiun‘.\ debt to them andto the loved i'Vl\t.'\ who .\L1l‘\'i\'L‘ themis In‘ltT|t::l\L "1 le. Their s;tet'itice ntustnever be Iiirf-_1utteit."

lietwceti ll.lh0 Lind 2007. Tu}.s-ervieemen ztnti wunten were led us lltlit'ectre.~atilt-.:1'terr ' ’in.it1i.‘1ttLlit1gl)5l.~\rmy and Rt.1‘_\':il Marines personnel

THE Sun newspaper has teamedup with the Ministry of Defence tocelebrate excellence in the ArmedForces.

Nominations for the inaugural SunMilitary Awards — aka the Millies- closed at the end of last monthin categories which included BestRecruit, Life Saver Award. True Grit(individual and group), Best ArmedForces Animaland Most OutstandingSailor or Royal Marine.

Most of the awards are open topublic nomination. though a panelwill determine who wins the Judges‘Award for Special Recognition.

The awards are the brainchildof the Prince of Wales. who seesthem as a chance for the public to

llI‘l'\l one RN Ser\'ieetn:1n.A further (1.110 mentbers ml‘ the

were wuuntietl.in the e;trl_\' 10705

)0 milittirylone in\'m'the tlreland.

l\'.I.\cs iii‘ ltlL"'.lliUI).\.personnelin lllh milit

Thein on .-\tt_;ti~t l

in. then Northern

security \-

rnutine milled.

But the ripe ttiun nllie l]_\' ended on_lL1l_\‘ 31 2lit'Tl7. when it w edb).'()per inn lielvetie -1It‘tUt‘c tli 3.('lllll mIltl.1l_ten ltlttlltnlls.

The titltlles ml" the LTK personnelwlin lost their lives tluring OpenBanner are 1' ‘led an the Arttted l-‘nrces.\‘letnuri-.11. Stttlilivrtisltire.

llll‘ §|I‘allSrecognise some of the work andachievements of the Forces andMOD.

Sun Defence Editor Tom NewtonDunn said of the awards: "Withso many facing danger away fromtheir families in Iraq or Afghanistan,seldom has the need been greaterto give them the recognition theydeserve.

"Like us, Prince Charles believesit is time to celebrate Britishtroops‘ extraordinary character,selflessness and dedication — asa heartfelt token of our gratitudeto them.

“The 12 award categories havebeen carefully chosen to representevery field of military endeavour."

't'.\unt’u.‘1 in

NAVY I\'I;'\V2-’S, OCTOBER 2008 27

A FORCE FOR GOO a¥%

I CAN you do better? HMSSultan is claiming a record with70 Naval personnel signingup in one day to the Sports.Amenities and BenevolenceScheme (SABS). the payrollgiving scheme which providesfunds to RN and RM charities.

The impressive haul of 70people was netted by a teamof seven earnest championsof SABS. led by Lt Cdr TimFinch. during a families day atthe base, means over £3,600 toswell the charity coffers.I DUNCAN Gell from ClydeNaval Base climbed upon hisbike to pedal 325 miles frontDumbarton to Derby,finishing thejourney in 20 hours 30 minutes,and pulling in a total of £700 forGlasgow Royal Infirmar_v's BurnsUnit.

And all this pedalling beganat the end of a full da_v of workas :1 Rolls Royce engineer at theScottislt base.

Duncan said: “I had rain,thunder, lightning, wind —

everything the British weathercould throw at me. I had originallyhoped to complete the distance in18 hours, but given the conditionsI’m not too disappointed.

“Especially as I got a bit lost inthe rush hour in Manchester withroadworks and traffic lights."I CHEERS to the buccaneers— the Fleet Air Arm BuccaneerAssociation are celebrating nextyear's centenary with a ratherspecial drop of malt.

There are two limited editionsbeing produced, Speysidesingle malt aged 25 years andaged 50 years — with profits fromthe sales going to the Fly NavyHeritage Trust, Naval charitiesand a memorial to all ranks atthe National Arboretum.

Find out more at theassociation’s website www.faaba.co.uk.I MOTORSPORT fans at theBritish Super Bike Championshipsin Fife got to see a race between amotorcar and a Royal Navy SeaKing helicopter.

On the track was Lt Cdr MartinLanni, and in the air Lt JamesBullock and P0 Dav. Craig, allthree men from the Search andRescue unit at HMS Gannet inPrestwick;and all three men aboutto glamber into the car beforewending l0,000km eastwards ina six—da_\' drive between Glasgowand St Petersburg.

The men are raising moneyfor the Royal Hospital forSick Children in Glasgow andthe Number 1 Hospital in StPetersburgI THE MEN and women ofLiverpool University Royal NavalUnit [URNU) mustered 21,000 asa donation to the NSPCC.

The Liverpool unit has been alongstanding supporter of localcharities, and this donation willhelp fund the new HargreavesCentre in Liverpool, whichprovides therapeutic services tochildren and familiesaffected bydomestic violence or substanceabuse.I FRATTON Live at Home, thecharity which supports elderlypeople who want to live at home.has benefitted from a donation of£6,000 from Hi‘.-‘IS Excellent.

The Portmouth branch ofthe charity has been the focusof fundraising events at Excellentthis year.I FALLING off Everest is neveradvisable.

But fomier Naval man PeterBaker is about to leap from anaircraft 29.500ft in the sky infront of Everest. raising moneyfor charity Global Angels, whichsupports children's projects inthe Himalayanregion.

If you would like to pledgeyour support to the formerLeading Air Mechanic, who leftthe service in 1973. visit httpzllwww.mycharitypa e.com/PeterBakerEverest kydive.Peter has paid for the jumphimself, all donations will go tocharity. nR%

Meeting Max

0 Max Hubbuck watched an action-packedVIP protection displayfrom the Royal Marines of 40 Commando during Meet your Navy inPortsmouthNa./a] Base Picture: LA(Photl Sin-imo Simpson

CANCER sufferer Max Hub-buck enjoyed a full day at Meetyour Navy in Portsmouth Na-val Base, courtesy of the hardwork of Christine Harper, aresearcher at the RN Histori-cal Branch.

Max. who is aged just 12, hasjust finished chemotherapy andradiotherapy treatment at GreatOrmond Street Hospital sincebeing diagnosed with Hodgkin‘sLymphoma in Nlarch 2007.

Christine heard about Maxfrom his father Alex who was

installing new equipment at theHistorical Branch.

Christine set to work to organ-ise free tickets to Meet your I\'avyfor the whole family, and findovernight accommodation atthe Langstone Hotel in HaylingIsland for the Hertfordshire—basedfamily.

Max’s day with the Navyincluded witnessing a VIP rescueby the Close Protection Team of40 Commando and a tour of theaircraft Carrier HMS Illustrious,where he spent some time in thecockpit of a Merlin helicopterfrom 824 Naval Air Squadron.

Christine said: “I felt that theNavy could help. Ifl had to goand beg a few favours, I was deter-mined to do it.

“I'm more than happy to put asmileon to a small chap's face."

This wasn’t Max’s first experi-ence of the Navy as assault shipHMS Albion welcomed him as :1special guest during a visit to theThames earlier this year.

Christine added: “It went verywell. The whole family was herefor the whole day. They really didme proud.

“The hotel helped so much byproviding accommodation, whichI’m sure made all the differencebecauseit meant it was a break forall the family.

“It was really nice to set it upfor i\Iax and his sisters Alexandraand Georgia too."

5*V

.V’ ‘

tographer of the year for the second yearrunning, set up an exhibition of his photo-graphs of the Royal Marines in Afghanistanat F'lymouth‘sMasa Fine Art Gallery.

Several artists, including Steve Sllmm,Graham Fish. Tony Common, David Gray,

Help for Heroes.

first night.

David Wheeler and Celia Duncan. tookSean's photographs as inspiration for 45paintings thataccompanied the exhibition.

The auctions of the paintings and printshas raised over £10,000 for military charity

Sean said: “The exhibition has been fan-tastic — really good. We raised £8,500 on the

"I chose Help for Heroes because they

SkytowerLong drop onLong

MUSICIAI\"I'oni Griffin from theRM Band Service took advantageof a long trip overseas on ExerciseLong Look to carry out a long dropfrom the Auckland Skytower.

Tom spent five months in NewZcaland on the military exchange

picture of wealth

IMAGES of thebattlegroundsof Afghanistanhave become the source of fundraising formilitary charities.

PO Sean Clee, the Royal Navy's pho-

are a military charity. It's close to the art-work that came from my time serving inAfghanistan.

"I know a few of the lads who were injuredout there. so I chose a charity that wouldhelp them.”

The exhibition will also have a specialone-off display at Draper's Hall in London aspart of a TrafalgarNight Dinner. raising moremoney for Seafarers UK.

Picture: NZDF Official

Lookprogramme, joining theNew Zealand Navy Band,

Tom jumped the 192m to raisefunds for Starship Children'sHospital in central Auckland.

His plunge from the sky wasserenaded by fellow members ofthe Navy Band who played melo-dies to inspire and support.

Tom now has his feet firmlyback on the ground and back inthe UK.

Naval forceturns into

ground forceTHERE’S been a general taking—up of spades and Clearing ofweeds by both airmen and sailorsof the Royal Navy.

Cu|drose—based 82-I NAS leftbehind their high-tech Pvlerlinsfor :1 spot of manual labourat i\'ancealvcrne School inCornwall.

The airmen set to work spruc-ing up a remembrancegarden thathad been damaged by vandals,making safe an aged roundaboutin the playgrtiund, and restoringthe felt roof of a garden shed thatwas used to store the children’stoys.

Lt Nick Bates of82-I NAS said:“This was a hugely well—reccivedand worthwhile project that pro-vided nccessary help to the localconinttinity.

“The school expressed theirgreat gratitude, and the mainte-nance team enjoyed several daysout of their squadron routine todo new things and meet new peo-ple."

i\-Ieanwhile up in Sutherland,local lass Lt Lorna Cooper ledher own ground—forcc team fromI-IMS Sutherland to brighten up apopular public footpath.

Lorna. who is from the villageof Lairg, said: “\‘li’e on Sutherlandare extremel_\‘ proud of the linkswe have with the county.

“Having been in refit, we werereally looking forward to gettingaway and giving something backto the local community.

The Deputy Logistics Officeradded: “And since I grew up near-by, I used my local knowledge toensure the lads working on theproject fully appreciated all thatSutherlandhas to offer."

Royal

28 NAVY .\'F.\\'i"S, 0(‘.TOBF.R 2008

PEOPLE

flea

familymember.

I- K /i§\.

.

0 Left to right: Ian McGinn, Ray McGinn and Ben McGinnPicture: LA (Pool) McAImdenSeeing triple

THE McGINN brothers Ian and Ray are used to bumping into eachother in the Navy — but now it looks like they could be seeing a third

CPO Ian McGinn and brother PO Ray McGinn have both been in

the Royal Navy for 18 years, and are both working at HMNB Clyde.But it seems thetwo brothersmay soon have anotherfamilymem-

ber to contend with — Ray's 14-year-old son Ben. a sea cadet withTS Astute.

Ben has his eyes set on the Senior Service, and after a visit to thenaval base is detemtined to becomea weapon engineer officer.

“I've really enjoyed the week. It was great to spend time with mydad and my uncle and see where they work and what they do," hesaid.

If Ben does achievehis dream of becomingan RN officer. thenexttime he comes across his dad and uncle. they may well be salutinghim...

Great recreateA CPO based at RAF Halton hastaken part as the onc—\votnan RNcontingent in a project to builda replica of the famous ‘GreatEscape‘ hut in Poland.

The hut, which was built at thesite of prison camp Stalag Luft III,is half the size of the original antitook two weeks to build.

CPO Tania Ashton—]oncs wasthe onl_v RN team metnberto takepart, with the rest of the groupcomprised of RAF and Armypersotmel.

Tania “I'vesaid: absolutely

I CPO Tania Ashton-Jones at the completed replica of the hut

Picture: Cpl Scott Flobertson

loved it, it has been a real privilegeand honour to be part of thewholeteam both in terms of building thehut and the visits to the historicalsites."

Former Stalag Luft Ill Prisonersol‘\\'-'ar, Air Commodore (retired)Cltarles Clarke, president of theEx-Po\‘(' Association and AndrewW-'isen1an were guests of honour atthe opening of the hut.

Anyone interested in finding otitmore or donating to the projectcan do so by visiting the website atwww.raf.mod.uk/project104.

- St John'sT An independent day & boarding school for boys 8: girls aged 2-18

£5, is

1: At ademit ('\.'(‘L‘ll(‘I‘l(‘('

.8 1

." CVK‘

“If

Nst-3

I

O The five Maasai warriors enjoying the sig A changeof scenery

Tl-IEIR striking appearance has turned headsand even stopped rraffic, but it was the turn offive Maasai warriors to be amazed after a visit tothe Fleet Air Arm Museum.

The warriors — in full tribal gear — enjoyed asimulated flight in a Lynx helicopter, plus a visitonboard Concorde.

“The warriors were really excited at theopportunityto visit the museum, and seeing helicopters andfighter aircraft up close will be remembered by themfor the rest of their lives," said Haymie. the warriors‘UK guide.

By way of thanks, the live warriors later treatedvisitors to the museum with a five—minutc display oftribal dance and song.

Jon ]elTcrics from the l*‘A:\ i\'luscum said: "Thewarriors were truly fantastic. Just as theywon’t forgetus. we will certainly not forget them."

But it wasn‘t just the aircraft that proved alien tothe visitors.

pavements made of grass"Coming to terms with busy life in the UK, one

of the warriors, Kashu, asked: “W-’h_\‘ aren’t the

For more information about the Walking with the

late husband.

the building.

ilt.‘[‘(lS].):ICL'

enormous.“

White Spot stop offl-‘ORTY members of the WhiteSpot Pipe Band paid a visit toClyde ;\ia\'al Base. after coming allthe way from Canada.

The youth band from Vancou-ver were in Scotland to take part inthe \‘C"orltl Pipe Band Champi-onships at Glasgow Green, butstopped off at the naval base fora tour.

Duncan Bryden, a chef in theSenior Rates’ Mess, invited thegroup after discovering that hiscousin Margaret Callender and

her son Alex, who is a member.would be coming along too.

“It was :1 great e:-tpericnce forthe kids in the band to visit thebase," said Duncan. “They weregiven a chance to experience thePatltlinder bridge simulator andthe base‘; weapons simulator, aswell as an opportunity to go outon It boat.“

The White Spot Pipe Bandreached sixth place in the JuvenilePipe Bands event at the Champi-onships.

Tel: 023 9281 5118 Visit our new website www.stjohnscol|ege.co.ultSt John's (fo|lt'gc_. (in Road South, Si:)ttllist:-a_. I larnpsltiitr POE .iQ\.'\.v"

Fees for familiesclaiming the scrvitjc hti.-irding .il|twv.1nct2art‘ set so that for the current vent part-ntal contribution is only £1 ,HI 9.

i\-luseum director Graham Mottram said:Michael Cobliani was rt major figure within the

industry for overcontribution to the Fleet Air Arm Museum was

Mkltlsul charity. you can check out the website atwww.waIkingwithmaasaiorgI l\.-‘Il;‘A.\.'\X"HlLl.-I,Lad_v Nadine Cobham visited theFleet Air Arm .\luseum to unveil a portrait of her

The portrait ofSir Micltael will hang permanentlyin the foyer of Cobham Hall, which was named afterhim in recognition of his long-running support for

“Sir

30 years and his

For more information about the museum. visitwww.fIeetairann.com.

Never tooyoung fornuclear

SCHOOLCHILDREN frontacross the UK have been olTercdthe chance to gain an insight intonuclear engineering.

Fifty budding young engineerswere invited to HMS Sultan inGospurl — where the Royal l\'av_vtrains its marine and nuclear engi-HCCFS.

The Royal Navy and Babcocklnternational Group teamed upwith educational charity TheSmallpeice Trust to rtin the four-day residential course for 13 and1-1-year-old students.

Through a series of practi-cal workshops and lectures. thestudents learned about nuclearpower, and were able to stayovernight in HMS Bristol. inPortsmouth Harbour.

The SmallpeiceTrust’sGerntnrtMurphy said: “If we are to meetthe future skills requirements, it‘sitnportant for us to give studentsan understanding of engineeringin this sector.

“It‘s encouraging to see such 11keen interest from students whoare currently contemplating theircareers."

The nuclear marineengineeringcourse is run as part of an ongoingprogramme of residential coursesto help yourlg people aged 13 toI8 to learn and develop skills inengineering, design, technologyand manufacturing.

To findout more about thecours-

es, you can visit thewebsite onlineatwww.smallpeicetrust.co.uk.

I t\'()'l"l‘lN(‘:HA.\-l RugbyClub spent the week at H.\-“ISCollingwond, Fareham, as part oftheir prL'-season training.

The players spent their timeusing the variety of sports facilitiesat the base for the second yearrunning.

Director of Rugby GlennDelaney said: “The facilities atCollingwood are excellent, the setup is just what we need. and thefood's good!"I RN PILOT Nigel Pearce ishanging up his flying glovesafter 41 years in the Service.

Nigel, who has amassed animpressive 14,150 flying hours.leaves RNAS Yeovilton to takeup a new role as a simulatorinstructor at Farnborough.

On completionof his final flighthe was welcomed by membersof Heron Flight, who presentedhim with a cake, and a well-deserved tot of Navy rum.

I LT CDR Bruce Russell hasachieved [\\'0 of his greatestambitions in the space of oneyear

Not only has be taken over asthe\‘l'F.O onboard HMS Ambush.but he ltas also graduated fromthe Open L'niversity with a PhDin History.

“Most of my colleagues askme why I put tnyself through theadditional strain of ti doctoratewhile also being in charge of thebuild programme ofa new nuclearsubmarine.

“Quite simply, I wanted to setniyscll‘ a personal challenge thatwas dillcrcnt to my naval career

and achieve it before my -l(‘lthbirthday,“explained Bruce.

I A NAVAL officer has chalkedup 50 years of dedicated Navalservice.

Lt Cdr John Frazer Murrayhas recently celebrated fivedecades of service in the RNand RNZN.

Joining the RN in 1958, heserved for 33 years beforeembarking on a career in theRNZN in 1991. encouraged byhis participation in ExerciseLonglook.

Now. a further 17 years downthe line, he continues to serve inthe Supply Branch in Auckland.

I A CPO from I’l_vnistock hasbeen awarded a commendationfrom his CO in recognition ofsupport oflered to RN recruits.

CPO Phillip Carter receivedthe commendation from CaptJonathan \'\"oodcock. the C0 ofHMS Raleigh, for his work at theRoyal i\'avy Submarine School.

CPO Carter is responsible formentoring the trainee submarinersas they undergo their specialisttraining.

The award further recognisesCPO Carter's work in helpingraise the profile of the SubmarineService.

I HMS VICTORY has foundherself a new CO, after Lt CdrJohn Scivier left to join FlagOfficer Sea Trainingin Devonportas Senior Air Traffic Controller.

Taking over is Lt Cdr ‘Oscar’Whild, previously PortsmouthNaval Base‘s Ships FacilitiesCo~ordinator.

He said: “There are very fewalive who have done this job sothis really tops anything I haveever done.

‘‘I am glad to be joining beforeTrafalgar Day; the biggest dayin the ship's diary and indeed asignificant one in our history."I THE STARGATE movie SGI:(.‘mnt'nm.rm, recently broadcast on

Sky I, was dedicated to the memo-ries of L().\l Paul .\lcCann andOM .-Xnthony l-luntrod, the twosubmariners killed in an accidenton board l-l.\'lS Tireless in t\/larch2007.

The sci-li series was filmingit special TV movie in the Arcticwith theAmerican submarine USSAlexandria which was workingwith Tireless when the accidenttook place.

e...

l bl l-

Every dog (andcat) has its day

SLEEK and dark. they waitnear the Fife coast for theirmoment to serve...

No, not the submarines, buta litter of ll inquisitive, blackLabrador puppies, two of whichwill become explosives detectiondogs for the MoD Police.

The potential new recruits arestill at home with theirowners, PCEvelyn Hardy and her husbandNlichael, an ex-submariner whonow works offshore.

The energetic pups are allnamed after RN submarines, butstill haven't quite mastered the artof stealth.

“\We now have Superb,Opportune, Orpheus, Onyx,Onslaught,Odin, Oberon, Ursula,Spartan, Swiftsure and Vigilantrunning around our back gardencausing absolute mayhem," saidEvelyn.

“We toyed with the idea ofnam—ing them after Egyptian gods, butthen my husband Michael sug-gested submarines and it seemedlike a really good idea — rather lit-ting as he’s an ex-submariner."

Two of the puppies — the aptlynamed Swiftsurc and Vigilant —

are heading for specialist trainingin order to take their place asexplosives detection dogs.

They will be trained at theForce‘s dog training centre atWethersfield in Essex.

“it is quite likely that the dogsmay then find a permanent workhome at the RN ArmamentsDepot at Coulport, which is nicefor me to thinkof, as t.hat's wherel was a dog—handler from l98'3—92," commented Evelyn.

“It's a job I really loved andquite miss, so to think that twoof our pups will be over there isgreat.“I EI.SE\‘l/HERE,sailors at ClydeNaval Base revealed their animal-loving side when they launched arescue operation to save the life ofa tiny kitten.

The five-week-old feline was

spotted in the clutches of a savagelesser black-beaked gull, whichhad taken her from her litter at the

john Belshaw and iVloD PC DavidDutfton, who sped to the aid ofthe tiny creature.

“I have seen gulls take duck-lings before, but never a kitten,"said John.

The pair were later joined bythe RN’s Environmental HealthOfficer Surg Cdr Richard \‘(’ebber.

While the kitten — dubbedBlackie — was fortunate, her threesiblings were later found missingfrom their litter.

0 Pest ontrol Officer John Blsh I V

aw with the injured kitten BlackiePicture: LA(Phot) Gary Geordie‘ Weathers

Not on thescrapheap

SOME ofyou might remembertheNavy’s Seraplieap Clzalleirgc teamwho came so close to grabbingthe grand title a few years back.

W/ell, undaunted CPO ‘]]’ Swiftof Southern Diving Unit 1 andLt Cdr Jim Ellis of FOST are

AGED 78 many people wouldbe winding down, but not ErnieSmith.

He is the newest qualifiedProfessionalWatchkeeper with theNational Coastwatch Institution(NCI) in Gosport.

The lormer Master at Armsspent 27 years in the Royal Navy,and is well known as the authorof the excellent HMS Belfast Menof the Sea.

He said: “I had served in HMSDolphin in the early l9h0s, and itis certainly a nostalgia trip to workin Fort Blockhouse again."

Ernie was, perhaps unsurpris-ingly, the oldest trainee in theNCI, where he has joined anumberof other Naval veterans.

All watchkeepers must success-fully complete 12 weeks of train-ing in subjects such as navigation,tidal reaches and radio compe-tence before qualification.

The NCI is a voluntary organi-sation that keeps a visual watchover UK shores with 49 stationsmanned by 1,700 watchkeepers.

The fully—trained volunteersman the stations during daylight

Set in 200 acres of stunning Suffolkcountryside, the Royal Hospital School is

NAVY NEWS, OCTOBER 2008 29'-Bf."PEOPLE- .

An eye on the coast

0 Graham Piggett, a former5 ‘:1 - LNaval CFO andno one of the National

Coastwatch Institution watchkeepers at Fort Blockhousehours, watching over craft withproblems like engine failures, orvulnerable small craft and canoe-ists.

They log vessels, weather andtide conditions — all of whichinformation is passed on to theMaritime Coastguard Agency.

The Gosport branch of the NCI

The

a full boarding and day school offeringexceptional academicand extra—curricularprovision for girls and boys aged 11-18 years.

Supporting its established nationalreputation for musical excellence, theSchool has a new E3.Sm state—of—the—artmusic school due for completion in

Royal H0

is based in the old SignalTower atFort Blockhouse.

ifperhaps a spotol'sea(watching)time appeals to you, and you areaged between 18 and 80, con-tact Richard McMinn the stationmanager at Gosport NCl on 0239258 8332 or richard_mcminn@hotmail.com.

pitalSchool

At 9.30amOctober 2008. Every pupil also has theopportunity to enjoy the outstandingsports facilities,including RYA sailingtuition, and to pursue a huge range of

“I'd put money on it being thesame gull," John added.

After having her paws stitched,Blackie is expected to make a

base.The onlookers watched as she

was then dropped onto a barrierof razor wire at the south end of

Saturday 15th NovemberFor further information, visit our website

returning to the fray, with newteammate CPO Dickie Bird ofSFM Defiance.

This time there'sa newapproachthe base.

