THE MARK BOYLE MEMORIAL
Saturday 13th July 2013
Mark Boyle 1957 - 2012
‘Rounding the Lightship’ from a painting by Ernest Stuart (1889-1915) provided by Jeffery Cole via Gavin Atkin at www.intheboatshed.net
The Match will see a gathering of Thames Sailing Barges competing for the Championship of the London River, a tradition dating back 150 years The barges will start off Mucking between 08.30 and 09.00, sailing east to the South East Leigh Buoy returning during the afternoon to the finish off Erith Pier. Individuals or groups wishing to follow the Match on the water aboard a Sailing Barge should call Topsail Charters on 01621 857567, or on an historic Pilot Boat call 01634 301910, or on the Steam Tug Portwey call 07949 461533 To view the closing stages of the Match from the shore (Midday to 4.30 p.m., conditions dependent), vantage points on the south bank exist at Gravesend Promenade, Greenhithe Riverside Walk, Erith Promenade and Pier, and on the north bank at Grays Promenade (via Wharf Road) and The Royal Hotel, Purfleet For further information visit www.thamesmatch.co.uk Thames Barge Match posters design / artwork donated by Tony Collins @thedesignhouse.org.uk
issue 22 | spring 2013
highlights
13 CHALLENGING Are you up for a run, a swim, a climb or a ride in 2013?
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23
38
SEA BLINDNESS Seafarers UK
LOOKING OUT FOR THE KIDS
TOUGH CROSSING 70 years since the end of the Battle of the Atlantic
has the cure
The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children’s Fund
inside news
Grants ............................................. 6 Community....................................... 8 Scotland......................................... 10 Challenge Events............................ 13 Fundraising..................................... 14 Nautical Friday............................... 18
regulars
From the Bridge .............................. 3 Events Calendar ............................. 12 Campaigning.................................. 20 Charity Focus.................................. 23 The Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children’s Fund
Flagship Review.............................. 29 The latest reads reviewed
Times Past...................................... 38 The Battle of the Atlantic
JackChat......................................... 40 Crossword ...................................... 40
Visit our website: www.seafarers-uk.org for up-to-date information on fundraising events, campaigns, ways to donate, how to apply for grants or get help for seafarers in need. Follow us on Twitter: @Seafarers_UK Visit our Facebook page: facebook.com/SeafarersUK
For the latest news sign up to our Flagpost e-newsletter at www.seafarers-uk.org Flagship magazine is published by
Editor
Editorial inquiries/submissions flagship@seafarers-uk.org
Patron
Associate Editor
Change of address notification paola.martin@seafarers-uk.org
President
Seafarers UK Comms Team Craig Ryan
Art Director
James Sparling
8 Hatherley Street, LONDON, SW1P 2QT T: 020 7932 0000; F: 020 7932 0095 Seafarers UK (King George’s Fund for Sailors) is a Registered Charity in England & Wales, No. 226446, incorporated under Royal Charter. Registered in Scotland SC038191.
Design & production www.lexographic.co.uk
Printers
Advertising
SDB Marketing, Brighton T: 01273 594455 simon@sdbmarketing.co.uk
Her Majesty The Queen His Royal Highness The Earl of Wessex, KG, GCVO, ADC
Chairman
Vice Admiral Peter Wilkinson, CB, CVO
Director General
Commodore Barry Bryant, CVO, RN
Warners UK, Lincolnshire
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editorial
From the Bridge There is no doubt that our seafaring journey this year is going to be a busy one, with a host of new challenge events, a record number of Royal Marines Band concerts, and a hugely expanded Seafarers Awareness Week. We shall
Commodore Barry Bryant CVO RN Director General Seafarers UK
also be playing our full part in the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic, that long drawn-out conflict that undoubtedly saved not only our nation but also Western European democracy. There is a more learned appreciation by Captain Richard Woodman, one of our premier maritime historians, on page 38 of the magazine, but I think the First Sea Lord’s stated aims of commemorating the Battle and the personnel that took part, celebrating the achievements of today’s UK maritime scene, and educating the sea-blind public about the vital part ships and seafarers play in our national life are absolutely spot on. Couldn’t have done better myself! While our energetic fundraising and campaigning activities are perhaps the most visible face of Seafarers UK, we must not forget that our primary aim is the accurate targeting of grants to those areas of greatest need. We are fortunate to have on board Dennis Treleaven, a truly professional grants director in our sector, and he takes great pains to maintain an overview not only of what our grants have achieved but also where other major funders are putting their money. With attention shifting across the charity world to outcomes – what difference the grants actually make – rather than just numerical or physical outputs, our new monitoring and evaluation system will ensure that scarce resources really are being used in the most effective way. Meanwhile our Trustees have taken the bold and wise decision to spend some of our financial reserves to ensure that we can maintain our annual grants total at £2.5 million in this and forthcoming years. This move will better match our reserve total to the inevitable decline in the number of elderly seafarers in need during future decades. Each year about two million passengers embark on cruise vessels from UK ports, and
“Each year about two million passengers embark on cruise vessels from UK ports, and hopefully they will give some thought to the small army of seafarers working hard to get them from port to port safely.” hopefully they will give some thought to the fact that on each ship there is a small army of seafarers working hard to get them from port to port safely and in comfort. While we have their attention, we would like to remind them that sometimes those seafarers need help, and this year we will be attempting to work with the cruise industry to move this initiative forward. Similarly, through our annual ‘Fish & Chip Feast’ we are starting to attract the attention of the UK’s chippie trade, linking their millions of consumers with those who endure considerable hardship and danger to actually catch the fish in the first place. Our new award to the highest ‘Feast Fundraiser’ attracted media attention, and we look forward to even greater success with this jolly bunch during the coming year. Finally, you’ll read later about the great potential of this year’s Seafarers Awareness Week in June, with a thousand separate organisations being invited to take part. Even so there may be others who feel that they can contribute through some form of promotional or fundraising activity. So, if you feel you can help, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to send you a pack with some useful facts and ideas. As ever, sincere thanks for all your support. There’s much work to do – and, I fear, always will be – but it’s great fun working with you all, and we look forward to keeping you updated throughout the year.
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NEWS
Seafarers UK’s 95th Dinner On 22 November last year Seafarers UK celebrated its 95th Anniversary with a fundraising black-tie reception and dinner for supporting organisations in the City of London. The event took place at Trinity House and started with a sparkling drinks reception and music provided by students from the Guildhall School of Music. Guests then moved into the famous Library Room where they experienced an excellent dinner. This was followed by a rousing speech from the historian Richard Woodman, covering the highs and lows of seafaring life since the charity’s beginnings in 1917, after which guests held on to the edge of their seats whilst Edward Reising from Sotheby’s gathered everyone up in the excitement of the evening by
Seafarers UK staff Verity, Julie and Gurvinder sold raffle tickets
providing a hugely entertaining auction. The event as a whole raised £35,000 for the Seafarers UK
Children’s Appeal, which was a fantastic achievement and we are thankful to all those who attended or helped on the night.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Arctic Convoy Medal
Veterans of the bitter Arctic convoys delivering aid to Russia in World War II can finally apply for a medal to recognise their service. Her Majesty The Queen approved the design for the Arctic Star, which was being cast in February. It is thought between 200 and 400 sailors – all now in their late 80s at their youngest – survive from the fouryear-long campaign, a mission Winston Churchill acknowledged was “the worst journey in the world”.
Armed Forces Day – 29 June
This year’s lead city for Armed Forces Day is Nottingham, and Seafarers UK will be present in the Veterans Village over the weekend with support from local volunteers. If you are interested in possible funding for your own charity or community organisation, either to attend the event in Nottingham or to help you run your own AFD event locally, then do have a look at www.armedforcesday.org.uk for more information about financial support.
Seafarers UK Annual Meeting Our Annual Meeting will this year be at The Mansion House in the City of London on 10 May.
Battle of the Atlantic 70th Anniversary The official 70th Anniversary commemorations for the Battle of the Atlantic campaign are to be centred on three cities in 2013; London 8-13 May, Derry-Londonderry 10-12 May, and Liverpool 24-27 May. In the lead city of Liverpool, Royal Navy and international ship visits are planned in support of the core commemoration day, Sunday 26 May, with a daytime Cathedral service, a march through the city by current Naval and Merchant Naval personnel as well as veterans. Seafarers UK will be promoting its Merchant Navy Fund at a reception for supporters in the evening of 24 May at the Merseyside Maritime Museum. The charity will also be present in the Veterans Welcome Centre over the weekend, so do please
come and say hello if you are in town. In London there will be Royal Navy ship visits, a St Paul’s Evensong Service, a Merchant Navy Memorial Service and a formal Commemorative Dinner on HMS Illustrious (pictured), with Seafarers UK being one of two beneficiary charities on the night. And in Derry-Londonderry a ship visit is planned to support the dedication of a new statue by the Royal Naval Association.
