10 NAVY NEWS, DECEMBER 2009
Is it a bird?
Is it a plane?
NO, it’s super mess...
The transformation of Faslane
continues with the opening of
the hub of the redevelopment,
a state-of-the-art food-leisure-
entertainment-shopping complex.
The super mess, as it is dubbed
(the official title is the Neptune
Building) has begun serving food,
the fi rst part of a phased opening.
Junior rates at HM Naval Base
Clyde were the fi rst people to
try out the new facilities, sitting
down to breakfast on Monday
November 16.
A week later, offi cers took their
place in the wardroom part of the
● Some of the junior restaurant show plates prepared by RN chefs at the Culinary Challenge
complex.
Picture: MMT
Once fully open, the super
mess is intended to meet most
Solving mystery
Plate class
of Faslane-based sailors’ needs –
the ground fl oor of the building
is occupied by a shopping mall
(the stores are not yet open
but the complex will feature a
of the last patrol
convenience store and post offi ce,
THE ninth Combined Services Culinary
(deep breath) the nail-biting 17 individual events
barber and internet café amongst
others). There’s also a sports bar
Challenge staged at Sandown Park
held in the practical theatre; the Parade de
and bowling alley in the building.
Exhibition Centre in Surrey saw three
Chef, where a team of three chefs creates a
Covered walkways lead off the
THIS is the first sight of Her Majesty’s Submarine E18 in nearly a
two-course meal for 64 VIPs; the Military Grand
central building to the new single-
century after a ten-year search for her wreck paid off.
days of top ‘cheffery’ (made-up word Prix – a team of three chefs preparing, cooking
living accommodation at Faslane;
The boat disappeared while on patrol in the Baltic in May 1916 –
– Ed) and stewarding from the three
and serving a two-course meal for 14 using a
taking all 33 crew with her.
Services – and the best RN result since
mystery box of ingrmystery bo edients; the
1,682 en suite cabins have been
he best RN result since
She had been attached to a squadron of boats dispatched to
2001.
field team challenge – thrfield tea ee
provided for Clyde-based sailors
the Baltic to wage war against the German effort at sea...
Royal Marines chefsRoya
of all ranks.
The contest is the flagship event he flagship event
...which the half a dozen boats did from the autumn of 1915 until
prprooduce a two-course
It’s part of an eight-year, £125m
in the Forces culinary world,linary world,
Russia’s withdrawal from the war in late 1917.
meal for 20 using the me
revamp of the base, the Neptune
aimed at raising the bar when it bar when it
By then, E18 had been missing for nearly 18 months, however.
ten-man ration packs; ten
Regeneration Project.
comes to catering personnel, personnel,
She left her base at Reval – today Tallinn – in Estonia (then part of
the display salonthe
The task of naming two of
nurturing pride in professional fessional
the Russian Empire) with a flurry of British submarines in late May
featurfeatu ed decorative
the areas in the supermess has
achievement, fostering team ng team
1916.
cakes, sculpturcakes ed fat
fallen to Naval Base workers.
spirit – and rewarding the ng the
Her CO Lt Cdr Robert Crosby Halahan was an unusual
carvings, show platters and team carvings, show
Christening the all-ranks facility –
best.
character. Embracing the white heat of new technology at the
buffets; and in the stewarfets;fets; and in ds arena,
a catering area with a bar, dance
A 75-strong RN culinary ulinary
beginning of the 20th Century, he volunteered for submarines (he
stewarstewarding skills werding skills e put to the test.
fl oor and stage – and the retail
arts team formed up atup at
also learned to fly).
Navy team captain, Ark Royal’Navy team capt s PO
mall will follow a competition
HMS Nelson – comprising prising
To his crew’s chagrin, he refused to use the boat’s heads and
Simon Geldart, a veteran of high-end Simon Geldart, a v
open to everyone on site.
chefs and stewarwards
insisted on surfacing each morning to perform his bodily functions
cooking who’cooking who’s worked with Gors wo don
from the Royal NavyNavy,
over the side – which almost resulted in the submarine being sunk
Ramsay and prRamsay and prepared meals for the Queen, ed
Royal Marines, RoyalRoyal
when caught by surprise by a Zeppelin.
walked away with a couple of titles frwalked away with a c om
Reward for
Fleet Auxiliary as well as ell as
Halahan was also unusually superstitious. When dispatched to
Sandown Park: most valued team member Sandown Park: most va
civilians from support firmsport firms
the Baltic he took a last look at the shores of his mother country,
and senior lamb chef – drawing on his Wand senior lamb chef – d elsh
Aramark and Sodexo – to hone xo – to hone
never expecting to see it again, while an Estonian fortune teller
heritage for the latterheritage for the latter.
refi t efforts
their skills before making the rking the relatively elatively
predicted he was “in grave danger” shortly before he departed on
“I am overwhelmed with excitement about “I am overwhelmed w
short trip up the A3 to Eshero Esher.
his final patrol.
being awarbeing awarded this prize. I am over the ded this pr
THE Superintendent Fleet
Awards were issued based ond b d
Yet he was also a skilful submarine commander. He blew the
moon,” the senior rate said. “I guess cooking
Maintenance (SFM) Upkeep
creativity, workmanship, composition and
bow off a German destroyer, V100, on May 26 (she would have
quality lamb must be in my blood.”
