NAVY NEWS, DECEMBER 2010


31


Cornwall fetes 854 aviators


CORNWALL Council has recognised the work of personnel from Culdrose who have just returned from


through a special reception at the Council’s HQ in Truro. Welcoming around 70 members of 854 Naval Air Squadron to the reception, Council Chairman Mrs Pat Harvey said: “I am delighted to have the opportunity to welcome such brave and dedicated personnel from RNAS Culdrose to County Hall. “Everyone in Cornwall is very proud of the role you are playing in helping to protect both the local people and coalition troops in Afghanistan, and I am extremely honoured to be able to host this reception on behalf of the Council.”


Men and women from 854 and 857 NAS have been serving at Camp Bastion in Afghanistan since June 2009.


Their role includes gathering vital intelligence and providing surveillance of activities and movements on the ground over large areas of the country. The squadron, which comprises three aircraft, 26 engineers and 14 aircrew and support staff, flies both the day and night in extremes of weather. Members of 854 Squadron came back to the UK in July, and have been training prior to their return to Afghanistan this month.


857 link is lost


THE last remaining member of the original 857 Naval Air Squadron has died. A memorial service was held


Distinguished Flying Cross, flew Avenger aircraft in 857 Squadron, which was disbanded in 1945 at the end of World War 2. In 1944, aged 21, he flew his


Avenger in the raid on Palembang, an attack which earned battle honours for the squadron. The squadron recommissioned


at Culdrose in 2006, and the following year, while 857 was on exercise at RAF Leuchars in Scotland, he visited the squadron and met his modern counterparts. The current aviators presented


Peter with a print depicting one of the squadron’s aircraft, the Mk7 ASaC (Airborne Surveillance and Control) Sea King helicopter. Lt Cheryl Gilbertson met Peter


who held the


at Glenalmond College for Peter Adam in early October, with a large turn-out from family, friends and former colleagues. Peter,


Afghanistan


Talking Turku


WHEN HMS Penzance pitched up in Finland during a recent exercise, the British ambassador took the opportunity to step aboard and meet the ship’s company. Finland was hosting NATO’s


Northern Coasts 2010 exercise, a large-scale wargame involving ships, submarines, aircraft and other military hardware from a dozen nations. British ambassador Matthew Lodge visited Turku, on the south- west coast of Finland (pictured left), to catch up with Penzance before the main phase of the exercise got under way, discussing the Sandown-class minehunter’s role and her reception in Finland with her CO, Lt Cdr Steve Brown.


Soap star returns to his Naval roots


YES,


EastEnders. In No.1s. At HMS Raleigh (the humongous sign


that is Barry from


is a bit of a giveaway...). ‘Barry’ – real name Shaun Williamson – passed out of the Torpoint training establishment back in 1984 as a teenager when a career in the Fleet Air Arm beckoned...


...and a quarter of a century


later he returned to Raleigh for a TV documentary.


Quite a lot happened in the


intervening 26 years... Shaun’s career with the


WAFUs was cut short when it was discovered he was colour blind. He changed branches to become


a writer (hence the 21st Century Logs(Pers) badge, the modern- day equivalent), but decided it wasn’t the life for him and left the Service.


The rest, as they say, is history.


For a decade, Shaun was one of the central characters on the Beeb’s top soap opera playing Barry, the hapless car salesman (the official biography calls him ‘mug’, ‘bumbling’ and ‘one of life’s failures’...) and, more recently, he’s found a new audience playing a comical version of himself in Ricky Gervais’ Extras. But once Navy, always Navy... So it was that AB Williamson


during his visit and said: “He had some wonderful stories about his time in the Fleet Air Arm and his training over the North of Scotland. He told us about landing at remote airfields to confirm his position – I am relieved to say that some of the navigation equipment and techniques used back then have improved considerably!”


