NAVY NEWS, MARCH 2011


31


Spalding ensures roses will bloom


Coastal Forces on DVD


ATTENDING the Peace Garden service at Ayscoughfee Hall in Spalding last August, the chairman of Spalding branch noted that the rose bushes were looking a little tired, with old, outgrown and, in places, dead shrubs.


S/M Keith Crawford, who was accompanied by his wife Yvonne, felt inspired to investigate ways of getting them replaced, and an initial meeting with the South Holland and District Council Parks and Leisure Department gave S/M Keith the green light. Following a chance meeting


at the Harrogate Flower Show with Chris and Margaret Styles, the owners of Style Roses at Holbeach, S/M Keith met up again with Chris again at the Peace Garden at Ayscoughfee, and Chris agreed that the roses were beyond redemption. He also offered to look into


● K13 pictured after World War 1 – the boat was salvaged after sinking in 1917 and renamed K22


ways of helping. “To our great surprise and joy,


Service remembers victims of K-boat


Chris and Margaret offered to donate all the roses required to renew the beds,” said S/M Keith. “Considering there are over 180 rose bushes in the beds this was indeed an incredible gesture, and one for which we cannot thank them enough. “Further discussions with Dan the gardener revealed that he would be hard-pressed to remove all the old bushes, prepare the beds and plant the new ones. “It was without difficulty


we all set about and removed the old bushes under the guidance of Dan, which paved the way for him to prepare the beds ready for the planting of the new rose bushes.” Early last month saw the start of the planting programme, giving the roses ample time to develop and flower in time for this year’s Peace Service, in August. “We would like to express our


gratitude to Chris and Margaret of Style Roses, as without their generosity none of this could have happened.”


S/Ms Terry Carter and Terry Day, two members from each of the Parachute Regiment Association and the Royal Lincolnshire Association, a member of the Royal British Legion, Dan the head gardener and his team. Also critical to the project were


M Grimwood of Animal Feeds Long Sutton for the donation of the weed control membrane, and their tea lady Audrey. There was also a special thanks to Yvonne for donating the plaque, designed and manufactured by Eric Parker and his team at Holbeach Memorials.


The rose diggers included


that we got together a team of ex-Servicemen, devotees to the Peace Garden. “Armed with forks and spades


SAILORS, ex-submariners and Sea cadets gathered at Faslane Cemetery at the end of January to mark the 94th anniversary


of the K13 submarine disaster. Mustering at the memorial


obelisk, the participants took a moment to remember the 32 people who died when the K13 sank in the waters of the Gareloch on January 29 1917. Around 60 people attended the


memorial, including members of the Submariners Association, led by national president Admiral Sir James Perowne. Many had travelled some distance to take part, Northern Ireland,


from Manchester,


Barrow, Aberdeen and Lincoln, amongst other places. Also paying their respects


were members of the Royal British Legion, and Clyde Naval Base representatives Capt Philip Buckley, from Faslane Flotilla, and Base Executive Officer Cdr Ian Riches. “It was a very poignant occasion,” said Cdr Riches, “and one which drew a tremendous turn-out to pay their respects. “The memorial began at HM


Naval Base Clyde, where we held a church service led by Fr Andrew McFadden,


Faslane Flotilla’s


Chaplain. “Then we made our way to the cemetery where there was a wreath-laying. “Members of TS Neptune Sea Cadet unit rang a ship’s bell 32 times, once for every one of those who lost their lives.” Cdr Riches continued: “The K13 disaster may be over 90 years in the past, but there is a strong sense of brotherhood and community in the Submarine Service, one which keeps us coming back here to remember the events of January 1917.”


Back then the Royal Navy Submarine Service was in its


● Respects are paid at Faslane Cemetery to the 32 victims of K13, which sank in Gareloch in 1917 Picture: LA(Phot) Nick Crusham


infancy and K13 was the height of underwater technology. The fastest submarine of its day, capable of more than 20 knots on the surface, the steam-powered K-class were designed to work with the surface fleet. K13 was built by Clydeside builders Fairfields,


exemplified the problems which dogged the class, bringing them the soubriquet ‘Calamity-class’. Disaster struck when the vessel took on water as she dived in the Gareloch, flooding her boiler room and plunging her to the bottom of the loch.


but she


the solution was both risky and audacious.


Someone would climb into the conning tower, flood it, and then open the hatch. A bubble of compressed air


would rise to the surface and with it the brave volunteer who, once picked up, would pass on vital information to aid the rescue effort. That volunteer was Cdr Francis Goodhart,


Although 32 people died in the disaster, another 48 found themselves trapped onboard the stricken vessel with no way out. It was up to the captain of K13, Lt Cdr Godfrey Herbert, to come up with a rescue solution – and


Voices of the Holocaust


● Pictured holding a precious item of Naval paraphernalia is S/M Albert Quick, who turned 90 at the end of last year. The valuable item is not, as you probably thought, the Navy News, but an unusual gold ring bought for him by his offspring. The ring has his name and a Naval anchor on one side, and his RN Service number and a White Ensign on the other. Albert served in the thick of the fi ghting in the Mediterranean in HMS Kelvin during World War 2, but his scrapes didn’t put off his family – two of his four children went on to join the Andrew.


