● And it’s goodnight from them... Dumbarton Castle basks in the glow of her searchlights in a becalmed Mare Harbour and (right) a sepia-tone
sunrise over South Georgia Pictures: LA(Phot) Chris Winter, FRPU Whale Island, and S/Lt D White, HMS Dumbarton Castle
I
T IS, so the old Naval adage,
goes ‘not over till the Bootie
After
Band plays.’
gua
And there’s time yet before the strains
an
of Sunset drift across Portsmouth Naval off
Base and the White Ensign is hauled
pa
down for good on the flagstaff of HMS
Dumbarton Castle for the patrol ship to
bask in glory in the autumn of her life,
War to fishery prot
wending her way back from the South
coastline, however on
Atlantic via the Americas.
home they have saile
For the past quarter of a century
the ship’s name has been bound
inextricably with a remove outpost of
F
ollowing the co
briefly to the
fishery protect
empire unknown to most Britons when
sail again in 1986,
Dumbarton Castle was laid down in
Cdr Martin Pound i
Aberdeen as the 1980s dawned.
He recollects:“I w
She was built to safeguard the North
given the opportunit
Sea oil platforms which have been at
Falklands for her fir
the heart of Britain’s economy since the
guardship in peacetim
latter half of the 20th Century.
“I joined two wee
But the best laid plans of mice and
from Rosyth, just c
men often go awry.
and rushed refit; so
Actions 9,000 miles from those rigs
sea training – we wo
in the small hours of Friday, April 2
way.”
1982 would determine the fate of HMS
Once at Ascension
Dumbarton Castle and all who sailed in
with the port engine
her for the next 25 years.
fortunately HMS Am
F
ew Britons had heard of the
take the limping shi
Falkland Islands in 1982.
her up to 15 knots.
Fewer still could point to
“At this point the
them on the map.
on the port shaft w
But in June of 1982, just three months
the port engine, an
after commissioning, Her Majesty’s
to continue to the F
Ship Dumbarton Castle could be found
own power.
prowling the South Atlantic carrying
“For the first two
mail, cargo and troops. And by then,
engine was controlle
everyone knew where the Falklands
Officer on a sound-
were. direct to an engineer
Her then Commanding Officer, the pitch control,
Lt Cdr N D Wood, provided a rather jammed appropriate
concise account of what must have been “Those first mon
‘lively’ weeks in the new ship’s life: adventure in new
“On Thursday April 22, Dumbarton trying to show that
Castle was ordered to store for war and Vessel could do what
prepare for deployment. had relieved had pre
“On arrival at Ascension her tasks “We did the ship
included amongst others retaining with Green Rover,
Argentinean Prisoner of War Lt Cdr first done in the RN
Astiz (known as ‘Captain Death’ in The since that seemed to
Sun newspaper for previous war crimes) steer DC.
on board for 12 days under Royal “By the end of
Marine guard. of machinery was n
“On June 7 loaded with 40 tons were at sea with onl
of cargo on the flight deck, a further running and one gen
50 tons internally and 110 service “Our victualling al
passengers Dumbarton Castle sailed inadequate for the c
for the Task Group and the Falkland Falklands, and we w
Islands. the red, with baked b
“The first six days passage took staple diet.”
LLasast goodb goodbye
the ship due south from Ascension Fortunately a Falk
– the presence of an Army master to the rescue and pr
baker significantly enhanced the galley to the patrol ship to
productions. ” On another occ
Since the end of the conflict, in sheltered from 60-k
partnership with her sister ship the disgruntled crew
HMS Leeds Castle, one of the two perfectly-understand
Castle-class Offshore Patrol Vessel has they would rather be
maintained a permanent presence in the A lack of tugs
for lastlast CastCastle
South Atlantic supporting not just the meant that the fre
Falklands but also South Georgia and Island was a distant
the Sandwich Islands. steward was summo
When not on active duty in the confessed that he wa
Southern Hemisphere they have receiving diving pay.
returned to the UK for refits and to Std Campbell agr
complete a variety of roles. the bows of the shi
These have included everything from the pontoon with he
support of activities during the Cold clamber up the tract
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