Quick to react, the sailors calledfor the help of Pest Control Officer

full recovery, and has even beenoffered a ne\v home by David, thePC who helped rescue her.

O The newlypromoted sailors with theirsuperiors

Making historyFORTY-Two EngineeringTechnicians at the Maritime\Varl'are School (MWS) headedout on summer leave after makinghistory.

Each one of the sailors has beenpromoted, in the largest knownrequestman, and the first of theET(\V"E) Branch.

A total of 19 LETs werepromoted to APO, while five E'l'swere promoted to LET and 18I£Ts were promoted to ActingLET.

Cdre Steve Kirkby, C0 of

HMS Collingwood, presented thesailors with their certificates.

He told them: “Never beforehave we done this number in mymemory and 1 do believe it isunlikely to be done again.

“There might be lots of youbut each and every one of you hasfully earned your promotion.”

The sailors were all promotedwhile still on Course, rather thanon completion, which makesthe achievement even moreimpressive.

to the next series of the Channel4 show, with a field of over 50teams contending for the top titlein events taking place around thecountry.

But J] is quietly confident: “l‘mhoping we're going to do well. Butit's a pretty good challenge.”

The new series is expected to bebroadcast in the New Year.

THE

interests and activities.

Discounts for familieseligible for

www.roya|hospitalschoo|.orgOr contact Admissions on 01473 326210,

MOD Continuity of Education Allowance

Acadeniic. Art. Music. Sailing and SportsScholarships and Seafarers llursaries

or email admissions@royalhospitalschool.org

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uk

30 NAVYNEWS, OCTOBER 2008

COMMENT,3 V.‘(4 5-‘

THE (r‘R()VI;'Retierv ol'Fhe Life ofAdmiral I.ord Collingwood (Sep-tember) reminds me that we stillhave an empty plinth in TrafalgarSquare and one man is missing,although he lies in state alongsideAdmiral Nelson in St Paul's.

It is, of course, Collingwood,who was not even able to attend?\‘elson’s funeral becausehe was atsea and did not return to Englandfor the next five years.

Collingwood‘s ship, the RoyalSovereign, engaged the enemysome 53 minutes before theVictory.

Although outnumbered live toone and more or less surround-ed, Royal Sovereign's firing ratewas so fast that the ship quicklyreduced two ships to waterlineburning hulks and killed withinminutes several hundred crew andofficers.

I had a relative on board theColossus, which was fifth in linebehind the Royal Sovereign, andinside his letler—box was a por-trayal of a scene in battle (S/ltYZL‘)ltrbozw) as seen from the Colossus,which in the box is spelt (ffoltvffm inthe old manner of writing ‘s’.

Collingwood is repeatingNelsons last signal to him (whenhis ship was hard at it and Victorywas still to join the battle) ‘Engagethe enemy closely.’ Collingsvoodhad, upon seeing the signal, hoist-ed two blackballs to his friend and

falgartributethen quickly hauled them downas he hoisted the repeat of whitefield blue cross flag, superior to,hori'/.ontal stripes blue, white andred llag.

You may notice that all theBritish ships had white stripes andbands so as to be seen through thesmoke even on the rudder posts.

— Gerald Morris...O.\l Sunday October 19,the “White Ensign will Hy overExeter Cathedral during theannual service to celebrate LordNelson’s great victory at Trafalgar203 years ago.

The lirst lesson will be readb_v Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope,Cormnander-in-Chief Fleet, andthe second by Cdr Paul Brown,C0 of I-Il\-‘IS Exeter.

Music will be provided by theBand of HM Royal Marines fromthe Commando Training Centreat Lympstone and before the serv-ice the ship‘s company of HMSExeter will be exercising theirFreedom of the City by marchingthrough the city's streets to thecathedral. They will be joined byover 75 Sea Cadets from all overDevon and some CCF units fromthe county’s schools.

Everybody is welcome to cometo the service, which starts atl 130, or ring Inc for more detailson 01803 215959.

— Cdr Flory Jackson. 'l‘orqua_v

Polar pairingsIN HIS letter I’u!ar Heroes (Sep-tember) Michael 0’Brien remarksthat Kevin Walton's family isthought to be unique in that bothhe and his son have been awardedthe Polar Medal.

Although it is true that his son]onathan’s medal (for 1980) isthe most recent such award (hisfather’s being for 1946-47), therehave been three other fatherfsonawards.

The Australian, George Dovers,received themedal for his workas a

cartographer during theAustralianAntarctic Expedition in 1912-14.whilst his son Robert received hismedal, with two clasps, for his partin a French expedition in 1952and for anotherAustralian expedi-tion in 1954-55. Both these, likethe\\"a|tons’,are silver medals,

There were also two sets ofbronze medal awards -— I_.t \‘C*'illiamColbeck RNR commanded therelief ship Morning for Scott’sfirst expedition in I902-04, whilsthis son \‘C-"illiam R Colbeck, also alieutenant RNR, was NavigatingOfficer of Discovery duringresearch expeditions ol"fAnt-arcticain l929—3l_

The other pair of bronze med-als were to a father and son,both named Alexander Smith,who served in Scott’s Terra Novain 1003-04 as Carpenter and(larpenter‘s Mate respectively.

To add to the familial scene,there have also been unclefnephewawards, as well as two husband/'wife awards ~ Nlr \‘.'r'alter Harland(1977) and Mrs ElizabethHarland(1992) and Mr MichaelThomson(196-I-65 and 1986) and NlrsJanet Thomson (1999)

However, where the\‘t"a|tonsarecompletely unique is that Kevin'snephew Paul Goodall-Copestalse,received his Polar Medal for 108-}(and at the same investiture as hiscousin, Jonathan);and finally thatJonathan's godfather was the RevLauncelot Fleming who receivedhis silver medal as a geologistand chaplain during the BritishGrahamland Expedition in theAntarctic in I935-37.

In W'W2 he was an RNVR chap-lain and later rose to Bishop, bothof Norwich and Portsmouth.

— Rear Admiral John Myres.I)orchester-on-Thames,

Oxfordshire

HMS Victory is indeed an iconic ship. as the Second SeaLord. whose flagship she is.‘ pointed out.

Not only is theredsometrinso engen ers a eebut she ato worship.

g in her to interest everyone,ing in many that is very close

For the connoisseur of great naval sea battles, her partin Trafalgar is endlessly fascinating. For those interested innaval architecture she is the world’s finest surviving woodenwarship, and for all those who love Nelson she is a shrine.

For schoolchildrenand tourists who may have no previousknowledge when they visit Victory in her dry dock inPortsmouth, tales of how her sailors lived, ate and worked

MS ictoryis not for sale

I HAVE been appalled at the way the presentGovernment has run the Navy down overmany years; they don’t appear to considerpast history. Now they are considering sell-ing HMS Victory.

It not onl_\' would be a tragedy but a kick in the faceto 200 years of gallant sailors.

They (the MOD) can’t be serious; but yes thiscrass Government would consider such an act,

However what should be considered is the navalheritage and not only the sailors who served ourcountry over the past 200 years but more recentlyduring the Falklands \‘Ct’ar and in Afghanistan now;it would be more elemoralising than the recent run-down of the Naval fleet.

I pray the whole country will be up in arms overthis issue; but I won’t hold my breath as many donot understand the issues or the sacrifices that Navypersonnel have and are making in their defence. Andsotne people appear anti—Forces when in fact theyareanti the present conflicts,

It is an appalling prospect if the country's flagshipwas lost to the Royal Navy.

— Michael Chivers, Southsca, Hunts...\‘t'/'HA'I' the hell is going on with HMS Victory?Theship is a status symbol to us ex—servicemen who have

served and enjoyed the pleasure of serving with theRoyal ;\'-aw.

Is there anything we as ex— and serving personnelcan do to stop this stupidity? I and many more peoplehave not much to look fonvard to in life.

There must be many more out there who needto know the truth about what is happening to theseart».-facts the country has still got left.

— K J Collins, ex—I,.eading Seaman, Henley Green,Coventry

The media have run stories suggesting the Navywould be ‘giving away’ Nelson's flagship and thatshe would be decommissioned.

However the Second Sea Lord. Vice AdmiralAlan Massey, told Navy News: "We are extremelyproud of HMS Victory, a truly iconic part of ourmaritime heritage.

"This unique warship is at theheart of the RoyalNavy and there has never been any suggestion ofgiving her away or decommissioning the ship.

"This current media speculation concerns astudy which seeks to guarantee the long-termfuture of HMS Victory as she undergoes essentialmaintenance work."

When the study is complete we will. of course.be reporting on it — Ed

Hood deserves betterAFTER6? years. therecent academicexchangesof technical brickbats about HMS Hood appearfutile and possibly upsetting to relatives of lostcrew.

On May 23 1941 I delivered a sealed canvasbag containing C and SP codebooks to thevessel at secret anchorage in Hvalfjordur anddeparted 30 minutes later.

As a young P0 (21) I was taken to the ship byNorwegian gunboat RNN Nordkapp from baseat Reykjavik, I watched Hood depart almostminutes later.

I had never seen such a large battle-cruiserbefore but was impressed by gleaming brass-work. spotless wood quarterdeck, immaculate

grip all those with half an ounce of imagination and somefeeling for history.

Perhaps more than anything, Victory reminds us of the

paintwork and belt of armour plating.l was also overawed by the number of staff

officers pacing the decking — awaiting sailingorders?

On return to port, within hours the Britishforce was in an uproar, following news of thebrief battle with Bismarck.

The above comments are about one supremeand magnificent battle-cruiser at a timewhen all Naval services were stressed duringthe developing global conflict whileendeavouring to maintain an Atlantic lifelinefrom the West.

— Lt Fred Fleldhouse(ret'd) aged 89,Stokesley. North Yorkshire

,,..

954*-~. — .;".'-i

L‘ l

sailors who served in her, and represents the fighting spiritwhich has secured our nation’s independence for almost athousandyears, and which continues in our Navy today.

These intangible qualities are always difficult to justify inthe face of hard-edged accounting.

But whatever the outcome of the current study into theway she is funded (and it is entirely reasonable that her

should be reviewed) there must be no compromiseeither in her maintenance or in our commitment to her.funding

The views expressed in Navy News do not necessarilyreflect those of the Ministry of Defence

EditorialEdnonSarah FletcherDeputy Editor: Mike GrayAssistant Editors:Richard HargreavesHelen Craven023 9229 42289380 24163 (Mil)Fax 023 9283 8845edlt@navynews.co.uk

LeviathanBlock, HMS Nelson, Portsmouth P01 3HHOctober 2008 no.651: 55th year

Memoriesof Exeter

I\‘('AS very interested in the Ex-eter veterans‘ wreath—|aying (Sep-tember)as from I938 until 1040 lwas in 27 mess HMS Exeter.

\Vi"hen we arrived in Devonportfor celebrations and leave I joinedHMS lnglefield, then the oldCenturion on secret operations.\Vhen we were in Bombay in1942, Exeter came in so I wentaboard to meet several old mateswho had re-commissioned.

In 1945 I was it P0 on HMSImplacable. After the two bombswere dropped, she was adapted tocarry Aussies who had been Po\Vsback to Australia.

We then picked up 2,000 troopsand 200 sailors and took themover to Vancouver to travel acrossCanada on the way home. Amongthe R\' men were a few Exeterswho had SLlt‘\-'l\-'L‘Cl l\iippon’scruelty, my old pal Tally Kingamong them.

At the 50th River Plate reunionI joined up with a few more — 'l'af'l'yRobins who stayed on Makassarand Bill Johns who wrote the bookNo S'1m'endc'r.

The 69th anniversary will be atthe Royal Fleet Club, Devonport.There are very few of us left toattend. so it's now a family asso-ciation. If anyone is interested,please contact the Secretary, JB Smith, at Lyntondale KirtonLane. Stainforth, Donezister, tel.01302 841806.

— J London, C|aines,\Vl-’orcester...I \‘(-"OULD like to point out thatthe man in the white hat in yourpicture of veterans in HMS Kentlaying a wreath for their fallenshipmates of HMS Exeter is notGeorge Gaskell, but my lriend\‘\'-'i|liam ‘Bil|‘ Francis, who was astoker on the cruiser HMS Exeterand was :1 Pow with the Japanese.

— D R Jarman. Newport City,SouthWales

Malay medalI.\l RIEPLY to Brian ‘Tommy'Tucker’s letter (September) I alsohave been waiting for the award ofthe Pingat jasa Malaysia Medal fornearly two years.

I served in Singapore andMalaya on two occasions —

1954-56 aboard HMS Alert and1960-63 at HMS Simbang NavalAir Station.

Like ex—I’O Tucker I live inFrance and have done for nearlyfive years. .\‘la_vbe this has somebearing on the matter, or maybethey are just waiting for us tocross the bar so that we becomeineligible for a posthumousaward.As I will be 77 next month, this isa distinct possibility.

.\'Iaybe another option wouldbe to purchase a replica medalwhich seems to be widely availableon eBay!

— Mike ‘Doc’ Andrews, Puys—t\'euville, Les Dieppe, France

...I TOO applied to the i\'ationalMalay and Borneo Veterans Asso-ciation about two-and-a-halfyearsago. I have not received a replythus far.

I also served from December1964 until July 1905 in H.\-I5Corunna, on anti-filtrationpatrols. The ship’s company allreceived the GSM 1962 withMalay Peninsula Clasp.

So as Brian says, we are all inthe same boat but on sister ships,if you will excuse the pun.

— Ted ‘Fitz' Fitzsimmons.ex-AB, FC2 GOW, I-Ielston

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THE village of Puckeridge has just had fournew road signs at its entrances, complete withship's crest.

At the beginning of WW2 the East Hertsdistrict collected the money to launch a Hunt-class destroyer, which was named after the page.

— D N Bedding, Puckerid e. Ware. HertsWe couldn't find a p otograph of HMS

Puckeridge, so instead here is a charm-ing photo of the hunt after which she was

Puckeridge Hunt.This ship was destroyed by enemyaction

ember 6 1943, butis still rememberedby the older genera-on the evening of Septtion as ‘our ship’.

There are still survivors who would bepleased to see that their shipmates arestill rememberedhere.

Eight survivors managed to come from

itwas packed.

Hutall over England to attend the 60th anniversaryat our village church in Standon and the church

NAVYNEWS, OCTOBER 2008 31‘efslfCOMMENT '

/V///?7.'$' 77/E sasowfirM41:607 75 say ’?—A»w /AS4512.

l have contacted one survivor and we hopeyou can notify any others through your letters

named (kindly sent in by Denis O'Fiegan- w9:: l«:-’:y.n I).

The new road signs with the crest wereerected by Hertfordshire Highways. who

sent us the image of the roadsign - Ed

Whose Navy is it?\V/ITH reference to the articleabout the new carriers (August)BztronessTayloris quoted as saying:“These ships are fundamental fora Navy fit for the 21st Century."

I don‘t mean to be facetious,butwhich Navy? The First Sea Lord isquoted as saying: “\Ve are a majorEuropean power, play a key partof the European Union and are amajor leader in this field."

He is then quoted as describingthe flight deck of each ship as“four acres of sovereign territory,"but he doesn’t say whose.

There is no mention of NATO.which is surely the cornerstone ofour defence.

Are we to understand the EU isnow our new defence arrangement,and if so please could eitherBaroness Taylor or Sir JonathonBand explain when Parliamentplaced our conventional andnuclear forces at the disposal ofthe EU?

I believe that Parliament has atno stage approved the transfer ofour defence to the EU and indeedthe government gave assurancesduring the recent debate on theTreaty of Lisbon that defencecontinued as a UK preserve,as part of its argument that theTreaty was altogether dilferentfrom the EU constitution.

The UK’s sovereign statushas lapsed since the EuropeanCommunitiesAct 1972, accordingto Mr Justice Laws in rejectingthe appeal of the so—called MetricMartyrs.

The Treaties of Rome andMaastricht also provide for asingle foreign policy and defencepolicy.

Please can we have an honeststatement of where the RN isheading?

I very much fear that within afew years it will have ceased toexist in favour of an EU i\'aw.

— Stephen Dixon, Gillingham,Kent

sac:/3ewup 7;/A-rA/wt/556‘m/.6.’

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WHITE ENSIGNASSOCIATION

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UNBIASED, CONFIDENTIAL &

Tel: 020 7407 8658MOD: 9621 81945

HMS BELFAST} Tooley Street, London SE1 2JHFax: 020 7357 6298

WEA Representatives conduct brlefingsllmenriewsregularlyatEstablishments (bookingstaken throughResettlementIEducatlon

Centres], and by appointment onboard HM Ships.

‘ALI.

32 NAVY NE“;-'S, OCTOBER 2008§‘9-

Oceantrawls formembersFORMER Fleet MAA Mick Cahillis the first new ship member tojoin the HMS Ocean Association— and it is hoped he representsa reversal in the trend of fallingnumbers.

The Association was formed inl987,eight_vearsbeforethecurrentHMS Ocean was launched.

it flourished for litany years, butnumbers are now declining amongthe old and bold.

In the hope of attracting moreyoung members, the associationis offering associate membershipto everyone serving in the currentHMS Ocean, and to pilots whoserved on board the current orprevious ship but so far thesemeasures haven't been enough toswell the numbers.

"We do recognise that thepresent ship’s company is onl_v aquarter that of the previous ship,“said Rear Admiral I-Iuan Maclcan.the association’s president.

“Also, time on board and in theService tends to be shorter andpeople tend to join ship associationswhen they leave the Service.”

He added: “We're still keen torecruit membersfrom the previousship. And if the association has todie out, we'll go down with allguns firing."

Mick Cahill, who left the .\l:oyas Fleet Command\‘l"arrantOfficer(Surface Ships) after a 35-yearcareer, said: “For those on boardOcean now there will always be awelcome for you here and pleasenever forget the ship you camefrom and the affection thosebeforeyou still have for her."

Anyone wishing to join theHMS Ocean Association shouldContact chairman Bill Entwistleat 8 lrene St, Burnley BEN)41)}, tel (H282 433910 or emailnewslettereditor Eric Dempster atdempsterr'nuflin@aol.com

Stamps inthe bagTWO officers from thePortsmouth branch have handedover bags of used postage stampsto the city's lifeguards.

Branch secretary Sr'.’\-‘l Rev DavidStephen Butler (:1 cit_v counci|lor,inwhose St Jude ward the lifeguardsoperate) and chairman S-.\-l PeterI.ongstalT took tlte stamps alongto the Portsmouth and SouthseaVoluntary Lifeguards’ station.

The stamps will help thelifeguards achieve their target ofa new HQ.

Visit of thelamp men.\-lliMBERS of the Batti WallahsSocietyvisited H.\'lSCollingwoodto see how training is carried outat the Maritime‘\‘Z'arfare School.

The society was founded in 1906by P810 Line electrical engineers,who provided navigational lightingfor shipping passing throughconfined waters such as the SuezCanal.

Membership was later cxtcnclcdto electrical engineers in the RNand merchant shipping lines.

‘Batti wallah’ is derived fromthe Hindustani for ‘lamp men’.

'ONCE NAVYALWAYSNAVY’

HQ bids farewell to ChelseaAFFER many years of residency in leafy andupmarket Chelsea, the RNA is in the throes ofmoving its HQ to Portsmouth.

As of the first of this month HQ will bewithin the confines of the naval base, followingthe decision of the 2007 annual conference.

The HQ was established in Chelsea in theearly l9"2(ls because, at the that time, therewas a considerable Naval presence in London,and the communications technology of the dayalmost necessitated a presence in the capital.

Since then thingshave changed dratnatically:the RN presence in London is markedlyreduced with the staff of ZSI. and CINCFleetrelocated to Portsmouth.

Additionally, advances in communicationsnow make a London presence unnecessary.

The aim ofthemove is to take theAssociation

to where the RN is following the recentsigning ofthe Memorandum ofUnderstandingwith the RN, easier access (collocation almost)to the Naval authorities is seen as highlydesirable.

Additionally, the Chelsea site was prettyremote. and visitors to HQ were few and farbetween V the General Secretary reckons thatthe last sailor to visit HQ was Noel Coward...

Maybe not quite, but staff did not have tobuy too many Visitors’ books.

For the time being, access to HQ will berestricted as it is within the naval base securityperimeter, but it is hoped there will be bettervisiting arrangements in due course.

The recently—recruited Deputy GeneralSecretary of the RNA, S.-".'\-‘l Frank \V'ard,is now busy preparing the new offices for

accommodation.procuring new IT equipment,furniture etc.

New staff are being recruited since thelong-standing and loyal team from Chelsea,Tony Sattin and Noclinc Lee, are going off towell-deserved retirement, though they will besorely missed.

.\"luch still remains to be done, so be patient— it should be worth the wait once everythingis in place and running smoothly!

The new HQ address is Room 209.SemaphoreTower, Building l/0~l0, PP70, HMNaval Base, Portsmouth POI 3LT.

The number to call for general enquiriesis 023 9272 3823, for the Deputy GeneralSecretary the number is 023 0272 0782,and for the General Secretary dial 023 92722983.Back to Bulwai-It -

47 years later.. .

“WELL back on board after47 years,” tvt'i.rcs I.ciglt Easmnof the HMS Bicltearlc, Albion,Centaur Assucfatimz, on boardHfl/IS Bnltearle from Gibraltarto I’/_\'motrt/1.

“Not yet. How does one salutethe quarterdcck without a beret?Ah... that's the reason all theretired .\laval oliicers wear funnyhats whilst in civvies.

“Who is this at the other end ofthe gangway? Good grief, it's theCaptain, Jeremy Blunden.

“It’s fair to say I was not greetedon board by Capt Franks in l<)6|.Very nice though, and all ver_vfriendly — if only I could think ofsomethingappropriate to say!

“Something a bit odd thoughthe flight deck has disappeared

and the stern rises; still room fortwo chopw-rs though.”

SIM I.eigh‘s contact was CPOAuty (\‘(-"eapons Engineering),andthe welcome to the Chiefs’ Messprompted him to reflect that heshould never have left.

He was joined the following dayby S.-'.\-ls Bob Cowan (ex Cr'SgtRM, Bulwark5 and 6 commissions)and Ian Chesney (ex-Stoker,Bulwark I0 commission), and the

Club fundsnew lifeboatAN RNLI lifeboat. funded bya donation from the NorthRussia club. is to benamed during a ceremonyat the Sea Survival Centreat the Lifeboat College inPoole this month.

The club originallycovered ex-Servicemanwho served at RN basesin Archangel and Murmanskduring World War 2, and waslater extended to all whosewed in Arctic convoys.

But with the formalwinding-up of the club, dueto declining numbers. thebalance of club funds wasdonated to the FlNL| to payfor the new boat, NorthernLight, named after theclub'sformer quarterly magazine.

Naval Quirks90 YEARS AGO THIS

MONTH,TllE GERMAN HIGHSEAS FLEET PREPARED

~lA'.'I/A'.'1‘.I

/‘E

three took a trip to the top of theRock before the ship sailed.

The assault ship undertookexercises withHMS Somerset, andLeigh managed to communicatewith the frigate by Aldis lamp"my mate front all these years ago— an R02 — will be impressed."

There was also a tour ofBulwark, including the operationsroom and the bridge, revealingan impressive range of hi-techequipment which could have beenuseful on the old carrier, thendown to the teeth of the ship,the amphibious assault craft andassociated gear.

\‘t"'eapons and the engine roomwere also on the tour list before anevening in the messes, including:1 quiz.

The followings evening broughtBulwark's Got Talent, which wasnot a million nautical miles awayfrom the old SODS Operas,according to S»'M Leigh.

The veterans sat in on routinebriefings, and watched landingcraft launches before being ferriedashore in an LCL' “driven in a

very seamanlike manner by C/SgtMell Mellor ol'—‘l Assault SquadronRM." 0 The well deck of HMS Bulwark

Service gives thanksforIile of ill:sulimat-iner

F.I.l'i\’EN standard bearers werehonoured to parade at the serviceofthanksgivingfor submarincr LtCdr Ian FraserVC.

The national stttltdard of theSubmariners Association wasparaded, together with live branchstandards -- those of Merseyside.Manchester, Wales, Londonand Derby.

The Royal British Legion. theRNA, HiVlS Conway and otherstandards were also on display.

St James's Church in NewBrighton was packed for theservice, with standing room only.

Rear Admiral Submarinesattended, together with fourmembers of the crew of HMSAstute and senior officials of

WANTéP NO MORE TALKOF NAVAL EATTLES

ex—Service organisations includingthe RNA and the .\-lerchant NavyAssociation.

The service was dedicated to thelife of Ian Fraser, but also markedthe end of a significant era.

The man who drove themidget submarine X133 throughtight security into the Strait ofSingapore to sink the Japanesecruiser Takao in the summer of[945 V an operation which alsosaw diver Jim Magennis win theVC was the last remainingholder in the Silent Service.

