NAVY NEWS, NOVEMBER 2009 29
Moving on
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from the Navy
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7
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8
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2
I TOTALLY disagree with the sentiments voiced moved on.
by Mike Brown about leaving the Navy (letters, So should you, by entering another chapter of your
October) life, and resolving not to look through your RN career
He is complaining to the wrong people. Why in your years to come through rose-coloured glasses.
doesn’t he write direct to the MOD and offer – Ken Holloway ex-CPOWTR,
up his suggestions on what should be adequate
Newcastle-upon-Tyne
renumeration for his discharge on leaving the Navy?
The MOD are certainly not going to act on what
REFERRING to Mike Browns’ excellent letter, it
1
is basically a ‘drip’!
transpires that nothing has changed in the 33 years
You should face up to the fact that once your final
since I left the ‘Andrew.’
9
draft to ‘Release’ is issued you are supernumerary
My abiding memory of that day is of seven of us
and therefore do not figure in the future of the Royal
leaving the Navy – including one CPO, two POs and
Navy.
an LRO – and thinking that probably our service
Forget about little niceties on leaving, consider the
alone totalled over 80 or 90 years’ service.
fact that you are getting a pension and gratuity for
We were ushered into a room where sadly an
your years of service.
excuse of a Wren writer who didn’t seem to care
That should be uppermost in your mind – and the
about the job she was doing or her standard of dress
fact that you are now joining the real world, where
(I know not all Wrens are like this, but it was a sad
no-one in Civvy Street is guaranteed a pension on
indictment of Wrens) asked us to throw our ID cards
● Picture by courtesy of the Imperial War Museum, with names supplied by Bill Drake. 1) Lt Lin Middleton,
retirement and people get very little thanks from
into a cardboard box and then dropped our envelopes
Air Weapons Offi cer 897 NAS – later Captain of Hermes during the Falklands Campaign, and later Rear
employers for hard work and dedication during their
into our hands without any due respect – perhaps she
Admiral, 2) S/Lt ‘Jock’ Hare, 897 NAS, 3) Lt Tim Samler, 897 NAS, 4) S/Lt Gerry Maynard, 897 NAS,
working life.
just thought us a bunch of civvies?
5) S/Lt NK 899 NAS, 6) Lt Pete Newman, 899 NAS, 7) S/Lt Phil Cardew, 899 NAS, 8) Lt NK, 899 NAS,
You don’t know you’re born, Mr Brown. You
Is it too much to have asked the Officer of the
9) S/Lt NK, 899 NAS
obviously considered your service in the RN as a
Day (or some other senior rate) to have handed out
career. I served for 23 years and considered it only the discharge papers with a ‘thank-you and good
as a job to earn a living and was glad when I was luck’ shake of the hand?
released. It is sad that that is my abiding memory of leaving
Naming Eagle’s Squadrons
I had similar thoughts along the lines of your the Navy after 17 years service.
letter, but soon realised that life is too short and – Tony Noble, ex-LRO, Rugby
MANY thanks for your selection remarkable for its quality, Squadrons and the picture shows
of news from the Fleet Air Arm’s considering the quality of cameras pilots of both Squadrons, ie 897
A page of family history
past. and film at that time. and 899.
The supplement (October) Secondly, Photographic Memories This is the first time I have
was interesting from two aspects, (page 12) – as the Air Electrical seen this picture, and I am now
firstly the photograph of S/Ldr Officer of 897 NAS at that time encouraged to search the Imperial
Dunning’s deck landing. I am able to correct the detail of War Museum for more.
I READ with great interest the HMS Royal Sovereign around our Book which contained the names of
I have seen this photograph some of those present. – Bill Drake,
letter from Lana Hughes of home. those who perished in the sinking.
many times before but this is HMS Eagle carried two Seahawk Bishops Waltham, Hants
Kirkwall in Orkney (May). A few years ago my wife and I The pages were alphabetical and
When I joined HMS Cleopatra were on a coach tour of Scotland. a fresh page was turned each day,
in 1951, my first real ship, our We spent a whole day on Orkney. or week.
commission took us to Malta, A delightful place. On the day we visited, the book
The art of cutaways
where I met a Maltese girl of The people were helpful and was open at the last page.
similar age. Her mother had been friendly and there appeared a lot It displayed the last name –
NOTING Cdr Loring’s comments available, detailed photographs. hammocks, seat lockers and camp
widowed early in the war. to see. Petty Officer Officer’s Steward M
(October) about the Amethyst I also make a thorough nuisance beds, there were no bunks during
Her father had been a Petty I was interested in anything Zahra.
cutaway, I can confirm that of myself consulting experts, my time.
Officer’s Steward and was which referred to HMS Royal Oak. For the book to be open at that
according to the Admiralty plan whom I think may have an answer The Oerlikons on the signal deck
drowned when HMS Royal Oak So when we toured the cathedral, page, on that particular day, 50
the Modified Black Swan class was regarding some minor detail. sponson were replaced by single
was torpedoed. any memorial or historical piece years later, I think is more than
shown to be fitted with stabilisers.
Usually they don’t! Bofors. I also served on her sister
My father had served on the about the battleship was closely coincidence.
I have also checked the plans for
The annotations are taken from ship, Opposum, from 1956-57 –
battleship in the 1920s and we inspected. – Tom Redman, ex-CPO PRI
the Type 12 and as he correctly
their original plans, and their she was identical in all respects.
had many photographs of her and There was a large Memorial (retired 1973) Sheerness, Kent
states, these were apparently not
length and brevity dictated by – Peter Warrington, A/B,
fitted to this class.
available space on the spread. Lichfield, Staffordshire
LETTERS to the editor should Given the volume of letters, we cannot
Quite why one earlier class
I do have plans for a
should have been and a later
...In the mid-fi fties I was involved
always be accompanied by the publish all of your correspondence in Navy
Southampton-class cruiser and
one not, is best answered by a
with the design of the three-tier
correspondent’s name and address, not News.
maybe one day it will be featured
contemporary naval architect.
bunks, so much so my head of
necessarily for publication. We do, however, publish many on
- the Belfast being a Modified
As for bunks, there were no
section wanted to name it after
Town Class and visually quite
E-mail correspondents are our website, www.navynews.co.uk, bunks in the messes, you will see
me! He received the MBE and a
different.
also requested to provide this accompanied by images.
that hammocks are shown in their
few hundred pounds reward.
Perhaps one day, I hope, I will
information. Letters cannot be We look particularly for
daytime stowage.
The bunks accommodated three
even illustrate the non-stabilised
men at night and folded down to a
submitted over the telephone. correspondence which stimulates
I think Cdr Loring is mistaking
three-seat settee during the day.
If you submit a photograph debate, makes us laugh or raises
stowage, which ran around for the
Type 12.
ship’s sides, for bunks.
– Ross Watton – cutaway
The first ships to have this
which you did not take important issues.
Referring to the Ark Royal
artist, Ceredigion, West Wales
new layout were the Tiger Class
yourself, please make The editor reserves
cutaway, there were a couple of
...I served on board HMS cruisers, Tiger, Lion and Blake,
sure that you have the the right to edit your typo errors that the eagle-eyed Amethyst in 1950-51, during the which were completed in the early
permission for us to submissions. noticed, and that is all!
Korean War. sixties, having been launched
publish it.
The cutaways are thoroughly To the best of my recollection during the war.
and painstakingly researched, she was not fitted with stabilisers. – Charlie Nichols (ret’d civil
using Admiralty plans and, if The sleeping arrangements were servant) Trowbridge
028-029_NN_nov09.indd 2 21/10/09 09:44:55
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