Rare bible is presented


ADMIRAL Sir John Jellicoe commanded the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland; it is perhaps a less well-known fact that he founded the Grand Fleet Fund for the benefit of his sailors and Royal Marines and their dependants that went onto become the RNBT. RNBT’s offices at Castaway House in Portsmouth is now home to several RN charities including the Naval, Military & Air Force Bible Society (NMAFBS) that traces its roots back to 1779. In recognition of the excellent


relationships between the charities at Castaway House, NMAFBS Director Lt Cdr Richard Prendergast presented a rare 1914 RN Active Service New Testament, with an introduction by Admiral Jellicoe, to RNBT Chief Executive Cdr Stephen Farrington. This New Testament is now in a glass case underneath the admiral’s portrait in Castaway House.


returned to the establishment he passed out of for Back on the Job, which was due to be broadcast as Navy News went to press. Shaun is one of four celebrities


who were challenged to return to the jobs they performed before


● LA(Phot) Ben Sutton


Ben hits the deck running


NAVAL photographers


relations work, technical shots, the list in pretty extensive. But to do the whole lot in your


sports


ply their trade in a wide range of situations – royal visits, ship ceremonies, pictures,


exercises, events, public


first three weeks seems a trifle adventurous. But that was the case for rookie phot Ben Sutton, 24, from Crosby, who joined the team at Clyde Naval Base in early October after three years in weapons engineering, mainly on Type 42 destroyers.


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Walney; HMS Triumph returning to the Clyde (as featured across the whole of page 6 in our last edition);


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 Prince William;


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● Shaun Williamson back at HMS Raleigh after 26 years


they were famous; DJ Christian O’Connell (ex-binman) and former Boyzone singer Shane Lynch (ex-car mechanic) also feature.


Raleigh staff decided to give


the ex-EastEnder the basic entry trainee works: a spin in a RIB, time aboard training vessel Brecon, preparing kit (including Shaun’s ‘favourite’, ironing), some PT, and a spot of drill on the


Picture: Dave Sherfield (HMS Raleigh)


parade ground. During filming, the actor spoke fondly of his year in the Senior Service – and found slipping back into some of the routines and disciplines remarkably easy.


Lighting up the skies


SETTLED weather and a packed programme helped attract more than 11,000 people to the annual HMS Sultan bonfire and fireworks display. Pyrotechnics were, as the title suggests, the highlight of the evening, but there were plenty of other amusements to keep the punters happy, including a funfair, jugglers, fire-eaters and the ever-popular Titan the robot.


later, HMS Collingwood also staged a firework display, which started with a thunderous bang when ET McLachlan – the youngest rating – and Cdre Tim Lowe, the CO of the establishment, lighting the bonfire. Collingwood also had a children’s


funfair, and entry was free to all Service personnel and civilians employed within the base – though a donation for HCPT – the Pilgrimage Trust – was encouraged on the gates.


● The funfair in full swing at HMS Sultan’s bonfi re and fi reworks display


Picture: LA(Phot) Darby Allen Just along the road and a few days


A cheque presentation at a local hospital.


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Schools join with RM band


ROYAL Marines musicians have joined forces with children from the West Country to record Christmas carols and songs. Five schools were invited to HMS Raleigh to work with the Plymouth band, with each school recording two songs and combining for a rousing rendition of We Wish You A Merry Christmas. RM Director of Music, Capt Richard Long, said that with such a busy schedule, it was a fantastic opportunity to take a break from normal duties, which can include its secondary role undertaking medical and security tasks in support of operations in areas such as Afghanistan.


The recording took place in


the Royals’ own studio within the band complex. The five schools involved


were Carbeile Juniors, Torpoint Infant and Nursery, Fourlanesend Community Primary in Cawsand, Millbrook and Anthony Schools. Julie Simpson, headteacher of


Anthony School, said they planned to obtain a number of blank CDs to allow every child who took part to have a copy of the recording.


base;


Week PR shots; Briefing photographs for the


Defect work in the studio; HMS Neptune Dental Hygiene


Strategic Defence and Security Review;


anniversary; Two football matches; PR shots for Clyde deeps helping a charity; Team shots of the Northern Diving Group;


And that was the abridged version of Ben’s schedule...


A visit and presentation by Group shots for Royal Marines


Kent; get to group


By the end of that month, LA(Phot) Sutton had worked on: The launch of HMS Duncan; A visit by Prince Michael of


The decommissioning of HMS


At sea with RFA Fort George; Aerial photographs of the naval


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