Indeed, it also marked thepassing of the last holder of theH9 \r'Cs awarded to the RoyalNavy, including those in the Royal.\"l:trines, RNR and RNVR. 0 Te US Navy colour party parade at amouth

Winchestercelebratessilver dateME.\lBF.RS of Winchesterbranch, including president DavidOddie and his wife Gill, gatheredat St Barnabas Church, \‘t'-"eeke,to celebrate the 25th anniversaryof the recommissioning of thebranch.

Guests of honour included theDeputy Mayor of the city, CllrDominic Hiscock, and AdmiralSir Derek Reffcll, president ofArea 3.

Also in attendance wereshipmates from Southamptonand Alresford, plus two SeaCadets officers.

The service was taken byRevd Terry Roberts, vicar of StBarnabas and Winchester branchpadre, while S.-".\-l i'\.-‘lartin Wfiltshirecarried the standard.

All then moved to the churchhall for speeches and refreshment— branch chairman John \‘L"yethalso toasted the Association andabsent friends.

KenyanreunionTHE (Ihurch House Inn atRattery was the venue for the35th reunion of the Kenya NavyVeterans of Mtongwe NavalBase Mombasa.

The team, which trained thefledgling Kenyan Navy in the19605, may be losing a few ofits older members, but has alsogained several younger ones alongthe way.

A big vote of thankswas clue toDave Hutson, who has organisedthe events for many years but isstanding down next year becauseof his health.

Ships tourl\-ll-l.\-lBl-IRS of Falmouth branchenioyed a waterborne tour of thecompetitors in the Funchal 500Tall Ships Race on the eveningbefore they departed.

The excursion included a tripup the River Fal and a grandstandview of the evening's fireworksdisplay.

The trip was organised bybranch social secretary SKM StanKirkbride and treasurer S-‘M AlanPol|e_v.

Sea Sunday splendourGLORIOUS weather once againgreeted the marchers in the annualFalmouth Sea Sunday paradeand church service, organised byFalmoulh branch.

HMS Cornwall was offFalmouth for the event, beforesailing for an intensive periodof training, and 60 of her ship‘scompany took part in the parade.

Also on the streets of thetown were 15 midshiptnen undertraining at Dartmouth and a

colour party from the US Nan_' atSt Mawgttn.

A number of other branchesfrom Cornwall and beyondwere involved, as were youthorganisations such as the SeaCadets and Sea Scouts.

Following the service at theclturch ofKingCharles the l\-‘lartyr,the parade reformed and marchedon to a buffet and reception whichwas held at the National MaritimeMuseum.

OutreachsupponschemelaunchedA NEW veterans outreachsupport programme has beenlaunched in I’ortsmouth.

Dr Nltirgan ()’Connell,recently Chief ConsultantPsychiatrist to Combat Stress.and ‘Joe‘ lirskittc, of SSAFA— Forces Help (Portsmouth),together with David ‘Watts,General Pvlanager of the RoyalMaritime Club, set up theinitiative to benefit ex—Ser\-‘iceveterans andfor familymembers.

The venue is the former HomeClub, in Queen Street, between3pm and 8pm on the firstWednesday of ever_v month.

Accommodation is available— see wwwroyalmaritimeclut).co.uk/ and quote “Outreach atagreed Members Rates" whenbooking.

The programme will operateas a drop—in centre where thoseinterested can come for a privatechat, hopefully with a GI’,psychiatrist andlor therapist.

There will also be an advicecentre providing access to groupssuch as the RNBT, the RBL,Combat Stress and the SPVA.

You may make an appointmentfor a specific time by calling DrO’Conricll on 0132‘) 334512 —

leave details on the answeringmachine if necessary and you willbe contacted within -18 hours.

The programme will be subjectto change as it evolves.

Fish supperhits the spotANOTHER successful Cheshuntbranch messdeck fish andchip supper was held at theConservative Club in \V/althatnCross, the usual venue for branchmeetings.

Congratulations are extendedto two shipmates and their wiveswho celebrated their DiamondWedditigs — S-"M Don Clarkand his wife Joan, and S/M Tom.Millard and Vera.

The branch was pleased towelcome another serving memberof the R.\l on board over thesummer — Logistician MatthewDrummy, whose mother Antoniaalso joined up.

ROYAL NAVALASSOCIATION3*‘,NAVY Nl£\\'lS,OCTOBER 2008 33

llllEIllllBl‘SlIl|ldoublesWith new fl§Il‘BBIllBllt

THE Association’s much-heralded Memorandum ofUnderstanding (MOU) withthe Royal l\'avy has beenformally signed and agreed,giving membership of theRNA to every serving sailor.

Action will be taken over thecoming months to implementthe agreement, but RNA officialspoint out this is a living documentwhich ma_v need to be amended orchanged to meet operational needsof the Navy and administrativerequirements of the Association.

The most immediate impact ofthe agreement is that the RNA hasmore than doubled in size and cannow claim to be the largest, andarguably most influential, officialmaritime membership associationin Britain, if not Europe.

The MOU acknowledgesthat “the age profile of themembership is high andactivitiesofthemembershipand thus branches arefrequently restricted byage and infirmity."It also recognises thatthejoining

age for most full—titne members isaround 53, because of the timetaken for ex-sailors to ‘bed in‘ to asecond career in their 309 or 405.

Despite “considerable effort”in recent years, the number ofserving members has remainedsmall, the MOU reports, largely

due to the pcripatetic nature ofService life and the diflicultythat catises when a member is amemberof a particular branch.

“However it is compcllinglyobvious that the key to thefuture health and vibrancy of theAssociation lies in reduction ofthe age profile by recruiting andretaining _vounger members.“ theMOU continues.

As part of the agreement, theRNA has made a number ofundertakings, including:[]Forntation of a new form ofmembership for the RN entitledthe Serving Nlember;Serving members will be ableto enter any RNA branch or club,without invitation, on productionof the appropriate Service IdentityCard, which will serve as an RNAServing .\-lembercard;Serving members will not bemembers of any particular branchunless they join in their own right,and will therefore have no votingpowers of their own;

Serving members will, however,have a representative on the RNANational Council;Serving Nletnbers will pay no

subscription;Eaehship,unit andestablishment

will receive an electronic copy ofthe RNA monthlycircular;

Each Area Secretary will provideHQ with a social programmein which the serving membersmight participate, which will be

0 Hum bosun S/M Bob Shaw is busy with the measures

mEE3

THE mystery ship in our Augustedition (right)was HMS Cachalot,and she was correctly identifiedby Mr Fl Denny of Plymouth.whowins 250.

Thismonth'ssubmarine(above)is pictured in 1970. shortly beforea mishap at Gosport whichproved to be an ignominious endto a career spanning a quarter ofa century.

What is the name of the unluckysubmarine, which took the nameof a Greek goddess?

Complete the coupon and sendit to Mystery Picture. Navy News,HMS Nelson, Portsmouth P01 SHH.Coupons giving correct answers willgo into a prize draw to establish awinner.

Closing date tor entries isNovember 14. More than one entrycan be submitted, but photocopiescannot be accepted. Do not includeanything else in your envelope: nocorrespondence can be entered intoand no entry returned.

The winner will be announcedin our December edition. Thecompetition is not open to NavyNews employees or their families.

' — — msTswscm"RE1a — — 1

I Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

II Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

I| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. |I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. I

My answer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..

L _ — — — _ _ _ _ _ .l

Passingof the totmournedCOMMISER.-\'l‘IONS wereexchanged once again as membersof Plymouth branch gatheredto cotnmemorate the 35thanniversary of the abolition ofthe tot.

With all veterans presentqualifying under the ‘over age20' rule, rum bosun S*'M BobShaw was kept busy ensuring thatlots were correctly measured andspeedily distributed.

Branch secretary S.-"M ArthurGutteridge gave a brief history ofthe tot issue and its demise beforeproposing the Loyal Toast.

And S.v'M Arthur’s wife Sue,and the social committee. werethanked for organising the event,which raised just under £100 forcharity.

The same sentiments werein evidence at the City of Elybranch, where shipmates havebeen indulging their sorrow forthe past nine years.

Their acts of commiserationbegan at RAF Mildenhall wheretheirAmerican friendswere totallytaken up by the idea, especially theblack ribbons sported on lapels.

This year was no different,thanksto ex-‘Wren PO(CK) Eithneand her family, who trzinsfortttcdtheir garden into a suitable venueand thereby helped to raise some[250 for good causes.

distributed to appropriate ships,units and establishments.

In return, the RN undertakes:'l'onominate a suitable memberof the Naval Service, usually 2SL’sCommand Warrant Officer, forappointment as Vice President(Serving Members);To ensure ships and unitsappoint a point of contact to liaisewith branch committees and HQ;Provide, on an occasionalbasis, space on the NFF andRNCom websites. and others asappropriate, to advertise linkagebetween the R.\' and the RNA.

A new system will ensure the

O The BriggThe trophy

RNA and RN work more closely inthe regions to allow theAssociationto play a greater part in ship visits;overseas branches will be madeaware of foreign visits.

“The Royal l\'avy and theRNA recognise and value theco-operation and amity whichhas traditionally existed betweenthem, and the RN undertakesto encourage its personnel toremain members of the RNAon retirement," the MOUconcludes.

The document will be reviewedannually at a senior level, with aninitial six—month progress check.

5 Rose Bowl is handed over — but only temporarily.for the small branch recruiting most full members

was thisyear shared by Bracltnelland Stafford, who will holdit for six months each. Here S/M Bob Privett (left), chairman ofBracknellbranch. receives the trophy from Area 6 president S/MLes Gascoyne at an area meeting

2

The Royal Naval AssociationOnce Navy Always Navy

Unity, Loyalty, Patriotismand Comradeshipwho can join?0 Full Members

Serving and Ex-Service membersofRN, RM, QARNNS, WRNS, ReservesRFA and RNXSAssociate membersOthers in sympathywith our objectsespecially families

What does theAssociation do?We:

Support the Royal NavyMaintain Naval traditionsEnjoy social activitiesRe-unite shipmatesRememberthefallenHelp the disabledLook after the needyCheer up the distressedStand together in unity

How to joinWrite to RNA HQRoom 209,SemaphoreTower,Building 1/040, PP70,HM Naval Base,PortsmouthP01 3LTFor General EnquiriesTel: 023 9272 3823Deputy General SecretaryTel: 023 9272 0782

"4

Tributeplaq_ueto KiteA PLAQUE bearing the namesof 217 melt who died when HMSKite was torpedoed on a Russianconvoy in 1944 has been unveiledin Essex.

And one oftliose who attendedwas Gordon Copson, one of thefew surviving men who witnessedthe sinking.

A memorial had been dedicatedto the ship in 200-‘l, attended bytwo of the nine survivors of Hl\-‘lSKite and two from HMS Kcppel,the accompanyingship 7 includingSl'.\-1 Copson.

Four years on the only livingsurvivor of Kite, Lionel lrish, wasnot well enough to attend.

“It was a strange feeling torealise that l was the only personthere who had witnessed thesinking," said Ss'.\-‘l Copson.

Gordon was a Telegraphist (S)on board Koppel, “stuck in a littleoflice right aft in the officers’flats under X gun ~ rather noisyat times with the dcpth—chargethrowers outside,” he said.

The convoy veteran has beenwondering whether there are anyof his shipmates from the time stillabout r if so, he would like to hearfrom them via email on gordon.copson@nt|wor|d.comTributeto VCMEMBERS of Maidstone andChatham branches attendeda service of commemoration inhonour of the first recipient of theVictoria Cross, Admiral CharlesDavis Lucas, buried at St LawrenceChurch in Nlereworth. Kent.

The service was also attendedby Maidstone Sea Cadets andlocal scout groups, who addedtheir standards to those of theRNA.

34 NAVYNEVUS, OCTOBER 2008

tvinsiiiM

SeminarkeepsWOs inpictureTHE first Joint Services WarrantOfficers‘ Course (JSWOC)seminar has been staged at theJoint Services Command and StaffCollege at Shrivcnham.

The seminar was designedto provide an update on issuescovered during the course, and99 graduates attended, includinga number of multinational andmulti—agency students.

Although a wide range ofsubjects were covered, they all hadan operational bias.

The seminar also allowedgraduates to network with eachother and guest speakers.

The keynote speech wasgiven by Defence Secretary DesBrowne, who delivered a strategicoverview and then took part in alively question-and-answersessionunder the Chatham House Rule,under which information may befreely used but the anonymity ofparticipants is strictly maintained.

Current operations andparticular issues were analysedfrom the perspective of eachService, while senior officersfrom Canada, Kenya and Franceupdated theaudienceon operationsand changes to defence policy intheir respective countries.

Prizes were also handed outto outstanding students on thevarious courses from the 2007programme.

The day ended with a formaldinner, at which principalguest Mr Browne was joinedby a number of senior officers,including Rear Admiral NeilMoi-isetti, the Commandant JointServices Command and StaffCollege.

For thosewho have yet to attendthe ]S\\'/OC, you can find detailsat www.da.mod.uklcourses/courses-by-rank/warranbofficers-courses/ or call 01793788854.

nay III PrayerIDI‘ FOFCBSTHE Armed Forces‘ Chaplainciesand the Military Christianorganisations are staging a Dayof Prayer for the Armed Forceson Thursday November 6 at StClement Danes, Strand, London.

In past times of conflict, thenation was called upon to pray forsailors, soldiers and airmen, andwith the Forces once again heavilyinvolved in various operations thechaplaincies have set up a focalpoint for such a day.

The afternoon will consistof prayer, worship and topicalbriefings between l2.=l-5pm and-lpm, with a light lunch servedfrom midday.

For more information and aprayer sheet for those unable tomake it to London see www.pray4ourforces.org.uk or emailforcesprayerday@yahoo.co.uk

It's your 2-6NEED to get your messageacross to the rest of the RN?

To feature in 2-6 contactLt Cdr Gregor Birse (FleetMedia Ops), 93832 8809.

Make “I8IIIIISI Ill

I‘B80l|I‘BBSIWONDERED long and hard about what I should dedicate mysix—monthlyslot in Naivy News to this time, writer Kim Richardson‘Chair Natiaf FamiliesFederation.

\What sort of topics are high on the NFF agenda at present? Housing,Service Command Paper, securing school places and that old chestnut,timely efficientcommunication!

At about the same time as I waswondering about what you mightfind interesting, my mum gaveme an old book with some noteswritten by my great-grandmother,Ethel Pook.

Thebookcontainedhandwrittennotes about her experiences as aNaval wife nearly I00 years ago.Here is what she writes:

“To understand why this daystands out in my memory I muststart my story a little earlier.

“In 1911 I was married to ayoung Naval shipwright who wasstationed in Portsmouth.

“We started married life in :1little house at Southsea and for justover a year we were very happy.

“By this time we had justhad a little son. when hewas a few weeks old myhusband was sent to a shipwhich sailed away to theMediterranean and he wasaway for two years.“When he eventually came

home we knew that he would bedue for a home billetand we feltsafe in looking forward to beingtogether again.

“Imagine our delight when hewas drafted to Osborne House inthe Isle of'\Vight.

“At that time there was a RoyalNaval Cadet Collegein thegroundsof Osborne House which wasone of Queen Victoria’s favouriteresidences. My husband's dutieswere to do with the College.

“We decided that to be togetherwe would store our home and wouldgo over and live at the Island.

“My husband obtained roomsfor us and we went over in thebeginning ofAugust, 1914.

“The first thingwe received wasan invitation to a cricket match atOsborne.

“Being August,

appropriate

the cadetswould be on holiday. The matchwas arranged between the officersand ratings, and the officers weresupplying a tea for wives andfamilies.

“We arrived and sat around on TROPHY Pl2l56 is a 23in diametersilver punchbowl, originally presentedto the armoured cruiser HMS Bedfordby the County of Bedfordshire inMarch 1905 in order to be competedfor annually by thegun crews.

The bowl bears adepiction of a guncrew and details ofthe winners; the basehas panels bearingbattle honours wonby previous HMSBedfords.

One honouris Camperdown(October ll 1797),won by the 7-I-gunHMS Bcdford whenpart of Duncan'sNorth Sea Squadron.

the lovely lawns and the men, all inwhite cricket gear, were enjoyingtheirgame. It was a typical Englishsummer afternoon scene.

“I don’t rememberhow long wesat but it was not very long whenwe were startled by a big fire bellringing.

“Of course we did not realisewhat it meant, but within a fewminutes the men had all vanishedinto their quarters.

“After a very short time, theyall came out dressed in theirNavy uniform and carrying handluggage which they must havehurriedly packed.

“They had not time to talk tous, but all made their way to onesidc of the ground and we justfollowed.

“We found that there was anarrow railway there with truckson it. The men all loaded theirluggage on these trucks andstarted pushing them.

“We found that this led down toRiver Medina which runs betweenEast and West Cowes.

“There we found a launchwaiting and the men all crowdedon to this. They had no time totalk to us and all we could followwas that it would all be over byChristmas and they would soonbe back again.

“It was a very hasty goodbyeand they all waved to us and sailedaway over to Portsmouth.

“We wives and families wereleft not knowing what to do, butwe gradually made our way backto our temporary homes. I did notsee my husband again for a wholeyear. I have often wondered whathappened to the tea..."

Nlany of you will be able to

Fund plan

which future usage is unlikely.

to reclaim their gifts.

communicationhave today; she relied solely oninfrequent letters and the supportof friends and family.

The majority are either of blueor silverplate, and original donorsare being given the opportunity

Before selling the remainder

Long periods at sea, sometimeslittle or ho notice before yourloved one goes, your loved onesgoing off to war and a sense ofuncertainty about their return.

But we have moved forward.Ethel didn’t have any of the

channels we

Email, Paradigm, RNCom andmobile phones have all madekeeping in touch easier.

Our welfare provision in theform of NPFS and Royal Marines\Ve|farc are attuned to the needsof our families.

When you combine thistechnology and support with thevoice of families being louder andmore listened to than ever before, itmakes me wonder what she wouldthinkof Naval family life today.

But, and it is a big but, arefamilies aware of what is availableto them, do they know where to

O EthelPook on her wedding day in 7911identify with Ethel. go in an emergency or during a

family crisis when the Servingperson is not eontactable? I amnot convinced they do.

We have a wealth of resourcesavailable to families which theymay not need now, but in the futuremight just make a difference.

My message to you today ispick up a copy of i\’u'v_v i\"cw.c orour in-house maga'/.ine Homcporr,log on to our website and checkout FtNcom

Take a look at the ServicePersonnel Command Paper.

Tell us about the good things,also tell us about the things youfind more difficult about Naval lifeand, more importantly,tell us whatmore we could be doing about it.

If my great granddaughterpicksup this article in I00 years time Iwonder what site will think.

I will never know — but whatI do know is that today we canmake a difference.

In a constructive diplomaticway,and together — |et’s do just that!

YoungreservistsdiscusssupponHOW do you persuade yourcivilian boss to support you whenyou want to take nine months offfor a deployment to Afghanistanor Iraq, writes S.-‘Lt Laura Harri'sonRNR of HMS W/ilaflri-.

This was one of the questionsput to more than 40 youngreserve officers from nearly 30countries at the 2008 InteralliedConfederation of Reserve Officers(CIOR) Summer Congress, whichtook place in Istanbul.

Amongst the 40 were 2/LtAndrew Pugsley (RMR London),S/Lt Gemma Fox (HMS KingAlfred), Lt Paul Ladislaus (HMSCalliope), Lt Sally Armstrong(HMS Vivid) and Lt KathleenStanden (HA-IS Wildfire).

The five were participatingin theYoung Reserve Officers’\\Vorkshop(YRO'\V),a key component of theCongress.

Lt Hannah MacKcnzie (HMSWildfire), a participant in YROW2008, also attended as a syndicatefacilitatorfor one of the groups.

lfiittbiirig N/f'l"() operationstlimugli cffecritre employer mpport,thethemeofthisyear’s symposium,was the topic of discussion foryoung reserve officers as theybrainstormed how they couldmake their military and civiliancareers complement one another.

The participants came to'I'urkeyto share their experiences » not allcountries have organisations suchas the UK's SaBRE (SupportingBritain’sReservistsand Employers)to fight the reservist’s corner.

The workshop also contributesto understanding between theofficers of different nations, whoare increasingly working togetherin multinational forces.

There was also a chance toimprove communication skills asfindings were gathered, discussedand collated for presentation toothers.

Any reserve officers under theage of 30 and below the rank ofLt (RNR) or Captain (RMR) whowould like to attend YRO\V 2009in Sofia, Bulgaria, should contacttheUK Reserve Forces Associationfor further information.

See www.ukrfa.org/details.

for

Last QinetiQ shares are soldTHE Ministry of Defence has announced thesaleof its remaining ordinary shares in OinetiQ Grouppic at a price of 206p per share.

Minister for Defence Equipment and SupportBaronessTaylorsaid: ‘'I amthat with this sale of shares in QinetiQ we havecompleted the final stage of its privatisation."

at public auction, the Trusteeswish serving and former RoyalNavy personnel to have theopportunity to purchase theseitems and, while photos cannotbe provided, further details ofthese items in question can beobtained from the Secretary tothe RN Trophy Fund Trusteesat the RN TrophyCentre, HardyBlock, HMS Nelson, PortsmouthPOI 31-II-I, or by email at eitherCXP FINTC SEC on the Intranetor at cxprntcsec@a.dii.mod.uk

TROPHY P12878 is an oil paintingby Russell Flint of five Tribal-class

pleased to announce

The firm employs around 13.00 people atlocations around the UK. and remains a keysupplier to theArmed Forces.

It is theTrustees’ intention thatitems be used and appreciated bythose to whom their provenanceand history might be significant— and that they will not be‘rccycled‘ on eBay...

To encourage bids from servingand former Service personnel, noreserve price has been set and inthe event oftherebeing two equalbids for an item, preference willbe given in the following order:To any person who was inthe ship or establishment at the

including Tartar. for the Alliedlandings at Salerno. which took

Although the Government no longer has afinancial stake in QinetiQ. it will retain a specialshare in thecompany to protect theUK's defenceand security interests.

Naval IPOIIIIIBS made availableTHETrustees of the RN Trophy

to dispose of anumber of trophies — cigaretteboxes, cigarette lighters, ashtraysand wine decanter coasters — for

time the item was originallypresented;To the person who served forthe longer period in the ship orestablishment;To other persons.

Bids for a particular itemshould be made to the Secretaryto the Trustees at the addressshown above by Friday October31 2008. Successful bidders willbe informed shortly thereafter.

Envelopes containing writtenbids are to be marked ‘SBA 1’ in

the top left corner, andthis is to be the subjectof email bids.

All must include thedestroyers under air attack in theChannel in June 1944, presentedto HMS Tartar in 1963 by theTribalClass Memorial Committee.

The ship in the foreground isHMS Tartar. the others beingEskimo,Ashanti and theCanadianHaida and Huron.

The Navy provided 126 ships.

place on September9 1943.There was no bombardment,

yet the beaches were captured.despite fierce resistance.

British and US forces landed attwo locations. and after day onewere still ten miles apart. but 24hours later theyhad linked up andcontrolled 40 miles of coast.

following details:Name of bidder;Details of item beingbid for;Dates of service inthe particular ship orestablishment;Amount of bid;Full contact address.

0 W01 Andy Flainey

ThreewishesforthefutureALMOST a year into his tenure,the Second Sea Lord’s CommandWarrant Officer (CWO) has aclear view of where he wants tosee improvements by the time hehands over his cane.

The man who sits at the top ofthe ratings‘ tree, and provides acrucial link between the lower deckand his boss, said: “I am there tolisten, and to make sure that thevoices of the ratings are heard.

“But I am also there to makesure that t.he ratings don't shrugoff as management speak the newsthat they need to hear."

With the CWO and ExecutiveWarrant Officer system in placeto channel information back andforth throughtheNavy,WOl AndyRainey says there is now a muchbetter system for understandinghow the people feel about issues —

and the people of the Royal Navyare its greatest asset.

But W01 Rainey said therewere three particular areaswhere he would still like to seeimprovements.

“The first is the relationshipbetween officers and ratings,helping the Officer Corps hasa greater understanding of theratings,” he said.

“By virtue of my position, it ismuch easier for me to go speak toa whole raft of officers.

“It’s as important to me to beable to ensure that there is a flowof easily—understood language upand down the command chain.”

The second area is of opennesswithin and outside the RN, anda chance for junior ratings toaspire to high positions within theratings cadre — including the roleof CommandWarrant Officer.

“The final thing is very muchmore basic," said W01 Raincy.

“I would like to see far more ofa structured career progression tothe Senior Rate cadre.