Oxford Royal Marines Band Concert
An additional concert date has now been added to this year’s already full diary (see page 11). Under the banner of the Battle of the Atlantic 70th Anniversary, the Portsmouth Band of HM Royal Marines will perform on 4 August at Oxford Town Hall, with Seafarers UK as the beneficiary for the event.
Flagpost E-news
If you would like to receive more regular updates on Seafarers UK’s latest events and news then please sign up to our e-newsletter, Flagpost. You can do this by visiting our website and subscribing, or by sending an email request to seafarers@ seafarers-uk.org
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grants news by Dennis Treleaven Director of Grants and External Operations
The Memorial Service at Loch Ewe to co Operation Dervish on 21 August 1941. T HRH Prince Michael of Kent and 14 vete
2013
is looking to be the year when Seafarers UK makes a paradigm shift in how it delivers its grants service. We are developing new ways of monitoring and evaluating the value and impact of our grant making, which should in turn lead to further improvements in the grants service to our beneficiaries. To those organisations that have had a grant from Seafarers UK, we will now be asking them detailed questions to demonstrate how our funding has made the lives of individual seafarers and their families better. We call this process ‘Monitoring and Evaluation’, but our aim will always be to find the right balance between getting enough information, so that we can be sure that our grants have achieved the benefits we anticipated, and not asking organisations to spend too much time collecting paperwork. An example of how this process will work is the grant made to Alabaré for 2012, with whom we have trialled a new monitoring and evaluation form. This grant supported 16 veterans who were homeless or at risk of being homeless. The monitoring report that Alabaré provided to us at the end of the grant period confirmed that, of the 16 veterans they supported during the year, 11 had moved on by the time of writing, 10 to new stable accommodation. During the period of our grant, they had helped two clients into work, three into volunteering placements and a further three into work placements. They also helped veterans rebuild relationships with their families, both their own children and their parents, as well as enabling them to develop other support networks either through other veterans programmes, local support groups or within the house itself. After last year’s successful move to having
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two grants rounds for charities to apply to, this year we have again improved our grant making services by introducing something called ‘Continuous Assessment’. Charities can now apply to Seafarers UK at any time during the year, rather than having to fit their requests into a narrow bi-annual round of grants made in the summer and at Christmas time. We have published clear guidelines and deadlines on our website to aid organisations in their applications, and the Grants Committee has agreed to meet four times per year with full delegated authority to make decisions, thus speeding up the whole process.
Russian convoys
Looking at the grants we made towards the end of last year, which will impact during 2013, I am delighted to be able to tell you about a grant of £13,270 we have made to the Russian Arctic Convoy Museum based in Wester Ross in Scotland. This charity seeks to highlight the importance of the World War II Russian Arctic Convoys. The North Atlantic Fleet sailed from 1941 to 1945 from the UK to the northern Russian ports of Murmansk and Archangel to aid our Russian allies. The Russian Convoys were called ‘the Suicide Missions’ by many of those men who sailed on them, with Winston Churchill calling it ‘The Worst Journey in the World’. Merchant ships with supplies and ammunition were escorted by British Royal Naval ships, with young men of 18 drafted into the forces and some lads of 16 in the Merchant Navy. In all, over 3,000 young men perished in the icy waters of the North Atlantic from a total of 78 Convoys. Loch Ewe in Wester Ross, Scotland, was where 19 of the convoys departed from; a further 23 left from Liverpool, with the remainder sailing from the Clyde (Glasgow), Oban and Reykjavik (Iceland). The village of Aultbea on
ALABARÉ: Left to right – Andrew Lord ( Hoban, Hampshire County Council Chair David Durston (Vice Chairman of Alabar
“2013 is looking to be the year when Seafarers UK makes a paradigm shift in how it delivers its grants service... Charities can now apply at any time during the year.”
GRANTS NEWS
Convoy veteran Reay Clarke, who served on HMS Farndale, at the Russian Arctic Convoy Memorial at Loch Ewe on the 70th anniversary of Farndale leaving Loch Ewe
ommemorate the first convoy to Russia, The service was held in the presence of erans, both Royal Navy and Merchant Navy
(Chief Executive of Alabaré), MP Mark rman Cllr Andrew Joy and Canon ré)
the shores of Loch Ewe was designated HMS Helicon during the war and was the anchorage base for the Arctic Convoys from 1941 to 1945. There are around 400 veterans still alive, all around the age of 90. Our grant (together with a grant from the Royal Naval Benevolent Trust) will contribute towards the costs of a reunion for the remaining veterans, especially those who are still well enough to travel to Wester Ross, enabling them to visit with their families or carers. The Charity hopes to bring them together in such a way that they can share their stories for posterity. It will also give their families the chance to share experiences and support each other. It was only a couple of weeks after we made this grant that, after years of campaigning by this group and others, the British Government finally agreed to
award these veterans their own medal in proper recognition of their bravery.
Supporting piracy victims
I’m sure you are all aware of the scourge of piracy affecting merchant ships sailing through the seas off Somalia and elsewhere. Last year for the first time we were able to do something to support the UK and Commonwealth seafarers who risk their lives sailing these waters. We awarded a grant of £67,000 to the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP) which, while based in the UK (at the ITF Seafarers Trust in London), will spend the grant on supporting the families of those seafarers left destitute after their loved ones have been hijacked and held for ransom for months or even years at a time. The MPHRP is a not-for-
profit organisation. It launched in 2011 with a vision to develop a pan-industry alliance of ship owners, managers, manning agents, insurers and welfare associations to work together with one aim – to assist seafarers and their families with the humanitarian aspects of a traumatic incident caused by piracy, armed robbery or being taken hostage. Seafarers UK spends the considerable majority of its funds here in the UK, but our Royal Charter says we should support UK and Commonwealth seafarers and their families. This grant will be used to support the families of affected seafarers living in the Commonwealth countries of South Asia. Further details and application forms for both the main grants and small grants programmes are available to download at www.seafarers-uk.org S P R I N G 2013
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community news ENGLAND & WALES
PORT WELFARE COMMITTEES
Alexandra Sard MBE Community Support Manager Since the last edition of Flagship, Community Fundraising in England and Wales has been vibrant, particularly during the last few weeks of 2012 which were packed with events, keeping the Community Support Manager very busy! As the New Year began, we could happily reflect on the achievements of the past year and plan what we hope to achieve in 2013. Community fundraising, as ever, flew its flag splendidly in 2012, spearheading the charity’s successes and I am very proud to be part of our joint efforts. A huge thank you to everyone who participated and congratulations on what we accomplished!
Southern Port Welfare Committee, Portsmouth
The Merchant Navy Welfare Board holds Port Welfare Committee Meetings (PWCs) three times a year in 15 ports around the UK and one in Gibraltar. Seafarers UK is keen to have representation at these meetings wherever possible so, where appropriate, Seafarers UK committee chairs have been invited
The 2013 Seafarers UK Annual Golf Day will be held at Southwick Park on 18 June, when teams will compete for the Seafarers UK Trophy in a Texas Scramble. This is a very enjoyable and well-supported day for those who play golf and live near enough to participate. Last year it was held on the only sunny day in June so fingers crossed for 2013! 8
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and internationally. The purpose of each committee is to act as an information, communication and networking channel between local members and the Board. Each PWC comprises representatives from organisations concerned with the welfare of visiting seafarers and the local seafaring community.
National Armed Forces Celebrations
In June 2012, Seafarers UK was a major player during the National Armed Forces Week in Plymouth. A joint reception with Plymouth City Council was held on Friday 29 June at Plymouth Guildhall, attended by Seafarers UK President, HRH The Earl of Wessex. The following day Seafarers UK head office staff and Plymouth Committee volunteers were located at a prime site in the Veterans Marquee. This year the Armed Forces Day national event will be held in Nottingham on Saturday 29 June, where Seafarers UK volunteers will be manning a stand to represent the charity in the Veterans Marquee. If you would like to help us at Nottingham please contact Alexandra Sard.
alexandra.sard@ seafarers-uk.org 023 9273 6101.
