NAVY NEWS, NOVEMBER 2007 19
Lights out for the Lion
● HMS Heron’s Guard of Honour leads platoons of air station personnel through the heart of Yeovil
Picture: LA(Phot) Ian McClure, RNAS Yeovilton
FALKLANDS veteran assault ship HMS it chose the Belgian company to carry
Fearless will go the way of her sister and out the work; it also demanded that the
end her days in a breaker’s yard. fi rm meet European and international
Despite ambitious plans to turn the requirements regarding the safe
‘Mighty Lion’ into a fl oating hotel/ treatment of waste.
hostel and a museum to the 1982 Both ships are currently awaiting Ayye fre freeedomedom
confl ict in which she played a pivotal their fate in Portsmouth Harbour
role, the only serious proposition where they’ve been moored for
was, sadly, the scrapyard. several years.
TWO key Royal Naval That first parade in 1997 was, “I’ve taken part in parades with
Whitehall announced earlier this Fearless served the RN from establishments celebrated
he says, “a great day”. So too was the Army, but I’ve never marched
year that Intrepid would be broken 1965 until 2002; her last act was long-standing links with
the 2007 event. through my home town before,”
up (or ‘recycled’ in modern parlance) involvement in the war against the
the community by
“There is he said.
by British fi rm Leavesley International. Taleban. Interpid entered service in
parading through the
something special “It was a proud
Now the Disposal Services Authority 1967 and spent the fi nal decade of her
about performing in occasion. I was marching
has agreed that Belgian fi rm Van Heyghen life laid up in Portsmouth before she was
streets.
your home town,” he with my head held high.”
Recycling can pull apart Fearless. eventually decommissioned.
The men and women of
added. Torpoint Mayor Cllr
The government laid down that as much of
HMS Heron have enjoyed
Another John Crago and Raleigh’s
the ship should be recycled as possible before
45 years of the freedom
hometown boy Commanding Officer
● Fearless by night in Kiel in the early 70s
of nearby Yeovil, an
on parade Cdre John Keegan
anniversary they
was ET took the salute from
marked with a
David about 150 sailors,
The Big Bang theory
midweek ceremony.
Miller who comprising officers
Heron’s ship’s
left the Army and senior rates of
company mustered
after five years... and Raleigh’s ship’s company
in a town centre car park,
enrolled at Raleigh as a and submariners and logistics
where the Mayor of Yeovil Cllr
budding engineer. ratings training at the base.
Tony Lock and RNAS Yeovilton
FORGET A Brief History
by reservist Surg Lt Rosy operational effectiveness of the
Commanding Officer Cdre Chris
of Time and Stephen
Humphreys. 130 RNR and RMR personnel
Palmer inspected the platoons
Also ashore at HMS Cambria involved – both forces are
and the mayor’s chaplain the Rev
Hawking. The ‘Big Bang’
were the RNR’s shipping experts. becoming increasingly called upon
James Dudley-Smith led a brief
began in Bristol. Sailors who specialise in NCAGS – to conduct front-line duties with
service of thanksgiving.
Ok, so it wasn’t quite an epoch- Naval Co-operation and Guidance the RN’s heavy commitments
Then the naval aviators set
Please donate to the
making event. for Shipping – monitor movement worldwide – there was also a
off through the town; it fell to
It was, however, intended to on the high seas and liaise between strong recruiting element to the
CPO Graham ‘Bobby’ Shafto,
Scottish Poppy Appeal
hone the skills of a sizeable number military and civilian authorities to exercise.
who lives in Yeovil, to carry the
of RN and RM reservists. ensure safe passage on the oceans. A large group of potential
freedom casket through the
National Day of Remembrance -
Exercise Bardic Wave is one They brought their recruits spent the day aboard HMS
streets, accompanied by a Guard
of four ‘Big Bang’ weekends interrogation kit along to Cambria Severn; others fl ew in the Merlin;
of Honour, Colour Party and four Sunday 11 November 2007
organised by the Reserve regions – a transponder which ‘asked others still grappled with an SA80
platoons.
to bond part-time sailors and green questions’ of every merchant and took part in a damage control
Cllr Lock told the Heron sailors
Help veterans and their families in Scotland.
berets in specialist areas pretty vessel in the Bristol Channel. exercise.
that the bond between town and
Your donation will help to:
much across the entire spectrum That’s because every “Being able to offer a ‘shop
air station was stronger now than it
of Senior Service activities. merchantman over 300 tons is window’ at sea whilst interacting
had been when Yeovil bestowed its
• Provide financial help to individuals
Bardic Wave drew upon the fi tted with an AIS transponder, an with air and surface units has
highest honour on their forebears • Fund an advice service
volunteers of HMS Cambria Automatic Identifi cation System been much more powerful than
in 1962. • Support the employment of veterans
(South Wales), Flying Fox (Bristol) – a sort of id card for ships. discussing it at a recruiting stand,”
“The air station has helped to with disabilities
and Vivid (Plymouth), plus RMR The system allows ships to said Lt Chris Parry, who was
bring prosperity to the town,” he • Provide grants for specialist
Bristol. pass information on position, embarked in the Pride of Bristol
added.
veterans’ organisations
Full-time service involvement speed, course and other details to with ten possible recruits.