“I say that because, if youare good enough, you could bepromoted to \\l-'01 at age 32, whichessentially means thatyou have gotan 18-year career as a W01 aheadof you, and that is all there is.

“My goal would be to helpcreate somethingbetter.

“I am keen thatWOI s,once theyreach the top of their profession,aren't left hanging on, doing thesame job until boredom drivesthem from the Service.

“There are over 800 W015 inthe Naval Service. They shouldbe able to work across a rangeofiobs.

“Essentially, \WOls arepromoted for their leadership,management and administrativeskills, and an awful lot get tiedback into branch.”

W0] Rainey said his role wasnot to act as an individual‘shotlineto 2SL, and as such he believesthe Divisional system is one of theNavy’s successes — one which candeal with most circumstances.

“The divisional system haslooked after me for 30 years, andI actually think one of the bestinitiatives in recent years is thereinvigoration of the divisionalsystem,” he said.

THE NEW Naval OutdoorCentre, nestling in the Allgauregion of Bavaria, is alreadytaking bookings for 2009.

The centre, in SouthernGermany, offers activities for alllevels, good weather, fantasticscenery and is within a day’s drivefrom all UK base port areas.

In its initial guise as ExerciseBavarian Surprise (Bit BS) thescheme grew from an eight-weekadventurous training (AT) andchallenging activities (CA) affairin 2005, and within two years ithad grown to a 30-week packagefrom April to October attracting1,385 participants.

Ex BS gave RN and RMpersonnel the opportunity to fulfil2SL‘s PFS of five-day ATICA,providing valuable skills which aretransferable to other areas andthereby enhancing operationalcapability.

Ex BS‘s enormous popularity,and the fact that AT has beenrecognised as helping withretention, led to the openingof the Naval Outdoor Centre(Germany).

In 2009, skiing will take placefrom January l5 until May, witha variety of five-day courses,including basic ski proficiency(from complete novice to blueruns, or improved novices as far asred runs) and advance proficiencyfor intermediate skiers.

There will also be the chance tosample the delights of ski touring.

The tried and tested multi-activitypackagewill run from Mayto October,offering a round-robinof activities including kayakingor open boating, climbing,Alpine mountain walking orKlettersteiging and mountainhiking, with an opportunity to dowhite-water rafting or canyoningon the final day.

Packages will last a week,running from Sunday to Sunday,and begin at the ferry terminalin Dover.

A luxury German coach willwhisk passengers overnight toBavaria to the I-Iaus Schwaben —

an Eng1ish—run hotel with greatfood — where participants willbe allocated a room, receive a

0lt's Idownhill romhe :

- R ‘and RM personnelwill soon get the chanceto test themselves inBavaria all year round

briefing and then get a chance toexplore the local area.

Instructors take over on Tuesdaywith a programme tailored foreach individual's needs.

Possibilities for the eveninginclude swimming at a local pool,BBQS and quizzes and water-skiing on the lake in summer.

Bespoke packages can bearranged for groups of aroundeight to 12 concentrating on oneof the activities provided, forwhich there may be a charge.

The centre will support theNavy’s Battle Back initiative forwounded personnel with specialistweeks in March and July.

And RN and RM families willbenefit from dedicated time overEaster, allowing them to stay atthe centre at hcavily—discountcdrates — provided they are membersof the Sports Lottery.

If the initiative is successful,further family time will beallocated in the first three weeksofAugust and at Christmas.

The centre will also provide agreat opportunity for any PTI who

would like to pursue a career as anAT instructor.

\Vl-"hethcr just setting outand wanting to gain furtherqualifications and experience, ordeveloping qualifications to enableyou to work at a level -I centre inthe future, this place is ideal.

The offer to work as an instructorgoes to anyone holding relevantqualifications who would like theopportunity to get involved withteaching; providing you can bespared from your place of work it ispossible to come out and assist for

Royals launchcamA NEW 50-second Royal Marinesrecruiting film, Sremiip Anibusii,will be launched on November 7with the new Bond film QuanrzmiQfSo1ace.

Over theweekendsofNovember8 and 22, RM personnel will bepresent in some 20 key cinemafoyers around the UK withsupporting displays and trialinga new facility that allows visitorswith Bluetooth phones to receiveother new RM video material.

Following its launch alongsidethe new Bond, the RM film willrun to the end of March 2009alongside other new films thatwillattract the target recruit audienceof 16-24 year old men — /limmiia,Cliangeiing,Set-um Poimdi‘, Defiance,and W.1n:l:iiicn.

The film will be shownthroughout UK but budgetconstraints do not allow coverageof the London area.

A 30-second version of the filmwill also run on PubTV fromNovember to March.

A series of‘RM Challenge’ ads isalso planned to appear on Setanta,Dave and Virgin TV during thebreaks in selected programmeswatched by the target audience.

A further series of digital adswill also be appearing on selectedwebsites throughout the period.

0 A shot from the new RM recruiting film Swamp AmbushThe popular range of posters

will appear in over 300 leisureand fitness centres in January andFebruary 2009.

The awtird-winning Rh/I websitewww.royaImarines.mod.uk willcarry further new material on RM‘States of Mind’.

The previous RM recruitingcampaign was launchedin October2007 and ran to March this year.

The cinema film, ll’/on‘:I\"i'glimiare,was seen by more than24 millionpeople; the PubTVfilmby more than 3 million; whilstonlinc advertising was seen byover 2'3 million.

Over the course of this firstphase of the campaign, the RMwebsite received over halfa millionunique visitors to the homepage.

To measure the effectiveness

NAVYNEWS, OCTOBER 2008 35

Bavarian SlIl3CBS_S l8IIO 9I‘Bat SllI'|lI‘ISB

a eriod of time.To take up your five days of

AT/CA entitlement, your firstpoint of contact should be thePT Office or ship’s PTI, who canprovide more information and anapplication form.Or you could go online at www.englishgueslhouseconi andfollow links to Bavaria Surprise;Or call 07900 443128 or 00498324 2290;Or email FLEET-N1 NLMPERS PAT soa (mil) or paul.geIlender267@mod.uk

of the campaign a representativesample of 16-24 year old UK menwas interviewedbeforeand after thefirst phase.Thiswas supplementedby an online survey.

This revealed that awarenessof RM rose by six per cent to 57per cent of our target audience,with an encouraging six per centincrease in interest in a career withthe Royal Marines.

tunslit_:.-ml}

An earlytaste foradventureSTRONGlinks between the RoyalNavy and the Royal GeographicalSociety which stretch back to theacademic body‘s foundation inI830 are still nurtured in the 21stcentury.

In 1827 the Thatched Housetavern in the St James area ofLondon became a meeting placefor a number of figures who, aswas common at the time, met fordinner to debate the scientific andacademic issues of the day.

Among themwere Rear AdmiralSir Francis Beaufort — generallyaccepted as the founder of modernhydrography —- and Arctic explorerRear Admiral Sir John Franklin.

In the same year that thisinformal ‘club’ became the RGSa child was born in Yorkshirewho would become a passionatesupporter of both the RN andRGS.

Clements Robert Markhamentered the Navy at 14 and spentfour years on an 83,000—milevoyage to the Pacific. He latersailed in the Arctic Squadron.

On leaving the Navy he joinedthe East India Company, butmaintained his affinity for theSenior Service.

At the age of 63 Markhamwas elected President of theRGS, dominating its affairs foran unprecedented 12 years, and itwas his drive which saw fundingfor Scott’s expedition to theAntarctic in the first years of the20th Century.

The same spirit of endeavourand self-fulfilment is engenderedthrough the Royal Nat-y’sAdventurousTrainingprogramme,of which Bavarian Surprise is aprime example (see left).

For those in the Navy whotake adventure and geographyseriously -» and there are a numberof Fellows of the RGS who havegone to work in a dark blue suit —

theSociety runs its annual Exploreexpedition and fieldworkplanningweekend from November 21-23in London.

For more details about Explore2008 see www.rgs.orgIExploreSee next month'sNavy Newsfor an article by P0 StephenParis-Hunter FRGS

This new second phase of thecampaign plans to build on thissuccessful start.

36 I\'i-‘WY NEW-"S, OCITOBER 2008

Ask Jack

HMS Antrim, Far East Tour 1980: Hasany sailor got any photos of William DavidTravis who was on this tour‘? David sadlydied some 15 years ago and his motheranxiously needs some replacement photos.Please contact Mrs Doreen Greenway (wasTravis) at keithjlpbtalklallcnetor tel: 01142664424.

HMS Arethusa: Daphne Oliver is look-ing for anyone who served on board theArethusawith her father 'Tiz Wye‘. He was atorpedo man and was on the ship i.vhen shewas torpedoed in the Mediterranean. Con-tact Daphne at daptirie.0I'iverfi‘bluayonder.corn or tel: 07747 443890.

Sub Lt Frederick Moncrietf Batten: I amresearching my family history and am tryingto find out about Sub Ll Batten. born Febru-ary 27 1922. He enlisted with the New Zea-land Territorial Force in June 19-10; trainedwith the Royal New Zealand Navy on the Phi-lomel. Auckland in January 1942 for second-ment to the RNWFAA He arrived in March19-12. and was attached to St Vincent atGosport. He served on Vulture at St Merrynin July 19-12 and Daedalus at Lee-on—Solenlfrom August 1942. On December 5. 1944while with the Fleet Air Arm in Scotland hisFirefly Z1903 stalled on approach and wasburnt out. Frederick was buried on the 7th atArbroath. Any information about Frederick.photographs or any guidance to help me tofind out anything about him would be veryhelpful. Contact Mary Warnerat bobman/2@hotmaii.com or write to 62 Sewell HarrisClose. Harlow. Essex. CM20 3H8.

HMS Curacao: My father. Stanley Nor-man Russell. was one of the few survivorsof HMS Curacao which tragically collidedwith RMS Queen Mary on October 2. 1942.1 would be interested to hear from anyonewho may have known dad who passed awaysome four years ago or anything about theCuracao. Ironically our local doctor. Dr ArthurCoyer was on the ‘Queen’ at the time. If youcan help please contact Dick Russell at dicli.russelI@virgin.net or tel: 07970 337953.

HMS Pembroke: David 'Raty' Ratcliffe

Ci 7.74 5‘-

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served 1976-81 He was at HMS Pembroke.served on Ark Royal. 1976-78. in 4R2 messand was employed as a steward. He wasalso on Blake. Upton. Heron and Drake. HeI5 hoping to emigrate to Australia as soon aspossible but needs references from anyonethat knew him. He will fill you in later with thedetails — not so much a character reference,he iusl needs people to state what we actu-ally did as stewards? He would be very grate-ful for any replies — who knows — he couldbe your base if you are ever out there. DavidRatclrffe. 4 Berwick Drive. Fulwood. Preston.Larics. PR2 3JS or tel: 01772 788607.

Published Poems: i know this is a verylong shot. but I am seeking informationabout the published poems of L/SeamanJack Redvers Green. His service careerspanned bothwwf and W2. from Decem-ber 1916 to September 1945. inc Royal FleetReserve from 1929 to 1939. The ships USGreen served on included: Concord. Mon-arch. Hermes. Vanessa. Dauntless. Sultan,Excellent. Glenroy and Harrow. The last twoyears of his service were on secondment tothe Free Dutch Navy. on board MV van Ruis-dael. where he wrote a poem entitled ‘TheNetherlands Shall Rise Again‘ [Nederlandzal Herryzen}. Another poem was publishedin 'Blighty. June 20. 1942'. and was entitled'Convoy'. However. the Green family (Eng-land and Canada] believe that a third poemwas published somewhere. and we wouldlike to find out if any reader may rememberthis. or have a copy in their possession. AsI say. this is a very long shot, but any infor-mation would be gratefully received. Pleasecontact Mrs Debra Green at debgreen112@hotnnailcomor tel: 01485 863010.

HMS Flothosay: Peter is hoping to findout it there was a commissioning book print-ed on Rothesays lirst commission’? if therewas. does someone have a copy that theyare prepared to let him borrow? He will paypostage and take care of it. returning it afterTE\'|\'lFlglost memories. Please contact PeterGrindon at grindon,peter€ryahoo.co.uk ortel: 01275 373521

.

I t~|.

.|

OCTOBER 2008Lascaris Malta Association: Reun-

ion. October 6-10 at the Ocean View Ho-tel. Bournemouth. For details Contact JimGoode at Lasczirisrnella¢?aol.com or seethe website at http:/Iwwwlascarisassoc.bi-ilanianet.co.ukor tel: 01584 872225.

EW Branch: Reunion on October 18 at1930 in the WD 8. SR Mess at HMS Excel-lent — bar 8. buffet. Accommodation forserving and ex-members available. Formore information contact ‘Farah' Fawcett atlazfawcettfilntlworldcorn or tel: 023 92333527 or Mil: rnws-wtg-ewcis6 or tel: 938253527.

HMS Illustrious Association: 25th an-niversary reunion and 60th anniversary ofPinnace disaster takes place at the RussellHotel. Weymouth. from October 17 to 20.Contact Mrs Ann Lelley on 01903 771394.

Nuclear Test Sites: A reunion will takeplace October 17-20 at Sand Bay, WestonSuper Mare for all Anny, Navy. Air Forceand civilians who served in any of the Brit-ish Nuclear Test Sites: Monte-Bello. Marat-inga. Maiden Island and Christmas Islandfrom 1952-64, For more details contact JimCooper at jim.i:ooper4@ntlworlcl.corrior tel:01903 533768.

The Pembrokers Reunion Weekend:takes place at the Suncliff Hotel. East Over-clilf Drive, Bournemouth. October 31 to No-vember3. Anyone interested please contactGeorge Creasy in Meclway on 01634 715784tor full details.

SubmarinersAssociation (Derbyshire):Acoffee morning will take place on October 2:1in the Mayors Parlour. Council House, Derby[use the Ceremonial entrance on the cornerof Derwent Street]. Admission is rust 50p andincludes coffee and biscuits. Contact TerryHall. Hon Secretaryftreasurer. SubmarlnersAssociation at nobbyderbysa@yahoo.co.ukor tel: 07979 -124680. Special guests: theMayor ol Derby and the Commanding Of-ficer and crew of Derby's new adopted sub-marine. HMS Ambush. The sailors will be Inuniform on a weekend visit to Derby City.

NOVEMBER 2006HMS Sirius. F40. 66-93; The ‘Down

Under‘ reunion takes place in Plymouthon November 1. Details are available athtlp:illwwwlhmssirius.irifo or from AndyAyres at 253-cpouw@a.dii.mod.uk or writeto Andy Ayres at HMS Chalham. BFPO 253.

Ton—Class Association: Pie-Christmaslunch at High Wycombeon November29. All

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TCA members and their ladies are invited tothe lunch with raffle etc. All enquiries to Ed-ward Freathy at edwardfreathyobtinternet.com or tel. 01628 523711.

JANUARY 2009B41 8. 833/842 MEAs: are considering

having a reunion in January 2009, 25 yearsafter we signed on the dotted line. Exacttime and location to be decided. For tur-ther info please contact Steve Wiseman atstevewisemani's'l1hotmail.comor tel: 07979506850.

MARCH 2009HMS Brilliant;The 2009 reunion will be at

the Livermead House Hotel. Torquay. March27-29. For more details see the website athttp:7i‘www,hmsbrilliant.com or contactNick or Julie Spayne at nispayneohotmail.com or tel: 07789 407042.

HMS Loch Fada Association 1944-67:12th annual reunion. March 27-30. at theRoyal Renaissance Hotel. Skegness. Con-tact Bob Harris at bobharn'sI390@supanet.com. tel: 023 8039 1848 or see the website:http:.i‘/www.hms-lochfada.org.uk

MAY 2009HMS Dainty: Reunion of HMS Dainty.

May 9-11, at the Britannia Hotel. Coventry.Contact Chris Bolton at chrsbol@noI.com ortel: 0161 773 1304. More information on thewebsite at http:/lwww.hmsda'inty.co.uli

JUNE 2009HMS Euryalus: A special reunionJAGM

and gala evening lalies place on June 5-6at the King Chartes Hotel. Chalham. Formore informationcontact Barbara Cotton on012186 438-134 or Duke Ellington on 01753230654

SEPTEMBER 2009HMS Fisgard. Series 7 Entry, Septem-

ber 12 1949: Following successful reunionsfor 50 and 55 years a ‘Diamond Do’ is be-ing organisecl at Jurys Hotel. Bristol forSeptember 11-13. 2009 Book now to avoiddisappointment. Contact Mick Herben atmichael_herbert@hotmail.co.i.ik or tel:01954 250014 or write to 20 Pelham Way.Cotlenham. Cambridge CB24 8T0

OCTOBER 2009Lascans Malta Association: Reun-

ion October 2-5 at the Hilton Hotel, War-wick. For details contact Jim Geode atLascari'smaIta@aol.comor see the websiteat httpu'fiivww.lascansa5soc.bri'lanianet.co.uk or tel: 01584 872225.

Contactsheet

Ministry of Defence: 0870 607 4455.www.mod.uk

Royal Navy recruitment: 08415 607 5555.www.royalnavy.n'lod.uk

Veterans Agency: 0800 159 2277. www.veleransagency.mod.uk

Medals enquiries: 0800 085 8600FIN and RM Service records: 023 9262

8779 or 023 9262 8667Royal Naval Association: 023 9272 3823.

www.rciyeI-naval-association.co.ukRNBT: 023 9269 O112tgenerali. 023 9266

0296 [grants]. www.rnbt.org.ukBritish Legion: 08457 725725. www.

britishIegion.org.ul<RN Community: www.rncom.mod.uk

Where are you now?

HMS Albion 1962-64: Where are all theoriginal ‘Grey Ghosts‘? Currently in touchwith 155 from the original Grey GhostCommission. Do you want to be No 156‘?Contact Keith Ridley at hmsalbionflhotmail.com or tel: 01480 810848 or 18 LittleworthEnd. Oftord Darcy. St Neols, PE19 SRA.

HMS Andromeda: Trying to locate TimSymonds who was at HMS Nelson with'Scouse‘ Lunt in the mid 1970s. Tim hada wile. Kath and two sons. they all livedin Buckland. Portsmouth. Scouse was onthe Andromeda from 1988-90 before hislast shore base at Nelson. Scouse is 60 inDecember and there will be a surprise (not ifhe reads this] party on December 13. It wouldbe wonderful it any old shipmates could getin touch Contact Mandy Lunt at mandyficareconnectIearn.co.uk or tel 07940205206.

Ordinary Seaman T Bishop: Tony islooking for this Seaman or even a relativeor anyone who knew him. Tony has locatedhis medals and would like to return them.Contact Tony Davie. RMA Basingstoke. 26Petty's Brook Road. Chineham. Hants. RG2-1BRW or tel: 01256 -172340.

HMS Bulwark. Albion & CentaurAssociation: Did you ever serve in Bulwark.Albion or Centaur? The association is opento anyone who served at any time on theseships. Magazine three times per year plusevents including AGM7Sor:ial. sea—days andanniversary commemorations. Whilst our'Home Port' is Pompey. next year's AGM andSocial will be at Sand Bay Holiday Village.Weston Super Mare. Somerset We alsosponsor sea cadets lrorn our affiliated SCCson thetraining ship 'Royalist'. Membership isjust £8 per annum. Enquiries to Leigh Eastonat ngsto€1‘tiscall.co.uk or website litlpzllwww.bulwarkassoc.plus.com or write toGlenmoray. Hayford Place. Cambusbarron.Stirling. FK7 9.1x.

HMS Collingwood: Seeking anyoneon Artificer Apprentice Series -18 Coursebetween May 1964 and April 1966. Doyou remember a New Zealander calledDavid D'Ftose? He injured a leg whilst onthe Collingwood display team iusl beforegraduation. Anyone remembering anythingabout David should contact Margaret Snowat margarets@rnzrsa.org.nz or write toSenior Advisory Officer [Pensions 8. Welfare].Royal New Zealand Returned And Services‘Association. PO Box 27-2-18. Wellington.6141, New Zealand.

HMS Cumberland Association:

Naval Families Federation: 023 92654374. www.nff.org.uk

SSAFA Forces Help: 08-15 1300 975.www.ssala.org.ul(

Royal Naval Museum: 023 9272 7562.www.royalnavalmusel.im.org

Fleet Air Arm Museum: 01935 840565.www.fIeetairarm.com

Royal Marines Museum: 023 9281 9385.www.royalmmannesmuseum.co.uk

FIN Submarine Museum: 023 9252 9217.www.rnsubmus.co.uk

National Maritime Museum: 020 83125565. www.nmm.ac.uk

Imperial War Museum: 020 7416 5320.www.iwrri.org.uli

Entries for the Deaths‘ column and Swap Drafts inNovember'sNoticeboard must be received by October13

HMS HERMESDid You Serve On Her. We HaveAn Association, Why Not Join?

Next Reunion - Plymouth2009 April 17th to 19th

To join contact:Richard: 01152 131697email: richard.tipping@

blueyonder.co.uk

Swap drafts

Logs Pers Jenni Canning. would liketo swap DNR DAT Manchester (possibleSSSAl from November 013 to November 09for any Portsmouth area draft. Contact:HMS lIIustrious—WTl-114.

ETlWE] Clark. Currently on HMS Bangorbased in Faslane. Looking lor a swap draftto Portsmouth. any shore draft. Hunt-classMCMV. Type 23 or Type 42. Must be trainedin 30mm. Mkilrl and GPMG. Contact Nobbyon Faslaneext 6968 or etwe-222@a.dii.modult.

Many readers have kindly responded to the Sailors’ Societyrecent mailingwhich was included in the last edition of Navy

News and we have received many red ensign flags withmessages. Unfortunately many people did not include theirname and address so thatwe could not only thankthem but

also claim the gift aid on their gift. PLEASE GET IN TOUCH sowe can claim the tax and add value to your gift, and thankyou.

Call now 023 8051 5950, email ryoung@sai|ors-society.org.Sailors Society is a registered charity 237778.

THE RO\ I. .»:\I-FRF.DSEAF./\{l RS‘ S()Cl .TY

Seeking information about ERA 2nd classRonald Frederick May. HMS Gambia 1949-52 and HMS Cumberland 1953. ContactSam Watson at sjwba11003@blueyonder.co.uli or tel: 0163-: 235861.

HMS Exmouth: Doug Taylor. NB TASrate onboard HMS Ekmoulh 1968-71. got intouch with Mickey Dunne through a Forceswebsite. Mickey has so far been unable tocontact Doug. ll anyone knows of Dougsaddress could they contact Mickey Dunneat mlchael.dunne7@ntlworld.com or tel:01325 258193.

HMS Ganges: Does anyone know thewhereabouts of. or remember. GordonBlight? He came from Hornchurch and in thelate 1940s ioined the RN as a boy at Ganges.becoming a telegraphist. Leaving the servicehe ioined Essex conslabulary as a PoliceConstable. Two former friends from ourSea Cadet days together would like to re-establish contact with him. Contact ColinMusson. 28 Oueen Street. Cookstown.Ontario. LOL 1L0. Canada.

HMS Ki:-ppol: Gordon recently attendedthe unveiling ol a plaque containing thenames of the 217 men who died when HMSKile was torpedcied in 19-14. The Only livingsurvivor was unable to attend and Gordonwas the only member of HMS Kepperscrew [the ship with HMS Kitel. and says itwas strange feeling realising that he wasthe only one there who had witnessed thesinking. He was also wondenng it there wereany other members of the Keppels crew stillaround and it so he would love to hear fromyou. Contact Gordon Copson at gordon.copson@ntlworld.corn or tel: 01708702356.

Leslie Kew: Pam Holmes is seeking herdad's (George Frederick Kew] brother Leslie.They also had a sister Doris. Leslie enlistedin the Navy from Burnham Gardens. Hayes.Middlesex. from where he was living with theAdams family He went to Lossiemoulh fortraining. If anyone has any information couldthey contact Pamela Holmes at pamela.holmes3@ntlworId.com or tel: 0151 2010397.

HMS Swiltsure: Kenneth Smart servedin Swiltsure from 1951 to 53. He would loveto gel in touch with any former shipmates.Kenneth can be contacted via his daughterat hayIey.coombsfi{tntIworld.com or tel:01223 514137 or write to 9 Butcher Close.Milton. Cambridge. CB24 6ED.

Lt Col Steve Hussey to 845 NAS as COon July 15.