Seafarers UK Annual Golf Day
to nominate a representative to attend meetings where the charity does not already have a presence. The PWCs are an essential and integral part of the Board’s work. The contribution made by members allows the Board to have a better understanding of the issues that affect seafarers locally, nationally
Fish & Chip Feast
And finally...
The Seafarers UK Fish & Chip Feast will be in its fourth year this October and several of our volunteer committees have been involved with this in previous years (particularly Lincoln Committee). Why not take part and have your own fish and chip supper or perhaps persuade your local ‘chippy’ to join in?
Committees are busy planning their events now for 2013 and as soon as dates are in place, committee events will be advertised on our website at www. seafarers-uk.org. It is important to give everyone as much visibility as possible, so don’t forget we are on Facebook and Twitter too! In conclusion, I can only reiterate my sincere thanks to all the committees and
volunteers who valiantly put so much effort into supporting our charity and seafarers in need in 2012.They are the backbone of our fundraising at Seafarers UK. Don’t forget, we are always looking for volunteers to help us at a variety of events! If you require any information on any of the events mentioned in this article or would like to volunteer to help, please get in touch.
COMMUNITY NEWS Royal Marines band concerts
Sea Cadets from TS Invicta Folkestone & Hythe Unit at the Folkestone RM Band Concert
The programme of Seafarers UK Royal Marines Band concerts runs throughout the year and we are hugely fortunate to be able to work with the Royal Marines Band Service as part of our charity’s fundraising campaign.The willingness of the five Royal Marines Bands to work with Seafarers UK and the strong relationship that has been forged between us is an excellent formula which works well and long may it last. One must not forget the Sea Cadets and Royal Marines Cadets who attend our concerts and work so hard selling raffle tickets
and programmes and organising after-show bucket collections. Quite frankly, without their help, Seafarers UK would find it difficult to manage. We are indebted to the many units that help us throughout the UK. The end of year run of Royal Marines Band concerts took place at tried and tested venues such as Tunbridge Wells, Truro and Southampton, with record audience numbers this year. On 2 December, accompanied by the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Plymouth, Seafarers UK was at Colston Hall in Bristol for two
Volunteer Charlotte Dawes with HM Royal Marines Band musicians in Eastbourne
concerts – a matinée and an evening performance. On 7 December, we returned, by invitation, for a second year to the delightful Leas Cliff Hall in Folkestone.This was followed by a concert later that week at the Assembly Hall in Worthing. Bristol and Worthing are two venues, which were a ‘first’ in 2012 for Seafarers UK; both proved to be very popular and are already booked for 2013. Her Majesty’s Band Portsmouth played splendidly for us at the majority of our south coast yearend concerts under the direction of Captain Pete Curtis MBE. Pete recently returned to the RM Band
Service after time spent working with the Royal Marines setting up RM Hasler, the Royal Marines rehabilitation company in Plymouth, for which he was awarded an MBE. Plans for our season of concerts in England and Wales for the coming year include three new theatres, the Villa Marina on the Isle of Man on 3 July, the Town Hall in Oxford on 4 August and the Queen’s Theatre in Barnstaple on 24 November. Over 25 concerts have been booked for the coming season and a full list of concerts for the remainder of 2013 is on page 11.
Captain Rick Long, Director of Music, RMB Plymouth with FOSNNI Rear Admiral and Mrs Chris Hockley
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SCOTLAND NEWS SCOTLAND
EDINBURGH RECEPTION & ROYAL MARINES BAND CONCERT
S C O T L A N D
Captain Nick Davies Charity No: SC isScottish the Seafarers UK Regional Representative for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Nick can be contacted at nick. davies@seafarers-uk.org or on 07885 555760.
The Seafarers UK Edinburgh Usher Hall Royal Marines Band Concert, traditionally preceded by a joint Seafarers UK/Sea Cadet Association Scotland Reception, is now a key event in the Seafarers UK calendar. The concert, which is presented jointly by the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines Scotland and the Edinburgh Gilbert & Sullivan Society, is always popular, and the November 2012 event attracted 1,200 supporters. The audience enjoyed a music programme that included the march tunes ‘San Carlos’ and ‘The Mountbatten March’, the traditional Scottish overture ‘The Land of the Mountain and the Flood’, Gilbert and Sullivan pieces from ‘The Mikado’, ‘HMS Pinafore’ and ‘Yeoman of the Guard’ and choral pieces ‘The Lost Chord’ and ‘Zadoc the Priest’. Band Cpl Annabelinda Hardy delivered an impeccable flute solo ‘Traumerei’ and the Corps of Drums played a major part in a movingly traditional finale. The event would not be the same without the support of the Sea Cadets from Edinburgh District (pictured), who assisted with the reception catering and sold the programmes and raffle tickets. In addition, Musselburgh SCC Cadet Finlay Cummings delivered an entertaining
and informative speech about what the SCC means to her. Seafarers UK gives a significant annual grant to the Sea Cadets – money well spent if the cadets of Edinburgh District are anything to go by! Seafarers UK would like to thank our three sponsors, Brown Son & Ferguson, John Denholm and bto Solicitors, for their generous financial support to this hugely successful concert. We are booked in for the Usher Hall again on 19 November 2013!
PERTH & FIFE MEET AT ANSTRUTHER
Cove Village Maritime Festival
Seafarers UK’s Perth & Fife Committee held their November meeting at the Fisheries Museum
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in Anstruther, and afterwards enjoyed a tour of the exhibits at this excellent gem of a museum.
The level of ignorance amongst the general public about the importance to the UK of the maritime sector is quite alarming. On the basis that any publicity is good publicity, Seafarers UK seized another opportunity to educate with
a stand at the Cove Village Maritime Festival. The message was enlivened with a display of models of the ships that our Regional Representative has served in – not counting the sailing ship!
The Bands of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines
concerts in aid of Seafarers UK 2013 Inverness Eden Court
Wed 1 May
01463 234234
www.eden-court-co.uk
Douglas IoM Villa Marina
Wed 3 July
01624 600555
www.villagaeity.com
Oxford Town Hall
Sun 4 August
01865 252351
www.oxford.gov.uk/townhall
Eastbourne Winter Garden
Wed 14 August 01323 415500
www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk
Dunfermline Carnegie Hall
Thurs 19 Sept
01383 602302
www.onlinefife.com
Perth Concert Hall
Wed 9 Oct
01738 621031
www.horsecross.co.uk
Dunfermline Carnegie Hall
Thurs 17 Oct
01383 602302
www.onlinefife.com
Guildford GLive
Sat 19 Oct
0844 770 1797
www.glive.co.uk
Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall Sun 27 Oct
01892 530613
www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk
IOW Medina Theatre
Tues 29 Oct
01983 527020
www.medinatheatre.co.uk
Dunfermline Carnegie Hall
Thurs 14 Nov
01383 602302
Truro Hall for Cornwall
Sun 17 Nov TBC 01872 262466
www.hallforcornwall.co.uk
Edinburgh Usher Hall
Tues 19 Nov
0131 228 1155
www.usherhall.co.uk
Barnstaple Queen’s Theatre
Sun 24 Nov
01271 324242
www.northdevontheatres.org.uk
Carlisle Sands Centre
Sun 1 Dec
01228 633766
www.thesandscentre.co.uk
www.onlinefife.com
Bristol Colston Hall
Sun 1 Dec
0117 922 3686
www.colstonhall.org
Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall
Wed 4 Dec
01303 228600
www.leascliffhall.co.uk
Worthing Assembly Hall
Fri 6 Dec
01903 206206
www.worthingtheatres.co.uk
Southampton Guildhall
Tue 10 Dec
023 8063 2601
www.livenation.co.uk
For tickets please contact the venues direct. For further information about how seafarers in need benefit from these Royal Marines Band concerts, please contact Alexandra Sard on 023 9273 6101, email alexandra.sard@seafarers-uk.org (for concerts in England and Wales, shown in yellow) or Nick Davies on 07885 555760, email nick.davies@seafarers-uk.org (for concerts in Scotland and Carlisle, in white).
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Whether you want to run, swim or trek – there’s something for everyone. Sign up today! Contact us: 020 7932 5961 events@seafarers-uk.org www.seafarers-uk.org/events
2013 FUNDRAISING
EVENTS CALENDAR
SUNDAY 21 APRIL
Virgin London Marathon One of the world’s most prestigious running events (can you help cheer our runners on the day?)