Team completed a hat-trick of
presentation (including taste) with the judges’
sunk had the weather not been so clement) and continued to
Fleet Catering Officer 1/O Pat Prunty RFA
hugely-successful maintenance
scores determining what, if any, gong
seek out targets – E18 was twice sighted by the Germans on the
added: “This is a testimony to all those taking
periods which saw them gain a
should be given: a 90 per cent score
surface of the Baltic, the last time on the mid-afternoon of June 1.
part. It was a pleasure seeing the faces of each
top award.
was needed for gold, 75 for silver,
Thereafter no trace of her has ever been found – until now.
competitor when they collected their awards at
During 2009, refi t and docking
65 for bronze, 55 for a certificate of
Her fate captured the imaginations of Swedish historian and
the prize giving ceremony each day.”
periods for HM Ships Ark
merit.
explorer Carl Douglas and Australian Darren Brown, great-
Despite the record number of successful
Royal, Liverpool and York were
Aside from the small matter of
grandson of one of E18’s crew – who missed her final patrol
Senior Service caterers coming home from this
all completed on time and on
expert judging, there were the added
through illness and was haunted by the fate of his shipmates for
year’s event, 1/O Prunty and his team are already
budget.
pressures of time constraints and a
the rest of his life.
scouring the RN for next year’s contest.
In recognition of the work
live audience.
“Finding the answer to what happened became my quest,” said
If you are interested in taking part, contact the
done on the latter destroyer,
And to that end, the judges
Mr Brown, who promptly spent years ploughing through British,
Naval Service Culinary Arts Team management
many of the individuals involved
presented an impressive 83 awards
German, Russian and Estonian archives trying to piece together
at Navy Command HQ.
– including members of the SFM
to the RN team: six ‘best in class’,
E18’s final patrol.
Upkeep Team plus York’s ship’s
seven gold, 22 silver, 23 bronze and 25 ● Burning ambition... Logs Lizzy Froud (HMS
Armed with all the latest research, the Swedish survey vessel
company – were awarded a BAE
certificates of merit. Bulwark) fi res her way to bronze in the senior
MV Triad began searching the waters off the island of Hiiumaa.
Chairman’s Bronze Award.
Highlights of the contest included fl ambé Pictures: LA(Phot) Chris Mumby, FRPU East
It was there that the boat’s side-scan sonar picked up a contact
David Denmead, SFM project
on the seabed in waters known to have been heavily mined during
contract manager – and one of
the Great War.
the recipients of the award –
A robot submarine was sent down for further inspection and
attributed the success of recent
brought back haunting images which historians determined were
refi ts in Portsmouth to “the way
of an E-boat.
in which all the disparate groups
“It’s the fruition of nearly a decade of work – a very emotional
– BAE, ship’s companies, SFM
discovery for me and the search team,” said Mr Douglas.
– have mucked in together and
“It’s been one of the top three wrecks we wanted to find.”
got on with the job, even in the
It’s thought the boat fell victim either to a mine or was sunk by
face of taut programmes that have
gunfire from German surface forces. Either way, 30 Britons and
really stretched us.
three Russian sailors serving aboard as liaison officers were killed,
“Take Ark as an example.
including the fatalistic Halahan.
We weren’t originally due to
The whole saga is being recounted in a forthcoming
dock her but we ended up
documentary, Churchill’s Lost Submarine; you can watch extracts
doing a complete hull survey,
from it at www.youtube.com/user/DeepSeaProd
blasting away the whole of the
outer bottom to bare metal and
applying Intersleek paint. I was
on board Ark at sea when the
ship got up to 31.5 knots, so it
was nice to see the fruits of our
labour.”
Sample the
life O’Brian
LOVERS of the days of sail and
the leading fi ctional chronicler of
Nelson’s Navy can feed both their
passions in Portsmouth next year.
A ‘Patrick O’Brian’ weekend
is being lined up in the historic
dockyard to celebrate the late
Irish author, his writings and the
world he loved so much: the early
19th-Century Royal Navy.
The highlight of the weekend
will be a lower gundeck dinner
aboard HMS Victory.
There will also be a concert,
readings from O’Brian’s novels,
and lectures by leading naval
historians of the period.
The weekend costs £450 (not
including accommodation).
Details from Sue Goodger at
the Royal Naval Museum on sue.
goodger@royalnavalmuseum.
org or 023 9272 7583.
010_NN_Dec.indd 1 20/11/09 15:05:49
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