Rear Adm Ft J Ibbotson to be promotedvice admiral and to become Deputy Com-mander in Chief Fleet on April 7 2009

Competition Congratulations to the five

winners of the Southampton BoatShow competition who each won apair of tickets:

Mr M Laxon, BrentryMr A Craske. PrestatynMr M Pearce. CroesyceiliogC J N Young. VerwoodMrs N Hamp. FerridownThe ten winners of the Yeovilton

Air Day competition were:Mr T Simpkins. LeedsJim Silver, RuddinglonAndrew Lee. CollomptonChris Jenkins. PortchesterMr Nicholson. Charlton AdamStephen Smith. High WycombeMrs Ann Harlow. CallingtonTerry Tyacke.TrowbridgeDean Witherington.LonglevensSteve Wright, Fiyde

Navy News on audioNavyflawslsmrallablefroootchalueontapeorasaditalflleli-i:imPortsmouth Area Tal ng News forthose with dltllcu reading normaltype. Contactoza D851 and leavea message with a contact number. Nospeclal oqubmerlt is needed to playltleslandardso-rnlnutecassettes.

GALATEA(BlackPig)lst ever Reunion. Proposed date

Sat 28th March 2009.Venue pending — 35 sliipmates

contacted. Contact No‘s:Bill Davidson: 01322 221028

Bob Almey:Email: BOB ALMEY1@tiscali.ci;i.uk

Tel: 01737 353763

This is aNew subscriptionStan my subscription from month

I

Renewed subscription

Fax: 01737 36267-i..

Lt Cdr Ian Fraser, DSC VC RD and Bar.W:-.rtiriie sirbiiiiiriiier, .Atlt.>'id:>Ll HMS Cori-.'r.'iytrairii-ig ship Il1 the Mersey and ruined theBlue 1 ll!‘l'If‘I line go rig to sea as a cadet in1938. At the oiittjreak oi war he toned trii:Royal Navy and If3it‘iE£I.I in Royal Oak as aiiiitlshipiiiziri RN11 ltieti served ii Keith. Montros-3 ijl)uril<irki and Malcolrri mostly in theAtlantic. lie \'o|iii11ee.'ed tor the siihittarinest-ix-:-ct: n 194? aiiri was aivardi:-<1 ire DSCalter a year of lt\IE|lSiVE‘ operations with thesubriiziririe S;il'.ib wlieii she Silflk U301 andseveral Axis supply sh:ps. Appointed tirstI-eiiteiiaiitrifl-1-1-lilieiivoliinieerizd for X~crat:iii respciise to a sigiiail for "5|}€C|£l| aiiu lithi-ardous service with SUIJFY1i'i’|“.

.Won the

Victoria Cross as ca_ot:iin o‘. the idgel submarine XK3 in Operation Strugg e. a daringa 'ir;k 0". IIIL‘ .J.'tp;irii,=.-aetierivy {§fIllSE'.' T.‘ikiii the Jaliore Straits. iusi betcre the end 01World War 2. 19-15 he was appointed an O1I'CC‘f ()1 1l".t‘: US legon oi Merit. Uiscliargecl19.17 he remained on the Reserve list until195i). His il1I3ltlI}lt5. Frog-rri.'iri './C. Vr'{,'!£,‘ publisted in 195/. He was a arded the Reserve[)-ecoration w th I orig Service Bar. was v.c-:.~pres dent ot the ti.f.ersr.-ys.de Branch oi theSUI]l“3lll‘.e Old Cun‘rar',es' Association andat Yoirriger Brother 01 lririity lloi;sc. Since7002 he ‘riad I]t"£?l'l UK vice chairman of meVC.-'GCAssor.i. nri S\’.‘{)I(!I\1l)(¥rI Ai]ed 87.

Rear Admiral Anthony Albert Murphy.Joined the RN in 1942 as t'.OSIlIlI|(-J5 onlyrating. Iii 19-1.1 coiiiriiissioriud iii HNVHand served as a radar ott cer at W .rn Appruar. i:-.<.Cninrn.1iid Pro.-nntortto it.llIt‘lII'Il".Iin the e'eclrir.:al I.)l'a'\Cl|. serving 1'! VanguardLintil 19-19; II‘C.'1 I|'|5Ir‘.JCIO’ at Collinqwood.Senior Divisional Otticer I'lSgL.ICll'LI,(Jliatharritlockyard. I3lJ'-'-"ark (Suez or-sis) and NavalAssistiint to recto’ Naval |'|i:<:tricei' di-iiarlmerit. Proriioted to i;ori~iriai-.cer 1960 andappointed Sqi.adron E‘ rical Otticer ll" Yarmouth tKuwai'.i_ /\(lii'ira.1-y Surface WeaperisESIElI_)Il3it."t1E'l‘i18lT(J\r"/‘ESFJOIISElectrical OlticerEagle. Promoted to ciictaiii 196! iii: st.-rvudon the staff 01 Director General Weaipo"-s atBath ii.-‘til 1970 when l‘e was appointed toDr.-lunec: Proeiirc 'nt. C0 of Coilirigwond1973 he was l).'0 cited to Fle.:-irAuiiiir;-i| 1977' 5 Special Projects Dire<;tura1Diri:c1o-

.

era: of Weapors 1977 83 wheri heretired. Aiiqirst 9. Aged 84.

Care ‘Black Sam‘ Dunlap RFA DSO.Went to sea n ‘-939 and '. ' an aripreiiticeiii the Batik Lino sti:p Cedairtiairik in BucriosAves v.ih-an war was declared and he sailedwith her for tiorite thr.-ii. l'i11ri:re M.1r\.ir-‘.I asthird and then second ottice.-_ He volunteeredfo' the HN but as an exper eneed deck ofticer was not released from the Bank triteuntil August ‘.9-13 '\'.'I1F.‘l‘l he ioirti-?d the REA.His tirst ship was Cert:-trtl:ite lorryiiig [)lI lrornthe Gulf to the Syclielli.-s tielcre ruining theDr tisli Pacific Fleet in Sydney She supported the ltWaS|(J|1 pf Cikiriawa and was oneof the lirst ships to enter the newly-.ibera1eclII()l‘.g Kong in 1945. Alter hostilities. he be-came second oltie-3r ot Brov.-ri Ranger andlater coiiiriiriiided the aviatioii lr.'iii‘ing shipEiigadine. In ‘.977 no v.-as appointed Com.niodore oi the RFA and given COtl1'tli.-1t1(I olthe eiewi5.--co-riiiiissioiied Gold Rover: hethen ooriinianded t-cirl Austin throughoiitthe l'alklar1ds War loridecl lI(J'.‘.'|1 with an‘mt.nition. l'él1‘3l‘\Il1g in San Carlos Watercperatiiig Sea Karig helicopters sti.1.rc:tiin_q ‘orsubriiariiies: he was the lust I‘.-’-‘= ‘haul Navyoflicer to win the DS0 sinee ..'or‘d War 7.llonorary ii‘.i,-niher oi the t'lei':'.Air Arm Ollieers' Association. Juiy 1‘/.

Ronald George Edward Dowle. PO (Gunnery ly}. Jo ried lnipregriabie. Devoripcrt1936. Sew-ed in Royal Oak l1.<336ji_ Cforiniis1938 Sll'\i'i\r':t‘.g her si.-ikziig all No ' l°‘tland being r‘ ' "tied by Norwegian :15 qvessel after to r days exuosiire on (Ia"eyfeat in Arctic '.’Zl'.C.'S. Alter lengthy l".’7St'll1aIisatiori serv d in Priiiee C".7tr|G$ ifDiep,'ti.> r:iid19.131. Ar.-cicliie ijfrom uunci 19.13] coiirltictiiigOIIEFSIV9 ri-iinelaying during BPF campaign;rliacmrgeti iiiedical 19-17 t'riiig.'ated to.AUSt(¢'II|EI_ ioirg-sen.-iiig member Balina Sutjilirancli. Rt-,-tirriieil Services l.i:;igiio /.PSl.'rand Glorious. Ardent and Acast;1lGLAFtAC'rASSCCIBI-OD Ai.gi.s'. 6 at Cessnock NSW.Aged Eli’

Cdr Douglas Hunt DSC'. iJO|“.€CI theF’.N\.-llil in 1939 arid served in Reiiowii. partor Force H. Comiiiissioried in 1941 andserved in smali Cratt; in 19-1-1 as a sun reti-[t,'t‘.8‘\I he was Qic 01 M18 83 lariiiiiig ageiitson the D..".cl1 coast whe-i ti -rigaged \'.'.1lian I_‘t1t_'l1‘.y co.-ivoy oft It3(‘5‘ .5-ling, attack-ing he was lrustrated when both torpedoesinislirerl. iii Sl?I)lt-.’t‘t1I)h‘r I11? was the senior ot-ftcer 01 four ti.r.T8s IlgI|Il".g a super or lcrceof a'med trawlers ott Scheveriingen whenthe thin i.-rocidc-ri hull of I115 l\i'.lB 12:15 wassntashed by a 3ii1 sriell. The rirush of watertli.-our_}li the hole iliiuserl the tlariies tiut theruduer was lost. He continued cu-0-diiiaiiiigthe attack while steering by his engines and

siicceeded in torpecloing an armed trawler(it 1.503 yards: he w: .'iwardi.=d El DSC aridl:lar. li119-tbtietcok tJl'lt113l'l(_I cl M18 392and alter becoming senior OIIICG’ at 31st.‘i.l'.T['l t'lot.I|a I‘.<‘ I(‘Il’, in 19-16 to louiid thi::-’v'iTBi‘tvlCiB O‘ 1. rs‘ J\S5OCt£'II‘Ol‘. and he or-iyriiiised ft'!|l|1'[)l‘l5tor the rink! 50 i,-ears. July6 Aged 91.

W01 Coxswain Simon James Slater.Subiiiaririer. Served 19r'4-21308; slartvrtq atGanges as a Junior Assistant Steward -

t).".(I i:‘abs: Periilirokc for his I).'O‘.t. .-..il1r.'.-iiiiiiig their Osprey and Fyle: Dolptiiii forsiit1.'ria.-inr.- training {rated leading Stewart!)in Sparian_ ijiaieri Pol siirvr,-cl in ours and

erb i'Cox5wai:i1raiii.-ii_q at Do1pliiiit.Tire-less. l;i|erlt. Upholder and lratalgar. i'proniot—ea Wt) Coiiisv.-ain]. (‘.5381 WI) (301-is am andRate gt‘. as WOSMS Ai.-rardi-ii! MEEF. tor cori-ce virig. pI3l‘I1‘lIIg arid establisliirig a siil.1riia-rine heritage centre in Paleigh. Retired Aprilaltar :14 years Sl}l'.'|C€. Al-QUSI Aged 50.

Frank Balcombe. AB. Served in Eagle.ti/la".a Convoys (l‘edesta!;i and Vieriria HMSiagle S-.irvii-ors Association Ai_:gust 70Agucl 8)‘

Thomas Henry Freeman. CPO. Lastserved Antrini and at llolphn. Ar.-ijiist 17Aged r’-1

Lt Dennis 'Knocker' White FAA. Served19-15 6:3. Last :‘.er\.-ed as S{.‘CCl1(‘I in COl11|‘l1t‘li".d7539 Naval Air Sqiiarlron at HNAS R.-av.-d-,i inPeri-.Li.-okeseiire August 13 Aged 80

Robert Bryan ‘Buckeye’ ‘Bobby’ Lewis(brother of Smiier t':e'o-.v_i. AB. Served inCorisort lY:‘ii:gs1e and Ko.-(—.-al. '/arittimri andVeryan Bay lS<.iu1ii All;-iiititgji. February 11.Aged 77

William George 'Smi|er' Lewis ijnrotlier orBuckeye aoci.-e]. AB. Served 19-12 ii-itii end01 war ill Loch I_Ui'lt(Jl‘I(I. i-ar l;;ist, iJ’e_'St;‘l1I atthe sigring at Sll|'fEl‘.dt’.r o‘ lolcyo Bay. Pan oflmarrlirig riarty to tow USE? troiii Jrrliore toLie su.-ik. Acgiist 25. Aged 82.

Kenneth ‘Dusli/' Mcllor. ldg StokerSenior! 19:

.1:’) in West liidies I eel.

Carado: an-.1 Meaize-ianeaii Landiiigs ont.C|. Aiigusl 30 Aged 89.

Edward Barry 'Baz' Nixon. L.-S f'>‘oi\ar'i_Serve,-cl 1952-64 at Doipl-.iii and -ii SLlI)lT‘i:1-riries V'i§“(]Lli}td. Aerieas and Otie.-on August72. Aged 71.

Thomas Kallachan Barn. AI 11011) In1ererJGaiiges 1965 and served until 1982 atmany estntilistinieiits and Il“. ll.‘i.1S Lonrtori:was ore oi the last serving HN pL3.’50|1|1-2! toieave Malta pullinri (IDWH the UFIIO“. Jack forthe last time August 20 Aged 58.

John Chapman. torpedo Man. Served194-1 ~16 in t3'.h Destroyer I’ otillrr. Caprice.King George V and Faulkner. Aug-iisi 30Aged 8:1

Mike Fields. (JPE)l\.’iA. Served 1961-83in Gr:-itton_ Intrepid. Minerva and at FINHStoriutiouse. Supti.-riiber r‘. Aged 85.

ROYAL NAVALASSOCIATIONDick Fullord. PO Writi:r. Served 19-lU—

vtfi in Anson and Kent Market llartaoro-ughIltllltljh. July Aged SJ1.

Mick Bogus. Past secretary South Liver-poo. hr'Ql‘.CI1.Jlli\/' 31. Aged 6‘.

Ernie Holtby .Radar o;.i. HMS tsurr:

Sen.-ed 1943-46 in Paci c. Swiftsure asso-ciatioii and chairmrin Scarborriugli HNA past17 yea's. August 15. Agr.-(182.

Lt Cdr R L ‘Ted’ Edwards. Served 1938-6:; lloya‘ liidiari Navy, ltieseiis and AlertSeatorc l.1raneh.Aiigiist5.Ag9d BB.

Bertram Allred Forrest. SAMt FAANuriea brancli. August 13. Aged 80.

Lt ‘Bi|l' Clark. .J:iine<l |l.‘i.‘lS Gaiiqes asa Day 1935: .'iiai'i's time cornriiencecl 15137tiecoriiirig an olticer 19-:6. Served in Poy;-ilSoveri: git. Nelson. Victory. G‘;isgow_ Drake.lftinghan1_ [).i din l-loyal Oak tsiirvivor ofSlllkl 12-. Cu ll1L‘. Triiscziii. Gztiiiti-:1. Sui.-sex. Coll iigwcod. Duke of Ycrk. Terror, Sea1 ar_7‘e. ll:ir‘.l:iririPoint. Hook, Adariiant andtic-iloropiioii. Petirrirl 1969. Prosiricrii Lon»dovderry praricli. August 17. Aged 89.

Gwen Price. toriiier B;isi|d:Jn ti';irich so-cial seeretari,-. August 17. Agr.-rt 7?.

Doris 'Dotti' King, Associate iii-eiiiiierPlyriioutti t.irarich. August 1 1. Aged 85.

Charlie Howell. Served in Word War 9 inHMS Kllllttt-.‘ri|'.’y Oswi,-stry hrriitcli Aiigiisf 8Aged 83.

Peter Wicks. frinton and Walton. August77.

L1 Jim Jarman RNVR. Servers l.oi:hai‘ort.Mediiiu. Armadillo. St Kildti. LBE -19 and 4/during Normandy landings. Author o1 Warlrzwirig n£?(IlJIi' ~: ‘

.‘ [)L!1lt7.ll(:E‘!~‘i ul

barges at Nomi y. Alger ~ Associationand Chishestcr HNA. Audit. 27. Aged 8-1

Mike P Pearson. l.’._ l.‘\./lji Served1948-60 at Ganges and in Co us . ..

I[)Ur1dI£Il1£I. City 01 IlWL'.'tR_'5E- RNA Sep!i_=rr1-her 6. Aged 77.

Paul Cutler. Asseieiate tilt-'..".1I)&‘.l’ i'ei<—Ariiiy]and CC|1‘tt1|IIBelt1E‘t1DE£lSWElf'h;;tt11. Septem-per 1. Aged 72.

THEN JOIN THE ROYA‘ NAVYAND GET MORE FEJbrlloyal Navy Reof oflportunities fr

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To find out more contactT: 08456 07 55 55 ROYAL '.NAVY 5

RESERVESOR VISIT ROYALNAVY.MOD.UKIRNR

Trevor 'Henry‘ Hooper. CPO Siinrn:-mner.Si-rveit 1958-83 |{)li".lllt] at Cuiiirjus and serv-iiig on b'UU'IILif‘.I!(:‘S Astute. Aclierori, Tl‘er-niopolae. Valiant and in later years Hr-r:ii‘se:'lt‘.tI Re-.-eiige I.S§tl:rl crev.-st at lsislaiie; tinallysLibii1ariite stores at Devc-npcrt. PlymouthRNA. Si.-ptciiiner 8 A[.}ed E35.

SUBMARINERS ASSOCIATIONJ D ‘James’ Carter. (3118. Served 1940-54

in subrriarini:-s Cachalot. Thrasher. Supra-no.E-)eanyn‘ph_ Alderney. Tarita’iis. Seascoiit.Sicinn. Ir(:l"C!\(ll1i ano |'a'Cnt Coichestcr.Aged 8/

F ‘Frank' Golding. Ck Served I‘1 SLiI).'l1iI'rin-3 Scythian. I.Ol".GDI'\ braroh.

D C 'Don‘ Lydon. ltvtr. Served 1958 70in siibrnarines Totein, Astute and Osir s.Loi1~don and N. lreiaiid brziiicties. Aged /2.

A M K 'Tony’ Morgan. Al:l CL. Served195-1 57 in siibniarines 1.rad-:-- rid i'PI!,i andAlarii; 15-1 571 Welsh hraneh Agi:-it T6.

ASSOCIATION OF FIN OFFICERSCapt J C Applcyard-List. Served in

Clieviot. I‘./I8.r_yi0|’l. Bermuda. Kent. Merc.iry.C!c<:p;it'.'i arid GIItl110.'gi1t1.

Cdr P T Bryant. Served in Aurora. Nile.Raleigli. Gravelines, Sirius. Tamar. Vigo. Sul-tan. and Victory.

Cdr R L Edwards. Served in Stopford.Berrry Hi.-ad. iliesetis. Niitliatcli. Aiort. Bel-lercption. Backcati. Aphrodite and Presi-dent

Capt J R Gower DSC. S“l'V(:d in 0.101311E.‘l£'ciL]€IIl. Barliaiii_ Stiropsli-re. St Vincent.t‘\|IJury, Bi.-duirirz. Orwell, l;;i:on College.Hightlyer. Del.-oiishre. Presid-:-rit. Diana andGaiiges

Lt Cdr H Walker. 5}-arvecl in Goldciest.Murray. Coliirigwoctl. Lion and President

Cdr l A S W1:-dclerburn. Served in Aiaix.Malabar. Boxer. Dryad, Tyne. Eagle. Terror."lt‘.(I llerori.

ALGERINES ASSOCIATIONSub Lt Robert Prall. Sr.-rvi,-it iii Ossory.

Aged 85.Peter J Tooloy. Oi]. Served in loyalty.

Aged 83.Alan Sweeney. l/S-g Sen-ed in 1 EI|1l‘.0X.

May 31William Peyton. Sig. Served in Marvel.

July ti). Aged (9Fred Potter. Abie Seantari. Served in

Peloriis August 8 Ai_';er.l 87.Thomas Mackie. L180-a Served in

Arcturus and Fly. August 21. Aged 8/.Roy Wilson. Sto.Mecli. Scmezt in Pickle.

August ??. Aged 81.L1 Jim Jarman RNVR. SE:rvi;'d in St K‘I\’IFl.

August 2]’ Aged 84.Flon Chaslon. Std. Served in Nerissa Au-

gust 27. Aged 81.William Mitchell. Wtr. Served in Pickle.

Aiigiist 30 Aged 81.

Sports lotteryAugust 16: i“.i.C-CU -- Mnc M Gagliardini.

4!: Cdo RM: 51.500 - CPOCT D L Fulshaw.RAF n=r_iby-; E500 Lt K A Hurtey. |Vll)l|LJDerriforil.

August 28: 25.000 — LLogs S N Harley.B15 NAS: i."..‘.iU.’J ~ CPOAWT D M Cross.HI‘./S Moritrose; £‘5L.'U — Cdr M Goldthorpe.lll.-‘S Pcoke

August 30: t.‘5.Ct]{] - POMEA J J Farrell.HI‘/S NorlliuriiberlaiidzC1503 — Sub Lt O JShepherd, HMS l:dintJurqti; £‘5(l0 ~ LSA C AFraser-Shaw. NAl 1 Iraq.

September €5,000 - Lt I W Thomson.MWC Portso fl .500 - OMC2 L M Hine.HMS r\.4i3l"CI‘.t'b«B'. E500 — Mne S Town. =10Lido HM

September 13: ' C-[1 MEM2 C WDllIIflQI1(’Il\,I'IMSTrafalgar: 531.500 -- MA1 P JWhitney. HMS L.an.;aster. E500 — MEM D AWilson. HMS Sultan.

October 1968A Russian presence added unexpected realism toa NATO maritime exercise which was taking partfrom the North Sea to the Atlantic coasts. Morethan 100 ships and aircraft of nine nations tookpart in the manoeuvres, which were shadowed bySoviet reconnaissance bombers, in association withseven ships. Nevertheless. the constant surveillancefrom the vessels provided the NATO forces with anexcellent training opportunity.

A Sea King helicopter of 814 Squadron turned intotype of vessel after it ditched in the sea

to HMS Hermes from Plymouth. Amajor gearbox oil leak caused the helicopter to hitthe water. but the skill of the pilot. Lt Keith Dudley,kept the HMS Sea King upright and floating.

a differentwhile returning

HMS Active (pictured right) was called upon toprovide disaster relief in theCaribbeanin thewake ofHurricane Gilbert.The ship's work included clearingdebris, re-roofing buildings. helping restore powersupplies and providing thousandsof hot meals to thedevastated regions.

NOTIGEBOARDENTRIES

I Notices for this page shouldbe brief. clearlywritten or typedand addressed to - The Editor.Navy News. HMS Nelson,Portsmouth. P01 3HH or email:edit@navynews.co.uk.it you aresendingyour notice in via email.please include your full addressand telephone number.I Reunions appear in dateorder. and requests to placean entry in a particular editioncannot be guaranteed.I Please send in Reunions atleast three months [preferablyfour) before the month 01 theevent.I There may be a delay beforeitems appear. clue to the vol-ume of requests.I Entries are free to non-com~mercial organisations. Itemspertaining to commercial work,books and publications forprofit can only appear as paid-for advertising.I The Editor reserves the rightto edit or refuse publication ofsubmitted notices.I Space does not allow usto accept more than one freeinsert. Any subsequent noticewill have to be paid for atadvertising rates.

N.~\VY NI£\V'S. 0(I'I'()BER 2008 3753':NOTICEBOAR 'r -‘

AIND h tin I-II-fifijiilll-'fl1'j"I'I'fkttmfirfiflmkndinflmflflk&—III'I—l§.uR—-—'"—flI.NDjII.‘1F|1flhdabciiffirjjn,Hhhflfi*C..d*Wjflij.T'l'lZ'flI .Ii—IdIIIIIW. ijilyu-.|#pf-jdflfi}-Erlfiflin-dip

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the RFACOULD you use the skills youhave acquired in the Royal Navyin a challenging second careerwith the RFA? The RI-‘A are cur-rently recruiting for the followingspecialisations:

Systems Engineer OfficersWith a minimum of HNC in

Electrical&EleetronicEngineeringor Electronic 8: CommunicationsEngineering, in addition to rel-evant RN experience, yott couldbe a Systems lingineer Officer.

Responsible for electronic sys-tems from navigation to propul-sion, you could be working in anypart of the ship repairing faultsand maintaining equipment tothe highest standard and keepingequipment such as sonar, gunsand rocket launchers operational.

RN Ratings with relevant expe-ricnce will need to pass A113 andattend short courses at BRNC andHMS Sultan.

Medical TechniciansAs art Rl-‘A Medical Tcclinician

you would be responsible for theprovision of all aspects of emer-gency, primary and occupationalhealthcare on board RFA ships atsea worldwide.

You will be used to work-ing alone and unsupervised.Candidates should hold in-date Advanced Life Support.Defibrillation, pre-Hospital Careand First Aid Instructor qualifica-tions. The ideal candidates willbe ex—RN .\-‘ledical Branch SeniorRates.

There may also be openings forqualified Ratings in other branch-es -— deck, engineering,catering orcommunications.

For further information or anapplication form, phone RFARecruitment on 08456 Ol» 05 20or visit ria.mod.uk.

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary’ is anequal opportunities employer.

New Zealand

THE Royal New Zealand Navyis responsible for the maritimedefence of New Zcaland and op-erates throughout the Pacific andSouth Asia.

