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NAVY NEWS, NOVEMBER 2008 13
No longer the age
of the crane
● The still is piped as the new headstone honouring Dennis Spicer is dedicated by the ship’s company
of HMS Iron Duke Picture: LA(Phot) Jay Allen, FRPU East
Frigate’s grave
responsibility
ONCE Navy, always Navy.
and Caicos have already benefited from Iron Duke’s
It is more than just a motto, more than mere
aid in the aftermath of hurricanes Gustav and Ike).
slogan, but a common thread running through the
Although the hurricane season is now on the wane,
history of the Senior Service.
islands in the region can never let their guard down.
Time and the elements had not been kind to the
And so it was that emergency services from
last resting place of Engineering Mechanic nic
Anguilla spent a training daAng y aboard the ‘Iron
(1st Class) Dennis Spicer of HMS Delight.t.
Duck’.Du
The 22-year-old Londoner died in a diving ing
The police took parT t in first aid
accident while on shore leave from HMS MS
demonstradem tions and navigational training;
Delight in the British Virgin Islands in n
their fire-fighting comrades wth atched the
1958.
sailors show how to deal with blazes in the
Five decades later, the men and women
confined spaces of a ship.
of HMS Iron Duke saw to it that the
It’s not all storms and preparing for
unfortunate sailor’s restored headstone
storms in the Caribbean in the early
was re-dedicated with full honours.
autumn, thankfully.
The original stone in the grounds of
St Kitts and Nevis (pop. c.50,000,
St George’s Church, Tortola, was cracked
making it 201st on the list of most/
and weathered, so the Commonwealth War
least populated nations) in the Leeward
Graves Commission set about replacing it.
Islands wI as celebrating a quarter century ONE of the dominant features of the Devonport staff in neighbouring offices didn’t have to be
Iron Duke’s chaplain Rev James Tabor, CO CO
of independence.f i skyline is no more after a gigantic crane was relocated for weeks on end.
Cdr Mark Newland and three of his company
And that proved to be a big thing in the twin- dismantled. The firm used some of the kit in the Kursk
paid tributes to the rating as the replacement stone
island nation. The 1,450-tonne structure (pictured above operation to move the crane’s jib – 120m
was dedicated.
The local defence force spent three months on the eve of demolition by Malcolm Smith of (393ft) long and 22m (72ft) high – inch-by-
“The Navy has a great tradition of looking after
preparing for the Independence Day parade. Iron Babcock Marine) has towered over the Hamoaze inch horizontally across temporary beams to a
its own – even after they have left the Service,” said
Duke’s team had three hours to get ready. – and over the submarine refit complex in the position directly over a dock, where a floating
Cdr Newland.
And they did a pretty good job given the timescale. naval base – for three decades. barge was waiting to take it.
“It is comforting to know that wherever you go
Lt Jason Hannigan led the 18-strong Guard of But now the crane – thought to be the largest The crane and the metal tower that supported
in the world the Navy and the camaraderie which Honour, with PO Chris Harris carrying the Colour.
in western Europe – is no longer needed and has the structure – capable of lifting up to 80 tonnes
it instils in its people links sailors everywhere, past Events reached their climax in the Warner Park
had to make way as part of a revamp of facilities – are being dismantled over the winter.
and present. Stadium in Basseterre, St Kitts’ capital, with a parade
supporting the RN’s submarines. In its place, a £200m ‘future nuclear facilities’
“It means a great deal, not only to myself and my and formal inspection by the islands’ premier Dr
It has been used since the 1970s in refuelling complex will be built over the coming four or five
ship’s company, but also to Mr Spicer’s family.” Denzil Douglas, and a fly past by Iron Duke’s Lynx.
Britain’s hunter-killer nuclear submarine fleet. years, featuring a ‘low level defuelling’ system.
Cdr Newland’s frigate is in the latter stages of six- Warner Park is also home to football and cricket
A specialist Dutch firm, Mammoet (Dutch “The removal of the crane is a major milestone
month Caribbean deployment aimed at tackling drug (it was one of the venues for the 2007 cricket World
for ‘mammoth’) was called in to dismantle the in the upgrading of nuclear submarine facilities
runners (two big busts so far), reaffirming bonds with Cup) – and the ‘Iron Duck’s’ sporting teams were
crane; it previously worked on raising the sunken here in Devonport,” said Roger Hardy, Babcock
Commonwealth nations and providing assistance to in action taking on local opposition, while their
Russian submarine Kursk seven years ago. Marine’s submarine managing director.
storm ravaged islands (Grand Cayman and the Turks shipmates knuckled down to some community work.
Mammoet was chosen because its method “This represents a significant step towards
of removing the crane in one piece proved the completion of new facilities which will be
considerably safer and faster (knocking six constructed to the highest nuclear standards in
824 enjoy the ’rush hours
months off the projected timeframe) and ensured the world.”
ROTTEN weather has rather plagued airshows and the RN’s involvement in them this year.
But not in Northern Ireland.
After Southend (wet, overcast), Fairford (washed out), Waddington (mixed), the fliers of
824 NAS finally had glorious skies to perform in at Portrush Airshow.
The two-day event saw 370,000 people – the largest attendance for any major
public event in the province in recent memory with roughly one in five of the
province’s inhabitants drawn to the spectacle – watch the Culdrose-based
Merlin dance over Portrush and conduct winching demonstrations.
For a good proportion of the air and ground crew, this was a case
of showing off on home turf.
Instructor and 824’s senior pilot Lt Cdr Steve Windebank hails
from Portrush itself, Lt Pete Greenwood grew up in Lisburn
and the east coast of the province, PO(ACMN) Thompson
hails from Castle Rock and PO(AET) Thompson from
Ballymena.
“We were able to gain a lot of positive PR as
we engaged with the crowds, who were very
interested to learn about an aircraft they
rarely see in these parts,” said Lt Cdr
Windebank.
824’s display season closed with
the autumn show at Duxford
(cold, wet, windy...).
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