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16 NAVY NEWS, NOVEMBER 2010


200 miles for 40 Cdo men


SERVING with the Royal Marines, Nick Davis was keenly affected by the heavy losses 40 Cdo suffered on their recent tour of Afghanistan, so when his leave came up, he decided


to do something to help. Nick’s goal was to spend his


Sticky marathon on Montrose


THE galley of HMS Montrose was invaded early one morning as the ship patrolled the Somali basin on her current counter-piracy operations. Taking over the galley, armed with wooden spoons,


were members of the female mess preparing for their marathon bake as they prepared to host SSAFA’s Big Brew-Up day.


Their baking efforts went down a storm, with trays of hot cakes selling like – you’ve guessed it – hot cakes. During a brief interlude from shadowing a pirate vessel, and once the Lynx was home and shut down to Alert 15, there was time to host a stand-easy in the hangar. The women sold over 100 cups of tea and ten trays of cakes and at one stage the queues were going out of the hangar door.


Not content with the £233 which the tea and cakes


raised, the women bolstered their donations with a slave auction in the wardroom, during which officers were auctioned off as ‘slaves’ for the day. Of particular note, Lt Cdr Rory West, the First Lieutenant, was ‘bought’ by an enthusiastic consortium from the Marine Engineering Department under a ‘no constraints’ deal. As such, he spent his day cleaning bilges and


the sewage treatment plant and proved himself a creditable tea-boy, even earning himself the honorary rate of ETM(ME)2 in recognition of his hard work. Within ten minutes of the stand-easy coming to an end and the ship’s company returning to work, the aircraft was relaunched to conduct another sortie. Overall the Big Brew-Up raised £503 for SSAFA, whilst keeping morale high as Montrose continued her operational deployment. Back in the UK, the Seamanship Training Element


at HMS Collingwood raised £240 selling coffees, cakes, wristbands and a raffle to win a SSAFA bear at Big Brew-Up.


And up in Scotland, Northern Diving Group


leave walking 200 miles in five days over a route called The Coventry Way, a 40-mile circular long-distance path around his home city. Nick, a LET(ME) with 1 Assault Group at Instow, began day one at six o’clock in the morning outside the Queen’s Head in Meriden, wearing boots and carrying 26lbs of kit. Among the things he carried were photos of the 15 casualties from 40 Cdo.


He intended to complete


the first day in 12 hours, but it actually took him over 13, before he finished


in high spirits and


returned home to an ice bath and bed. Repeating it all on day two was


tough, but having his mate Matty at his side kept him going, and the pair pulled each other round the 40-mile route in just over 13 hours, despite severe cramp and blisters.


Nick says: “The remaining


three days were a constant battle with my body, exacerbated by lack of sleep due to cramp, joint pain, blisters and the thought of the remaining miles.


“I decided to ditch my boots for


combined the SSAFA fundraiser with their Open Day, netting a total of £256.50 for SSAFA, and enlisting the support of their Admin and support staff for a spot of baking. Open Day visitors were also encouraged to throw


change to the diver in the tank (pictured above), who endeavoured to catch it – with varying degrees of success.


After 12 hours in the tank, the divers recovered £149.50 in loose change, for Project Vernon.


Collingwood walk MOD’s angels


VOLUNTEERS from HMS Collingwood took part in a sponsored walk with the charity Two Saints (ARC) which provides support to homeless people in the Fareham area. They walked from the charity’s office in Gosport to the bandstand in the town centre, and set up a soup kitchen for walkers and the general public. The walk took place two days before ‘World Homeless Day.’ Base Warrant Officer Mark Hannibal said: “The day was a great success and we were pleased to be able to help – we raised about £600.”


A FUND-RAISING event organised by MOD Main Building in aid of BLESMA, the British Limbless ex-Servicemen’s Association, raised more than £25,000. Funds were raised by sponsorship, donations, raffle prizes (including a Brietling watch) and an auction of lots from foreign holidays to a Formula One helmet signed by Fernando Alonso. The evening was held in Peter Stringfellow’s Angels Club in London. The MOD fund-raising team plans a similar event for March 2011.


Replica models in 1.1250th BRITISH RFA’S


my trusty trainers and soldiered on, completing day three in 14 hours, 21 minutes and day four in 14 hours 34 minutes.” He went on: “They told me the final day would be the easiest but in fact it was the worst! Half way round and I’d completed 180


miles, but my knees and left shin had swollen beyond recognition. “After coming so far I knew I had to finish,


so with some


ice and strapping, I managed to complete the fifth and last day of my challenge in 15 hours 15 minutes.”


Nick approached the finishing line outside the Queen’s Head to be met by a cheering crowd of family and friends, including Coventry’s Lady Mayoress, who


presented him with some generous donations for Help for Heroes. Nick said: “I couldn’t have done this without the support from a lot of people – and a big thank you to landlady Caroline and her staff at the Queen’s Head, who provided me with a hot dinner and liquid refreshment each day on my return!” To donate,


go to


www.bmycharity.com/ coventryway200


scale, hand cast in metal, painted and mounted on a wooden plinth with brass name plate. The models are various sizes.


RFA GREEN ROVER, OLWEN, OLNA, OLMEDA, RESOURCE, ARGUS, FORT GRANGE (PICTURED), FORT AUSTIN, TIDESPRING, TIDEPOOL, DILIGENCE, BAYLEAF, LYNESS, STROMNESS, TARBATNESS


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● Caption, left to right: POMA Nobby Hall; Surg Lt Cdr Simon Jaques; Lt Cdr Tim Jones; Surg Cdr Rob Milner; Surg Lt Ruth Boddy and Lt Jack Nicolson


INM medics stretch their legs


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WE reported in September on the six stretcher- carrying medics who were aiming to complete the 187-mile journey from the Institute of Naval Medicine, in Gosport, to the National Memorial Arboretum, in Staffordshire, raising money for the Royal British Legion. The route was the equivalent of seven marathons


in seven days, but the six made it, carrying the stretcher for about nine hours a day through all weather conditions. Lt Christopher Nicholson, whose brainwave the challenge was, said: “Public support along the way was incredible, well-wishers turning cars around and holding up traffic to come back and make a donation.”


He added: “Ruth’s ability to keep up with men almost twice her size, despite suffering from severe blisters, was inspirational. Simon’s ability to engage with the public meant he was probably responsible for nearly half the money we collected. “Rob and Tim’s sheer determination and energy kept the stretcher moving despite their tired legs and sore feet, however, POMA Nobby Hall was the lynchpin of the whole event, from planning the route to providing first-class support to the rest of the team all week long.” The medics, who ran with the title Carry on Remembering, raised nearly £5,000, and donations can still be made at http:/www.bmycharity.com/ RNMSCarryOnRememberingStretcherChallenge


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