Further west, Torpoint’s finest
came courtesy of fi shery patrol each other – and to the relevant Hot on the heels of the Bristol/
were dressed in their Sunday best
Please send your cheque to The Scottish
ship HMS Severn and URNU authorities. Welsh ‘big bang’ came the turn of
as HMS Raleigh marked ten years Poppy Appeal at the address below or
P2000 boat HMS Express, which Using specialist software, the Scotland, Northern Ireland and
of freedom of the Cornish town. donate online at www.poppyscotland.org.uk
scoured the open waters of the NCAGS reservists could track the North East.
Establishment first marched
Bristol Channel in search of the the movement of all ships in the Reservists from HMS Caroline
through Torpoint’s steep streets
MV Pride Of Bristol (a former channel, plotted in real time on an (Belfast), Calliope (Gateshead),
on September 20 1997.
Poppyscotland
RNXS vessel), playing the role of electronic chart. Dalriada (Greenock/Glasgow) and
Bandmaster that day was Gavin New Haig House, Logie Green Road,
the enemy. Cdre Stephen Thorne, Scotia (Rosyth) converged on HM
Martin. Bandmaster ten years on Edinburgh EH7 4HR
Once the foe had been found, Commodore Maritime Reserves, Naval Base Clyde for three days of
was WO1 Gavin Martin who has
RMR raiders raced in from Penarth said the South West regional combined training.
spent more than a quarter of a tel: 0131 557 2782 email: enquiries@poppyscotland.org.uk
Beach, four miles away, and their reservists had “set the standard” The focus of the Faslane
century entertaining the public
RNR force protection boarding with their ‘Big Bang’ weekend, ‘Big Bang’ was slightly different
with martial music in the Band of
Scottish Charity No SC014096 Scottish Company No 194893 - Company Limited by Guarantee
parties stormed on board. laying down “the blueprint for with force protection, time on
HM Royal Marines. Registered in Scotland at the address noted
A Merlin from 824 NAS future major regional training the ranges and time on the Flag
at Culdrose fl ew a number of exercises.” Officer Sea Training’s state-of-the-
‘casualties’ into a fully-equipped Although the key aim of art bridge simulator, Pathfinder,
and staffed fi eld hospital, run Bardic Wave was to improve the at the heart of the exercise.
A CLASS SUBMARINE
Model based on HMS Alliance 1962
Ace’s VC on display
As preserved at Royal Navy Submarine Museum, Gosport.
This model is hand cast in metal, black washed and polished to give a pewter effect,
ONE of the most treasured pieces of Fleet Air Arm history can be mounted on a wooden plinth 11” x 2”
seen for the fi rst time by the public.
Lt Cdr Eugene Esmonde led a ‘charge’ by six Swordfi sh
against the might of the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz
Eugen as they ran for the safety of German ports during the
£35.00
‘Channel Dash’ in February 1942.
The Kriegsmarine trio successfully reached home waters,
+ £3.00 P&P
while all six torpedo bombers were blasted out of the sky;
UK Only
of their 18 crew just fi ve survived.
Their bravery earned praise from friend and foe alike; the
German admiral leading the dash was amazed by the “very
plucky fl ying” of Esmonde and his comrades, while the
RAF station commander at Manston said the eighteen were
“beyond any normal praise”.
Esmonde, who had been involved in an equally
spirited attack on the Bismack nine months
earlier, was posthumously awarded the Victoria
Cross for his bravery – one of just four earned
To order your model send your name, address and daytime telephone number,
by the Fleet Air Arm/Royal Naval Air Service.
For the past six decades, the decoration
along with your cheque or credit card details (visa/mastercard) to:
has been proudly held by his family; now it
Skytrex Ltd, Unit 1 Charnwood Business Park, North Road,Loughborough,
has been loaned to the Imperial War Museum in
London.
Leicestershire LE11 1LE Tel: 01509 213789 Fax: 01509 230874
It can be seen alongside the VC awarded to
email: sales@skytrex.com www.skytrex.com
his great uncle, Capt Thomas Esmonde, earned
before Sevastopol nearly a century earlier. PLEASE ALLOW UP TO 28 DAYS FOR DELIVERY
0018-019_NN_Nov.indd 218-019_NN_Nov.indd 2 117/10/07 10:19:307/10/07 10:19:30
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