32 NAVY NEWS, OCTOBER 2007
Bell tolls in friendship
THE bell of a warship
century of her life.
seized 200 years ago has
Which is how the ship’s bell
been returned to home
came to be in the Royal Hospital
Improved
Haslar, where it hung for the next
soil as Britons and Danes 150 years.
commemorated one of
Come 2007, however, and
the darkest moments in
with the Danes our comrades in
’pool on
their countries’ histories.
arms, especially in Afghanistan,
the RN decided to mark the
The second battle of
200th anniversary of the battle by
Mersey
Copenhagen in 1807 saw
returning the bell.
hundreds of Danish civilians killed
Deputy Commander-in-Chief
and much of the capital destroyed
Fleet Vice Admiral Paul Boissier
by the guns of the British fl eet.
DESTROYER HMS Liverpool
formally returned the bell to
The battle is less well known
paid her fi rst visit since a £7m
Rear Admiral Nils Wang, head of
in Britain than the 1801 clash
revamp to the city after which she
the Royal Danish Navy, during a
when Nelson famously turned
is named.
ceremony at the RDN’s museum
a blind eye to instructions. But
The Portsmouth warship has
in Copenhagen.
in Denmark, the 1807 battle is
been working her way back to
“The bell connects us all directly
considerably more infamous.
front-line ‘fitness’ since leaving
with the events of 1807,” said Vice
For the Royal Navy, the
Rosyth in May.
Admiral Boissier.
Baltic was a vital source of
Shipwrights on the Forth made
“It reminds us of the
wood – and its sea lanes had
desperate pressures of the
sure her 4.5in gun could fire
to be kept free.
Napoleonic Wars and the
further and improved the ship’s
Whitehall feared the
courage and resilience
communications system among
Danish Fleet could
of this great city of
other enhancements (the new
be handed over to
Copenhagen.
cardiovascular suite, or gym, has
the French and so,
“It is a lasting
proved a big hit).
as at Oran 130 years
memorial to a proud
The ship berthed at Huskisson later, the Royal Navy
ship-of-the-line and
Dock for a three-day break on launched a pre-
the men, both British
the Mersey to allow her to catch emptive strike.
and Danish, who
up with a plethora of affiliates, The result was
sailed and fought
including Sea Cadets from a bitter battle,
in her.”
Liverpool and Crewe, plus the especially so as
The return of
mayor of Sefton. the guns of the
the bell is just
This was the last chance for British Fleet
one ceremony
the destroyer’s CO to take his were aimed at
commemorating
ship home; Cdr Henry Duffy the city. More
the 200th
hails from the land of the Liver than 2,000 Danes
anniversary of the
Bird. were killed and one in three homes
battle.
“It’s always a pleasure to in Copenhagen was razed.
Assault ship HMS Albion was
bring Liverpool back to the The Danish king ordered his
also in the Danish capital as were
Mersey – we receive such a warm fl eet burned rather than fall into
the Band of HM Royal Marines.
welcome,” he added. the Royal Navy’s hands, but the
“I couldn’t have wished for a order was never carried out – and
more suitable end to my time on the ship named for the ruler, ● The word of the Lord
board than a visit to both my and Christian VII, was among the remains forever... Sailors and
my ship’s home city.” vessels captured. Royal Marines march towards
After leaving Liverpool, the It was subsequently pressed into Copenhagen’s Frederikskirken
ship headed to Pompey before service by the RN before being during ceremonies to mark the
returning to sea for visits to converted to a hospital ship, a duty anniversary of the 1807 battle
Cardiff and Cherbourg. it performed for the fi nal quarter Pictures: LA(Phot) Dan Hooper, HMS Albion
Please release me...
YES, there are dummies at RNAS paramedics worked alongside a naval
Yeovilton – and they serve a very medic in the aftermath of a (mock)
useful purpose. car smash, with Yeovilton’s fi re crew
The Somerset air station played using their hand and power tools to
host to paramedics from Devon and show how to safely cut ‘casualties’
Somerset Air Ambulance and South free from the wreckage of a vehicle,
West Country Ambulance Service as while instructors stepped in at every
military and civilian lifesavers shared stage of the rescue to offer their
their expertise on grappling serious insights.
accidents with Fleet Air Arm fire and Having run through a rescue in
rescue personnel. slow-motion, it was time to put the
The morning was devoted to training more thoroughly to the test
theoretical sessions covering rescue – in real time.
procedures from aircraft based at This time, the Yeovilton crews
Yeovilton (including those equipped posed a real test for their civilian
with ejector seats), dealing with counterparts: an aircraft had crash
aircraft fi res and also road accidents landed into two vehicles, leaving
(or Road Traffi c Collisions as they’re numerous casualties trapped who
known now in offi cial parlance). The had to be rescued (‘Fred’ is pictured,
morning concluded with practical left, being cut free from his smashed
use of fi re extinguishers for the cockpit).
ambulance personnel. Yeovilton’s rescue teams don’t
After lunch, the training switched to merely deal with accidents on the
practical experience on the airfi eld’s air station; they have responded to
training ground. accidents on roads near the base in
Devon and Somerset’s air the past.
ambulance dropped in, and shared “The exercise was most benefi cial
some of their experiences of road for all of the personnel involved
accidents. and gave the Service departments
Unfortunately the ambulance was valuable experience in working with
not on the ground long before it was their civilian counterparts,” said
called upon to deal with a real-life RNAS Yeovilton’s Commanding
emergency. Offi cer Cdre Chris Palmer.
In the fl iers’ absence, the remaining Picture: LA(Phot) Paul A’Barrow, RNAS Yeovilton
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