NAVY NEWS, DECEMBER 2011


31


Culdrose contingent parades at Madron


AN ANNUAL service which began when news from the Battle of Trafalgar was brought ashore in 1805 has been held in Cornwall.


And once again personnel from


Exchange pilots join 771 NAS


TWO new international exchange pilots


Navy’s Cornish search and rescue squadron. The two


families moved to RN Air Station Culdrose under a long-standing foreign exchange programme involving the Royal Navy, the US Coast Guard and the German Navy.


Lt Sean Jehu (above) hails from the Amish country in rural Pennsylvania, and served nine years in the US Army as a pilot in medical evacuation units in the southern US, South Korea and Hawaii. In 2005 he transferred to the US Coast Guard, flying search and


missions throughout the northern United States, over the Great Lakes and into the Caribbean. Kapitänleutenant


Volkwein was born in Berlin, and planned for a career in military aviation from an early age. Steffen spent six years with


He also deployed to assist the UN Interim Forces in the Lebanon mission in 2007. The aim of the exchange is


programme Steffen


Naval Air Wing 5 in Kiel, flying Sea Kings on search and rescue missions covering the North and Baltic Seas.


awareness and understanding of each nation’s SAR flying practices, routines and techniques in order to enhance and further develop their flying ability and experience.


to promote rescue, law enforcement officers and have joined the Royal their


RN Air Station Culdrose played a prominent role in the Nelson Thanksgiving Service and Parade at Madron, near Penzance. The first news of the Royal


Navy’s victory at Trafalgar was passed to fishermen working in Mounts Bay by HMS Pickle as she made her way to Falmouth with dispatches from the battle. The fishermen carried the message back to port and, on November 4 1805, the news of Nelson’s death and victory was announced from the Assembly Rooms in Penzance. The assembled crowd then processed to the Mother Church of Penzance, the Church of St Maddern at Madron, where a memorial service was held and the Nelson Banner, which was hastily prepared to mourn the death of Nelson, was paraded for the first time.


Madron


The Banner is now kept in Parish Church


and


brought out each year on the Sunday closest to Trafalgar Day when it is held to the “Immortal Memory”. For many years similar services


were held, but it was in 1946 that the tradition of holding an annual commemoration was revived by the Rev (later Canon) Michael Hocking, a former naval captain, and vicar of Madron at the time. Each year Culdrose plays a major part in upholding this tradition, and on completion of the


Services in the


pink (list)


ROYAL Navy diversity expert Lt Cdr Mandy McBain has been listed as one of the most influential gay and lesbian people in the UK. Lt Cdr McBain (above) is the Chair of the Naval Service Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Forum and a NATO LGBT Working Group Member. With responsibility for


l Capt Toby Williamson, Commanding Officer of RN Air Station Culdrose, takes the salute at the annual Nelson Thanksgiving service and parade at Madron in Cornwall


Picture: LA(Phot) Dave Sterrett


service, HMS Seahawk Volunteer Band leads a march-past at which the Commanding Officer of the air base takes the salute.


The parade included a colour


party and guard from Culdrose, members of the Sea Cadet Corps,


the Royal British Legion and various other veterans’ organisations. Culdrose CO Capt Toby Williamson played his part, and joined other senior naval officers from the base at the thanksgiving service at Madron.


Examining the Diamond


THE Navy’s personnel chief dropped by at HMS Raleigh to see how new training initiatives are bedding in.


Vice Admiral Charles Montgomery watched recruits using


their new skills during


Exercise Bright Diamond, the final confirmatory test of the enhanced ten-week initial naval training course. The


three-day, humanitarian-style two night exercise,


introduced in May, takes place at Scraesdon Fort near Antony and on board the former minesweeper HMS Brecon, moored on the River Lynher. Vice Admiral Montgomery visited the fort and spoke to staff and recruits (pictured right) before moving on to the site of a new replenishment at sea (RAS) training facility, currently under construction. Work on the £25m trainer began in the summer and is due to finish in 2014.


Also present was the Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall,


Col


Edward Bolitho, the Mayor of Penzance Cllr Jan Ruhrmund, members of the Royal British Legion and a large contingent of Sea Cadets.


Award for Alex


A ROYAL Fleet Auxiliary officer cadet has won an award for his high standards during training. Engineering Cadet Alex Cooper


was presented with the Richard Jones Award for Outstanding Cadetship by Richard’s widow Jane Jones. The award is presented annually in memory of the late Chief Officer Richard Jones, who was Cadet Training Officer from 1983-85.


Presenting the Jones said: “Alex is,


trophy, Mrs without


question, a very worthy recipient of the Richard Jones Award.” 3/O Cooper won the accolade by


Engineering,


Managed by Rolls-Royce Power the project will


deliver a land-based demonstrator known as the Heavy RAS (HRAS), which will test new equipment for the next generation of warships, including the Queen Elizabeth- class aircraft carriers.


