NAVY NEWS, MAY 2010

31

Founder member mourned

A FOUNDER member of the LST

and Landing Craft Association

has died at the age of 89. Syd Hook was born into a fishing

family in Teignmouth, Devon, but at his father’s insistence he became a shipyard apprentice, eventually becoming a skilled shipwright. On the outbreak of war the

19-year-old joined the Navy, taking part in the Dunkirk evacuation and bomb disposal work. In 1942 he sailed to the United

States in the Queen Mary to join LST 403, under construction in the Baltimore Shipyards. Syd sailed it to the UK (despite its size – it could carry 30 Sherman tanks on the main deck – he said “it rolled like a pig”) then took part in the landings at North Africa, Sicily, Salerno and Anzio, where he won the DSM. He was at Normandy on

D Day, and made 22 crossings to take troops, tanks and supplies to Normandy,

wounded men. He spent 24 years as a harbour pilot after the war, and with his friend Jim Brend set up the LST and Landing Craft Association.

Garden tribute

A NAVAL monument to honour Canadians lost in the Battle of the Atlantic is to be dedicated on Sunday May 2 at HMCS Prevost in London, Ontario. The memorial garden, built into

the grass hillside at Prevost, will feature a carpet of creeping phlox, which will bloom a brilliant blue from early spring to midsummer. In this sea of flowers is placed of 25 blue granite

a ‘convoy’

stones, running east to west, each engraved with the name of a Royal Canadian Navy ship lost in the battle, starting with HMCS Fraser (lost in June 1940) and ending with HMCS Esquimalt (lost in April 1945). A further stone honours the sacrifice of the Merchant Navy.

returning with

Plenty to discuss at la Conférence

THIS year’s National Conference, to be held in Normandy next month, looks like being the busiest for some years with a total of 14 branch

motions to consider.

When two proposed amendments to the Supplemental Charter and any motions of urgency are added to the

list,

there should be plenty of scope for debate at the Stade Kieffer in Ouistreham on Friday June 4. The two proposed amendments, both put forward by Watford branch and seconded by Hemel Hempstead, deal with the level of support needed to revoke, alter or amend rules or provisions at conference; in both cases the proposed change would see the threshold lowered to more than half the votes cast; the current levels stand at two-thirds majority (Article 16(2)) and three-quarters (Article 19).

The same thinking informs the

first branch motion, proposed and seconded as above, which would see future conferences, Council, area or branch meetings carry any motion, proposal or recommendation with a simple majority of more than half the votes, rather than the two-thirds currently required.

Chatham,

seconded by

Margate, seeks acknowledgement that area National Council members are elected to act, inter alia, as representatives of their areas, with a duty “to report freely and faithfully to their respective areas” on all council business other than that subject to limitations under a council resolution. Chatham also propose motion number 3, backed by Woking, that a common process is established

£50 PRIZE PUZZLE

for the election of area national council members and their deputies, giving area committees the responsibility for carrying out elections of those members.

Isle of Sheppey,

Sherborne, seek the appointment of a study group to look into options for the location and funding of future

by Maidstone, seeks to amend Association Rule 14(c), which deals with the election of members to the Standing Orders Committee. Helston branch, seconded by

seconded Annual

Conferences, with a remit to submit a report to the National Council for consideration. On the same subject, motion number 6, proposed by Watford and seconded by

Hemel

Hempstead,

tackles

Rule 12(a) by seeking to take the final decision for the location of subsequent conferences out of the hands of the National Conference and instead decide by means of a postal referendum of all branches. And Helston, with the backing

of Sherborne,

request that

conferences be programmed for September each year; the current practice is to hold the event in June.