The .\l-aty is expanding,with sixbrand new ships arriving over thenext [2 months, which means it isrecruiting personnel with currentor previous military experiencefrom the UK right now.

(‘.l’0;\-l'l‘(l’)Tim Clubb joinedthe RNZN last year and is nowserving as a Marine Engineer.

Tim said: “Alter 22 years in theRoyal l\'a\y I needed a new chal-lenge and when I saw the RNZNrecruiting ad I decided to apply."

“The Rt\'Z.\‘ is small in com-parison to the RN, but this makesfor a relaxed atniosphere.

“It’s a much more flexible andfriendly place to work.

“Your opinion, wants and needsdefinitely count for more."

“I am currently posted toHM.\l7.S .-\«l:1nawaItui (picmrcdtibozej. which is a purpose-built div-ing support ship. I have entlorsctlmy qualificationsand am attendingmy Charge Qualifyiiig Course,

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WE ARE CURRENTLY RECRUITING FORTHE FOLLOWING SPECIALISATIONS:SYSTEMSENGINEER OFFICERSWith a minimum of HNC in Electrical 8: Electronic Engineering orElectronic & Communications Engineering, in addition to relevantRoyal Navy (RN) experience, you could be one of our SystemsEngineer Officers. Responsible for electronic systems from navigationto propulsion, you could be working in any part of theship repairingfaults and maintaining equipment to the highest standard andkeeping equipment such as sonar, guns and rocket launchersoperational. RN Ratings with relevant experience will need to passAIR and attend short courses at BRNC and HMS Sultan.

MEDICAL TECHNICIANSAs an RFA Medical Technicianyou would be responsible for theprovision of all aspects of emergency,primary and occupationalhealthcare on board RFA ships at sea worldwide. You will be usedto workingalone and unsupervised. Candidates should hold in-dateAdvanced Life Support, Defibrillation,pre-Hospital Care and First Aid '

Instructor qualifications.The ideal candidates will be ex-RN MedicalBranch Senior Rates.

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Lt Dave Barr also ioinedthe RNZN last year and is theNavigator onboard HMNZSEndeavour.

Dave said: “Since being in .\''ZI‘ve been exploring the NorthIsland: visiting the Bay of Islands,skiing at .\-‘lt Ruepehu and gener-ally having ti fantastic time.

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IN TODAY'S competitive mar-ket. studying for a new skill cangive you the edge. indicate yourcommitment to learning and showyou are taking charge of your owndevelopment,

A level 3 qualification doesmuch to improve promotion andemployment prospects and is anachievementof which you can beproud.

.\-lartin l.adt‘l. formerly acaptain in the Royal Navy andnow director of the Hampshire-based training company BrighterProspects Limited. engaged inthe Skills Accounts project said:“These are the very good reasonswhy people should be opening anSkills Account today.”

The Learning and SkillsCouncil comment that learningsomethingnew could be your firststep towards earning more moneyand opening tip new opportunitiesfor you.

.\-lartin continued: “\‘~.”e wereselected by the Learning and SkillsCouncil to be one of the trainingproviders in the Skills Accountstrial in the south-east of England,

“The Skills Account scheme isrestricted to the south—east regionas a pilot and to certain areas inthe north-west of England too.

“Courses can then be spreadover six to IE months dependingupon your choice of qualificationand flexi-hours learningfrequency.”

Martin added: “The BrighterProspects Limited Partnershipoffers two level 3 specialistqualifications backed up by highquality Pitman Training courses,some of which can be studiedwholly or partially by distancelearning, allowing study ir1—centre,at home or at work."

Just give them a call or e-mailmartin|add@pitman-winchester.co.uk.

FURTHER INFORMATIONThere may also be openings for qualifiedRatings in other branches — deck,engineering,catering or communications.

To find out more or for an applicationform. phone RFA Recruitment on

or email

The Royal Fleet Auxiliary is an equalopportunities employer.

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DO you have experience of marine operations?Looking for your next career move? Interestedin a shore-based management position whichwill exploit your skill base?Then training to become a Harbour Master

could be your next step. Harbour Mastersare a key member of the management teamwithin a port, with responsibilityfor the marinefunctions of ports, terminals and harbours.With at least one harbour master in every

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Martial instructorGREG Alison, former Royal

career as a professional instructor. civilian

Martial Arts Instructor Training GregCourse and following the five-daycourse this is what he had to say.

exceeded my expectations.launching your own martial arts trainingand drilled into you.

The Martial Arts Industry isMarine Commando and now crying out for former Service.-\v‘lctropolitan Police Officer, is people especially Royal .’\-larinesturning a passion for boxing and who can use theirmilitary trainingmartial arts into a new exciting and experiences to teach the

community discipline,Greg hooked up with two team work and fitness and become

former soldiers who run the L2 a role model for their community.commented: “I am

looking forward to working formyself and having the freedom

“I have recently completed the to spend time with my family.L2 Martial arts instructor training Also being ex-military I get thecourse, and I can honestly say it added bonus of being personally

mentored by the two Lees, and“The whole process of getting access to continuation

weekends, adventureschool is systematically explained training weeks and trips abroad

with a networkof ex-militaryguys“It‘s easy to see why the who are all instructors with the

NAVYNEWS, OCTOBER 2008 '39

RESETTLEMENTEm,Your seagoing experience is useful

allowing you to study at your own pace whilstcontinuing your current job.Designed to meet the international

knowledge needs of the modern HarbourMaster it covers all aspects of port safety andsecurity management, the direction of vesselsand recreational craft, supervision of staff, andemergency response.The diploma also trains participants in

today’s pilotage and VTS operations, financialbudgeting as well as the additional daily tasksand challenges faced by Harbour Masters.If you're looking to progress or kick-start

your career in the ports industry, this coursewill fulfil your needs.On successfully completing the course,

participants gain an academically-accredited

diploma. providing an internationally-reeognised qualification.The course is recognised by the UK

Maritime and Coastguard Agency as aprofessional foundation and developmentdistance—learning course, it qualifies for 100Continuing Professional Development pointsfrom the UK Harbour Masters Associationand is also supported by the InternationalHarbour Masters Association, amongst otherbodies.To find out more visit www.

ibcglobalacademycom/hm,or call AlamgirAhmed on +44 (0)20 7017 5804 or emaila|amgir.ahmed@lnforma.com.Quote reference VIP No: L.\-ll09l.-“Navy

News,

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42 NAVYNEWS, OCTOBER 2008

SEA CADETS‘ER

Sea Scoutsare backlI'0llI theWilll8I‘ll8SSSIX Sea Scouts have returnedhome safely after tackling theCanadian wilderness.

The 16 and 17-year-oldmembersof the Knowle grouptravelled to Winnipeg wherethe_v were met b_v the LieutenantGovernor of Manitoba.

The team then headed a longway north to Red Lake, the basecamp from which they paddled1'30 miles through a vast networkof lakes and rivers, includingtreks of more than 25 milesthrough dense woodland.

More than 500kg of kit,including tents, cookers, food andsurvival gear, had to be carried.

No bears were spotted, butmosquitoes and leeches hadtaken their toll by the time thescouts headed back to civilisationand a reception hosted by theLieutenant Governor of Ontario.

Their tour ended with visitsto Niagara Falls, the CNTower in Toronto and Canada'sWonderland theme park.

Apart from ticking the relevantbox for the Duke of EdinburghGold Awards, the expeditionalso included an environmentalimprovement project and thestudy of an ancient pictographsite — pictographs are amongstthe earliest forms of writing.

Bristol unitretainsprized IiurgeeBRISTOL (Avonmouthlunit hasretained the burgee which thecadets won last year — and arenow planning for an even stiffertest next year.

This year’s unit review,undertaken by Lt Cdr AlisonFowler RNR, District Oliicer forthe Avon District, was describedby Bristol CO Lt (SCC) BarbaraHillierRNR as being like aschool's OFSTED inspection.

Bristol held a pennant in 2006,which signifies a place in the top50 per cent of the Corps, butreplaced that last year with aburgee, which marked a step upto the top ten per cent of units.

The unit review included aninspection of the cadets, afterwhich Lt Cdr Fowler and herstalT examined the activities ofthe unit and the promotions andqualifications gained over the pastyear.

The lads and lasses ofTSEnterprise are now lookingforward to a swimming gala,theTrafalgarNight dinner, theFestival of Remembrance atthe Colston Hall in November,and a potential visit to see theBlackpool illuminationsas guestsof the local unit TS Penelope.

O Basingstokeand Deane cadets on their trip down the River Thames

Hiilfll‘Illlll tests BPBWCADETS from theBasingstoke and Deane unitTS Mary Rose have taken acruise down the River Thames— though it wasn’t quite asrelaxing as it sounds.

The sponsored pull provedan interesting diversion fromthe village fairs, school fétes andtraining weekends which thecadets attend in force.

Their journey down theThames from Reading to \‘("indsorover a weekend saw them cover32 miles and traversed ll locks,stopping overnight at the Marlowunit TS Apollo on the Saturdayand being hosted for lunch at theMaidenhead unit on Sunday.

The sponsorship money is still

New X0at CarronPETTY Officer Sean Fraser hasbeen appointed First Lieutenantof the Stonehaven unit.

Previously the Unit TrainingOfficer, Range Officer and FirstAid Instructor for TS Carron,PO Fraser took over from unitstalwart Lt Morag Reid, whoafter ten years as Officer inCharge of Stonehaven and thenFirst Lieutenant has now stooddown.

But that is not the end of herinvolvement with the Stonehavencadets, and she promises she willbe around to play her part.

Meanwhile four members ofstaff and ten cadets were involvedin theNational CombinedRegatta,ensuring that an enviable record ismaintained.

Stonehaven has now representedScotland and North Englandat the‘Nationals’ for a 48th consecutivetime — a record they believe isunmatched by any other unit inthe Corps.

being collected but already morethan [500 has been banked.

KCPO (SCC) Peter juul, theOiC of Basingstoke unit, andPO (SCC) Bruce Wake bothreceived awards from BasingstokeCommunity Forum.

The Special AchievementAwards were presented by theMayor of Basingstoke Cllr GeorgeHood, himself an ex-sea cadet.

The Mary Rose Trust inPortsmouth Historic Dockyardinvited the unit to provide a guardduring the annual memorialservice to those who died whenHenry VIII‘s flagship founderedoff Southsea in 1545.

The Mary Rose was one ofthe most powerful warships inthe world at that time, but shehad undergone major refits andrebuilds throughouther life, whichresulted in design faults.

There is no definitive answer asto why she sank, but it is thoughtthat as she sailed out into theSolent to meet a French fleetshe heeled over in a gust of windand water poured into her lowergunports, which were barely fourfeet above the waves.

The memorial service was heldin Portsmouth Cathedral in thepresence of the Lord Mayor ofPortsmouth.

The Trust then invited thecadets to the Dockyard to visit theship and museum.

Captain toursminesweeper

THE VIP visitor steps aboard your ship just as a mechanicalfault causes total power failure.An exercise maybe?Show thetop banana how you cope in a crisis?

In the case of the former Ton-class minesweeper HMSlveston. it was probably just an age thing.

Whatever the reason. Capt Jonathan Fry. Captain SeaCadets, was able to witness at first hand the can-do attitude

of the Corps as the DMEO oi theold ship. CPO Dickson. slipped offto sort thingsout.

Capt Fry, who providesoperationalleadershiptothecorps,is a serving MEO and professionalhead of the ME sub-branch.

But he never trained aboard theNavy's ‘small ships‘ — and said hewas glad he didn't, looking at thecramped confines of the old ship.

Iveston is now owned by theThurrock unit, while other unitsfrom Essex and beyond also visitfor extensive training.

Capt Fry's visit to Tilbury wasa personal one - though hisprofessional curiosity meant hedid get a good look at the engineroom during a ship's tour withThurrock X0 and MEO Lt (SCC)George Wilson RNR (pictured onleft with Capt Fry).

Not only did Capt Fry say heenjoyed his visit. but he alsovolunteered to return to helpmaintain the ship - an offergratefully received.

He also plans to visit againearly next year when a marineengineering course will be held onthe ship.

ei'"r;..w's;'~e

V

Missingboat isspottedon M62A CHANCE encounter on a

motorway has led to the return ofsome property which was stolenfrom the Sefton unit earlier thisyear.

The unit’s rigid inflatable boatand trailer, 18 canoes, paddlesand spray decks were stolen inApril when thieves forced theirway through a security fenceand metal doors into the cadets‘headquarters.

Last month unit CO AXCPOKen Griffiths SCC was drivingalong the M62 when he spotted afamiliar-lookingboat under tow inthe opposite direction.

He switched direction at thenext junction and followed thedriver for around 40 miles untilthe man, realising he was beingfollowed, drove into a cul—de—sacin the back streets of Manchester.

Ken had already alerted thepolice, who turned up in force tospeak to the driver.

The matter is now in the handsof Merseyside police for furtherinvestigation.

“Aftera quick once-over I foundsome bits were damaged and othersmissing, but nothing that can't besorted," said CPO Griffiths.

"It's just a pity they didn't havemy canoes as well..."

Blackburnstill wait...MEMBIERS of the Blackburnunit will have to continue to meetat a changing room at the localreservoir while plans for a newHQ are pursued.

A report in August's .\-'ut~_v i\'e:e.vtold of an award for unit CO LtGavin Redhead, quoting from thecitation which spoke of a new HQbuilding.

But according to unitmanagement committee secretaryEileen Eastham, plans have beenscuppered by a clause whichgrants planning permission withthe proviso that the proposedbuilding (costing over £100,000)be demolished and the sitereturned to its former state in fiveyears time.

O Bethan Halliday in HMS CIyde's sickbay practisingcannulationon a training arm under the watchful eye of LMA Brown

Bethan sampleslife on the Clyde

MOST students of the FalklandsCommunity College do workexperience in the community;some venture further afield.

15-year-old Bethan Hallidaymade the most of her link withTSEndurance — she has been withthe Falkland Islands unit sincethe age of ten — to undertake workexperience in HMS Clyde.

Although Bethan's family run abakery in Stanley, making logisticsis a possibility,Bethan is interestedin a career as a medical assistant.

After an interview with LtCdr Jonathan Lett, C0 of Clyde,

Bethan’s work experience wasapproved and she joined the shipon a routine six—day patrol.

Bethan spent much of her timewith Clyde’s ‘Doc’, I_..\IiA GrahamBrown, undertaking a variety oftasks, from sickbay administrationto casualty exercises and first aid.

Lt Cdr Lett said: "lt has beena pleasure to have Bethan onboard and she has been a creditto her family, her school and toTS Endurance," adding that herapplication to join the Navy wouldhave his full support.Ship of the Month— p12

Areasclash atExcelnationalregattaTEAMS from the North ofEngland and Scotland travelledsouth to take on the might of theother regions in the Sea CadetsNational Combined Regatta.

And although the resultsdid not necessarily go theirway throughout, the 63—strongnorthern team worked hard tomake their mark at F..\tCel, theconference and exhibition centrein London which is earmarkedas a venue at the 2012 OlympicsGames.

The winning teams were(Northern team in bold italic):Boat pulling:Open Boys:

(Northampton),4th;

Junior Boys:(wallasey),Greenock 5th;

Open Girls: Southern(Salisbury),Greenock 2nd;

Junior Girls: South West (PortTalbot),Peterhead 7th;

Yolez Southern (Ramsey!Littlehampton), East KilbrideSth;

Overall: Southern,Northern 6th.Boathandling:Pulling: North\Vest (Fleetwood),

Stonehaven 3rd;Sailing: North west (Maryport),

Stonehaven oth;Power: SouthWest (Birmingham

Stirling),Peterhead 2nd;Overall: North \VC’estr"South \‘i"est,

Northern —l-th.Canoeing:Open Boys: Northern Ireland,

Northern 2nd;Open Girls: SouthWest,Northern

6th;

EasternPeterhead

North \Vl"estDalbeattiel

Junior Boys: South ‘west,Northern 3rd;

Junior Girls: South West,Northern -lth;Oveaall: South West, Northern7t

.Overall Regatta Winners:SouthW».-st, Northern 7th.Bell Davies Ftace Winners:Northern Area (Cdr Colin

Redstone, Lt Ethel \l(-’ilson, S.-"Lt Adam Ranklin, TraineeInstructor Adam Simpson,Civilian Instructors ElaineAnderson and Jen Hines).

CertificatepresentedMEMBERS of TS Portlandwere on duty to receive a specialcertificate from the Royal BritishLegion.

Cadets from the Winsford,Middlewich and Northwich unitlooked on as the chairman of theW"insford branch of the RBL, t\/lrO'Brian, handed a Certificate ofAffiliation to unit CommandingOllicer PO John Trangmar.

Those who attended includedAC Turner, OC Steele, Lt LloydRNR, PO Long, AC Steele andAC Maddocks.

Internationalcamp IS‘outstanding SUCCESS’AN international cadetcamp has been hailed as an“outstanding success” bythe President of the RoyalNaval Association, SEMJohn McAnally.

The European Naval Cadetsummer Camp was hostedby the UK at Pier Cellars, aNaval facility near Torpoint,under the InternationalMaritime Confederation(IMC) umbrella.

The event, which is hosted bymembers of the IMC in rotation,usually takes the form of a sailingcamp, but this year the RNA,the link organisation in the UK,decided to attempt something alittle more ambitious.

Almost 40 cadets, aged 15-19,from Austria, Germany, France,Belgium, Italy, Ireland and theUK — represented by SandbachSchool CCF and Portrush unit— were given a series of challengesboth on and off the water.

There was the expected; sailingan llm Daler yacht, crewing a12m powerboat and surfing.

They took dinghies and RiBsas far as Plymouth breakwater,while there was also canocing inKingsand Bay.

But therewas the unexpected aswell — rock climbingon Dartmoor,treetop confidence walks and avisit to the distinctive biomes ofthe Eden Project.

Visits to Dartmouth and toDevonport, where the cadetstoured H.\-‘IS Portland and amodern submarine, covered theRN dimension, and in the eveningsthere were inter-team sports, filmsand a chance to chat.

The weather could have beenbetter — “does it rain every day

0 Northampton and Wellingborough cadets afloat on the Firth ofForth

O Cadets from the European sailing camp try out surfing (the wave has gone now, lads) and canoeing(ab0 we)in England?" was a common a dull moment.

“There were a large number of

NAVYNE\X/S, OCTOBER 2008 -13

SEA CADETS%~—_ Pictures: Nigel Huxtable

airports to Paddington station.

s“aAgmmday withS3 GreatBritainCADETS from Cardiff, alongwith P0 Allison \Vl"ard and TraineeInstructor Sue Griffiths, havevisited SS Great Britain in Bristol.

Their trip to Bristol wassomething of an adventure inits own right, including trains,river ferries and a ride in one ofthe Welsh capital’s new ‘bendybuses‘.

Once in Bristol’s HistoricDockyard the cadets exploredthe ship from the keel upwards,comparing first-class and steeragecabins and peering into the hold.

The ship includes a number ofvignettes of everyday life aboardthe steamship in her heyday,including the birth of a baby, asurgeon conducting an operation,first-class passengers relaxing inthe lounges and soldiers tendingto their horses on their way to theCrimean War.

During a talk on Victorianetiquette, cadets demonstratedtheirskillsby folding table napkinsinto the Bishop’s Mitre and Rose,much to the delight of the stewardconducting the talk.

The Welsh cadets also metIsambard Kingdom Brunel himself— well, that’s who he claimed hewas, anyway — and the great mananswered their questions aboutthe ship which he designed, his lifeand the fashions of the day.

SS Great Britain was atechnological marvel when shewas launched in Bristol in 1843.

The 300ft—l0ng ship, whichdisplaced over 3,000 tons, wasbuilt with an iron hull and screwpropeller, and was powered by ahuge l,()00hp steam engine.

Her maiden voyage to the USsmashed the existing transatlanticspeed record, and by the time shewas abandoned in the Falklandsin1937 she had clocked up almosta million miles, many of them onthe long voyages between the UKand Australia.

She was salvaged in 1970 andbrought back from the SouthAtlantic to Bristol.

Laura is atrailblazerEX—LC Laura Church, of theChelmsford unit, has written hername into the Corps history booksby becomingthe first winner of theEngineering Achievement Cup.

The trophy was presented to themarine engineering specialisationquestion, as there was only one

dry day during the camp.But the sun shone on VIP

visitors day, when there was achance to walk along the coastto Rame Head and later watcha spectacular display on the firstnight of thePlymouthinternationalfireworkcompetition.

S/M McAnally said the groupswere picked from across thenations, whereas in the past theyhave been made up of nationalblocs, and the wide range of

leaders, all CCF, RN and ex-RV,and theywere a wonderful crowd —»

natural leaders and brilliant at it,"said Sr".‘\«l .\lcAnall.\-'.

The IMC aims to promoteand maintain maritime traditions,safety requirements at sea and tostimulate in youngsters an interestin maritime careers.

And it fell to the RNA toorganise the camp, from creatingthe comprehensive programmeof events to personally escorting

“The camp would not havebeen possible without the activeco-operation of the RN, which wegot in spades," said S.«".\-I .\lcAna|ly.

He added that the facility—- PierCellars was originally a pilchardfishing port before being taken upby the Navy — was an ideal venuefor such a camp.

“The idea was to make itdifferent, and I t.l1ink that's whatI liked most," said RNA GeneralSecretary S/M Paddy McClurg.

"I have a feeling they might ask

by Lt Cdr (SCC) Don BriggsRNR on his retirement.

Laura won the cup, to beawarded annually to the SeaCadets achieving the best gradesin the BTEC First Diploma inEngineering (Maintenance) atHMS Gannet, during her worktowards a BTEC last year.

Laura, who is now on a workexperience programme as anengineer in Devonport, achieveda distinction for her efforts at

activities ensured there was never groups

III the S03 (and harbour, l‘lllSl'OFFSHORE, Coastal, estuarine, inland— give the cadets of Northampton andWellingborough unit a patch of water andthey will successfully sail across it.

LC Josh Falconer and AC William Marrablespent a week at sea with the offshore yachtTS Leopold Muller, based in \\'I'alton-on—the-Naze.

Apart from having a fantastic time andvisiting several po1'ts, the pair achieved RYAOffshore Competent Crew awards andnavigational skills training.

Cadets had the choice of two differentsummer camps this year.

A group of 11 travelled to Portsmouth fora week on board HMS Bristol as part of theEastern Area camp, taking part in waterborneand land-based activities alike — everythingfront power boating and pulling to first aid andpolishing up their cooking and stewarding skills.

They were joined from cadets from overseas,giving them a great opportunity to make new

IICYOSS London from us to do it again..."

friends and to sample life on a Royal Navy ship,albeit one which never leaves the jetty.

For the unit summer camp at HMSCaledonia there was a party of 13, who wentboating out of Port Edgar under the shadow ofthe Forth Bridges.

fvlore experienced cadets went on a daysailing trip to achieve their RYA Day sailingmodule — the first time that the 'boaty‘Northampton cadets had completed a daysail and they have really been bitten by thebug.

So great was the impact that a number ofcadets are already planning to return to theFirth of Forth for their Duke of EdinburghSilver expedition next May.

Others in the group tried their hand atboating at sea — very different to their time onthe River Nene back home.

As a result they added coastal endorsementsto their qualifications in powerboating anddinghy sailing.

Gannet.

andlakelThe main camps were supplemented by

sailing weekends at the regional boating facilityat Thrapston, where cadets were also able toimprove their windsurfing techniques.

Shoreside activities were just as prominentfor some.

Two of the oldest cadets, POC Chris lhmcand LC Kerry \"0'i|son, attended :1 course atHMS Nelson to complete their three-yeartraining plan towards achievingtheir PTI FirstClass qualification.

This is the first time in 18 years that cadetshave achieved this award in the Eastern Area,and this achievementwas the last before Chrisjoined the Royal .\’avy last month.

Chris, Navy Board Cadet for 2008, said:“The PT was hard work, but all the effort wasworth it and put me in a fit condition to jointhe Royal Navy.”

And Wellingborough cadets still managedto find time over :1 busy summer to move intotheir new HQ at Rushden.

44 NAVY Nl~'.\‘("S, OCTOBI-ZR 2008 O POC James Fleardon

It's (nearly)all changeat SuttonColdfieldThere is a new look about themanagement team at SuttonColdfield where a number of keyposts have been up for grabs in thepast few months.

In the first part of the year newCO, John Bradley, took over fromGary Truelove although Johnhas been connected with the unit,as a cadet and staff member, [hrabout ~10 years.

Gary, who was at the head ofTS Sutton Coldfield for ten years,moved on to a new challenge asDistrict Oflicer for Wttrwicksliire.

The unit also has a newchairman, a new vice chairmanand a new training officer.

But there is no chance ofcadetsbeing affected by any disruption —

the unit remains competitive whenup against other units.

