NAVY NEWS, NOVEMBER 2010
5
e for all, painful for some ervice will always endure’
AS SWINGEING cuts to the Fleet were being announced, the passing of minehunter HMS Walney almost went unnoticed. But not by the people of Barrow-
in-Furness. The Sandown-class ship is a victim of cuts announced last year as part of the deepening economic crisis (survey ship HMS Roebuck, already paid off, was the other victim).
In a dockside ceremony, Walney’s
ship’s company were joined for the formal act of decommissioning by senior naval offi cers, including Capt Philip Buckley,
Captain
Faslane Flotilla, and the mayor of the ship’s affi liated town, Barrow- in-Furness, Cllr Rory McClure and his wife Wendy. All paid thanks for sailors who
have breathed life into Walney since 1992. A cake was presented to the ship to mark the occasion and was cut by AB(MW) Clark Middlehurst – the youngest crew member at 20 years old. And then Walney departed the Clyde with tugs blasting their fi re hoses in a traditional send-off. Next stop Portsmouth, for the act of preparing the vessel
for
potential sale... via her affi liated town for the last time. One last time townsfolk were able to fi le aboard the ship as she opened her gangway at Town
● Admiral Stanhope listens to the concerns of the ship’s company of HMS Portland during their visit to Chile
Picture: LA(Phot) Simmo Simpson, FRPU East
Grey, Eric Brown, ‘Sharkey’ Ward, ‘Gordy’ Batt, ‘Jack’ London and thousands more, is lowered. Raising it again in ten years’ time presents, says Admiral Stanhope, “an enormous challenge”. He continues: “It is neither an insurmountable challenge, nor one for the Royal Navy alone. “The successful re-creation of the UK’s ability to operate aircraft from carriers will rest upon the leadership and support of everyone in defence, and the contribution of our international partners.” The coming months will bring seismic changes to
large swathes of the Naval community – the impact of the review truly kicks in from April next year. Few corners of the Senior Service will remain unaffected: as the Fleet contracts, so it will require fewer helicopters – there are implications in the review for the Merlin and Lynx/Wildcat forces, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, the naval estate, civilian staff. It will, the First Sea Lord warns, “be uncomfortable
for all, painful for some. There will be some big changes in fairly short order. “I will do everything possible to ensure our people are listened to and treated fairly.”
As for the Service he leads, it will live on. “The Naval Service always has been – and will remain – fundamental to the security and trade upon which the prosperity of this island nation depends,” Admiral Stanhope stresses. “The Naval Service has faced tough times before in its long history. It always endures and – because we are an island nation – it always will. He continues: “The Royal Navy, Royal Marines,
Maritime Reserves and Royal Fleet Auxiliary – with our civilian staff – are here to stay. “I don’t welcome these changes. It will be tough,
but I am in no doubt that our Navy will remain highly-capable, internationally-renowned and worthy of your commitment and loyalty. I am confident about our shared future.”
■ Securing Britain in an Age of Uncertainty: The Strategic Defence and Security Review can be read at
www.direct.gov.uk/prod_consum_dg/groups/dg_ digitalassets/@dg/@en/documents/digitalasset/ dg_191634.pdf
een a lot, lot worse...’
the Fleet Air Arm to fi ll. But for others, as across the whole Service, redundancy is the only option and the impact on people will be severe. He explained: “We won’t lose all the people we
have to through natural wastage, or by virtue of the force elements we have removed. “We have to look across the Navy to see how we
can bring those numbers down, but bring them down we must, as we won’t be funded to support them. “When we get to that point where we can take the reductions, we’ll be looking at a voluntary redundancy package and if we don’t get enough people then there will be forced redundancy.” Not all outcomes were as bad as expected. The
surface fl eet and submarines lost fewer numbers than feared. The admiral said: “Whilst I’m not comfortable
with any of the reductions we’re taking, especially the people ones, we retain, with the exception of the hiatus of carrier strike, the same balanced force structure that we had before. “Tasking decisions haven’t been made yet, but I’ve made the point very clearly that we can’t deliver the same standing commitments on a continuous basis with 19 frigates and destroyers that we delivered with 23. “We have to see if there’s a smarter way of doing it in the future with fewer people and platforms. That might be a circle we can’t square but we’ve got to look at it.
“I’m absolutely clear that people are working hard enough and I can’t overstretch them.” Like all the Armed Forces, the Navy is a ‘bottom-
up’ employer – it recruits young people and trains them. Recruiting slowed, but it will not stop. The admiral said: “We must not turn the tap off and make the mistakes of the early 90s, and we must balance input with output.” He added: “The same things that have always made people want to join the Navy are still there. Put it this way, someone joining the Navy in ten years time could be a killick, a petty offi cer or a young lieutenant, operating in a Type 45 destroyer, in defence of a Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier, projecting Joint Strike Fighter off the deck protected by a Type 26 frigate coming on line, or an Astute class submarine. “That is pretty exciting.” Admiral Stanhope said: “SDSR has been a battle, and as you win and lose arguments, personal morale is affected and you will always sense there was some other thing you could have brought to the table. “But I can look myself in the mirror and say there
wasn’t one area where I didn’t argue the case very, very strongly. He continued: “The Navy is still hugely respected
for what we do, we haven’t suddenly changed our ethos, capability or the training, all those elements that give us standing with other nations.” He added: “The outcome of this is a balanced Navy, slightly smaller but delivering all the capabilities we had before. “There were lots of worse options to be debated and as I view the fi nal outcome, whilst not sanguine about any of it and absolutely not complacent in terms of our delivery, I have to say that it could have been a lot, lot worse.”
1SL’s message to the Service, page 35
● Clyde tugs give HMS Walney a traditional send-off, watched by Capt Philip Buckey, Captain Faslane Flotilla Picture: LA(Phot) Ben Sutton, FRPU Clyde
Quay in the heart of Barrow. (Throughout her career the ship was
General Hospital and the local Sea Cadet unit TS Sovereign.) “There was obviously some sadness to leaving the Clyde, which has been home to the ship since 2006,” said Walney’s fi nal CO Lt Cdr Angus Essenhigh. “But many people turned out to wish us well, which was much appreciated. “Barrow has a very proud sea- going heritage and extremely close
also bound with Furness
ties with the Royal Navy. We have been very proud to be part of that.”
hanging over the mine counter- measures vessel since Christmas, she was in action almost to the very last days of her 18-year career. Walney was called upon at short notice to plug a gap in NATO Standing Mine Counter-Measures Group 1. She spent fi ve months in the waters of northern Europe working with allies and taking part in exercises large and small.
Despite the Sword of Damocles
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