NAVY NEWS, DECEMBER 2011


3


war returning


with rookie Lynx helicopter crews,


exercises


After trials, a spot of training winter


in the Arctic, and a farewell visit to her namesake city, the venerable destroyer is due to decommission. She leaves the Navy, says Cdr Williams, “having played a very good tune on her fi ddle.” He continued: “She has done a sterling job. It’s sad to see a ship with as much heart as her leave service. But it’s time for her to go.”


S


he goes with her ship’s company convinced that they have “made a


difference” – a phrase used repeatedly – on Liverpool’s final deployment. “You are under no illusions about what you are doing – you are making the world a better place for those less fortunate. It sounds a bit dramatic,” said CPO Stuart Geary. Twenty-eight-year-old LCH Nicola Stirzaker from Bradford added: “It’s been a long year but a good year. “I’ve


never done


something as big as this. When we heard that Gaddafi had gone you knew that you’d made a big difference.” Working in the gunbay meant LET(WE) Jon Paxton was particularly busy at times. “It still doesn’t feel real now – but it was the real deal,” said the 27-year-old from Arbroath. “Something needed to be done. We feel we’ve played a part, even if it’s a small one. We like to think we’ve made a difference.”


And so, understandably, Liverpool’s ship’s company are filled with “a sense of pride and satisfaction at a job well done”, says Cdr Williams. “You can see sailors grinning


from ear to ear. We are very proud of what we have done. Keeping people motivated has not been diffi cult – they could see the difference we were making.”


F or


Imprinted on his memory is the sight of a former


Gaddafi warship in the hands of Free Libya Forces.


“Everyone was waving,” he said. “You think: These guys are in control of their country – it was very rewarding.” The ship’s flight was denied much of


the pomp


and ceremony of Liverpool’s homecoming – after two rapid passes of Portsmouth Harbour and the Lynx’s trademark ‘nod’ in front of the waiting families, the helicopter raced westwards and home: There may not have been 1,000 people waiting for them,


pilot Lt Al Crawford,


but don’t believe that the welcome for the nimble aircraft and its crew was any less heartfelt.


100


As on the jetty in Portsmouth, miles


away at as were most RNAS


Yeovilton the families of 217 Flight were waiting expectantly –


personnel


from their parent 815 Naval Air Squadron who were not on deployment. Youngsters Thomas and Samuel Barron couldn’t wait for dad, fl ight commander and observer Lt Phil Barron to set down on the Somerset runway and raced across the concrete when the helicopter’s rotors fi nally stopped turning. The Lynx he commanded fl ew


more than 250 hours on Unifi ed Protector duties, called upon to detect small boats potentially carrying mines to block ports in rebel hands – notably the besieged city of Misrata – and also helped call in fi re missions for the destroyer’s main 4.5in gun


by picking out targets


ashore. In doing so, the Lynx came under fi re from shore- based enemy artillery. Despite


such dangers,


punishing Mediterranean temperatures during the high summer, and a very demanding workrate, 217 Flight achieved an almost-unheard of


availability


rate of 94 per cent thanks to Herculean efforts by the ground crew, assisted when needed by colleagues back at base in Yeovilton.


“The unknown was the biggest challenge – we were working mainly at night because they were using the cover of darkness for their activities,” said 31-year-old Lt Barron from Ilchester, who was greeted by his wife Jennifer as well their two sons. “We came under fi re a few times – you could feel the explosion of the rounds, mainly artillery, but we were not hit.”


T


he Flight’s last act of this landmark deployment was to deliver two VVIPs to


Liverpool for her homecoming – proof of the high regard in which the destroyer’s actions are held. Defence


Secretary Philip


Hammond – paying his fi rst visit to the Navy since taking offi ce – and First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope joined the ship for the fi nal couple of hours of her deployment. Most of the ship’s company crammed into her compact hangar, where Mr Hammond told them they could be proud of playing “a vital role” in helping the Libyan people “to rid themselves of a tyrant and end a dictatorship that has lasted for 40 years. “Your bravery and


■ the evacuation of nearly 500 civilians from eastern Libya; ■ fi ring the fi rst shots of the NATO campaign – Tomahawk missiles launched from submarine HMS Triumph; ■ clearing mines from Misrata and Tobruk; ■ pounding enemy positions and vehicles; ■ choreographing the aerial campaign using the operations room on HMS Liverpool; ■ launching helicopter strikes from HMS Ocean; ■ assisting the nascent Free Libyan Forces.


“Much of what the Navy does is below the horizon,” Admiral Stanhope said. “We go away, do our thing and not many people know about it. “I hope that the Libya operations have shown what the Navy does. There has been some good


coverage of its


achievements and that has meant it has raised the public’s view of what the Navy is about.” HMS Liverpool has, arguably, linked


been with


professionalism is an inspiration to us all. “We are grateful to you


and proud of you. You have demonstrated the power of the Royal Navy. On behalf of the whole nation: thank you for what you have done.”


Admiral Stanhope said the


destroyer’s actions – and those of the 15 other British warships and auxiliaries which have played smaller or larger roles in the Libyan mission – had “raised the public’s view of what the Navy is about”.


The accomplishments of the


Naval Service since Libya was engulfed in civil war earlier this year include:


● Sailors on minehunter HMS Brocklesby – which herself played a key role in events at Misrata – salute Liverpool as she enters Portsmouth Harbour and (below) the destroyer’s Commanding Offi cer Cdr Colin Williams hugs his daughters Isabella and Hermione and his wife Sarah


operations


off Libya more than any other British vessel.


“Liverpool has been the ship of the moment,” says Cdr Williams emphatically. “We arrived at the beginning and left at the end, we’ve seen the difference we made to the people of Libya. He continued: “We were under attack, under constant threat of attack, and that’s not easy – it’s stressful and tiring, but we reacted calmly, professionally, and


we’ve safely.”


And for the men and women of HMS Liverpool, the traditional naval words of praise for a job well done: Bravo Zulu.


“Thank you for all you have done,” the First Sea Lord told the ship’s company. “You have displayed the Royal Navy at its very best.”


all come home


pictures: la(phots) nicky wilson, jay allen, darby allen, gaz weatherston


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