FRIDAY 17 MAY
Nautical Friday
Great North Swim
Support our National Fundraising Day (with your own fundraising idea or challenge)
One mile open water swim in Lake Windermere
SATURDAY 13 JULY
SATURDAY 31 August
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SUNDAY 14 JULY
Beat the Brecons
British 10K
A 12-hour team endurance challenge (cycling, walking and canoeing)
10K route through the heart of London
SUNDAY 15 SEPTEMBER
Great London Swim
Great North Run
One mile open water swim in Docklands
The second largest half marathon in the world
MON 7 – SUN 13 OCTOBER
Fri 14 – Sun 16 June
Thurs 10 – Sun 20 Oct
SUNDAY 27 OCTOBER
Fish & Chip Feast
Kilimanjaro Trek
Great South Run
Enjoy the nation’s favourite dish for charity
Trek to the roof of Africa – the world’s highest free-standing mountain (5,895m). [Also in 2014, 23 Jan to 2 Feb]
10 mile run through Portsmouth and Southsea
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EVENTS Gurvinder Gregson Fundraising Manager - Events In 2012 we supported nearly 200 event participants in raising over £200,000. Thank you all so much for your commitment to the events that you took part in and also your amazing fundraising efforts. So many of you endured severe weather conditions during some really incredible challenges, including 24 Peaks, London Marathon, Survival of the Fittest, Edinburgh Marathon, 100-mile South Downs Walk and swimming in London’s Docklands. It was a great year and we are hoping to build on that in 2013. We have launched our new Challenge Events Calendar (see page 12) and we hope to motivate and inspire many of you to take part. events@seafarers-uk.org 020 7932 5961
New team challenge on Sunday 13 July
‘Beat the Brecons’
This is your chance to take part in a day you’ll never forget.Your challenge is to cycle for four hours in woodland trails, walk the highest peak in South
VIrgin London Marathon 2013
We have a full Seafarers UK team of 29 London Marathon entrants who are preparing to take on one of the biggest running challenges in the world. Between them, they are putting on an exciting range of events and activities to raise funds, including holding auctions, raffles, dress-down days and football tournaments. If anyone would like to come along on Sunday 21 April to cheer on the Seafarers UK team, we would love to have you there. Please get in touch for more information. JulieTwydell in the London Marathon Swimming Challenges
Great North Swim & Great London Swim
Take part in a unique open water swim in either the London Docklands or Lake Windermere. The Great London Swim is your chance to swim one mile alongside over 5,000 other competitors in the Royal Victoria Dock. If you fancy
© Mike Kemp/Rubberball/Corbis
CHALLENGE EVENTS
Wales in five hours and canoe for three hours on the Pentwyn Reservoir. You’ll need mental stamina, physical strength and above all team spirit to
complete this tough challenge in 12 hours.Your team fundraising target is £3,000 and registration is only £100 per team.
Limited places
Great North Run Join us and run in the world’s most popular half marathon, alongside 100,000 other people. Seafarers UK has limited places in the Great North Run – so go for it and we will support you every step of the way!
The Great South Run
a more remote swim then take part in the Great North Swim in the beautiful surroundings of Lake Windermere. This is your chance to take part in a challenge that you will never forget and help to raise much needed funds to support our seafaring community. Great London Swim We hope to see you in 2013! S P R I N G 2013
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fundraising Fish & Chip Feast Fundraisers honoured at National Awards
FUNdRAISING Jos Standerwick Corporate Partnerships Manager
jos.standerwick@ seafarers-uk.org tel: 020 7932 5991
Burton Road Chippy owners Anastasios Anastasiou and Lesley Graves flanked Rory Bremner and Seafarers UK’s Barry Bryant.
On 24 January Seafarers UK had the honour of being the supporting charity at the prestigious National Fish & Chip Awards and having our own award for the ‘Fish & Chip Feast Champion Fundraiser’ presented by comedian and impressionist Rory Bremner.
During the Fish & Chip Feast last October we had ‘chippies’ up and down the country raising money for seafarers in need. The fundraising finalists were Merchants in Bewdley, The Quayside in Whitby and Burton Road Chippy in Lincoln. And the winner was... Burton Road Chippy, owned by Lesley Graves and Anastasios Anastasiou. The staff of Burton Road went to extraordinary efforts to raise money for Seafarers UK over the week back in October. Their fundraising feats included 14
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head shaving, half-marathon running and the staff donating their pay for one day! Owner Lesley Graves said: ‘It is a great privilege to be rewarded as a team for our fundraising efforts. Fundraising is something that is very close to our hearts and we have a wonderful time raising money which contributes positively to helping those who are part or were part of our maritime sector. It was fantastic to receive such recognition at the ceremony and we will continue to keep doing what we love to do.’ Paul Williams, Chief Executive of Seafish said: ‘The Seafarers UK ‘Champion Fundraiser Award’ recognises a fish and chip shop which works hard not only to succeed in business but that also contributes positively to the maritime sector by looking after those who serve or have served at sea. It is a great achievement for Burton Road Chippy to
be recognised for the work that they do and be known in the fish and chip sector as a shop that gives back and supports the maritime industry and looks after fellow colleagues.’ Seafarers UK was also fortunate enough to raise over £3,000 from the collection held on the evening. So thank you to everyone who donated and acknowledged those men and women who risk so much to put the fish in their fryers. Our sincere thanks must also go to Seafish for all the support they have given to the Feast and indeed inviting Seafarers UK to be involved in the National Awards. And, once again, many thanks to all of you who took part in our Fish & Chip Feast in 2012. Lastly, please remember to mark in your diaries 7-11 October 2013, as we once again embark on getting the nation’s fish and chip shops and restaurants frying in aid of fishermen!
FUNDRAISING
24hr Triathlon Fundraiser for Seafarers UK
A 24-hour fundraising triathlon organised by Southampton-based naval architecture and marine engineering design consultancy BMT Nigel Gee
was successfully completed by 35 people at noon on Saturday 9 February. ‘With support from my family and friends I organised this 24 hour triathlon to raise
funds for four charities chosen by the staff at BMT Nigel Gee. The aim was to take part in the gruelling challenge whilst raising money for some very worthy causes that are close
to our hearts’ said Steven Lee, Project Manager at BMT Nigel Gee Ltd. More than £8,000 has already been raised, which has been donated
to Seafarers UK and three other charities.Thank you to everyone involved in the triathlon and to BMT Nigel Gee for the company’s support for seafarers in need.
URNU cake-bakers raise £200 On Thursday 28 February, I was lucky enough to return to the annual London URNU (University Royal Naval Unit) ‘Bake-off’ as a judge, a role that I have been looking forward to since my visit last year. And it did not disappoint! An amazing effort had been put in by everyone (excepting the shop-bought flapjack!) and there were 31 cakes to try, ranging from biscuits to cheesecake and even a model of Portsmouth Harbour! After much deliberating (and cake eating) winners were chosen. The top prize went to a delicious carrot cake baked by Charlotte Molyneux which was beautifully decorated and tasted very good. Second place was taken by Darren
Griffiths and Helen Groves who baked ‘Portsmouth Harbour’. Third place went to Charlotte Smithers. The cakes were auctioned off after the event. Thank you to members of the London URNU for their continued support for Seafarers UK, and a special thanks to Rebecca Cairns for organising the event. It was a great evening and raised over £200 for seafarers in need. Verity Maylam, Fundraising Officer – Events S P R I N G 2013
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FUNDRAISING
Carnival UK – always there no
matter how turbulent the waters In 1917, as the Great War began to swing in favour of the Allied Forces, the City of London and the British shipping industry created a fund for those seafarers and their dependants who had been adversely affected by the unprecedented losses incurred by the Royal and Merchant Navies. The fund was to receive the endorsement of King George V who also made a donation of £5,000. King George’s Fund for Sailors was born. One of the founding donors to the fund was the British institution, The White Star Line.
