Lonely grave is tidied up EARLIER this year, the New Zealand Defence Force was contacted by a member of the public concerned about the dilapidated state of a sailor’s grave, writes WOEWS Roger Sheehan. The Tauranga unit of HMNZS Ngapona (Naval Reserve) was tasked to carry out urgent maintenance on the grave, which lies on the east coast of the Coromandel Peninsula, in a location aptly named ‘Sailors Grave’. Most unit personnel were unaware that a Navy sailor’s grave existed on the coast, even though we had travelled through the area many times. With the aid of photos and Internet research we began to build a picture of what would be required – a simple task, but with some considerations to be taken into account – we would be working on a grave, so due respect would need to be observed, and the grave was protected as an historic site, so everything had to be left in the same order as we found it. The grave is of 22-year-old AB William Sampson, of HMS Tortoise, and lies just off the beach in Te Karo Bay, 8km north of Tairua. In 1842 HMS Tortoise was collecting kauri spars from a timber station in Te Karo Bay to ship to the UK for masts. The ship’s records state that on May 6, while transferring stores, a jolly boat capsized in the surf, drowning William, an unmarried fisherman, born in Devonport, who had joined the ship in Hobart in February 1842. AB Sampson was buried opposite the spot where he drowned; the grave sits under a stand of pohutukawa trees and is believed to be the oldest known sailor’s grave in New Zealand. It also lends its name to a nearby access road to the area. Maintained by the Hamilton family for many years, responsibility was handed over to the RNZN in 1968 and remains our responsibility to this day. Work on the grave had not been done for some time and urgent work was needed to bring it up to an acceptable standard. A team of four (Lt Garth Mathieson RNZNVR, WOEWS Roger Sheehan, CPOMT(P) Paul Brennan and POMTO Graeme Frost) spent a weekend clearing the grave of debris and general rubbish, washing down the area and scrubbing the picket fence, sanding the pickets and then painting the posts and pickets. The actual grave itself is in very good condition because it has a concrete pad over the grave, but the fence and pickets required some work, and with its exposure to sea air, maintenance will be needed more often. All of us who undertook this task felt very privileged and honoured to have been involved. This sailor lies thousands of miles from home. He was part of the Naval family, doing a job, and was killed in the course of those duties. On May 6 2012 it was 170 years since he died. Our unit will be looking to continue maintaining the site for years to come.
Woking pays tribute to St George WOKING branch have held their annual St George’s Day Parade in Old Woking. The parade marched through Church Street to St Peter’s Church led by the standards of the various local veterans’ associations and their comrades. Organisers were particularly pleased to see representatives of the Sea Cadets and Army Cadets in the procession. In all some 15 standards were paraded,
including the national standards of the Fleet Air Arm Association, the Korean Veterans Association and the Merchant Navy Association. The standards were lined up in a guard of honour outside the Norman church in bright spring sunshine to welcome the Mayor of Woking, Cllr Ken Howard, and local MP Jonathan Lord. The service was led by honorary branch
chaplain the Rev Barry Grimster, and the Bisley Ladies Choir led the singing for a large congregation. Cllr Howard recited the Robert Browning poem Home-Thoughts, from Abroad, with its famous opening line ‘Oh, to be in England Now that April’s there.’ After the service the standards were inspected by the Mayor and Mr Lord, who congratulated the bearers on a fine turn-out.
Conference looks at options for future
OPTIONS over membership of an international group and over the arrangements for future conferences are on the agenda at this year’s gathering in Newcastle.
Three National Council motions and three branch motions are due to be considered at the Conference, held at the Assembly Rooms on June 9 and hosted by
Tyne branch. National Council motion 1 is concerned with rule changes over the auditing of area and branch accounts. Motions 2a and 2b address the RNA’s membership of the International Maritime Confederation (IMC) and offer shipmates two options. 2a suggests that the Association
leaves the IMC as soon as current membership expires. But 2b offers an alternative – “that, noting progress made by the International Maritime Confederation, the decision as to whether the Association should remain a member of the Confederation, or leave it, be postponed until Conference 2013.”
l TCA Committee members (left to right) Bill Pollington, Peter Harrison, Stuart Johnson, Chairman John Soanes, Sam Cook and Peter Down in Lower Barrakka Gardens, Valletta
Ton veterans visit Malta
A GROUP of some 50 members and wives of the Ton Class Association (TCA) visited Malta in April to take part in ceremonies to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the award of the George Cross to the island. Clearly the Tons themselves were not there at that time – although a couple of members were. However, Ton vessels were stationed in Malta for much of the 1950s and 60s – two squadrons, 104 (Blackfoot) and 108 up to 1959, when the Blackfoots left for Singapore, while 108, later known as 7 MSS, soldiered on until 1969. Ton sailors, not surprisingly, have many close ties to the islands and to the people of Malta – and the party received a warm welcome. They were received by the Prime Minister of Malta, Lawrence Gonzi, and met the Duke of Gloucester, who was visiting the island as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations – arranged by
the British High Commissioner, Louise Stanton. The visitors renewed friendships with branches of the RNA, RBL and TCA on the island, and some strolled down the Gut – only to find that their favourite watering holes are no more. Members laid wreaths in formal parades at the Sliema War Memorial, RN Cemetery Kalkara and the RNA Memorial in Pieta. And one highlight was being invited to march down Republic Street, formerly Kingsway, as part of the GC Parade, led by the guards and bands of the Malta Armed Forces and Malta Police. TCA members were accompanied on parade by groups from the Ganges Association and Overseas Malta Association. In St George’s Square they witnessed a dramatic son et lumière presentation of the blitz in Malta and a re-enactment of the ceremony in which the George Cross had been awarded.
