NAVY NEWS, JUNE 1997
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Nelson's flagship delivers a double bequest to the nation TWO visitors to HMS Victory must have felt very much at home, even though it was their first time on board. The six-day-old babies were on the wooden warship to see, respectively, where mum and granddad work. Mum is Lt Kerry Straughan, who gave birth to 9lb 9oz Thomas Daniel Masterman on May 6 - she had given-up work as the flagship's First Lieutenant only three days before. Thomas arrived on his due date - which also happened to be mum's 35th birthday. "I was fit all the way through my pregnancy, so there was no need to give up work any earlier," said Lt Straughan. "For the last two weeks I didn't go up and down stairs but otherwise carried out my duties as normal. Victory is a very pregnancy-friendly ship -1 was well looked after." Thomas name recalls that of Nelson's captain of
Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar, Thomas Masterman Hardy. A few hours later, in the same maternity unit in Portsmouth, Lt Straughan's boss became a grandfather. Michelle Hodkinson, daughter of Victory's commanding officer Lt Cdr Mike Cheshire, gave birth to 8lb 1oz Jessica Elizabeth, who arrived 12 days late. Jessica's dad is a serving RN officer, Lt Cdr Chris Hodkinson, Operations Officer for Type 23 frigate HMS Grafton. And to complete the naval links, Thomas' dad is also an officer - Lt Cdr Harry Straughan, who works for Flag Officer Surface Flotilla in Portsmouth. The babies' birthday almost coincided with a birthday for Victory herself - May 7 marked exactly 232 years since the ship was launched at Chatham. • Cot scene: (from left) Michelle Hodkinson with Jessica, Leading Seaman Bob Kane, Victory's Quartermaster, and Lt Kerry Straughan with Thomas. Picture: LA(Phot) M.Hipkin, FOSF Photographic Unit.
A TREAT FOR THE YORKIE BAR KIDS ALL HMS YORK'S strong ties with the city of York came to the fore when she docked at Hull for a five day visit.
First came a visit to Galtres School for special needs children, for whom the Type 42 destroyer has raised over £7,000 over the past two years. This was combined with a special concert by the Band of Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland. A further charity concert in the spectacular venue of York Minster raised funds for the school, the Lord Mayor of York's Charity, York Minster and King George's Fund for Sailors. This was sponsored by Yorkbased Nestle UK Ltd, for whose popular Yorkie bars the ship has long had a particularly sweet tooth. Sporting fixtures were arranged with many of the local military units and HMS York's soccer team had a special training session with York City Football Club. During this the team was presented with a complete Club strip, now the ship's own official livery.
Floodlit The visit began with a reception on board for the Lord Mayor and the Dean of York Minster, featuring a floodlit Beat Retreat on the jetty, and ended with Lord Mayor's Divisions outside the Mansion House. Here the Freedom Scroll originally presented to the ship in 1991 was re-read and the ship's company saluted the city. The parade, on a busy Saturday morning, attracted a large crowd. For the journey back to Portsmouth, detachments of Sea Cadets from York and Scarborough took passage and then spent two days visiting the Royal Naval Museum, HMS Victory and the Submarine Museum. See also page 10.
• LS Derek Simpson shares a joke with the Lord Mayor of York Cllr Ken King.
Historic Ships deal IN BRIEF is just the ticket FLAGSHIP Portsmouth, the umbrella organisation for the city's historic ships, has introduced a new season ticket aimed at the enthusiasts. The ticket, launched last month , gives unlimited entry for two years to HMS Victory, HMS Warrior, the Mary Rose, the RN Museum, Warships by Water and the Dockyard Apprentice. Adults will pay £17, children £12, senior citizens £14.50, and a family ticket, covering two adults and one child will cost £40, also allowing extra children and grandparents in at half price. The opportunity to save money is considerable - an adult making just one visit to all the historic dockyard attractions would pay £14. Season tickets also give a 25 per cent discount for all accompanying friends and relatives. Flagship general manager David Geddes said: "This ticket is tremendous value for money. It would also make an excellent gift to anyone who enjoys the attractions of the dockyard." The heritage area - the only one located within a working naval base anywhere in the world - attracts 650,000 visitors a year, with HMS Victory alone proving a magnet for 400,000.
DUE to demand, the Thanksgiving Service for Capt Nick Barker, CO of HMS Endurance during the Falklands War, who died in April aged 63, has moved to Southwark Cathedral on June 11 at 3p.m. U
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TWO of the last episodes of BBd's quiz show Mastermind, which ends its 25 year run this summer, will be shown from Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth's quarter-deck before an invited audience of staff, families and officers under training. Q
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THE RN hosted a visit to Plymouth by the mvAnastasis, the converted cruise liner 'Mercy Ship' that offers free health care and other assistance to impoverished nations around the world. Q
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NEW exhibitions and a reunion are planned to mark the 15th anniversary of the raising of the remains of the Tudor warship Mary Rose from the Solent on 11 October 1982. U
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NAAFI has presented the Royal Star and Garter Home at Richmond with £2,000 worth of electrical equipment, donated from cash raised during the company's 75th anniversary celebrations last year.
Q a Q A RARE double DSM awarded to PO Leonard Roberts of HMS Saracen has been presented by his family to the RN Submarine Museum. Q
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THE ROYAL Armouries Museum and the Ex-Services Mental Welfare Society is sponsoring a £1,000 short story competition for the best fiction or non fiction entry on either 'Military Life', 'Wartime' or 'Peace', for which no items on Korea, Aden , Northern Ireland, the Falklands, the Gulf and Bosnia have yet been received.Tel 0113 243 3300 for details.
a Q Q HMS SULTAN now has a second bridge linking the two halves of the Gosport establishment across Military Road.
Q a THE BRITISH Korean Veterans Association is sponsoring a plot in the new National Forest at Croxall, Staffs in memory of the 1,078 British servicemen who died in the 1950-53 war.