A team of Sutton Coldfieldcadets recently returned fromthe National Band Competitionat Plymouth, where they finishedrunners-up. just one point behindthe winners.

Unit teams also topped the pilein district regattas for canoeing.boating,drill and piping, and nineout of the 2-l—strong South \\'-'estArea winning team in the canoeingand boat—handling competition inthe National Combined Regattacame from Sutton Coldfield.

And a member of the unit,POC James Reardon, was chosento go on an international exchangeto Hong Kong in August withthree colleagues from other partsof the UK.

SEA CADETS

Tony ensures cadetsenjoy Sate Returns

RAIDERS in fast boatslaunchedan attackon a coastalinstallation in Lancashire.

They were due to rendezvouswith their mothership inMorecambe Bay when theywere spotted by defenders wholaunched an air strike.

The enem_v hit backand a strickenair crew had to be rescued.

But peaceable Lancastriansneed not have worried, as theattack was part of a mock exercise— the largest of its kind in the UK— involving air and sea cadets fromacross the cottntry.

Exercise Safe Return is thebrainchild of Sea Cadet officer LtTony Smith.

Tony has just completed his

llth annual exercise and, whilehe claims each year will be hislast — he is now 6'') years old I one

suspects the 2000 event is alreadybeing planned.

“As soon as one exercise finishesI make a start on the next one afew weeks later," said Tony. “Ittakes about a year to put together.

“It’s a tremendous amount of

O Hinckleyunit provides thehonour guard at the funeral of Lt (SOC) John Mapletoft

Last PBSIIEBIS lflI' Sllfllllfllll‘lBIIll.\illiMBERS of Hinckley unithave bid a sad farewell to one oftheir longest—serving shipmates, :1stalwart officer who has died atthe age of 83.

Lt (SCC) John .\-lapletoft RNRhad been with the Leicestershireunit since 1973, and even in his

0 There were two causes for celebration at the Norwich unitover the summer. Around 50 family and friends were joined bycadets at the unit’s HQ. TS Lord Nelson, to see the christeningof Jack. the son of First Lieutenant Lt Mark Janner Burgess andhis partner Lynsey (above). The ceremony was performed by RevJames Mustard, the former ships chaplain, and following Navaltradition Jack’s name was en raved on the ship’s bell, whichwas upturned to act as a font. n theadmin front, promotions tohigher rank are not ten a penny, so to find three in one month in aunit is not bad going. Sisters Madie and Georgie Frary were ratedL/Cdt at the units Royal Naval Parade, together with S/Lt SallySpinks (all threepictured below), who gained her commission onher 21st birthday. Sally is the youngest memberof staff to haveachievedofficer status in theunit’s 96-year history

later years he rarely missed aparade.

The unit was honoured by hisfamily, who asked whether TSAmazon could play a role in thefuneral service.

And Hinckley was glad toprovide an honour guard and pall-bearers for the funeral.

Commanding Officer Lt(SCC) Neil Hartwell R.\lR saidof Lt .\-‘lapletoft: “John was an

llnit thankedfor shoeboxcontribution.\-MEMBERS of the Altrinchamand Sale unit have been thankedfor their efforts in providingshoeboxes filled with items forchildren in West Africa.

Capt \‘4-'a_vne Keble wrote to thecadets as HMS Albion.sailed fromSierra Leone to Gibraltar.

According to Albion‘s CO:“Sierra Leone was a humblingplace, very beautifulwith fabulousbeaches,but with a lot of poverty,and the countr_v is still recoveringfrom the ci\-'il war."

He spoke of the projects inwhich theship's company had beeninvolved, from the reconstructionof schools and clinics to repairingfacilities such as a chimpanzeesanctuary.

“The shoebox appeal was verysuccessful. \Ve ended up with 500shoeboxes, and these were donatedto six schools," he said,

“They ranged from the JewelModel Preparatory School, madeofsticks but withgood educationalmaterial, to Paola CommunityPrimary School, with overcrowdedmud rooms and precious little inthe way of facilities.

“ln all the schools the childrenwere extremely grateful for theslioeboxes and we managed toensure that each child was giventheir own box."

inspiration to all the staff andcadets in the unit.

“He was one ofthelast membersof the Sea Cadet Corps who sawactive service in \‘¢‘orld War 2.

“He would keep both cadetsand staff entertained with hisstories of his wartime exploits,and also his time with HinckleySea Cadets.

“John was something veryspecial and will be sadly missed.“

work, but it's very satisfying whenit all Comes together."

Tony and his team of cadetsset up a rescue centre at theFleetwood Nautical Campus on:1 balmy summer morning fromwhere the‘good guys’ co-ordinateda response to the mock attack.

.\-‘lore than 50 cadets took partin Safe Return, along with adultinstructors, and so tireless wasTony in pursuit of realism that hemanaged to persuade the Forcesto contribute seven aircraft.

One of the highlights was whenat Nimrod from RAF Kinlossscoured the Bay for raiders, whileRN Lynx and Sea King helicopterswinched ‘survivors‘ from thepatrolboats Blazer and Charger.

The scale and complexity of theexercise is down toTony's tenacity.The retired teacher has spent thepast 20 years working with the aircadets and, latterly,Sea Cadets.

“Over the years I’ve made agreat many contacts and madesure I kept in touch with people,"he said.

“I also plan everything verymeticulously so that the people Iask for favours don‘t have to domuch work v- they know everythinghas been properly cleared.

“I just think I’ve been verylucky over the years in gettingthe assets l have — and I’m verygrateful.”

He reserves his greatestpassion not for the militaryhardware, however. but forthe cadets.“They are getting experiences

they would never get anywhereelse," he said.

“I also feel that life should befun. Going on this exercise willmake them feel ten feet tall.

“\’s'-‘lien they do something likethis in the public eye it reallyswitches them on and they raisetheir performance."

The exercise was thecentrepieceof a week—long training course atthe Sea Cadet Training Centre atInskip, near Preston.

Other military assets involvedin Safe Return were two ArmyAir Corps Lynx. an Army Gazelleand Tutor aircraft from Number10 Air Experience Flight at RAF\‘k"ooclvalc.

O Abingdoncadets on board theCNS Almirante Condell

llhingtloncadets JlllllIIBW ll‘l!I3tEC.-\I)l-1'I‘S from the Abingdonunit were invited to spend a daywith a new Chilean frigate — andlearned some of the harsh realitiesof working at sea.

The Type 23 frigate CNSAlmirante Condell — formerlyI-l.\-IS Marlborough has beenundergoing sea trials following herrefit in Portsmouth, and was dueto undertake a day trip across theChannel.

As the Abingdon unit goes bythe name ofTS Marlborough — arellection of their affiliation withthe ship in its RN days — it seemeda good idea to invite some of theunit along for the day.

Ten cadets and two membersof staff sailed with the ship fromPortsmouth on a stormy morning,and the gale-force wind ensured:1 steady trickle of visitors to thesick bay as nml de um" set inlong before the frigate sighted theFrench coast.

During the ten-hour voyage thecadets were given tours of the shipand shown around the bridge andhelicopter, in between bouts ofscasickncss.

Their return home brought afurther problem in that a tugboatscheduled to shepherd the frigatein was not available, and thevisitors were facing the prospectofa rough night at sea.

But Capt Cruz, Comandante ofthe Condell, managed to arrangefor a pilot boat to collect thecadets and deliver them ashoreat 0pm.

The unit made many friendsduring the trip, and has promisedto keep in contact with the shipand her crew.

llflfi ‘I53 O The Barrow-in-Furness Sea and Marine Cadet Band perform on PlymouthHoe

Barrow prove to be the bestTHE Barrow-in-FurnessSea andMarine Cadet Band has won t.hetitle of the UK‘s best traditionalSea Cadet drttm and bugle bandat the national competition.

This was the first time that TSSovereign, representing the North\'\'-’est of England,had competed ata national level, taking on bandsfrom four other areas who wereexperienced regular competitors.

The band delivered a stunningten—minute marching and musicalperformance, where they wereassessed on dress. deportment,technical ability and level ofentertainment for thelarge audience

amassed on Plymouth Hoe.The band was led by Drum

Major LC Sam Greenway,who proudly wore a new sash,sponsored by the Barrow branch ofthe SubmarinersAssociation and alocal businessman, which arrivediust before the competition.

Delighted Bandmaster Lt JasonZaccarini said: "The hand wentwith no expectation other than tocompete, deliver an entertainingperformance and to learn fromthe experience of watching andcompeting against the other bandsin the competition.

"The performance that the

cadets delivered was fantasticand they [rul_\‘ are a credit tothemselves, their unit and to thetown of Barrow.

“To come away as the winners ofthe UK's best traditionaldrum andbugle band was an added bonus.“

Membersof the unit also helpedwelcomed one of TV's ‘HairyBikers‘ back to his home town.

Dave Myers, who with SimonKing is currently starring in theBBC series Hairy Bakers", returnedto Barrow as he was involved in anarts display at the Forum 28 artscentre, and the cadets were askedto play a fanfare for the occasion.

ON AN early spring dayin 2006, VIPs, top brassand a fair smatteringof journalists andphotographers musteredon the standings at RAFCottesmore.

Tagged on theend ofa charmingRutland village, the base is thearchetypal inter-war airfield withits red—brick buildings and hugehangars.

Today it would \vitnessan historic event. RAF 3(F)Squadron would tlecommissiontheir Harriers and take charge oftheir new 'bird', the EurofighterTyphoon.

That was what the bigwigs andpress had come to see — most ofthem at any rate. But after theRAF had enjoyed its moment inthe sun, the Fleet Air Arm steppedup to the mark.

It too would recommission thatday with ‘new’ aircraft, Harriers,yes, but not the fighter with itsdistinctive blacknose cone. insteadone with a rather elongated frontend.Thus began a ne\v era in navalaviation the days of air defencewere past. the days of close airsupport dawning.

It was a dawn not necessarilywelcomed. The demise of theSea Harrier was —- and remainsin many circles —- a controversialsubject, but it could have been somtich worse,

\'C’ith the fighter's daysnumbered, the l\'a\y pumpedmoney into the RAF Harrierprogramme rather than try toextend the life of the FAA jumpjet. It was, believes Cdr Adrian‘Ade' Orchard, lirst commanderof the newly re—formed 800 NavalAir Squadron, the right decision.

“II the Royal Navy hadn’t takenthis route, the retirement of theFA2 wouldn't have merely markedthe end of an era, but could alsohave spell the end of naval fixed-wing aviation."

Ade Orchard was among thefirst Sea Harrier men to crossto the ‘dark side‘ anti fly theRAF‘s bomber variant, flyingmissions over Iraq during the2003 campaign. It was, he says,“a defining moment in my flyingcareer".

He continues: “I suddenlyrealised that with the right gear —

and even then I believed that theGR’/' was the right gear — youreffectiveness on the battlefield wasjust immense.”

So the king is dead, long live theking.

The new king had a new domain.no longer the endless expanse ofthe ocean, but the mountains andsteppe ofAfghanistan.

In the autumn of 2000, Orchardled his naval air squadron into theline of fire over Kandahar andHclmand.

It marked the end of a longroad as Sea I-Iarrier pilots andSea Harrier engineers became‘plain' Harrier pilots and Harrierengineers with the GR7, the RoyalAir Force's bomber model of thefabled jump jet.

And to understand the GR?meant spending time with theRAF. A lot oftime.

There is, as you’d expect. plentyof banter with the Crabs as the_vare the other half of Joint ForceHarrier.

The Crabs steadfastly stick toRAF banter, even at sea: officers’mess (wardroom), boat (ship),bed (bunk). And as for the cabinsaboard our Harrier carriers, wellas one squadron leader fumed,“Luckily I haven‘t brought a catwith me because there was sod-all room to swing one.” (He has apoint—Ed.)

Banter aside the two Services

0 Self portraitat 35,000 feet...Cdr Ade Orchardin his Harrier overAfghanistan

With the Naval Strike Wing back in Afghanistan, the first Fleet Air Arm Harrierpilot to lead his fliers in Kandahar, Cdr Adrian Orchard, has charted thatgroundbreakingdeployment in Joint Force Harrier: The Inside Story of a RoyalNavy Fighter Squadron at ‘War (Penguin, £16.99 ISBN 978-0-178-15399-1)

remain proud oftheirheritage andtheir distinctly different ways ofworking —- and matelots no moreenjoyed extended periods in thepresence of the Crabs than vicet'cr.tt2. “If I'd wanted to work forthis length of time rui'I.': the RAF,I'd have joimsii the bloody RAF."one chiefcomplained.

Ade Orchard understands suchsentiments — but he also lives inthe real world.

“People just had to accept thatdespite the apparent separationinto light and dark blue, allHarrier pilots were now part of ajoint force. For some, that was abitter pill to swallow.”

There were bigger issues thanRAF»'RI\' rivalry at stake -- the livesof Allied troops on the ground inAfghanistan for a start.

RN jets hadn't beeninvolved in a campaign likeAfghanistan since Suezhalf a century before.The work—up theyhad alongside the AirForce proved invaluable,but heading to Kandahar Orchardknew that he and his men wereunder :1 great deal of pressure todeliver the goods.

“Any unit deploying to the frontline for the first time is underthe spotlight," he writes. “Ourperformance would be closelyscrutinised."

And no man or woman in800 NAS heading to Hclmandunderestimated their foe. TheTaleban are not "just a bunch ofreligious nutters wearing outdoorpyjamas and black turbans,waving copies of the Koran andcarrying Kalashnikovs". They arewarriors, Orchard observes, withno “apparent fear of death — they

just don't give up“.That does not, of course, mean

that they cannot be killed.\\'/henever pinned down by

insurgents, Allied troops wouldcall for air support to suppress theenemy — which invariably meant800 NAS.

This is not a tale of gung-hopilots wanting to lay waste to greattracts of Afghanistan. These arenot men who “love the smell ofnapalm in the morning". Often, aloud ‘boo’ would suffice.

"Sometimes," Cdr Orchard sayssuccinctly, “it was just El questionofscaring them shitless."

And that meant “a low—levelshow of force“, roaring overTale b a n positions. I.40\'a'-ICVCI runs

pose particular dangers,chiefly the terrain, sometimesthe enemy taking potshots at thejets. Otherwise, however, theexperience was rathersurreal.

“Contrary to both popularbelief and the images so dear toHollywood, the world does notrush past in a blur when you’reflyingan aircraft fast at low level,"the authorpoints out.

“\V"e can see rugs and washinghanging on lines, kids runningaround, the locals doing whatthey're up to, and almost countthe numberof animals.”

And sometimes a ‘bark‘ must be

followed by a ‘bite’.Over one Taleb-an position,

Orchard unleashed a 5~l0lb ‘airburst’ bomb — it blows up abovethe target.

“As the shockwave spreadout at the speed of sound, thefireball sucked in the air from thesurroundingsky," the Harrier pilotobserved.

And then it seemed that theenem_v was striking back, firingground—to-air missiles at thepassing jets. 0rchard’s RPM gauge“spun like the wheels of a fruitniachine“ as his jet powered awayfrom the danger zone, deco_v flaresspinning out of the belly ofthe Harrier.

As it turned out, therewere no enemy

missilesOrchards bomb had

malfunctioned and detonatedprematurely.

It could have brought down thejet; it could also have explodedover the Allied troops by accident.It didn't. It killed six out of seveninsurgents who had been pinningdown the friendly forces.

Or, in the clipped chatterbetween ground controllers andfliers: ‘Your BDA is six KIA.’ Yourbattie damage a.<.<e.mm'ni is six kt'Hca'in action.

\V’ar to Fleet Street and thenews editors in the ivory towersof 24-hour news channels is black

NAVYNEWS, OC'I'()BER 2008 45~37.‘REVIEW-

‘The war was very real’

and white and ‘friendly fire’ is aneasily—avoidableblunder.

Except that war is more greythan black and white. It doesn’ttake place in the safety of aLondon office, where mistakescan be eliminated with the clickof a mouse button or hitting the‘delete’ key.

War is a melting pot of fear,terror, anxiety, relief, exhilaration,life-and-death decisions in theblink of an eye. It is rarely clear-cut.

On a night flight over Kandahar,Ade Orchard and his wingmanescorted a ground convoy throughthe darkness.

The troops were becomingincreasingly agitated. They spokein increasingly clipped tones onthe radio. convinced their slow-moving column would be attackedby a suicide bomber.

A truck zig-zagged through oneof Afghanistan‘s towns. The navalaviators called it in. The troopstook up position and threw downa wall of tire in front of the vehicle,which quickly turned around andscarpered.

“It might have been the suicidebomber,’ Ade Orchard

observed from above, “orperhaps it really was just a

lost delivery driver whowould at the very least

have needed to go homeand change his trousers."On the other side of town,

the fliers spied somethingburning,a disc rotating wildly, in flames.They dropped down for a closerinspection.

“It looks like somebodyswinginga burning tyre round on the end ofa rope,“ Orchard radioed.

It was. The locals werecelebrating Bid, the festival atthe end of the holy month ofRamadan.

“It was just another reminderto all of us that just because abloody war was being fought inthe country, life for most of thelocals carried on pretty much asnormal."

Win Joint Force HarrierWE have ten copies of Joint Force Harrier to give away thanksto those nice chaps and chapesses at Penguin books.

To be in with a chance of winning, name the naval air station which was the home of the Sea Harrier for more than a quarterof a century.

Send your answer to Joint Force Harrier Competition, Navy News, LeviathanBlock, HMS Nelson. Portsmouth P01 3HH. oremail it (with your contact details) to jolntforceharrler@navynews.cc.u|t

We must receive your entry by mid-day on Monday November 10 2008. Normal Navy News competition rules apply andthe editor’s decision is final.

This is the reality of Helniandfor men in the air and men onthe ground. The innocent can

appear suspicious, the suspiciousinnocent. A crowd of peoplegathering might be the insurgentsmassing for an attack... or localsvisiting the village market.

Tales of aerial combat, dogfightsand the like, are often ratherdulleron paper than they are in the skies,“I shot down this plane, then Ishot down another..."

joint Fort‘: Harrier is as muchunit history as it is memoir; it’sabout all the men and women whoheaded to Kandahar.

And that is a good thing. Fornot only does it show that it takesa real team effort to support thehandful of‘aces',but it also allowsfor some good dits (or anecdotesif you prefer Crab speak) on theground, as well as in the skies.

Despite all that talk of jointery,the naval fliers quickly gave theirbase :1 nautical flavour.The BattleEnsign was raised, a blast walladorned with a rather large \\'/hiteEnsign and Harriet, a warning signposted on the ups room door ~ ‘Donot enter, here be sea dragons‘,and (best of all), a mock carrier V-

I-IMS Kandahar — erected in frontof an air shelter, complete with skiramp.

Such refinements weren't theonly taste of home: the Britishgalley served up “good old Britishfare" — chicken tikka masala,treacle sponge, spotted dick andjam roly-poly. (The Americandiner, by contrast, offered lesswholesome fare, chiefly out of aFreezer, and always accompaniedby ‘freedom fries’ — chips.)

Kandahar offers a few modcons — Burger King and Subwayfast food stores and a string ofcoffee shops (operating out ofcontainers) — and daily dangers,courtesy ol"l‘aleban rocket attacks.The ground crews were in thefront line every bit as much as thepilots.

These barrages also createdextra work for the naval aviators,for after each attack the runwayand dispersal areas were litteredwith shrapnel which had to becleared by the FOD plod.

And for all the technology, forall the guided missiles and laser-targeting, the night vision goggles,the jet engines, many things haveremained unchanged since thefirst naval aviators earned theirwings a century ago.

“No matter how hard anyonetrained or practised, the thoughtthat on every sortie there was agood chance that your actionswould result in the deaths ofmaybe dozens of human beings ina split second was sobering in theextreme,“ writes Orchard.

“For every single person in thesquadron, the war in Afghanistanwas very real."I Proceeds from Joint ForceHarrier will be split between theForces charity Combat Stressand the Royal Navy HistoricFlight

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-lo NAVY .\IE\‘t"'S. OCTOBER 2008

Lucy’s sixth senseLNN Lucy Norimtn (pibiiii-all abut-c) stepped up a notch to take part inone of the UK’s most gruelling endurance events - the ironman.

Lucy, a psychiatric nurse at the community mental health departmentin Portsmouth l\‘aval Base, is already an accomplished athlete in theRN’s triathlonand cycling teams.

lronman is a ‘super triathlon’ — 2.~l—mi|e swim, ll2-mile bike rideending with running a marathon.

Some 1,600 competitors gathered in the Dorset town of Sherborne forthe 2008 championships; the leading hand took part principally to raisemoney for numerous charities (I.eukaemia Research, air ambulance,MacMillanCancer Relief, and youth/"sports projects in the UK).

But the 29-year-old also posted some impressive times (lh 13m 01s inthe water, ()l'I 39m is on the bike and -lh ‘Sm (is for the marathon)whichgave her 350th place overall and sixth place in her age group.

VIIIlI' HNFA IIBBIIS VIIIITHE new football season is now well undemray and the firstmonth or so has been spent with RN team managers looking todevelop theirsquads.

Of course, FINIFIM teams of all standards will beoptimisticallylooking forward to success and we really hope that everyoneen'oys thecoming season.a senior team's first game of the season will be a friendly

against theCivil Service at Burnaby Road on October2. Lastlyin this general introduction, if there are any budding ioumalistsout therewith an interest in Navy football, I am looking for somehelp with RNFA Comms work - nolhin too onerous, and thereare perksto thejob. Please ring me on 1225 467543.

In addition to thearea trials held during September,thecunentFlo at Navy U23 and U18 football coaches are always on theI out for players with the ability,attitude and commitment torepresent the RN at theseage groups.The U23s lay throughout theseason against opposition suchas England hools, culminating In the Inter-Services versus theArmy and RAF.

The U183 play in theSouth East counties Cup and the DallasCup (Texas,U in April; to be eligible to play for the U18s youmust have been rn after August 1 1989.

Detailsfrom W01 Steve Rule 93825 2510 or LtCdrJohn Gordon93825 5105 for theU23; CPO FraserQuirks9380 25552 and CFOPaulWilletts 9380 25871 for theU18s.

During theclose season, HMS Westminsterpaid a short visit toChennai (formerlyMadras),when membersof theship’s footballteam helped out at a local omlianage.

Balagurukulam Orphanage provides abandoned and deprivedchildren with adequate shelter. food, medical facilities andeducation.

The care and attention given to thechildrenby thehardworkingstaff was plainly evident to the team, who felt privileged to beable to help out for theafternoon.

0 Go ahead, make my day... A competitor takes aim during the final day at BisleyShoot to thrillCORPORAL Jim Bloomis the ultimate marksmanin the Senior Service —

as he demonstrated infront of a clutch of seniormilitary and defencefigures.

The final day of the prestigioustri—Service Combat ShootingCompetition at Bisley saw thetop shots in the Forces aiming totake home the Queen’s Medal.including the green beret.

It marked the climax of eightdays of first-rate marksmanshipat the home of shooting, whichsaw all participants challengedunder conditions that any sailorwould find it hard to experienceelsewhere.

A training week preceded thecompetition, the event propersaw each command team of 12competing for I3 trophies, whilethere were 19 individual titles upfor grabs including the coveted

0 Bloom with a view... Cpl Jim Bloom, top marksmanin the SeniorService, is honoured by comrades

Pictures: LAiPhoiJ Alex Cave. FRPU Easi

“The association continues toensure that its events, exercisesand competitions are focused onimproving an individual’s skillsin the use of small arms, andadvancing their marksmanship,"explained Lt Liam ‘Dickie‘ Byrd(HMS Gloucester).

“That helps to maintain andimprove operational capability atthe grassroots level."

2008 has been a busy year forthe association, but there is yetmore to come.

Under the Chief-of—Stafl'(Capability)‘s newl_v-releasedmarksinanship directive, theAssociationnow has a reinvigoratedplan for the future of advancedcombat shooting training.

This directive also saw therecentestablishment of the much neededRN MarksnianshipTrainingTeam(RNiVlT'T) who have workedclosely with the association todeliver the required training to theSenior Service.

Que-en‘s Medal (:1 signal was sentout last month with a full list ofwinners).

The latter medal is awardedto one member from each of thethree Services under the Queen'sWarrant and is the only militarymedal awarded for a military skill-SCI.

Having shown a special interestin the work of the RNRM RilleAssociation over thepast year, FirstSea Lord Admiral Sir JonathonBand was keen to witness thestrides made in combat shooting.

