28 NAVY NEWS, JUNE 2011


90th birthday celebrated


FORMER Navy Secretary Sir Patrick Duffy celebrated his 90th birthday at a gathering in the Naval Club, London. Sir Patrick,


(pictured left, standing), was


Navy Minister from 1976-79, and one of the principal guests was Admiral Sir Raymond Lygo, Vice Chief of the Naval Staff during the late 1990s (pictured seated with his wife). Also present were three of the four Private


l Claude Choules, in 2009 at the age of 108, reflects on a Naval career which spanned the globe and two World Wars Picture: RAN Imagery Unit West


Last of the Last has died


Worcestershire in 1901 – two days after the Royal Australian Navy, which he later joined, came into existence – and joined the Royal Navy in 1915 as a boy seaman. After training in the training ship Impregnable, in Plymouth, he joined HMS Revenge in the autumn of 1917, later witnessing the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet off the Firth of Forth (‘Der Tag’) in late 1918. Trained as a torpedoman, Claude went on to serve in HMS Eagle, the RN’s first purpose- built aircraft carrier. Claude also served in World


War 2, though half a world away from his roots. He emigrated to join the


Royal Australian Navy in 1925, meeting his future wife Ethel, though the first thing he did was return to the UK to further train at HMS Vernon in Portsmouth. During the war Claude became chief demolition officer for western Australia, preparing explosive charges to destroy harbour facilities and oil tanks in the event of a Japanese invasion. He also disposed of the first


THE last known surviving combat veteran from World War 1, Claude Choules, has died in Perth, Australia, aged 110. Claude was born in


Secretaries of the time (one in a three star post), Sir Patrick’s Assistant Private Secretary, Geoff Howland – who organised the event – two of


his three WRNS 2/O Personal Assistants and his RM Colour Sergeant driver, as well as Bishop Walmsley, sometime RN Principal RC Chaplain. Sir Patrick was presented with a picture by


his personal secretaries and assistant personal secretary, featuring two Swordfish flying from the World War 2 carrier HMS Ark Royal. Sir Patrick was a FAA pilot, flying Swordfish


of 811 NAS from HMS Biter; he went on to fly Albacores, Barracudas and Fireflies. Admiral Lygo was also a Fleet Air Arm pilot, and later commanded HMS Ark Royal.


New image rolled out at Conference


ANNUAL Conference in Plymouth this month will signal the start of an integrated marketing and membership campaign which could transform the outlook of


the Association. For months General Secretary


S/M Paul Quinn has been working with members of the National Council and outside agencies to create and fine-tune a range of initiatives as well as a streamlined new look incorporating


typography, wording and colours. The scheme has been tested at each stage with feedback from 4, 8 and 10 Area meetings, influencing the creation of posters,


logos,


amend terms of office, but with opposite effects. York wants to see the Chairman appointed for two-year periods, with the Vice Chairman appointed in the alternate years for a similar period. This, according to York branch, will provide vital continuity and will avoid the possibility to two key officers being voted out at the same time leaving two new incumbents to pick up the traces. Chatham wants to see a number of officers appointed by


the National leaflets,


stationery, membership cards, car stickers and a new website, which complements the visual identity of the Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity – one of the many naval organisations the RNA supports. The new branding also ties in with the official colours and fonts of the Royal Navy to highlight the fact that the RNA belonging to the same Naval family. Shipmates will be asked to take


part in a ‘member get member’ scheme,


putting up posters


German mine washed up on Australian shores during the war. His last duties in uniform


memories, published in 2009 under the title The Last of the Last. “Dad was always proud of


his Navy service and considered it his other family,” said Mr Choules’ daughter Anne. “We are grateful for the Navy’s continued association with the family and their recognition of our father’s life.”


were as a dockyard policeman. Upon retiring in 1956, he spent a decade as a fisherman. In his 80s he recorded his


(legally!) in key locations which will have space at the bottom for details of the local branch. Packs will be issued to branches


at Conference and sent to non- attending branches by post. The packs for smaller branches


(fewer than 15 members) will contain 100 leaflets, 100 referral cards, 20 car stickers, 20 A4-sized posters


and one


poster; medium branches 30 members) will


get


A1-sized (15-


packs


containing twice the quantity, and larger branches will get three times the quantity. Other initiatives will be announced at Conference as final details were being worked on in the weeks before Conference, which is being staged at the Guildhall in Plymouth on Saturday June 11. The new look and the ‘member- get-member’


and Shipmates


campaigns will be launched by Naval Secretary Admiral David Steel, who is the Guest of Honour at the Conference. As well


as changes year sees to seven the


Association’s public face, there will be the usual round of awards, elections and branch motions. This


such


l Claude at HMAS Cerberus in 1936


branch motions. The first three, one from York and two from Chatham, seek to


Council for


two-year periods, including the Honorary Treasurer, Honorary Legal Advisor, the Chairman of the Standing Orders Committee and National Officers for specific subjects such as Welfare, Communications and PR and the National Ceremonial Officer. Chatham believes this will


allow the National Council to be periodically regenerated by the infusion of new blood, providing fresh thinking on the way ahead. Motion No 3 takes the idea one step further by suggesting branches be given the power to nominate candidates for the offices covered in Motion No 2, with such nominations being accompanied by a statement of the candidate’s experience. Motion No 4, proposed by