It will also allow the amount of stores that can be transferred to increase from two tonnes to five. The senior officer’s visit concluded with a passing- out parade, when he inspected the latest group of recruits to complete initial training.


“repeatedly showing the drive and determination to succeed through hard work and natural ability both as an engineering officer and as a leader and team player in the Engineering department.” Alex, 21, has been with the


RFA for three years, and during that time has travelled extensively. Engineering features in his spare time, too – he has just rebuilt a classic Mini Cooper.


Faslane workers check out the HIE-Life


HUNDREDS of workers flocked to Clyde Naval Base’s ‘HIE-Life’ annual health and safety event. Staged in the Neptune Building Supermess for the first


time, HIE-Life attracted dozens of stalls and displays from leading companies in the health, safety and environmental sector, as well as Base departments. The exhibition, which was months in the making, was organised by Sue Hill from Babcock’s Health and Safety department and Anne MacDonald from the base’s Injury Free (IIF) campaign. Specialist event company Pro-x was involved, and Faslane


Flotilla’s Duncan Gow arranged the valuable manpower to help set up the stalls. “We started arrangements for the exhibition back in July


this year,” said Anne. “It looks like our preparations have paid off as we have had around 500 visitors over the past two days.” Sue continued: “The event seems to grow each year, and


it is fantastic that we can get so many people involved and interested in attending. “Health, safety and the environment are vitally important subjects and among the Naval Base’s top priorities.


“The exhibition gives us a chance to raise awareness, exchange knowledge and explore different solutions to problems.


“It also gives those base departments with an


environmental and safety remit the chance to promote themselves.”


Among those departments taking the opportunity for self-promotion was Clyde’s Regional Occupational Health team. “We have brought along an indoor air quality monitor, which shows how we can measure working environments to ensure they comply with regulations,” said WO John Laird. “On the environmental health side we’ve also been demonstrating some of the equipment we use in the role of pest control, and with regards to occupational health we’ve seen interest in some of the our first aid courses and health promotions which we regularly run.” One stall which was drawing a lot of attention was manned by the Grounds and Wastes team. “We have some tough targets to achieve on recycling at the base,” said Jane Trayte. “At the moment we are recycling 52 per cent of waste,


but by 2015 we need to ensure we recycle 80 per cent. “It’s great to have an event such as this to get our message across and it has been heartening to see how much interest there is in what we are doing to achieve our targets.” Also attending during the two days were the Defence Fire and Rescue Service, Fleet Protection Group Royal Marines, Northern Diving Group and the HMNB Clyde Sportsdrome and Medical Centre, and companies such as TISO, UVEX, Ansell Healthcare, Globus, Factair, Scafftag and Aztec spill kits.


Tales of a true Naval hero


AN exhibition on ‘Admiral Cochrane, the Real Master and Commander’ has opened at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. Using many objects never seen on public display before, including medals and personal mementos, the exhibition traces Cochrane’s life from boyhood in Fife to Napoleonic stalwart, on through scandal and disgrace to his status as Chilean national hero. The exhibition runs until February 19 2012.


equality, diversity and inclusion policy in the Naval Service, the officer was one of more than 1,500 nominations for the 2011 Independent on Sunday Pink List. Around 500 names appeared in the nomination process, and all were reviewed by a panel of judges. When the judging was over, Lt Cdr McBain found herself at number 59 on a list of 101 luminaries. The biographical details issued with the publication of the List declare: “The most senior openly gay officer in the Royal Navy, with 20 years’ service, Lt Cdr McBain was last year involved in averting a bomb hoax on HMS Excellent. “She helped to create the


Navy’s first Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Forum, which she chairs.”


Wharton (17th), described as: “The military man who became a pioneer for gay soldiers


appearing on the cover of Soldier magazine in 2009 alongside the slogan ‘Pride’,” and Wg Cdr Mark Abrahams, who helped establish and chairs the RAF LGBT Forum (83rd).


after Also on the list are L/Cpl James


Top deep is rewarded


WARFARE specialist Matthew Barker clutches a new award (above) donated to the Royal Navy by the Submariners Association. Matthew joined the Mob last


year and completed his training at the RN Submarine School in HMS Raleigh in July. And


his dedication commitment to and training meant


Matthew became the first recipient of the trophy, presented to him at Raleigh by Dave Barlow, the National Chairman of the Submariners Association. The new trophy is a replica ‘Submariner’,


of the which


forms part of the memorial in Westminster Abbey to the men of the Commandos, RN Submarine Service, Airborne and Special Air Service who died in World War 2. It will remain in the Submarine School, while each recipient the award,


of to be awarded on


a biannual basis, will receive a miniature of the statuette and a certificate.


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