life
HMS CALPE Reflecting on a proud naval unit
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ibraltar was once home to a naval hub unparalleled by any other Royal Naval presence found on the Rock today. As the only Royal Naval Reserve Headquarters Unit outside the UK, HMS Calpe was commissioned in 1965. The HQ was named after Calpe, a Sloop captured from the Spaniards in the 1800s. The next ship to bear the name Calpe was a “Hunt” Class destroyer launched on the 28th April 1941. She saw service in World War II distinguishing herself in many battles but remembered principally for her part in the Dieppe landing, when she was the Headquarters ship for the Operation. She was also involved in Convoy Escort duties in the Mediterranean. Twelve years after being launched, she was loaned to the Danish Navy and her name changed to Rolf Kraken. She was scrapped in 1963, just two years before the formation of the Headquarters’ Unit. Calpe was the only Royal Naval Unit based outside of the UK.
GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE OCTOBER 2015
50th Anniversary
Meeting at the John Mackintosh Hall for the first of a host of meetings before the exhibition, members brought with them everything they could find to document their time in the RNR, from delicately preserved sepia photographs, to flags, maps and browning documents.
Many in Gibraltar look back on the time they served in the Unit with pride. Fifty years on from the commisisioning of the Calpe, former members are looking to reunite with their old comrades to celebrate. An Exhibition displaying an inventory of photographs of HMS Calpe through the ages, including items of memorabilia is planned for launch at the Fine Arts Gallery on 16th November at 6:30pm. The exhibition will run for ten consecutive days. Headed by Sundri Vinecombe, a former Able Rate Writer and local Historian Rosie Mifsud, the project was first mooted with former Governor Sir Adrian Johns who pledged his support at a reception he hosted to mark twenty years of closure.
The display will be inaugurated by Commander British Forces Commodore Ian Mcghie, who is today’s conjoining link between the Royal Navy and Gibraltar. ‘Sundri and Rosie have always had a vision of holding an exhibition and we really want to commemorate the fact that had we not been closed down, we would be celebrating fifty years since commission on the 18th November 1965,’ Calpe’s last Commanding Officer and former Mayor Tony Lima revealed. He, along with other members at the forefront of the association, are keen to celebrate the excellent services that Calpe provided for almost thirty years. Facets of Calpe still remain
The Unit’s first Commanding Officer was Cdr Stuart Coombes. He was succeeded by Captain Delf and followed by Commanders Massias and Ballantine.
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