In 1917 The White Star Line was still reeling after the loss of HMHS Britannic. Converted into a hospital ship at the outbreak of war, she was the largest ship to be lost during the long and merciless campaign. Fortunately, however, only 30 hands were lost, with over one thousand making it safely to the Greek shore. Few companies had given so much to the Allied war effort. The original donation of The White Star Line and many other donors laid the foundation for KGFS supporting those seafarers most in need in the UK and Commonwealth. Ninety-six years on, UK maritime, the Fund and the Line have gone through many evolutions. However their combined, unflinching commitment to seafarers’ welfare has remained constant. The White Star Line has evolved into Carnival UK, an over-arching company with some of the most prestigious cruising brands in the world, including P&O Cruises and their one-time competitor Cunard. As we approach our Centenary, we are proud to say that Carnival UK remains one of our steadfast and generous supporters, something we are hugely grateful for. In 2012 Carnival UK raised more than £55,000 for Seafarers UK due to the generosity of their on board church congregations and the truly astonishing effort of the Virgin London Marathon team made up of employees from their Southampton 16
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Nick Allenson, Dominic Chancellor and Firouz Mal from Carnival UK.
headquarters. Their marathon runners raised £43,000 for their Herculean efforts, spearheaded by the remarkable Firouz Mal who will be donning his trainers once again this year to tread the gruelling 26.2 miles around the capital’s landmarks. There are no signs of Carnival UK slowing down this year. We have already been fortunate enough to receive a welcome donation from the on board collections, and our effervescent Fundraising Events Team of Gurvinder and Verity enjoyed Carnival UK’s hospitality in Southampton as they drummed up interest in this
year’s exciting events programme. The support of Carnival UK, their passengers and staff is testament to the high regard in which they hold our seafarers, and is an inspiration to all of us at Seafarers UK and our beneficiary organisations. Whilst I am sure the next 100 years will bring further evolutions for both the charity and Carnival UK, as we adapt to an ever-changing maritime environment, it is our sincere hope that we will be able to strengthen this superb relationship that has achieved so much in improving the lives of seafarers, their families and dependants.
Watercolour Painting - France We offer painting holidays from May to September. Our guests stay with us in our beautiful 18th Century farmhouse, set beside the lake, on the 24 acre estate. Suitable for all abilities, and perfect for beginners. Full board accommodation
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SPRING 2013 France Painting Holiday.indd 1
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FUNDRAISING
Seafarers UK & Associated British Ports – supporting the victims of piracy
Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP/Press Association Images
I am sure all of you reading this piece are more than aware of the current scourge affecting our shipping lanes, particularly off the west coast of Africa and in the Gulf of Aden. The vision of Somali pirates bobbing menacingly in the sapphire blue seas of the Indian Ocean has been prevalent on our TV screens and in our newspapers.
As you may also be aware, there are both Governmental and non-Governmental initiatives to try to prevent, or at least control, this ever-present threat to our seafarers and indeed our supply routes. All that said, and after all the drama of an incident has died down, there is little thought for those families left behind after an attack, or indeed the psychological effects on the
seafarers themselves once they have been released from their gruelling ordeal. This is why Seafarers UK, with the support of a £20,000 donation from Associated British Ports, has funded the work of the Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP). This funding has allowed the MPHRP to expand its efforts in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka
as it reaches out to families who have been adversely affected by providing emotional and financial support. The programme also provides a ‘signposting’ service, so seafarers can access professional support through a network of professional aftercare. Preemptive training and advice workshops are staged for seafarers and their families, teaching them crucial lessons on how to respond if the worst should happen, ensuring all those involved are well placed to cope as best they can. So far, the scheme has proved very successful, and has been endorsed by a myriad of shipping organisations for the excellent work it is doing in supporting seafarers. Few land-based businesses understand more than ABP about the importance of seafarers, and the company’s steadfast support of Seafarers UK is testament to this. As piracy is the biggest humanitarian crisis facing shipping today, our sincere thanks must go to ABP for recognising the importance of the MPHRP and enabling us to support the work of this vital project in the Commonwealth as it works with those most affected by this blight on the high seas. more info at www.mphrp.org/
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nautical Friday 2013
Nautical Friday Ahoy 17 May 2013
We hope all our Flagship readers will ‘jump onboard’ and join us on our national fundraising day, Nautical Friday, on 17 May 2013. We rely on our seafarers every day of the year to provide for us and to protect us. Nautical Friday is an opportunity for us to thank them and spend just one day having some ‘nautical’ fun and raising vital funds for seafarers from the Merchant Navy, Royal Navy, Royal inspiration visit www.nauticalfriday. Marines and Fishing Fleets, org, where you can also find posters and their families. and flyers to help advertise your own Our supporters always amaze us with their nautical fundraising antics and need little encouragement. Last year we had nautical dress-up days at work, cake sales with a maritime theme, an awe-inspiring mast climb, sponsored bike rides, five-a-side football tournaments and Nautical Friday quiz nights, to mention just a few! For more fundraising ideas and 18
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Nautical Friday event. Start planning your event now and join up with friends and work colleagues to make your Nautical Friday a fundraising success. To register your Nautical Friday event and to receive your free fundraising pack, email fundraising@ seafarers-uk.org or phone 020 7932 0000.
STOP PRESS!
Nautical Friday ‘Flag Days’ We urgently need volunteers to organise or get involved in a Nautical Friday ‘Flag Day’. With a little pre-planning a street collection can be both fun and profitable! We can provide full guidance and materials to ensure you are able to run a successful and enjoyable day. If you and a few friends have a few hours to spare on 17 May please contact us to request a free ‘Flag Day’ fundraising pack. For more information about running your own ‘Flag Day’, please email seafarers@seafarers-uk.org or phone 020 7932 0000.
FUNDRAISING
Your support Addition to Seafarers UK in 2013 by Julie Behan Fundraising Manager Individuals
‘Ship’s Company’
We started 2013 with Carole Hunt (pictured) joining our Fundraising Team. Carole’s primary role will be assisting Julie Behan, the Fundraising Manager – Individuals. We truly value our individual supporters – many of you have been with us for many years – and we hope you will join us in welcoming Carole to our team. Carole has worked and volunteered for charities for several years and is looking forward to taking on the new role of Fundraising Administration Officer. Carole says ‘I am
Our individual supporters continue to inspire us and we are incredibly grateful for all your donations and the encouragement we receive. Many of you have already made a generous donation to our Children’s Appeal, contributing to a staggering £70,000 raised to date. With the appeal still running we hope we can persuade you to dig a little deeper and help us reach our target of £100,000. Help make a difference and return the donation form included with this issue of Flagship today. Thank you. For more information, or if you would like to hold an event to raise funds for the Seafarers UK Children’s Appeal, please email julie.behan@ seafarers-uk.org or phone 020 7932 0000.
Merchant Navy Fund Since its launch in November 2012 the Merchant Navy Fund has received significant interest and the Merchant Navy community has embraced the opportunity to donate to a fund that is specifically there to support UK Merchant Navy seafarers and their families in times of need. As well as donations, we have received many messages of support, Obituary
Captain Gerald Pratley 1932-2012 Gerald was a Master Mariner serving with Ellerman Line prior to coming ashore to work as a Marine Surveyor in and around Felixstowe. He served as Secretary on the Seafarers UK Felixstowe Committee for more than ten years, resigning in the summer of 2012. Gerald was also a member of the Felixstowe Master Mariners Club and a keen MG enthusiast. Our deepest sympathies are extended to his wife Barbara and family. He will be much missed by his fellow Seafarers UK Committee members for his friendship and willingness to support the charity.
including some from those who know only too well the difficulties that some Merchant Navy seafarers can face. A lady wrote to tell us of her husband who, after a serious accident, was unable to return to sea. With a young family they struggled to cope and they were incredibly grateful for the assistance they received at a very difficult time. Her monthly
looking forward to working with Julie and getting to know our supporters. My father served in the Royal Navy during the 1950s and 1960s, so I have always had an interest in the sea and a respect for seafarers.’ If you have any questions about your current donations or would like more information on setting up a regular donation to support Seafarers UK please contact Julie or Carole at julie.behan@seafarers-uk. org or carole.hunt@seafarers-uk.org or phone 020 7932 0000.
donations to the fund are in appreciation of the help her family received and in remembrance of her husband who passed away several years ago. To make a regular monthly donation and for more information please visit www.merchantnavyfund.org, email mnfund@seafarers-uk.org or phone 020 7932 0000.
IN MEMORIAM We thank most sincerely the families and friends of those recently deceased, who have chosen to support Seafarers UK in their memory. Mrs Ena Benton Mr Edward Brice Mrs Pat Cattenach Mr Michael Cribb Mr Douglas Dennis Mr Derek Fostit Mrs Charlotte Garven Rear Admiral Edward ‘Teddy’ Gueritz CB, OBE, DSC & Bar Mr Thomas Harris Commander Murray Hayes Mr Will Headon Lt Roy Coggan Hill ‘Hearty’ Florence Hill WRNS
Mr Martyn Lewis Hobbs Mr Barrie C Johnston OBE Mrs Betty Long Lieutenant Commander Richard Lonsdale MBE Captain Gerald Pratley Mr Anthony Victor Sard (3rd Officer, RFA) Mr Peter Martyr Sell Captain Richard John Fisher Turner Mrs Nancy Waterston Mr Alfred James Wellbeloved Mr Alan Walter Willis Members of the Warnes family service in WW1
We also thank those people who have chosen to make a quiet personal remembrance of a friend or relative anonymously; we may not have their names, but we acknowledge them all with honour and respect.
