NAVY NEWS. FEBRUARY 1997 37
Stormy start to a season east of Suez
Requiem for ten Wrens GLEN Heathers Care Home, Lee-on-Solent was scene of a moving tribute to Wrens killed in a tragic wartime accident. During an air raid in 1940 the building, then the Mansfield Hotel used as accommodation for Wrens stationed at HMS Daedalus, was hit by a faulty anti-aircraft shell which exploded on impact Of 24 Wrens in the dining room for supper ten were killed and 13 injured, only one escaping uninjured. Gosport Aviation Society obtained permission from the present owners to provide and dedicate a plaque to their memory. The Chief Naval OfficerWomen Capt Pippa Duncan attended the unveiling - performed by the sole uninjured survivor Mrs Patricia Brookman (nee Fletcher) and another survivor, Mrs Patricia Dymott (nee Humphries). Also present were two ex Fleet Air Arm men who had been duty emergency party on the night of the incident - one of whom, Ray Crawford, had lifted the latter out of the wrecked building. Others attending included representatives of the Association of Wrens and its Slough/Windsor, Isle of Wight, Southampton and Portsmouth branches. A service was conducted by the Rev Peter Sutton of St Faith's Church, venue of the funeral service in 1940.
HMS SOUTHAMPTON had a rough start to her seven month deployment in the Arabian Gulf, begun at the end of last year. First passage to Gibraltar for ship's company enjoyed an organised visit to Cairo and the pyrafuel was hampered by storm mids, disembarking at Port Said force 10 conditions while and meeting the ship as she sailed crossing the Bay Of Biscay, out of the canal at Port Suez. which tested the hardiest of Gulf patrol duties began with sailors. Here SOmph winds brief visits to Bahrain and Dubai lashed the ship for 48 hours, where all 28 finalists of the Miss ripping upper deck fixings Sweden competition together with from their mountings. the current title holder A n n i k a Duckmark visited the ship (see The Type 42 destroyer, first commissioned in 1981, held up page 16). Christmas was spent in Dubai well but had to effect minor repairs and the celebrations included a in Gib. carol concert with 300 guests Once in the calmer waters of the including personnel from HMS Mediterranean she started a busy Roebuck and RFA Bayleaf led by period of training, operating with the D5 Squadron padre the Rev many navies in the region includIan Naylor. ing the French, Italian and Portuguese. Generosity The international feel is set to continue with exercises proThe expatriate community's grammed with many of the friendgenerosity meant that most serly Gulf navies, such as those of vicemen not on duty were invited Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain as well into the homes of British families as with the US Navy and the on Christmas Day to enjoy a tradiOcean Wave Task Force. tional celebration. During the transit of the Suez The ship sailed from Dubai on Canal the ship's company threw down a 'Row the Suez' challenge January 2 and has since been on patrol with visits to Bahrain and to the other RN ships in the area Kuwait. She is due to return home to see which could 'row' the lf>2km to Portsmouth in June. distance in the shortest time using a standard Ergo rowing machine. • Stormy passage for HMS In the event 81 members of the Southampton? Despite appearcrew rowed 2km each in a total ances, not in this picture time of 9 hrs 56 min - a feat narhere she is seen carrying out rowly beaten by HMS Invincible, anti-nuclear fall out "pre-wetwho managed Ohrs 45 mins. The event raised several hundreds of ting" trials on passage pounds for charity. between Gibraltar and Soudha Meanwhile 40 members of the Bay.
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LADY FIELDHOUSE, widow of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fieldhouse, will be principal guest at a Gosport event to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the end of the Falklands War. Lord Fieldhouse, when he was C-in-C Fleet, was the Royal Navy's chief planner in the campaign. The civic event, to be held in the town's Falkland Gardens on Sunday, June 15, will follow a Saturday reunion at HMS Sultan which organisers expect will be attended by 7,000 or more veterans and family members from all Services involved in the war. Former CPO D. J. (Smokey) Cole, a Falklands veteran himself, is organising the Sultan reunion. He told Navy News that comedian Jim Davidson had agreed to host the event, which is also expected to be attended by charity campaigner Simon Weston. Leading politicians will also be invited. "The polo fields at Sultan will be lined with marquees, and each ship and unit will have a specific area in which veterans can meet up," said Mr Cole. He said there were plans to hold a short service in the afternoon, while entertainment involving celebrities would continue into the night. Cost was not likely to exceed £20 per head. More information may be obtained bv writing to Falklands
HMS Sultan. Deputy Mayor of Gosport, Cllr Peter Edgar, said it was hoped that uniformed personnel from the other Armed Services would attend. He said it was particularly appropriate that Gosport should stage the event as so many families and other well-wishers had crowded the town's shoreline to watch the Fleet depart and return, and so many of the bereaved families lived in the area.
•Lord Fieldhouse of Gosport: his widow will attend the civic ceremony. Reunion, PO Box 47, Gosport, Hants. PO 13 OAR. The civic ceremony the following day will be attended by the Royal Marines Band Portsmouth and a guard of 32 personnel from
Q Volunteers are being sought to embroider kneelers for the planned Falklands Memorial Chapel at Pangbourne, Berks. The public subscription for the chapel has so far raised a quarter of the £1.6 million needed, and work is expected to start soon. The kneeler has been designed with the help of the Royal School of Needlework, and 500 are needed to equip the chapel. Alternatively, donations of £30 are being sought to buy kits for the needleworkers. Write to Mrs Angela Perry, Memorial Chapel Office. Pangbourne Collene, Pangbourne, Berks. RG8 SLA.
Hear from some of the worlds outstanding experts: • Commodore Robert Howell, Command and Information Systems (Navy), MoD (UK) • Rear Admiral Kenneth Summers, CAN, ACLANT Operations, SACLANT, NATO • Captain GN Dieter Stockfisch, ACOS OPS/COMS/EW, German Navy • Lieutenant Commander, Lars Flemstroem, Technical Officer, Ships Directorate, Naval Material Logistics and Electronics Branch, Swedish Defence Material Administration (FMW) • Stan Arthur, Admiral, USN RTD, Vice President Washington Operations, Electronics Sector, Lockheed Martin (USA) • Dr Geoffrey Whalley, Head of Naval EW Department, Sea Systems Sector, Defence Evaluation & Research Agency
• Patrick Buhannic, President & CEO, EUTELTRACS Division, ALCATEL Telecom (France) • Ian B Hughes, M.N.I Commander RN RTD, Head of Marketing (EW), Defence Systems Division, GEC-Marconi Radar & Defence Systems Why it is essential that you attend this conference, find out how to: 1. Integrate a systems approach to information movement in naval operations 2. Realise the true potential of a fully integrated naval electronic warfare system 3. Integrate stealth technology within the littoral fleet to ensure mission success 4. Benefit from extensive research into missile and artillery combat systems 5. Improve the balance between naval readiness and modernisation for the littoral theatre 6. Identify the areas of future growth and investment within the naval technology sector 7. Examine how developments in active and passive ship sensors can increase ship survivability 8. Analyse the solutions for sensory systems integration FOR A COMPLETE CONFERENCE PROGRAMME PLEASE COMPLETE THE COUPON AND SEND IT BACK TODAY! Name
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