He wasn’t the only one: other

VIPs included Shadow DefenceSecretary Dr Liam Fox, head ofthe Army General Sir RichardDannatt,ChiefofStaff(Capabi|ity)Rear Admiral Philip Wilcocks,Deputy POST Cdre NickLambert, Head of the MaritinieW-’arl'are School Cdre Steve Kirby,Commanding Officer of RNASYeoviltonCdre Chris Palmer, andfinally the association‘s honoraryvice president David Gosling.

All the VIPs received a briefingon the Rl\‘-RMRA‘s year so far,and a progress report on theimplenicntation of Cliief-of-Staff

(Capabi|ity)‘s marksmanshipdirective.

'lliey then witnessed thetri-Service final and met themost important element of thecompetition — the sailors andmarines.

The business of advancedcombat shooting is primarilvmanaged by the RNRM RifleAssociation on behalfof Fleet withtheprincipal objective ofdcliveringadvanced marksmanship trainingwith the 5.56 (or SA80 in morecommon parlance) and 9mmpistol to the RN and the Corps.

The focus has already switchedto the 2009 shooting season andthe support required from all COsto make a success of the variouslevels of free combat shootingtraining offered by the RNRMRAto all Fleet units.

The Area Skill-at-ArmsMeeting (SAAM) competitionsignals will be distributed in duecourse, explaining how ships,unit and establishnient teams canL'l'l[L‘I'.

Mtire details from W.rnrmra.org, or from Lt Byrd oncorporate@RNFtMRA.org.

TheWestminster team. led by LtGlennGerman and CPO(MEM)‘Snakey'Blake, handed out new Englandfootball kits provided bytheFA and RNFA and theirDefence Diplomacyprogramme.Every child was given a shirt and a football, along with sweetsand so ool equipment. "The childrenwere eager to get into theirnew kits and show off theirskills,”said LtGerman.

’ N

Onside with Capt Paul—- Cunningham, RNFA Fights, food and fun

PUGILISTSpast and present willgather in Pompey next year foran evening of line food and topboxing.

Members of the RN and RMEx-Boxers Association — 120strong have lined up a reunionat South Parade Pier. It willtake the form of a boxing dinnerwith today’s Navy and RoyalMarine boxers taking on as yetundetermined opposition.

The association is formed

from sailors and Royal Marineswho’ve boxed for the Serviceat representative level andincludes national, international,Commonwealth and Olympicveterans.

The 2009 reunion takes placeon Friday March 27.

Details are available fromex-CPO Tony Bevel, formerRN’ coach and now associationtreasurer, on 01489 880~l72 or0750 005 8801.

Branches llllISSOIll lll Fall]THE RN Hockey Association's centenaryseason opened in fine style, with a .\lav_v—wide.seven-a-side, mixed inter-branch competition,ti:ri.n:.i Capt ;l'lrirl:Drirliiigmii.

Buildingon thesuccess oflastyear's inauguraltournament, this year‘s event brought togethermore than 150 men and women in 15 teamsfrom across the Naval Service to battle it out indefence of their specialisation or branch.

Despite the torrential rain at H.VlSTerneraire,the fighting spirit of the players remainedundiminished.

The contest began with a closely-foughtmatch between the RN and the managementconsultancy group KPMG, who had kindlyagreed to sponsor the event.

The game was played between two mixedsides with the Navy fielding a well-balancedteam with a blend of youth and experienceunder the watchful eye of Lt Matty Wesson.

This was the first time that many players hadrepresented the RN in a mixed game, with eachside coinprising six men and five women.

The Senior Service side included husbandand wife team Lts Adam and Karen Duke,l."Cp|Tom Nicoll (RMR Bristol), S.-‘Lt MarianTaylor (Observer under training Culdrose), PO(U\ll") Micky \‘I'arriner (St Albans), the newly-married LNN Simon Domoncy (.\lDHUP),

and PONIEA Stuieamongst others.

In a quickfire opening 15 minutes, the Navysoon went ahead 1-0 as good teamwork andtrue grit and determination helped the RNcounter the line individual skills of many of theKPMG players.

The RN eventually won 3-2 on the day,but this was less important than the fun andenjoyment that everyone got from a gameplayed in just the right spirit.

RNHA secretary Lt Cdr Alan Walker said:“The game against KP.\"lG was a splendidway to begin the weekend. It was great to hosta team the RN have not played before and toshow them a little of what life in a blue suit, orunder a green lid. has to offer.”

Two days ofhockey followed in which nearlyall the 32 specialisations and branches of theNaval Service were represented — includingfull team entries from the dentists, PTIs,QARNNS, Doctors and l\'lA."'l\'ls, Cireeniesand Clankies.

There was also a mix of two warfareteams drawing upon five different sub-specialisations.

The Royal Marines and the Fleet Air Armwere all represented, and the submarincrsfielded a SM Southwest team and a SNI

.'\-lclnally (Turbulent) Northwest team, both of whom ended upamongst the prizes, split by a talented WE.-’QARNNS combo.

Nltist welcome were a visiting team ofCanadians, currently on course at HMS Sultan— hell-bent on having a party, and on showingthe Brits what hockey is really all about.

Led b_\'\‘("O Scott Hill, the stars of the showwere the logistics specialisations. Combined,they could have lielded chefs, writers, SAs andstewards sides. Instead, they chose to answerthe numerous Calls to help other teains fieldfull strength sides — “just like when you go towar, everyone needed the loggies,“ beamed\':ivyVets star Cdr Heber Ackland.

CPO Jakie Foran added: “Despite the rain,this was a terrific start to the year, and a greatway to promote grass-roots hockey within theRoyal Navy. It was fabulous to see so inanydifferent teams represented.”

For their achievements on and off the fieldof play, fighting spirit awards, complete witha clash of .\'elson's Blood were awarded toLee Aitken, Karen Duke, Marian Taylor,jakic Foran, Scott Hill, l\’l:lI'C Dowling, KellyUrmston and the whole Canadian Navy team.

Looking ahead, tIiere"s a black tie centenaryball on June '3 at HMS Nelson :1 familyaffair.open to all RNHA (past and present).

E|l9lIIBBl‘lII£Ia victory IIIIthe QPBEIISPLANNING complete andtheAugust rain having abated,competitors in the l"Jth annualRN Engineers golf championshipawoke to grey skies but with thehope of a dry day.For the first time in the

contest’s history the engineersmoved to the spectacular courseat Elfordleigh Hotel, just threemiles from Plymouthcit_v centre.The ramblingpink hotel

providied a fantastic backdropto spectacular views across thecourse.Following at 7.30am start, a

closely-fought battle ensued overtwo rounds with the hand—mowngreens and lunchtimepin changesproving to be the undoing ofmany in the field.I.t SteveTrotman,off five,

played some magnificentgolf inthe increasing wind, carding gross76 during the morning medalround and a highly creditable34 points offa handicap in theafternoon.For later players, the conditions

becamemore difficult astemperatures dropped and heavyrain was carried by the nowstrong wind.\VO2 Yorkie Glover pushed Lt

Trotmanall theway but fell shortafter beingone back at lunch andcarding 32 points in the afternoonround.Congratulationsalso to Tam

Snaddon of BAE who took thechampion sponsor trophy.2009 will see CPOET(\l(’E)

Steve King take the reinsfront this year‘s organiser,CPOET(ME) Nobby Styles, andplans are already in motion totnove away from the Plymoutharea, with Bristol firmly on the2009 committee’s radar. Moredetails at www.engineersopen.co.uk.Meanwhile, the China Fleet

Country Club in Saltash hoststhe Field Gunners Command100 Golf Classic — the secondyear the contest has been run(the ‘Oggies' lifted the trophy inits inaugural year).This year’s event takes place on

Friday October 31. Details fromFred Pearce on Ol7'32 202860or freddiepearce@blueyonder.co.ukAnd finally... the Royal British

Legion is staging its inauguralCombinedServices veteransgolf contest at Machynys,nearLlanelli, in south \Vales.Details of the July 24 event

from rikoshea_10@yahoo.co.uk

l'l0I'8B l30llI'88l0I' lI'BGSAILORS and marineswho fancya flutter can enjoy a free day outon the final meeting of the flatseason at Newbury races.The racecourse is devoting

Saturday October 25 to themilitary via an ‘Armed Forcesrace day’.Tickets to the course are

limited to two per person.Youmust book in advance by October17 on 01635 40015.Various hall"-price hospitality

deals, plus a suite for injuredpersonal, are also available.Details on the same number.

officers enjoySltyy larking5'! Continued from back pagehalves", “theboys did good",“Harry will be sick as a parrot".and “you don't win the title inAugust”.In the post-match summary,

the Englandmanager wasdiscussed and the lackof spine oftheArsenal squad, although thepresence of too many Ghanaiansin England ~ specificallyMichaelEssicn — had the off—can1cra staffbooing.So, at the end of the day, it

was less a case of Hansen andLawrenson thanMorecambeandWise starring in Carry onCnrltrmmtatrng...

O LA(METOC) James Bulpett checks out the ‘sets’ (waves) from a reeat Super Tubes Pir_:lt.r-é-'51. Li’-\.iF"lir

f

NAVYNEWS, OCTOBER 2008 47

super TubesdaysSURFERS from the RoyalNavy and Royal Marinesrisked all for perfectionat the tip of the Africancontinent.Despite it beingone ofthemost

great white shark—infested regionson the planet, the fear of attackwas not enough to keep thesurfersfrom riding one of the world’spI'ClTll(.'!' Vt-'3\'CS.Nine members of the RN and

RM Surfing Association travelledto the foot of Africa for ten daysin ]effrey‘s Bay in the EasternProvince of SouthAfrica.‘]Bay’, as it’s known, is renowned

for being one of the fastest,longest and consistently perfectwave locations in the world andwas due to host the world's finestprofessional surfers in competitiononly a week after the Navy groupleft for home.Before the world’s finest could

ride the Indian Ocean offerings,the equally enthusiastic (if notas talented) RN boardriders hadtheir fill.ln what were some of the best

waves that most of the the grouphad ever seen, let alone ridden, theperformance levels of the groupwere pushed to the top limit oftheir abilities.Tour organiser Sgt Andy

Williams (CTCRM) said: “Wewalked straight into a new swelland perfect conditions,which eventhe locals claimed was the best daythey'd had in weeks, so the tripbegan on a high.“The length of the waves, the

power, and the sheer speed aresomethingwe rarely get in the UKand this perfection is somethingyou can only get at JBa_v. So thiswas a fantastic opportunity forthe guys to push their surfing inworld—class waves.”The boardriders not only tested

themselves against the waves,but also the area‘s top longboardsurfers in competition.HostedbytheEasternLongboard

Association at Noordhoek Beachnear Port Elizabeth, the contestwas a Challenge of the abilitiesof the tour members against thevery high standard of surfing inSouth Africa,which is among thetop five surfing nations along withAustralia, the USA and Brazil.In what were fun waves for

the event, the British boardriclcrsput up a good fight against top-class opposition. Although noneof the team reached the finals,good performances saw fifth-placefinishes from \lVOl Paul Keenanand CPO Steve Hicks in the over355 division and LA(Phot) GazFaulknerin the U355.The team also donated many

prizes for the event in the formof highly-sought-after boardriderjackets,T—shirts and caps.It was a highly-successful

meetingbetweenthetwoclubswithgreat generosity and hospitality

O FlawlessLawless... CPO Matt Lawless “taking on a fast one at Super Tubes”(or that’s what it says intheaccompanyingcaption...)shown by the South Africansand an invitation, from DavidLipschitz, president of the SouthAfricanLongboard Association, toa future event.“it was a pleasure to host the

guys from the British Navy, thewaves could have been slightlybetter for the event but they weremore than contestable,” said NlrLipschitz. “We would love to seethe RNRM team out in the wateragain — with the possibility of alarger, national event next timetheyvisit."On the squad’s return to

]effrey’s Bay for the final week, theperfect waves kept coming, withthe team enjoying the amazingnatural wonders of Africa.

When not dodging pods ofdolphins or surfing with them onthe waves, they were watchingwhales breach out to sea fromtheir beachsidebalcony.One natural wonder they were

not keen to witness however werethe fish — big fish like great whites.Ask any locals if there were

sharks, the answer was always‘yes’. Despite tales of peoplebeing ‘bumped’ in the water onlydays before the Brits’ arrival, theprospect of perfect waves was toomuch to keep the surfers out.Fortunately no sightings were

made of the toothy predators —

although there were plenty ofcuts and abrasions incurred fromcolliding with the reef —» so the

surfers could concentrate on thewaves alone, even with the Jawssoundtracksounding in their ears.SouthAfrica2008 will go down

as one ofthemost successful toursthe RNRM surfers have made,joining Hawaii, France and SanDiego as destinations the team hassurfed.The tours not only provide the

opportunity for the members topush their abilities in wor|d—classsurf but also provide a reward forthose who donate free time tohosting numerous beginnersurfingweekends throughout the year forRoyal .\Ia\-'_vv'iVIarine personnel andtheir families.More details on the sport can

be found at surfnavy.com

sponrE-—_lll'l3lIBI‘8888off All‘ ForcechallengeTHE Royal Navy South CoastArchers hosted the nationalrecord status tournament ona windy,overcast day at HMSCollingwood.The RAFhave dominated

archery in the 2 1 st Century,winning six out of the past seventitles, including the 2007 event atCranwell.The Navy, however, were

fielding the strongest side in years— two former and one currentRN champion and one formerGB squad memberwho narrowlymissed out on an Olympics place.The round shot was a ‘York’:

six dozen arrows at 100 yards,four dozen at 80 yards and twodozen at ()0 yards (or 80, ()0, 50yds for women, the same numberof arrows, called a ‘ Hereford’).The Navy team -— Lt Jonathan

Parker (Raleigh),Mne SebYork (CTCRIVI,King’s Troop),CPO Barry Green (ArkRoyal)and Capt Gareth Knowles RM(CTCRM) — won comfortably.The RN Recurve

championships were decided inthe same order: Lt Parker,MneYork, CPO Green and CaptKnowles.In the association competition,

the RAFwon but in theCompound Division, the SeniorService overcame theAir Force by20 points.It might sound an emphatic

triumph, but it was actually lessthan one per cent of the totalpoints scored.The association team

comprised Mel Sandford, CdrIan Harrop RN (Fleet HQ) andIan Cooper, while CPO DarrenBennion (SFM Devonport)and S/LtNick Hepworth(Collingwood) formed thecompound team.Individual, Senior Service

champions were: gents recurve:Lt Parker; gents compound:CPO Bennion; gents longbowMid Torn Goodwin (TyphoonSqn, Loughborough University);gents barebow: Ian Cooper; ladiesrecurve: Mel Sandford.

Bags ofpowerONE sport which has neverappeared in these pages beforeis powerbag lifting.Until now. RN and RM PT|s

are looking for strappingSenior servicemen and womento uphold the honour of theCorps/Fleetagainst theArmyand RAEFor the uninitiated powerbag

lifting involves lifting powerbags(obviously — Ed) — five pairs ofpowerbags (thinkelongated,heavy bean bags] weighingbetween 10kg and 30kg.These are placed at five-

metre increments from the backof a Land Rover.Competitors set off from the

backof the4x4. carrying onepowerbag at a time, loading iton to the vehicle.Oops. Almost forgot. Several

million people will be watchingyou.The contest is filmed by SkySports‘ popular Soccer AM

show and runs for the durationof its 42-week series.Personnel wishing to take

part in thisevent should seekchain of command approval.Once that is received.

contact Tom Oliver at SkySports on 0207 805 739 or tom.oliver@bskyb.comYou will be competing

in your own time and Skywill be providing insurancecover should an injury occur.Personnel should also confirmtheir own personal insurance toensure adequate cover.The RN PR team in Whitehall

— DPR (RN) — are looking toprovide suitably brandedT-shirts for competitors. Onceselected by Soccer AM, chosenindividuals should contact MajMark Perrin on 9621 82861.

-l8 l\'AVYNEWS. ()(IT()BI-IR 2008 ‘The worldowes the

Grand Fleeta great debt’- Germansurrender

supplement

They wentunseen -

tapping thevast archive

of 20thCentury

naval images

Kent Kong

- continuingthe frigate’s

Far Eastodyssey

PlusQuake ‘n’evac - no

stroll in thepark for

reservists

0 Top shot... the leading RN athleteof theseason, LOM Andy Dawkins, delivers anotherpowerful performancePictures: LArPhot] Brett Turner. FRPU Eastll high-class lieltl

NAVY athletes could not quite match last year‘sachievements - but many still delivered high-classperformances at the 2008 Inter-Services track andfield championships.

Eighteen medallists front the past three years were unavailablebecauseof other commitments — providing opportunities for fresh talentto sample the competition hosted by the RN at Victory Stadium, rt'rr'te.~'(cum rrrmro,.r:ur' Putt} ll"'iutmr.

The top performing Senior Service athlete of 2008 was LOM AndyDawkins (Neptune).

Cointnitinent and dedication to a challenging and structured trainingregime enabled him to improve personal best performances in shot,discus and hammer. Regularly throwing the shot over 15111 (-'l9ft) heimproved his personal best to 15.98111 (Slit) and was invited to competeat the GB Olympic trials where he finished ninth, For the second yearin succession he gained t\vo medals at the Inter—Services level. :1 silver inthe shot and a bronze in the hammer.

The best performance from sportswomen at the lnter-Services camecourtesy of Lt Linda Lawrence (ISU i\lorthwood), another athleterewarded for steely determination and adherence to a dedicatedtraining regime. She won bron7.e medals over both 800m and l,‘500m.characterised by her strong finishing sprints to get into those medalpositions.

POPT Neal Edwards (Raleigh) has made a habit of lop-threefinishes in the ~l00tn hurdles over the past eight years. He's alsobenefited from a focused training regime and he’s also aideddevelopment of fellow athletes as the RN coach.

He set a fine e.\'ampIe in the opening track event to finishsecond with a season's best time in a high—quality -l00mhurdles.

1.l"l' Jim Buttle (Collingwood) ltas been involved withSenior Service athletics since he first joined the R.\'nearly ten years ago. During that time he’s competedin a wide range of events including sprints. jutnps,middle—distance and endurance races.

His natural aptitude has always been with thejumps and whilst he Inay consider his best eventto be long jump he won a bron‘/.e in the highjump. Has Jim ever Considered a clecathlon?

For the first time in living memory the RoyalNavy had an Olympic medallist in the team,albeit carrying an injury.

Logs liiclclis Gad‘/.ama (.\lclson) won a silvermedal representing Nigeria in the is 400mrelay at the 2000 games in Sydney.

The former African junior champion andCommomvealth Games medallist was keen for anotherOlympic opportunity and arrived at this year’s NigerianOlympic trials with a season‘s best time of -lo.8 seconds.which looked good enough to at least get him into the relaysquad.

Unfortunately,he was injured in the trials and so he refocusedhis efforts on representing the R_\' at the Inter—Services.

Embarking upon an intensive course of treatment thatallowed him to run in the 100m, he limped across the line in ablanket finish with the realisation that the 2009 season wouldbe his next opportunity to compete.

Other RN team members linished just outside the medalsin a wide range of events. l-‘ourth-place finishes can be the

:tt’» ll -

t'HSHII">

worst of all — but they can also provide the motivation to train andachievebetter levels ofperformance in the future.

In the women’s team, AB Kenisha Asquith (Nelson) ran well to finishfourth in the l00m and 200m, just missing a medal in the latter by avery small margin.

Ll_.ogs Rhian Hanson (Richmond),recently returned from deployment,finished fourth in the discus and shot and will hope to add to herprevious medal ta|l_v next year.

Lt Victoria Southern (Lancaster) came home from deployment justfive days before the event and took fourth place in both the javelin and-100m hurdles, an unusual mix of events. Victoria has previously wonbronze in both sports,

Multi—eventer Lt Cdr Carolyn Lucocq (RAFUxbridge) has previouslytasted success in the heptathlon and many individual events, but thisyear came fourth in the long jump. Musn Kiri Wedlock (RA-lS.\-'l) couldnot quite match her l.'300in silver of 2007 as she moved up a distanceto finish fourth in the "),000ni.

Among the men, L\.'f."'l:£.-X .\-like 0’Xeill (Sutherland) linishcd fourthin the triple jump for the second year in succession. Logs Jackson

Simatei (also Sutherland) displayed a very strong arm. for :1former Kenyan steepleehaser, in the javelin, where 17-year-

old l;'T(.\lE) _loe Andrews (Sultan) also competed as theyoungest member of the Royal .\'avy team. MA Glenn Long((i'I'(IR.\l) displayed strong moral courage competing in the800m, recovering from illness that disrupted his training,to deliver his usual level of commitment towards the teameffort.

Earlier in the season Mne Glyn Fuller (ll A'l'l‘Sqn) won the RN deeathlon title as he linished astrong seventh in the lnter—Services championships,achievingan excellent 3.6m in the pole vault alongthe way - not bad after a long absence from theevent.

AB Michelle Pinion (Northumberland)wasthe top RN heptathlete.overcoming S-"Lt EllieBerry (also Northumberland) in a closely-fought contest.

Next year presents :1 significant challengefor the R.\' team to achieve success at thelnter—Serviccs level; much will depend

on the availability andathletes returning from sea and operational

deployments.The men will compete in the Southern Men’s League

Division 3 in 2009 with the potential to win promotion inthe five—match season.

Although 2008 has proved to be a diflicult year tofield teams strong in depth and numbers, several strongindividual performances were posted.

The linal match at (iuildford was memorable for morethan the torrential rain showers throughout the da_\', notabl_vfor the -lm 385 time posted by Lt Cdr Graeme Riley (mostrecently H:\'lSTurbulent)on his linal day in the Service.

Although this time remains —l() secs slower than his best. itwas an excellent time for a veteran athlete in his age group.Graeme left the Service as the Royal Navy's long-standing

3.000m steeplechase record holder (9m 00. ls).\Y/ill we see hislike again?

0 Sprinter L/Cpl Kunle Atiba powers towards the finish linein the 100m

commitment of

lillicersenjoySltyy tanking\\'-'Hl’.?\' Lt Greg Young andLt Cdr Andrew Mills weredispatched to Ghana with theMobileNews Team to coverHMS Endurance's visit (seepcrgc 8) they were prepared forappearing in front of the camera.

Experts in the RN's global roleand Endurance‘s environmentalmission, they could cope withany question from journalists...except, perhaps, “\\'-'hat willHarry Redknapp be saying to hisplayers at halftime?“

But somehow the duo endedup as Premier League football‘pundits’ on nationalTV.

It all began when local mediavisited the survey ship and thepair chatted with Ghanaian TVpresenter'l'oni Boateng.

Greg happened to mention thathe was a Pompey fan, while And_vsaid he'd lived in .\Ilanchester for:2 few years.

This prompted Toni to invitethe duo to visit the studios ofSkyy (not Sky) TV to watchPompey vs Manchester Unitedlive — too good an opportunity topass up, so accept they did.

The officers were escortedto the studio. ushered to theprescnter's desk, and introducedto ‘Ossie‘, the host, in full view ofthe cameras.

Then the gravity of thesituation hit the pair: theGhanaian Gary Lineker haddecided to use them as hispundits, live on TV.

liver the skilled mediaoperators, they continued withtheir insightful comments on thepast, present and future of thePremier League, holding back fitsof laughter every time the hostreferred to one or other by thewrong name.

The live bui|d—up came to aconclusion and eventually thegame began. linked by stttcllitcfrom South Africa...on to a1»lin portable TV with the worstsignal reception imaginable sobad, in fact, that it looked like itwas snowing at Fratton Park inAugust.

Bad though the image was(the ball itself was invisible) itwas about to get a whole lotworse as the satellite feed fromSouth Africawas lost and theTVstation reverted to the Ghanaianequivalent of the test card.

Just as the iirst hall" came toend. the signal was regained and(horror ofhorrors) United were1-0 up.

Seconds later, Ossie was backlive: "Greg. 1-0 to ManchesterUnited.\‘C’hat will HarryRedknapp be saying to his playersat halftime?" He then turned toAndy: “Fletcher scored in the18th minute. How did the goalaffect the rest of the hall?"

“Never have two Royal Navyofficers cuffed, bluffed andserenely waflled through 15minutes of the inost misinformedhalf-time summary. given withconfidence. knowledge andbalance." said Andy.

The pair also had a secret planto mention as many ship's namesin commentary as possible.

There were easy ones “plentyol'Talent in the team,” “Superbstriker of the hall", "Tirelessworker", “Needing a morale-boostingVictory” and even the.\iotson inspired “His mother wasborn in Cattistock“ were skilfullyslipped in.

Greg then masterfully addedthe obvious “They are knownfor their late—season Endurance,“while Andy chipped in with“There was an Ocean of classbetween these two Illustrious andAstute teams.“

Unlike true pundits, the pairmanaged to avoid those much-lampooned football cliches: “Agame of one and a quarter5’! Continued on page 47ii 10>

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