We Need You! Please don’t forget Nautical Friday on 17 May this year. Join in the fun S P R I N G 2013
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CAMPAIGNING
Calling all ports!
Uniting the youth of t maritime opportunitie
Seafarers UK staff Richard Holmes, Jos Standerwick,Verity Maylam and Carole Hunt visited Felixstowe, the UK’s largest container port, kindly organised by Claire Sneddon (centre), Corporate Communications Manager at Maersk
In a bold move to visibly promote our island nation’s dependence on shipping and seafarers, Seafarers UK is inviting port owners to ‘go public’ during this year’s Seafarers Awareness Week, 24-30 June. Members of the UK Major Ports Group and the British Ports Association have been asked to prepare for increased interest in their operations, that contribute £21.2bn to the national economy and provide 391,800 jobs (source: Maritime UK). The UK port industry, by virtue of our long coastline and maritime history, is the largest in Europe, handling over 500 million tonnes of freight in 2011. Much of the cargo entering and leaving Britain is in the form of raw materials – oil, chemicals, petroleum, ores, grains and feedstuffs – the commodities needed to fuel the economy. Finished goods include vehicles, fresh foods, steel, timber, building materials, machinery and manufactured goods – to name but a few. Over 95% of imports and exports by volume, and 75% by value, pass through the country’s ports. Ports are often at the heart of their communities – see www.ports.org.uk. Whatever their size, they are major providers of employment within their areas, and through leisure activities such as yachting, many contribute to local economies in other ways. Yet even people who live near ports may have little personal experience of their importance, and tend to take for granted the daily comings and goings of ships. Obviously many ports are highly secure and off-limits to members of the public. But where viewing days or tours for organised groups can be arranged, port owners are being encouraged to ‘open their doors’ during Seafarers Awareness Week, when our targeted media relations campaign will highlight how regional economies are bolstered by active ports and a thriving shipping trade. Seafarers Awareness Week 2013 has a new dedicated website at www.seafarersawarenessweek.org, a Facebook page (SeafarersAwarenessWeek) and is on Twitter (@SeafarersWeek). If you would like to get involved as a local event organiser please contact Nick Harvey, email nick. harvey@seafarers-uk. org, phone 020 7932 5969.
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Seavision is a not-forprofit initiative to promote awareness of the maritime amongst 11-22 year olds in the UK, part-funded by Seafarers UK.
The focus of Seavision’s work is very much on young people, with two principal areas of emphasis – education and careers-related activities – embracing the breadth of the UK maritime/marine sector. As we know well, our sector is diverse and has an absolutely outstanding story to tell. However, it is also all too often out of sight and thus out of mind and does not enjoy the profile and recognition that reflects its importance to the life of our island nation. Seavision UK has a new website, a readily recognisable entity that is being developed to showcase the breadth and composition of the UK maritime/marine sector. This is being achieved through the creation of a ‘Digital Information Hub’, an online presence designed to engage the interest of 11-22 year olds through a dynamic mix of maritime material, news, activities, educational resource and unique insights into many of the career opportunities brought alive by young role models sharing their experiences from their respective areas of work. Please take a look at www.seavision.org.uk and check out the e-learning modules, designed in consultation with sector experts to offer an insight into the diverse variety of opportunity offered and skills required by the maritime/marine sector.
More than 80 Hampshire school children at HMS Collingwood
The idea is to create an avenue for youngsters to explore specific segments of the maritime sector and encourage a transition from casual curiosity to genuine interest and engagement. Feel free to sign up for any of the modules; Seavision would welcome feedback. Seavision’s emphasis in 2013 is on getting the maritime message across to the target age group together with their influencers, and building educational and careerbased links between sector employers and schools and colleges. Focusing on the secondary stage of education, the SEA (Skills, Education & Awareness) Programme offers a range of curriculum-linked and STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Maths) based activities. The overall initiative was launched by HRH The Princess Royal on board the Cunard liner Queen Elizabeth in May last year. Working in partnership with a range of established educational providers, it seeks to inject maritime content into everyday learning. The SEA initiative can be delivered in any location where there is a concentration of maritime employers and, once fine tuned, will be promoted around
CAMPAIGNING
today with the es of tomorrow
Students challenged by life on a school island
Team-building Royal Navy style
other maritime centres across the UK. Within this programme, a maritime project in partnership with the EDT is running in both Plymouth and the Solent. Aimed at school years 8 and 9, it looks to encourage pupils to choose subjects at GCSE which will support a career in the maritime. Titled ‘My School is an Island’ (see box, right), it brings together student teams of six with sector mentors. Together, over 10 academic weeks, they research an aspect of the maritime of their choosing, presenting their results in both a formal written report and sectorjudged public presentation. In addition to STEM and English skills, it encourages areas such as communication, working together, and public speaking. A further activity within this programme is Maritime Taster Days. Conducted in 2012 courtesy of Cunard on board Queen
Elizabeth and, thanks to Mercator Media, within the Sea Work exhibition, the coming weeks see a combination of student and teacher events onboard the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Lyme Bay, where the skills sought by our sector will be highlighted within appropriate compartments of the ship, involving representatives from across the span of our industry. Sponsored by Seafarers UK, ‘My Maritime World’ is an exciting new competition run by Seavision. Open to all working across the maritime/marine sector and based within the UK, entry is simply by submitting a short film clip describing the individual’s maritime work environment/workplace in sufficient detail to inform and enthuse the career aspirations of 11-18 year olds. This is being timed to coincide with Seafarers Awareness Week (24-30 June 2013).
Last month nearly 90 Year 8 school children from the Solent area tackled tough team-building challenges set by the Royal Navy at HMS Collingwood. However those challenges were nothing compared to the task they now face as they use their mental, practical and team work strengths to compete in 15 teams to produce the best project which tackles the issues that they would face if their school was an island. Pupils from a range of Hampshire schools are taking part in a new competition called ‘My School is an Island’ that is being run by the maritime organisation Seavision and education charity EDT. The schools involved are Bohunt School, Horndean Technology College, City of Portsmouth Girls, Oaklands School, Petersfield School, Portsmouth Grammar, Quilley School of Engineering, Sandown Bay Academy, Springfields School and Toynbee School. The competition is part of the Go4SET activities run by EDT for Year 8 and 9 students. This Go4SET programme has been designed with a maritime theme to fit with the Seavision initiative for Skills, Education & Awareness in the Solent area. Ewen Macdonald, Director of Seavision explained: ‘Even in maritime areas like the Solent people can take the importance of the sea for granted and the considerable achievements of the individuals, companies and organisations that enable our island nation to thrive are often hidden rather than celebrated. My School is an Island has a double purpose. Firstly it highlights to the students all the logistical and technical challenges that have to be tackled anywhere that is sur-
rounded by sea. This includes travel, resources and bi-product disposal. Imagining a small community like a school as an island enables the students to appreciate those issues for bigger islands such as the Isle of Wight or, on a much larger scale, Britain itself. ‘The second purpose of My School is an Island is to allow students to see the practical application of science, technology, engineering and maths in overcoming the challenges of being an island, enabling the students to see these subjects, not simply as academic tasks but as very real contributors to harnessing the world around them. We hope that this exposure to school subjects in a real world environment will encourage the students to consider building a career on these subjects.’ The competition launched last month is the first in this Go4SET programme which is intended to be rolled out in maritime areas across the country. The project work takes place outside school hours and, as well as being guided by a teacher, each team has a mentor from a local company who can help them relate their studies to real world problems and enables them to meet someone who is using science and engineering subjects in their jobs. Local companies providing mentors to the teams in the launch competition include Associated British Ports, Babcock, DP World Southampton, Finmeccanica, Raymarine, Red Funnel, Royal Navy, Selex, and the Society for Underwater Technology. Clive Thomas of ABP Southampton is keen to support the project. He said: ‘The future strength of industry in the Solent area is dependent on ensuring that there are plenty of future recruits with a passion for the science and engineering disciplines which allow the local maritime industries to thrive. It is important that companies like ours play a role in helping students make the connection between their school subjects and interesting and challenging jobs in local industry.’ more info at www.seavision.org
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CHARITY FOCUS
A life-changing impact
T
he Royal Navy & Royal Marines Children’s Fund (RN&RMCF) supports children of serving and ex-serving personnel when they are in need, hardship or distress. The charity originates from the merger of two orphanages set up in 1902 by Deaconess Frances Wooldridge after she found an orphaned child, whose father had been in the Royal Navy, crying in a street in Chatham, Kent. Sadly, there were many other orphans so she built two orphanages, one in Gillingham in Kent and one in Portsmouth, with funding from King George’s Fund for Sailors (now Seafarers UK).
