NAVY NEWS, MAY 2010

7

Black is back

at the tip of the Arabian Gulf, HMS Monmouth returned to her native Devonport on the finest day of the year so far.

Telic has largely passed into history. But long after operations on land have ended, the Senior Service continues to conduct security patrols.

oil platforms off the Al Faw peninsula – the Al Basra and older Khawr Al Amaya terminals – remains the core duty of deployments to the Gulf, the Black Duke’s spell in these waters saw repeated exercises with local and Allied navies.

Although protecting Iraq’s Outside the RN community, Operation

THE Black Duke that is.

After 194 days away, most of them

system before reaching Devonport. The frigate was welcomed on the Costa

del Azahar by ex-matelots from the RNA Moraira branch (it’s about 60 miles south of Valencia if your Spanish geography’s a little hazy) and Tony and Helen Hillman. Tony and Helen Hillman? Well, they’re the parents of the Black Duke’s WO2(ET) ‘Scotty’ Hillman and live on the Costa Blanca.

Valencia was also the last venue played by The Black Dukes,ack Dukes, Monmouth’s rock band who’ve been keeping the ship’s company entertained throughout the demanding six-month tour of duty.

Chief among these was probably

the ‘Thank You Kuwait’ display/festival to show Britain’s gratitude for the support the emirate has shown the UK, especially over the past couple of decades, and to thank the ex-pat community who always extend a warm welcome to visiting RN ships.

As part of those thank-yous, Monmouth hosted middle-ranking Kuwaiti officers attending the country’s staff college to give them an insight into what a state-of- the-art warship can do. There’s also been a lot of work with the nascent Iraqi Navy whose boats and marines will eventually protect the oil platforms allowing the Royal Navy to concentrate on duties elsewhere. On her journey to and from the Gulf, the Black Duke joined the international effort focused on curbing piracy in the Gulf of Aden (her Royal Marines boarding party wasn’t called upon thankfully). The trip out saw a visit to Alexandria. The homeward journey saw one to Valencia on the Spanish east coast. That allowed the 174-strong ship’s

company to let their hair down and thoroughly flush the Gulf out of the

Staffordshire.

And so to Devon and a beautiful Friday morning in mid-April and 500 families waiting on the jetty, including the Hickinbothams from

They unfurled the largest welcome banner of the day for ET(WE) Liam Hickinbotham (although despite its size, they didn’t have space for the surname...). “This was Liam’s first deployment and he has enjoyed all the visits to the different countries,” said his sister Lara. “But we’ve all missed him – it’s great to have him back home.” As for the junior rating’s commanding

officer, Cdr Tony Long, he was emphatic about what his men and women had accomplished: “We’ve achieved everything that has been asked of us. “We’ve won international

acknowledgment for our co-operation and interaction with regional navies, while the crew have worked hard and gained a great deal of professional pride from the six-and-a-half-month deployment. “Families back home have been a key

factor in our success – their support through e-mails, on the telephone and on community websites has been second-to- none. They deserve as many accolades as the sailors do for their superb support.”

Picture: LA(Phot) James Crawford, FRPU West

Swell start to a deployment

DEPLOYING minehunters generally don’t go too long between port visits. But when the ship’s company of HMS Middleton left Portsmouth bound for the Gulf as part of the roulement of RN vessels in Bahrain, they probably didn’t expect to be in port again after barely 200 miles.

With 60kt winds and an 11-metre swell forecast in the Bay of Biscay, the sailors decided to take shelter in Brest... where a sizeable proportion of the French mine warfare fl eet was also avoiding the storm. Middleton was holed up in Brittany for

two days, but with a deadline for reaching Bahrain, the ship’s company couldn’t enjoy French hospitality for too long. When a gap in the storm was spotted by forecasters, the ship set off once more bound for El Ferrol in Spain... before another gale battered Biscay. The ‘gap’ proved to be less the ‘calm before the storm’ than the ‘smaller storm before the raging tempest’ – a five-metre swell and strong winds. Now the Med typically is kinder to

mariners than Biscay... but not for the Middleton men.

After a pleasant passage through the Strait of Gibraltar and a quick fuel stop in Alicante, the ship sailed into the teeth of a storm as she made for Souda Bay in Crete. “With the crew now adjusted to

this sort of weather, they took it in their stride,” said CO Lt Cdr Richard Goldstone. “Normal life – or as close as it can be when you and everything you put down that is not wedged in or tied down, fl ies across the ship with each wave – continued. “We transited 2,800 miles, have been

battered by storms, undertaken three unscheduled port visits and a significant ramp up in training and arrived at the eastern end of Mediterranean as planned.”

NATO trials to test the ship’s equipment, a break in the capital Iraklion, lots of top eastern Mediterranean grub and even the occasional glimpse of sunshine.

In Souda there were four days of

Some things don’t change.

For 125 years, the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association – Forces Help has made an unfailing commitment to the men and women of Britain’s Armed Forces.

We believe that your bravery, dedication and loyalty deserve a lifetime of support.

To find out how we can help:

www.ssafa.org.uk

020 7403 8783

Registered Charity No. 210760 Est. 1885, Registered Charity (Scotland) No. SC038056 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