HMS Nottingham takes a final bow HMS Nottingham braves rough Atlantic seas during a high seas firing exercise
After clocking up almost 700,000 nautical miles (1.3 million kilometres) on operations across the world over the last 30 years, Type 42 destroyer HMS Nottingham ended her career at a special decommissioning ceremony in Portsmouth on 11th February 2010. Among the guests at HMS Nottingham’s decommissioning service at Portsmouth Naval Base was former First Sea Lord, Sir Henry Leach, whose wife, Lady Leach, launched the ship in February 1980. Their daughter, Henrietta Wood, who is the ship’s sponsor, was also present along with many of the ship’s 15 former Commanding Officers. The Regiment, which is affiliated to HMS Nottingham, was represented by a party from the 2nd Battalion.
The decommissioning service was conducted by naval chaplain the Reverend Ralph Barber, with musical accompaniment by The Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines, HMS Collingwood, and was rounded off in traditional Royal Navy fashion with the ceremonial cutting of a decommissioning cake. Performing that task was Mrs Wood and 18 year old Engineering Technician James Deeley, the youngest sailor on board. Commander Andrew Price, the ship’s Commanding Officer, said:
“HMS Nottingham has served the Royal Navy proud throughout the world since she was launched in 1980 and my time as
Commanding Officer has been one of the highlights of my naval career. Today is tinged with sadness as the ship’s career comes to an end but the new class of highly-capable Type 45 destroyers represent a step-change in technology relevant for the modern world.”
HMS Nottingham - the sixth ship to bear the name - was built at Vosper Thornycroft in Southampton and launched on 18 February 1980 and, soon afterwards, an affiliation with The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment was established. The South Atlantic, the Far East and the Gulf were amongst her early deployments and soldiers from the Regiment sailed with HMS Nottingham on a number of occasions. On 23 July 1984, the ship was granted the Freedom of the City of Nottingham and, since then, has maintained close links with its charities, hospitals and schools.
In November 1996, HMS Nottingham became the first UK warship to visit the Black Sea port of Poti in 75 years. Nottingham’s stay coincided with “British Week”, held in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi, which promoted British products and culture. During a deployment to the Far East in 2002, HMS Nottingham hit a rock off the coast of Australia and was brought back to UK for repairs on a naval equivalent of a low-loader. The ship returned to sea in 2004 following an 18-month repair programme. In June
Run, Fat Boy, Run! Cheshires in Welsh 1000 21 Years On by Richard Forde-Johnston
In June 1989, not long after returning from a tour in the Falklands and a matter of weeks before proudly sticking oak leaves in our cap badges to receive new Colours on the Roodee from the Colonel in Chief, five young subalterns supported by the then OC A Company, Martin Fuller, took part in the gruelling 20 miles and 8000’ ascent of the annual “Welsh 1000” Fell Race in Snowdonia, coming second.
In June 2010, 21 years later, three of the original team – Bob Ryan, Richard Forde- Johnston and Ken Lonergan entered the race again with Mike Roberts – at 48, our oldest but newest team member – and Davids Cook and Buckley (also ex A Company) as our excellent support team. The result wasn’t quite the same (6_ hours in ‘89 had become 10 hours) but the teamwork was still there! Considering that we were all pretty much twice as old as when we first did the race, we were just grateful to be able to finish, enjoy
96 October 2010
the reunion and go home to our families, having just heard of the heroic deaths in Afghanistan of Corporal Terry Webster and Lance Corporal Alan Cochran, to whom we dedicate our race as a mark of respect. Our thoughts and prayers go to their families and friends.
We worked out that we represented a small but continuous piece of A Company history in that, between us, we represented the entire junior officer cadre of that august body from 1985 to 1990 inclusive: David Cook (1 Platoon ‘85-’87), Mike Roberts (2 Platoon and 2ic ‘85- ’88), Ken Lonergan (3 Platoon ‘85-’87 and 2ic ‘88-’90), David Buckley (1 Platoon ‘88-’91), Bob Ryan (2 Platoon ‘87-’91) and Richard Forde-Johnston (3 Platoon ‘87-’90).
If you’re interested, David Cook is now Headmaster of Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School in Crosby. He has two children and lives in north Cheshire. Mike Roberts is a Logistics Manager for the National Blood
2006, Nottingham returned from six months of counter-terrorism and maritime security patrols in the Mediterranean, working alongside five other NATO nations. The ship trained and operated with two ships from the Russian Federation - the first time ships from that nation had been involved with training for multi-force anti-terrorism operations. HMS Nottingham returned from her final deployment, patrolling the South Atlantic, in April 2008. The Royal Navy is replacing the Type 42s with the Type 45 Daring class of destroyers. The first of the Type 45 class, HMS Daring, made her first entry to her Portsmouth home in January last year. Dauntless followed in December and sister ships Diamond, Dragon, Defender and Duncan are at various stages of build and will all enter service progressively during the next five years.
HMS Nottingham’s former Commanding Officers and the ship’s sponsor, Mrs Henrietta Wood, line up on the gangway
HMS Nottingham’s decommissioning ceremony at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Portsmouth
Above: Ex-CHESHIRE Welsh 1000 Team 2010
L to R: Mike Roberts, Richard F-J, David Cook, David Buckley, Bob Ryan (Ken Lonergan not pictured)
Service and is about to marry Alison. They have a baby daughter, Alice, and live in east Cheshire. Ken Lonergan, the most recently
The Mercian Eagle
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