NAVY NEWS, APRIL 2007 5
Tyne team
YOU just can’t keep HMS Taylor (from Haswell in County Durham).
Northumberland away from her
And ‘locals’ came aboard too...
namesake county.
Northumberland gave 20 members of
Barely five months after nudging her way
Newcastle University Royal Naval Unit,
up the Tyne, the frigate was back at Spiller’s
based at HMS Calliope across the river in
Wharf, a stone’s throw from Newcastle city
Gateshead, a guided tour of the vessel.
centre, on a goodwill visit.
The ship also hosted the crew of the
Once alongside, crew dispersed by
Tynemouth lifeboat, who repaid the
day across the county to affiliates Blyth,
hospitality by inviting the sailors to their
Morpeth and Alnwick, and by night to
station – and to sea in their Severn-class
Newcastle’s and Gateshead’s bars and
vessel Spirit of Northumberland. And the
clubs. There was also an obligatory tour
lifeboat escorted the frigate into the North
of St James’s Park, home of Newcastle
Sea when the visit came to an end.
United FC, for football fans.
“It’s been great to bring my ship back so
As befits her name, the ship has a few
soon after her last visit,” said Cdr Tom Guy,
‘locals’ aboard: Sunderland’s Gemma
Northumberland’s CO.
Allenby (a warfare specialist
“The crew had been looking forward to
who joined the ship just two
their stay here as it gave them a chance
days before she arrived
to let their hair down in a city known to be
on the T y n e )
one of the best runs ashore in the RN after
and Std
several weeks of gruelling training.”
Rebecca
Since her last appearance on the Tyne,
Mudie,
Northumberland has been in UK waters on
and WEA
Exercise Neptune Warrior (war games off
Anthony
the north-west Scottish coast) and hosted
warfare officers from across the globe to
give them an insight into Senior Service
training.
Next up for the ship is a visit to
Norway followed by a deployment to the
Mediterranean.
● Northumberland crashes through the
North Sea at the end of her four-day visit
to Newcastle
Picture: Adrian Don, RNLI Tynemouth/
www.electricpics.com
Flat’s all folks...
FIVE months of chasing veterans of Hurricane Ivan were back. It’s wonderful!”
drug-runners and spreading
astonished by the progress made Having retired their previous
goodwill have ended for the
to rebuild the island. mascot Sunny the Parrot (He was
men and women of the good
Lt Cdr ‘John’ Fitzpatrick a parrot – Ed), for this deployment
ship Lancaster.
arrived in HMS Richmond in crew welcomed aboard Flat
the hurricane’s wake in 2004. Stanley (he’s like Flat Eric, except
The Red Rose frigate received
Two and a half years later, the he really is fl at and is not a
a warm welcome on a glorious
now operations officer of HMS puppet, nor is he yellow – Ed).
spring morning in Portsmouth
Lancaster found clear evidence Stanley was squashed by a
at the end of a varied winter
of Ivan’s rage – but the work and bulletin board at school (hence
deployment to Africa and the
effort that had gone in to putting the name) and was sent to Lt
Caribbean.
Grenada back on its feet was awe Cdr Mark Sheldon by his niece
Four weeks of the deployment
inspiring. so he could fi le reports for school
were devoured by the Atlantic.
Lt Cdr Mark Sheldon and children on his adventures around
It took two weeks to head west
Surg Lt Jayne Mckinlay visited the globe.
from Africa before Christmas...
the hospital, meeting many nurses And what adventures: he
and it took a fortnight to cover
and doctors who were involved in enjoyed race nights on the fl ight
the 3,500 miles from Curacao to
the busy period post-Ivan; staff deck (so did the crew); he helped
Sierra Leone, where the ship’s
highly praised the RN first aid with loading stores aboard (so
tour of duty began in earnest late
team which worked tirelessly with did the crew); he played rugby
last year.
them after the storm. in Grenada (so did the crew);
The anti-drugs mission
“I‘d never seen so much he went kayaking in the Virgin
Lancaster carried out in the
devastation – the whole place was Islands (so did the crew); he got
Caribbean failed to ‘bag’ any
flattened. I don’t know how people soaked on the forecastle by
traffickers, but there was plenty
survived,” recalled LStd ‘Percy’ Atlantic goffers as Lancaster
of evidence that they stopped at
Braithwaite, who had been part of raced home (hmm, the
least one haul of narcotics being
that first aid team in 2004. crew were in the comfort
shipped when a suspicious – but
“Now I see the work that has of their mess decks for
empty – trawler was found.
been done and effort the locals that one...).
Perhaps the most rewarding
have put in to get their
time was spent in Grenada, where
paradise island
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● HMS Lancaster basks in the sunshine in Mindelo Bay, Cape Verde
Picture: LA(Phot) Luis Holden, FRPU Whale Island
05_NN_Apr.indd 1 16/3/07 16:00:30
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