Leyland, requests that the RNA “withdraw


from membership


of the International Maritime Confederation”. In Leyland’s view cost of membership outweighs the benefit accrued by the Association, there is no knowledge of the IMC’s workings, and “in No 10 Area certainly, no branches have had any connection with the IMC.” Motion five, from Llandudno, addresses the Memorandum of Understanding with the RN and exhorts the National Council to review and renegotiate it to add “greater value to the activities and interests of the RNA.” The branch believes that while


the MOU is in principle a good idea, it “has failed because it has been poorly implemented” and “has not and will not bring us the numbers of full paid-up members we require.”


Antrim, urges the National Council to identify and obtain suitable HQ premises in an easily-accessible location, and to regularly report on progress and make a full report to the 2012 Conference.


The sixth motion, from East


The motion was prompted by the belief that the national Council has not fulfilled its promise, when it moved out of London, to relocate to a place which can be easily accessed by serving and ex-serving members of the Naval Service – the current HQ is at Semaphore Tower, within the secure area of Portsmouth Naval Base.


The final branch motion, put forward by Crosby, proposes that


“Crosby branch host the 2013 Annual Conference”,


would be organised in conjunction with No 10 Area and staged at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool. There


is Council motion, which


also one National paves


the way for the enactment of a resolution from last year’s Conference, allowing RN ships and establishments’ RNA Liaison Officers to attend and vote in National Conferences.


which


Generator is up for grabs


A WORKING generator from an old minesweeper is in need of a new home or else it will be scrapped.


The machine (detail above) was used on the locks at Chatham, but has now been replaced by new kit. All asbestos has been removed, and it now just needs somebody to come along and take it away (though at over 6ft high and at least three times as long it will not fit in the boot of a car..) If any shipmates know of an enthusiast or group who could use the huge machine, which is not needed by the Historic Dockyard, they


Hughes on email at martin. hughes@medwayports.com


should contact Martin


l Anchors Aweigh for Padre Harry Crawford of HMCS Athabaskan at the Area 10 reunion Area 10 meets up


ALMOST 200 members gathered at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool for the Area 10 Spring Conference and Annual Reunion. The event started on the


Friday afternoon when shipmates booked in for what would turn out to be one of the best reunions to date.


window as


Diets quickly went out of the guests were greeted


by a smiling waitress bearing quantities of cream-filled scones and strawberry tarts, which were enjoyed with tea and coffee in the Grand Lounge. A full evening of entertainment,


into the small hours, concluded the first day.


The conference itself began


at midday on the Saturday, formally opened by Dame Lorna Muirhead, the Lord Lieutenant of Merseyside. After business was wrapped up for the day the shipmates headed for the Banqueting Suite and a gala dinner. The suite was decorated with


red, white and blue serviettes, and the table plan – devised by Area Chairman S/M Dave Tollerton – was easily navigated by shipmates as each table had a large balloon bearing a ship’s name appropriate to the relevant branches. During


the evening S/M


Charles Hutton was presented with an engraved pewter tankard by Cdr Harry Harley, the Area President, to mark 21 years as Area Secretary. As he was making his way back to his seat he was asked to return to the stage, along with S/M Eric Poole.


Charlie and Eric were founder members of the Trafford branch, which


celebrated its Silver


Anniversary on St George’s Day, and each man received a plaque in recognition of their services to the branch.


S/M Diana Hutton was given a timepiece and a bouquet. Following dinner, Jill Fielding


and her band entertained


shipmates, with a comedian also taking to the stage. Sunday’s main activity was a


service by the Mersey. A coach took most shipmates


and their partners to St Nicholas Church close to the Pier Head, where the Rector of Liverpool, Rev Steven Brookes, conducted the service, assisted by padre Harry Crawford of the Canadian Navy. Following the service many members walked the few yards to the newly-dedicated avenue of maple trees which commemorates the assistance of


the Canadian


people during the pivotal Battle of the Atlantic of World War 2. Canadian Iroquois-class


destroyer HMCS Athabaskan was in Liverpool, and a number of shipmates visited her. And the Area had a chance


to repay that hospitality when a number of the destroyer’s ship’s company joined them for another evening of entertainment – which included a rum tub and the odd tot.


As the evening drew to a close


S/M Tollerton presented the ship’s padre with two 4ft 6in anchors made from balloons – leaving shipmates wondering how he would explain his ‘excess luggage’ to the Officer of the Day back on the ship...


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