Led by director Monique Bateman, the RN&RMCF now helps around two thousand children up to the age of 25 each year to deal with the long-term psychological, emotional, physical, financial and social issues that can result from having a parent work in the Royal Navy or Royal Marines. The repercussions of war and conflict go far beyond the injuries received by those on the frontline and often those most affected are the families of Servicemen back at home. The Fund aims to give reassurance to serving men and women that their children will be looked after and supported – whatever the need; whatever the eventuality. Each case is dealt with individually because every child has a unique set of circumstances. Support includes helping children who are ill, disabled or bereaved, those who have a seriously ill parent and those who experience problems linked to the enforced separations from parents working in the Armed Forces. The Children’s Fund also helps a significant number of children with special educational needs; the death of a working
Paralympic hopeful Ash, one of the children supported by the Fund, pictured with BBC Top Gear personality Stig
parent or family breakdown can suddenly jeopardise a child’s education and the support that the Fund offers can have a life-changing impact. Here are just two examples of how the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Children’s Fund has made a difference. “Ashley has been helped with his dream of becoming a paralympic sportsman. Ashley has had 14 operations in his 15 years and we have been helping the family whilst his dad has been deployed with the Royal Marines. Last summer Ash was inspired by the Paralympic Games and has shown great potential in hand cycling. The Children’s Fund has helped Ash get his own hand cycle and he is now starting the long process of training and competing with a view to being ready for
the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.” “A young child came home one day struggling to stand up. It was initially thought he had had a stroke but turned out to be an inoperable brain tumour. This was devastating news to the family, not least because both parents had medical backgrounds. The family came to us to ask if we could contribute towards a family break on the Norfolk Broads as they knew his life expectancy wasn’t going to be long. The boy enjoyed the water and fishing and it meant they could have quality time together.” The RN&RMCF continues to receive funding from Seafarers UK, with a grant of £100,000 being given in 2012. S P R I N G 2013
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REVIEWS
Flagship review Recommended READ:
Athenia Torpedoed: the U-boat attack that ignited the Battle of the Atlantic by Francis M Carroll The Battle of the Atlantic began, just hours after war was declared on 3 September 1939, when the German submarine U-30 torpedoed the British-owned cruise liner Athenia, 200 miles off the north-west coast of Ireland. Hit by around 600lbs of high explosive, the Athenia, which was sailing from Liverpool to Montreal with more 1,400 passengers onboard, was severely damaged and sank the following day, with the loss of 112 lives. Canadian history professor Francis Carroll
All Hands: the lower deck of the Royal Navy since 1939 by Brian Lavery
Brian Lavery’s history of the Royal Navy from the point of view of the ‘ordinary’ rating brings a different perspective to a field crowded with the lives of admirals and lofty accounts of naval strategy. All Hands, the third and final volume in the series, takes the story from 1939, when the ranks of the navy were swelled six-fold by conscription, to the modern, professional (and much smaller) Royal Navy of today. Lavery, one of Britain’s leading maritime historians, shows how the culture of the Navy was changed, first by the influx of wartime conscripts and National Servicemen and then by the increasing demand for professional skills needed to operate modern high-tech ships. As you would expect, class remained a sensitive issue below deck, but Lavery shows how the Navy has slowly reflected changes in the rest of society in the post-war years, including a more
has written the first comprehensive account of the sinking since 1959, when much of the American, British and German archive material was still unavailable. The result is a rich and detailed account of the diplomatic background, preparations for the voyage, the attack itself, the extensive rescue operations and the effect on the survivors and their families. Using many first hand accounts and interviews with survivors (the German denial of responsibility meant there were extensive inquiries at the time), Caroll brings vividly to life to the febrile atmosphere of the early days of the war and the way the tragedy of loss at sea can unroll over decades and across continents. The sinking of the Athenia was widely seen open promotion process and the introduction of women to serve alongside men for the first time. Based on extensive research and many first hand accounts, All Hands shows that the men and women who serve in the Royal Navy are anything but ordinary. Conway, 352pp, £25. ISBN 978-1844861552
The Roman Navy by Michael Pitassi
The navy of ancient Rome is often compared to the Royal Navy in the 19th century. Both were crucial to the extraordinary expansion of imperial power and commerce and its maintenance for many years over a wide geographical area. Yet until recently the Roman navy has been an almost forgotten part of the imperial history. Michael Pitassi’s book gives a succinct
on both sides of the Atlantic as a violation of international law and helped to build support for the war effort in Canada. The loss of 30 American lives also played a small but significant role in the slow hardening of attitudes towards Nazi Germany in the US, which led first to the lend-lease agreement with Britain and eventually to American entry into the European war two years later. It’s now widely accepted that the commander of U-30, Captain Lemp, fired on the Athenia without realising it was a passenger ship. It led directly to the deployment of warships in the Atlantic to protect merchant shipping; keeping the Atlantic sea lanes open was to play a vital part in Britain’s survival after 1940 and in the eventual liberation of Western Europe. As well as being a propaganda blow for the Nazi regime, Captain Lemp’s ‘mistake’ was to have significant military consequences in the years that followed.
Pen & Sword Maritime, 232pp, £19.99 ISBN: 9781781591710
history of the Roman navy from the early days of the Republic to the fall of Rome in the fifth century, covering shipbuilding, weaponry, command structures and all aspects of the daily lives of Roman sailors. There are also surprisingly detailed accounts of naval battles – given the lack of reliable sources some of these might involve ‘scholarly conjecture’ – but they vividly bring home the very different nature of Roman naval battles which, while highly tactical, often involved ramming and brutal hand to hand fighting with spears and swords. Seaforth, 224pp, £25. ISBN 978-1848320901
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THE REGULAR FORCES EMPLOYMENT ASSOCIATION (RFEA)
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Our core activity is to provide life-long job finding advice, information and support to service leaders. Additionally, we provide this service as part of the Career Transition Partnership, using the amalgamated resources of the RFEA and the Officers’ Association, through a network of 24 reginal offices and specific overseas and executive appointment consultants. We offer employers access to thousands of quality candidates through our no cost recruitment service.
If you are a service leaver looking for support, or an employer looking to recruit, log on to our website www.rfea.org.uk or call our central employment team on 0121 236 0058 for details of your nearest RFEA office. 30
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Veterans Scotland is an association of 53 organisations who work with the Veterans community in Scotland.
Together we focus on veterans’ welfare, encourage cooperation between member charities, provide advocacy to government and a point of contact for veterans’ policy and communications. We also administer the veterans’ directory website www.veterans-assist.org and the Scottish Veterans Fund. www.veteransscotland.org.uk
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SVR has been providing a safe haven for veterans since 1910. We need your help to shelter and support veterans of all ages as they cope with life after leaving the forces.
Supporting Our Heroes Poppyscotland provides year-round support to veterans and their families across Scotland We rely wholly on public donations so we can provide financial assistance directly to those in urgent need. Your donations also help to fund specialist services such as long term care, housing and employment for veterans of all ages. Poppyscotland reaches more veterans living in Scotland than any other charity providing for their immediate and future wellbeing. Please don’t leave it until November to give your support.
Please donate online at www.svronline.org or Call 0131 556 0091 Registered Charity No. SC 015260
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To find out more about us or to make a donation, visit our website: www.poppyscotland.org.uk Poppyscotland, New Haig House, Logie Green Road, Edinburgh EH7 4HR 0131 557 2782 enquiries@poppyscotland.org.uk Poppyscotland is a trading name of The Earl Haig Fund Scotland. Scottish Charity No SC014096. A Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered in Scotland No 194893 at the above address.
