NAVY NEWS, AUGUST 2008 3
Keep on running
L
ONG before you read these words, the men and
women of HMS Westminster should have been
enjoying well-deserved summer leave.
Instead, they’re probably only just heading off on their hols.
Global events added an extra month to the Portsmouth’s frigate’s
Orion 08 deployment, which began with the ship escorting HMS
Illustrious east of Suez and ended with an unscheduled trip to
international waters off Burma.
Westminster was ordered across the Bay of Bengal at short notice to
contribute to Operation Songster, Britain’s response to the humanitarian
crisis in Burma in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.
For a brief while a substantial international task force mustered in
international waters, including the impressive American helicopter
assault ship USS Wasp (twice the size of HMS Ocean...) and her task
group plus some French warships.
Westminster was eventually relieved of her Songster duties by her
Orion 08 companion HMS Edinburgh. As it was neither ship was called
upon to offer assistance in Burma.
Extending deployments invariably has a habit
of hitting morale – both of sailors and their loved
ones back home.
So aside from a busy operational tempo Jack
and Jill need to let their hair down.
Enter Westminster’s clubz, LPT ‘Dizzi’ Dawson, fun and
fi tness co-ordinator with a variety of circuit training (that doesn’t sound
like fun – Ed) and fl ightdeck sports including volleyball, quick cricket and
the ever-popular dodgeball (that’s more like it – Ed). All the mess decks
were keen to earn ‘top dog’ bragging rights... and 2J mess are shouting
the loudest after winning the majority of the competitions.
None of these sporting activities was as challenging – or as well
attended, for that matter – as the Mike Till memorial relay.
Back in March 1982 the men of HMS Sheffield staged the first
100x1-mile relay at sea; keen runner and computer technican CPO Mike
Till posted the fourth fastest time on the day. The 35-year-old died two
months later when Shiny Sheff was hit by an Exocet off the Falklands.
In his memory, 100 of Westminster’s sailors – more than half the
ship’s company – ran in Mike’s honour as the frigate moved through the
Gulf of Aden (fittingly as the inaugural race in 1982 was held nearby).
Each mess deck provided ten runners. And each runner had to carry
a baton for one mile (seven laps of the upper deck) continuously, no
stopping, and no breaks between athletes.
The chiefs’ mess were fi rst up, with CPO Si Hanson setting the
benchmark with a time of 5m 45s; the wardroom quickly followed with
the Flight Commander Lt ‘Holly’ Holroyd setting a new best time of 5m
34s.
With mess pride at stake, the best time continued to be bettered, with
AB Bradley (5m 33s), LLogs Herbert (5m 32s) and ET Elston (5m 31s)
all putting in impressive times – and all this despite rather choppy sea
conditions.
ET Bond, the penultimate runner, produced a scorching time of 5m
29s to take the fastest time prize.
And if that wasn’t enough running, there was the ‘Golden Mile
handicap’ stakes with the top ten fastest runners from the relay going
head-to-head, spurred on by 100 cheering shipmates.
‘Holly’ knocked more than 20 seconds off his original time – and was
looking unbeatable until AB Bradley proved to be one second faster.
Shipmates say he’s open to invitations from the RN Athletics Club...
After all that exertion it’s only right that you relax on a summer’s day.
And what finer way than gathering on the village green for some
traditional fare?
Yes, step up for the Westminster village fête (there’s not a lot of green
on the frigate so the grey flight deck had to deputise...).
Each mess was responsible for a stall – and each mess entered
fully into the spirit of festivities. The POs’ mess spent an afternoon
in the galley baking cakes, while shipmates knuckled down to crazy
golf, human skittles and a Heath Robinson-esque ‘test your strength
machine’ (complete with top-hatted Victorian engineers).
No village fête would, of course, be complete without morris dancers...
so enter the wardroom’s extremely professional amateur morris dancing
team to entertain the crowd (sadly, or fortunately – depending on your
perspective – we don’t have any video footage...).
Fête accomplished (groan – Ed), the ‘capital ship’ began the long
journey west.
“We’re now heading home with a sense of a job well done and pride in
all that we have achieved,” said CO Cdr Ken Houlberg.
● Main picture... Westminster’s Merlin approaches the frigate under fi ery
es: po bob sharples, 829 nas/hms westminster
skies; remaining images (clockwise from top left)... Breakaway move-
ment – Westminster parts company with USS Wasp; a sailor tests one
of the ship’s Miniguns; fête attraction – the engineers show off their trial
pictur of strength; and scream if you wanna go faster – Westminster’s sea boat
bounces through the Bay of Bengal
0003_NN_Aug.indd 103_NN_Aug.indd 1 114/7/08 12:00:344/7/08 12:00:34
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