THE National Memorial Arboretum has commemorated Holocaust Memorial Day using the theme of ‘Untold Stories’. The date – January 27 – is marked internationally as it was the anniversary of the day in 1945 on which the Soviet Army liberated the largest Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz-Birkenau.


again.” The Arboretum, part of the Royal


Although millions of stories are untold, those of the millions who died in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides, the initiative encourages people to listen to and learn from the voices the stories which can be told. That includes the story of Holocaust survivor Ibi Ginsburg, who said: “We carry on telling our stories because we were eye witnesses.


“The most important thing is to tell people so this can never happen


British Legion family of charities, acknowledged Holocaust Memorial Day as part of its daily Act of Remembrance, with a reading of the Statement of Commitment and the lighting of candles. Visitors also had the opportunity to visit the tree dedicated to diarist Anne Frank, who died in the Bergen- Belsen camp at the age of 15. Every year her haunting tree has its blossoms removed before they bloom to symbolise the taking of young life. The Act of Remembrance is


observed daily in the Millennium Chapel at 1am. The Arboretum is open every


day from 9am to 5pm (or dusk if earlier). Entry is free but donations are appreciated.


● Referring to the article on HMS Jervis Bay in the December edition of Navy News, Frank Farmer sent the above picture of a memorial in Hamilton, Bermuda, dedicated to the ship, which left the island for Halifax with a small convoy to join HX84. According to Frank, each year on November 11 the RNA, Sea Cadets and other organisations lay wreaths at the memorial in memory of the men who lost their lives in the ship


submarine K14, who had been onboard to witness the sea trials. Lt Cdr Herbert accompanied Cdr Goodhart to the conning tower, where he would release the vessel’s high-pressure air. As planned, Cdr Goodhart was propelled upwards through the hatch, but such was the force that Lt Cdr Herbert lost his grip and was swept upwards moments later.


captain of sister


however, Cdr Goodhart was not so fortunate – the courageous officer was later found drowned, having been knocked unconscious and caught in the submarine’s superstructure.


knowledge, the rescuers were able to send down divers to attach an air-line to the vessel. A cable was then passed beneath


Using Lt Cdr Herbert’s expert


K13’s hull, raising her up enough to cut a hole in the bow and rescue the survivors. That was not the end of her problems – she was eventually salvaged and renamed K22, but seriously damaged at the so-called Battle of May Island in early 1918 when a large-scale fleet exercise went disastrously wrong, resulting in the loss of more than 100 submariners.


He reached the surface alive;


THE history and role of the RN’s little ships is placed in the spotlight by a new documentary DVD. A History of the Royal Navy’s Coastal Forces records the activities of Coastal Forces craft operating in areas stretching from Iceland to the Arakan coast in Burma, and as well as some archive footage never before seen, includes interviews with veterans.


At the height of World War 2 around 1,750 boats were involved, manned and supported by more than 25,000 men and women, operating more than 50 bases at home and overseas. The Costal Forces Heritage


Trust has arranged for the film to be produced “in order to support the memory of all those who served in the Royal Navy’s ‘little ships’ throughout two world wars and until the decommissioning of the last Coastal Forces base in the late 1950s.


Trust to ensure a record exists of this small but highly-effective section of the Royal Navy so that the people and the boats in which they served are not forgotten.” In his review of the DVD, Rear Admiral Michael Stacey – who served in Coastal Forces as a young officer in the late 1940s – said it was the men, and women in support roles, which were the essential element in the story. “These craft were manned by


very young officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and their Hostilities Only ratings,” said the Admiral.


great versatility, and carrying responsibilities way beyond their years, they fought in boats on light wooden construction, laden with ammunition and high-octane fuel, generally at night, in close combat and at high speed. “It is not surprising that casualties were severe and that awards for bravery were frequent.”


4EL, tel 01579 343663, www. navybooks.com For more information on the Coastal Forces Heritage Trust see their website at www.coastal- forces.org.uk


Liskeard PL14


Local bus duo meet an expert


STOURBRIDGE branch’s intrepid bus travellers have been at it again – and have also met the a real expert in the field. In January last year we reported


how S/Ms Alan Beasley and Norman Treece made the journey from the Midlands to Plymouth by local public transport for less then £4, using their bus passes. “We have since done a similar


journey by going to Chatham during May Bank Holiday,


this


time taking another of our 80-year- old barmpots with us, S/M Barry Billingham,” said S/M Alan. “However, these two feats have


now been surpassed by a couple of Black Country lads going from John o’Groats to Lands End in aid of the Cancer Research charity.” This particular trip took the


form of a race, with one man using his special concession bus pass and the other on a bike – and the bike won by the narrow margin of three hours. “To show respect for their efforts


I invited them to our January mess night to give a photographic presentation of their exploits,” said S/M Alan. “This was well-received by our members and thoroughly enjoyed. “Even though there were only 17 members in attendance that night we all dug deeply into our pockets and raised a further £75 for the charity.”


“With outstanding bravery, “It is the main objective of the


The three-hour DVD costs £14.99 (including p&p), and is available from Maritime Books, Lodge Hill,


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44