The focus remains on National

Conference in motion number 8, proposed by Plymouth and seconded by Frome, which asks the National Council to enhance the memorandum of understanding with the Royal Navy to allow ships’ and establishments’ RNA liaison officers – namely executive warrant officers or designated deputies – to attend and vote at National Conferences. The award for the briefest and most succinct branch motion

goes to Tyne,

Spennymoor and Ferryhill, who

at number 9 propose “that Tyne Branch host the 2012 National Conference.” Watford return to the limelight, again supported by

Hemel Hempstead, suggesting

that an addition to Bye-law 4 would allow branches to “seek clarification of matters contained in the Annual Report and Annual Accounts through the General Secretary.” Another bye-law under scrutiny

seconded by

is A8, with Frome, seconded by Helston, looking to change the number of meetings held by each area to a minimum of three annually, instead of the current four.

Crosby,

Llandudno, propose that 2011 be designated ‘RNA Year of National Recruitment’, with the hope that an association-wide initiative might

increase in membership. The ‘local’ branches enter the

Motion number 12 sees with

support from result in a significant

fray at motion number 13, when

Aquitaine, seconded by France

support from Waterlooville, aim to change Model Club Rule 12 to increase the amount payable by an appellant towards the appeal procedure from 50p to £5. Conference is due to open at 1030 and finish at 1700, but the timings, and indeed the agenda and motions, may be subject to change as all material was still in draft format as Navy News went to press.

with

Nord, propose “that the Guide to Ceremonial be amended to require Standard Bearers to wear the Standard Carrying Strap over the right shoulder.” And finally, Gosport,

l S/M Ian Gould

Cyprus loses a friend

departure from convention at the start of proceedings, when the National Standard is marched on with the standard of FAMMAC,

the Fédération d’Associations de Marins et de Marins Anciens

Combattants – the Gallic equivalent of the RNA. The conference will

officially opened by the Mayor of Ouistreham, and First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope will address shipmates.

Service for lost boat E18

A MEMORIAL service is to be held for a British submarine lost in the Baltic during World War 1, and families of crew members are invited to get involved. E18 was sunk with all hands off Estonia in 1916, and Robert Davenport’s interest in the boat derives from a family link – E18’s CO, Lt Cdr Robert Halahan, was the first husband of Robert’s grandmother. A service, and the dedication of

a plaque in memory of E18 and the 33 men lost with her, will be held at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Tallinn on Sunday May 31, and a group of relatives will be spending the weekend in the Estonian capital. If anyone connected to the crew

would like to be represented at the event – or travel out themselves – they should contact Robert at

robertdavenport@btinternet.

com or call 07834 606607

Down Memory Lane to The Gut

MORE than 30 members of Chatham branch travelled to Malta for a trip down memory lane.

The week-long visit allowed the

former RN sailors in the group the chance to reminisce about the lengthy periods they had spent on

THE mystery ship in our March edition (right) was HMS Trafalgar, and the sister ship which rammed her was HMS Solebay. M Turner, of West Lothian, wins £50 for providing the correct answer. This month’s ship (above), was

the third of a quartet launched in Lowestoft in the late 1960s. She quickly adopted a famous

TV character as her official mascot, a party of 11 visiting BBC TV Centre before commissioning to meet the mascot and his sidekick Mr Rodney. What was the ship’s name, and who was her famous mascot – still a popular figure on the small screen today? We have removed her pennant

Plans to refurbish old mast

number from the picture.

Complete the coupon and send it to Mystery Picture, Navy News, HMS Nelson, Portsmouth PO1 3HH. Coupons giving the correct answer will go into a prize draw to establish a winner.

Closing date for entries is June

14. More than one entry can be submitted, but photocopies cannot be accepted. Do not include anything else in your envelope: no correspondence can be entered into and no entry returned.

The winners will be announced in our July edition. The competition is not open to Navy News employees or their families.