The final National Council motion urges that the “proposed guidelines for bidding areas and branches for annual conference be adopted.” This is the culmination of the work of the Conference Study Group, set up after a decision at the 2010 Conference, which would form the basis for the location of future meetings after Liverpool next year. The first of the branch motions proposes that associate members of the RNA “be eligible to act as delegates for their branch at area meetings and Conferences, provided that they have completed three years continuous membership of the Association immediately prior to election as a delegate.” The second branch motion is designed to help raise the profile of the RNA, and suggests that the Association “approach the organising committee of the Edinburgh Military Tattoo with a view to including a parade of Royal Naval Association standards on the closing evening of the Tattoo.” And the final branch motion would like to see the number of newly-recruited Associate members of branches be included when the winning branches of the President’s Awards for recruiting are decided. The reasoning behind that motion, proposed by Huddersfield, is that it allows branches not located near a naval base some form of recognition in their efforts to boost membership of the RNA. Outside the Conference itself, the weekend also includes a welcome buffet with entertainment on the evening of Friday June 8 (7-11pm) and a gala buffet dance after the Conference (7-11pm) – both events are also staged at the Assembly Rooms in the city centre. On Sunday June 10 the Conference service will be held in St Nicholas Cathedral at 11.45am, followed by a marchpast and review accompanied by a Sea cadet band. A wreath-laying at the memorial in Eldon Square, followed by a short act of remembrance, will bring Conference weekend to a close. h See next month’s Navy News for a full report on proceedings.
ANZAC sacrifice honoured SERVICE personnel from the UK, Australia and New Zealand held a poignant service to commemorate the bravery and sacrifice made by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC), who fought at Gallipoli during World War 1. The ceremony was held aboard Devonport-based assault ship HMS Bulwark whilst on a multinational exercise off the north west coast of Scotland hours after she had deployed her boats for an amphibious landing. The Antipodean personnel, who were embarked as part of the planning and execution staff for the exercise, hosted the traditional ANZAC Day dawn service, which began as the sun rose above the horizon at 4.45am. Following an introduction and a number of readings, prayers were led by Bulwark’s chaplain, the Rev Dave Roissetter. The poem In Flanders Fields was read by S/Lt ‘Kurt’ Story RNZN, an exchange Officer serving in Bulwark. The Last Post was sounded and a one-minute silence observed, the end of which was marked by the sounding of Reveille. S/Lt Story said: “Having just conducted an amphibious landing similar to the assaults on Gallipoli, it is important for us to pause and reflect on the courage and sacrifice of our countrymen. “In our modern world it is difficult to imagine what they went through in the defence of our freedom, but it is something that is worthy of remembering and sets an example to today’s Servicemen who are still risking their lives on a daily basis.” After completing Exercise Joint Warrior, Bulwark will be off Weymouth and Portland for the bulk of the summer, supporting Dorset Police, acting as a floating command centre for the security mission surrounding the Olympic and Paralympic sailing events.
Reunion for Hermes
THE HMS Hermes Association held their annual reunion over the Easter weekend at the Royal Maritime Club in Portsmouth. Guests of honour were Rear Admiral Dick Melly and Capt John Lock, both of whom served aboard the aircraft carrier during the Falklands Conflict. The weekend also commemorated the sinking of the ninth HMS Hermes by the Japanese in April 1942 off Trincomalee, and those gathered were delighted to be able to welcome two survivors of the sinking, S/Ms Stan Curtis and Mike McLoughlin. The association is always keen to welcome new members – it is open to all ranks and ratings who have served in either Hermes (1919-1942 or 1959-86) or family members; last year the daughter of a crew member who died in 1942 joined. h For more information see www.hmshermes.org.uk
l S/M George Lester, chairman of Dagenham branch, presents a £500 cheque to S/Lt (SCC) Sarah Butcher, CO of Hornchurch and Upminster Sea Cadet unit. S/M George, accompanied by branch secretary S/M David Billett and treasurer S/M Bob O’Keeffe, were also invited to see what the youngsters achieved during training at their TS Hurricane HQ, where they are taught by a dedicated group of volunteers 30 : JUNE 2012
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