MYSTERY PICTURE 183

Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . My answers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

HOPES are high that the famous HMS Ganges mast at Shotley will soon be back in mint condition. The 143ft mast at the former

East Anglian training establishment has suffered the ravages of time and weather, with rot and rust taking their toll over the decades. But current site owners Haylink

won approval from Babergh District Council for plans to dismantle the iconic structure and have it repaired and refurbished by specialists off site before returning it to Shotley. Haylink also plans to develop the site with housing, including retirement homes. The mast was originally

built in 1907 just inside the establishment’s main gate, and is a local landmark. Said to have been originally

built from sections of the masts of two 19th century ships, HMS Cordelia and HMS Agincourt, it is now thought most of the structure dates from after 1955; there have been four further major repairs since then. The mast was last used in a mast-manning ceremony on June 6 1976, when HMS Ganges was formally closed,

150,000 recruits through its gates over the course of 71 years.

having seen

the Mediterranean island during their careers, either living ashore or visiting in ships. The programme included a social evening with Malta branch and a visit to Malta Sea Cadets HQ, from which affiliations with these units may yet be constructed. Members were also invited to the homes of former Maltese RN personnel, but the visit of an RN warship to coincide with the Chatham trip failed to materialise due to bad weather in the Bay of Biscay delaying its arrival. Stepping from the aircraft

on arrival into the warm Malta sunshine was just what the visitors had looked forward to after the dreadful UK winter, and the weather remained kind until it rained on the final day, by which time most visitors were

happy to relax in the hotel after a hectic week of sightseeing and socialising.

The social evening with the local branch in Valletta brought back memories of nights out down ‘The Gut’, the bar-lined back street in Valletta, and other escapades such as ignoring advice when deciding to swim back to the ship in Grand Harbour, only to be hauled into a following dhaisa. There were formalities, too, in an exchange of plaques between branch presidents to record the visit. The visit cost each member just

over £209 for flights, transfers and half-board hotel accommodation for the week, and all those attending felt that the week proved good value, while the hospitality the members experienced certainly added to the success of the visit.

be There will be a notable

MEMBERS of Cyprus branch are mourning the loss of vice chairman and founder S/M Ian Gould, who died just before Easter after a short illness. Tributes have been paid by

shipmates in the branch and beyond,

chairman S/M Andrew Noyes and his predecessor S/M Nobby Hall, who said: “The world will be a lonelier place without the presence of the old club swinger.”

S/M Nobby had the chance to meet up with his successor when S/M Andrew and his wife Jackie put into Grand Turk during a Caribbean cruise – Nobby is now the top policeman in the Turks and Caicos Islands, which explains why the British visitors were seen in the back of a marked police car.

Plea over admiral’s headstone

BURIED within two cemeteries in Folkestone are six Victoria Cross holders – three in Shorncliffe Military Cemetery and three in Cheriton Road Cemetery. A recent meeting of the

Cheriton and Morehall branch of the Royal British Legion mulled over the state of some of the graves of the VC holders. Former REME Sgt Armourer Ian Loftus somehow found himself as project leader, and hopes to get the graves and headstones refurbished. One of the graves which requires

including current

attention is that of Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Edmund Commerell VC, who won his medal on a raid during the Crimean War, narrowly avoiding capture as he and his party destroyed enemy supplies. Although Ian has written to the VC and GC Association in London seeking advice and help, he is prepared to cast his net wider to try to get the headstone renovated – he would also like to know if any of Admiral Commerell’s family are still around. If anyone can help, they should contact Ian on 01303 851340 or 07810 864311.

Eddie picks up the thread

OLD and bold seafarers thought nothing of getting stuck into sewing and mending when required – and S/M Eddie Clamp has now taken those skills a stage further. S/M Eddie, of Selsey, has taken up quilting, under the tutelage of his wife Sue.

He began with a Red Sea scuba diving quilt, a reflection of his love of diving in the Red Sea over 20 years.

love,

he then moved onto another the

Andrew, and has

produced a quilt of HMS Daring, which elicited a letter from the destroyer’s CO after he saw a picture in the Chichester Observer. Next was a nuclear submarine (see picture left), which will be in this year’s Selsey Quilters show. And next up is HMS Queen Elizabeth, which is still on Eddie’s drawing board, but is scheduled to make an appearance around 2012. Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48