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The Royal Alfred Seafarers’Society
www.royalalfredseafarers.com
Providing quality residential nursing, dementia and short term respite care primarily for seafarers and their dependants. The nation owes a great deal to its seafarers and our home provides them with a safe haven in old age and adversity. If you know of someone that needs our help please contact us. We offer modern en suite rooms and sheltered flats set in 14 acres of lovely Surrey countryside on the edge of Banstead. Donations and legacies are vital to us and help ensure that our residents continue to receive the best possible care. For further information about the services we provide, or for advice on tax efficient giving, please contact the Chief Executive, Commander Brian Boxall-Hunt OBE, at Head Office, Weston Acres, Woodmansterne Lane, Banstead, Surrey SM7 3HA.
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Queen Victoria Seamen’s Rest The Seamen’s Mission of the Methodist Church
Queen Victoria Seamen’s Rest is a national charity based in the East End of London. As we enter our 170th year QVSR continues to see a requirement for its work amongst those in need. Originally set up exclusively for seafarers, today we assist seafarers (both active and retired) ex servicemen and other adults in need of accommodation.
Established 1843 Patron: HRH Princess Alexandra
Barbara Windsor MBE* at the Opening of QVSR’s Royal British Legion Wing in 2011 *by courtesy of the RBL
If you are interested in supporting the work of QVSR and would like a copy of our latest Annual Review please contact Alexander Campbell: alexcampbell@qvsr.org.uk
121–131 East India Dock Road, London, E14 6DF Tel: 020 7987 4622 Registered Charity: 1106126 34
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Reg Charity No 209776. Est 1865
01737 353763 01737 362678
Phone: Fax:
Are you an ex-Serviceman/Woman? Young or old, as a veteran you can get free help and advice on ANY issue affecting your life.
FREE VETERANS-UK HELPLINE
0800 169 2277 www.veterans-uk.info
Services provided by
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Stolt-Nielsen Limited is pleased to support Seafarers UK
c/o Stolt-Nielsen M.S. Ltd 65 Kingsway London WC2B 6TD Tel: +44 20 7611 8960 Fax: +44 20 7611 8965 www.stolt-nielsen.com
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TIMES past
All at sea THE 70th ANNIVERSARY OF THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC BY RICHARD WOODMAN
Besides these, many fishing vessels were sunk, more merchantmen were damaged and numerous warships were lost or damaged protecting convoys. The precise number of men – and some women – lost in merchant ships was originally stated to be 29,994 souls. Subsequent research suggests the number was closer to 40,000, though many of these lives were lost in other parts of the world, particularly the Far East after the Japanese entered the war in 1941. To these statistics one must add the vast quantities of cargo – grain, ironore, bauxite, timber, tanks, aeroplanes, military vehicles, field-guns, telegraph wire and so on – all of which had to be paid for and was irrecoverably lost on the abyssal plain of the ocean. The Battle of the Atlantic was nothing less than a battle of survival for the British. During the First World War attacks 38
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AP/Press Association Images
Late in the afternoon of 3 September 1939, a few hours after war had been declared, the British liner Athenia was torpedoed off Malin Head as she headed out across the North Atlantic on a scheduled sailing. The Athenia was the first of over 2,000 British merchant ships lost to enemy action in the North Atlantic, the last being the Avondale Park, sunk on 7 May 1945, the day the Germans capitulated. on British trade by German submarines, the infamous U-boats, had brought the country to the brink of defeat in 1917, largely through a failure to gather merchant ships into convoys and protect them with warships known generically as ‘escorts’. Although convoy was introduced as soon as war broke out in 1939 – the Athenia sailing just prior to its implementation – the Royal Navy lacked sufficient escorts. Those that were hurriedly commissioned to meet the threat were largely manned by reservists and ‘hostilities-only’ crews that lacked experience in anti-submarine warfare. The plight of the merchant ships was further exacerbated by the German occupation of Norway and France, both of which gave the Germans advanced bases from which to deploy U-boats directly into the North Atlantic, backed up by air-reconnaissance to locate and vector U-boats onto
the vulnerable convoys. Britain depended upon these convoys for a number of reasons: She was a trading nation and the import of raw materials for her industries and the exports of manufactured goods had to continue in order to maintain an economy and to pay Captain Richard Woodman FRHistS FNI is a former seafarer who went to sea at the age of 16. He currently serves as an Elder Brother of Trinity House. Since 1980 he has written a number of seafaring novels, and his works on maritime history include works on the Napoleonic War and the Second World War. His Arctic Convoys, Malta Convoys and The Real Cruel Sea, The Merchant Navy in the Battle of the Atlantic, 1939 – 1943, won him the Anderson Medal awarded by the Society for Nautical Research in 2005, and his five volume History of the British Merchant Navy was recognised by The Marine Society in 2010 with the award of The Thomas Gray Medal.
TIMES past
The Athenia
THE BATTLE OF THE ATLANTIC 3 September 1939 – 8 May 1945 (5 years, 8 months and 5 days)
“The Battle of the Atlantic was the dominating factor all through the war. Never for one moment could we forget that everything happening elsewhere, on land, at sea or in the air depended ultimately on its outcome.” Winston Churchill for the war. The country also depended upon imports of foodstuffs and oil fuel, a dependency increased by the demands of war. Fortunately the urgent supply of military equipment was secured by an arrangement with the United States of America, known as Lend-Lease, but it was still necessary to transport this matèriel across the Atlantic. Fortunately, in 1939 Britain possessed the world’s largest merchant fleet which, in peacetime carried one-third of global trade. Although many of these ships were old, the recent Depression having stunted investment in ship-building, the fortitude of the Merchant Navy (so-called by King George V after its unprecedented losses in the First World War) was sufficient to survive the attrition of German attacks. Initially, anxiety was caused by the operations of German commerce-raiders, surface warships that attacked the traditional trade routes. These were eliminated by the Royal Navy’s cruisers so that, in the all-important North Atlantic theatre, the U-boat, guided onto convoys by reconnoitring aircraft, became the great menace. At first, all the advantages lay with the Germans. The Royal Navy’s deficiencies in anti-submarine warfare took some time to overcome but new escorts and crews trained ‘on-the-job’ slowly gained in confidence and efficiency. Similar difficulties were experienced in the rapidly expanding Royal Canadian Navy, while the RAF’s Coastal Command were starved of the long-range aircraft necessary to combat the threat, precedence in aircraftproduction being given to Bomber Command. Meanwhile, the handling of incoming cargoes in bombed-out docks only added to the overall complexity of a dismal situation. This was rectified by the formation of the Ministry of War Transport, the building of new warships, largely carried out in British shipyards, and of the
construction of standard cargo-carriers and tankers, the majority of which was undertaken in the United States. By the end of 1941 America had entered the war and, although the Americans also had to learn many of the lessons already imbibed by the British and Canadians, the might of the United States Navy began to tip the balance in favour of the Western Allies. The occupation of Iceland provided airbases and an assembly anchorage for the convoys being despatched to the assistance of Soviet Russia after June 1941. Throughout this terrible period, the Merchant Navy bore the brunt of the enemy’s attack. Convoys of 30 or 40 ships assembled regularly in Nova Scotia (later in New York) and Sierra Leone and made their hazardous passages, keeping station in columns with naval escorts ahead, astern and on either flank. These warships sought submerged U-boats with their sonar sets, but groups of Uboats tended to work ahead of the slow moving convoys during daylight and attack after midnight, diving under the escorts and then surfacing inside the perimeter of the convoy to use their torpedoes. Although armed for self-defence, merchant ships in close company were sitting-ducks to this form of attack, and counter-measures by the escorts were usually ineffective as the U-boats escaped, ducking under the rear-escorts, hidden by the ‘noise’ churned-up by the passing ships’ propellers. Slowly at first, but with increasing momentum, the Allied Navies acquired the skills and the resources to defeat the German attack on trade. The tide turned in favour of the Allies in May 1943, after a bitter winter and heavy losses sustained by a number of convoys, around which ferocious battles were fought. Following a series of German successes, Allied forces struck back, destroying a large number of U-boats. These were withdrawn, and
LOSSES Allies Germans
c36,000 merchant seamen c30,000 sailors 3,500 merchant vessels 783 submarines 175 warships
ADMIRAL Max Horton
GROSSADMIRAL Karl Dönitz
Commander-in-Chief of the Western Approaches
Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy
although they returned to the attack later that year, the Germans developing new and improved models, the technological advantage had passed to the Allies. Long range aircraft, radar, radio-location and small aircraft-carriers sailing within a convoy transformed the situation. Allied convoys were now much larger and began to include huge amounts of armaments intended for the invasion of Europe on D-Day in June 1944. Large liners, such as the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth, made solo high-speed passages with American troops, but, as the loss of the Avondale Park demonstrates, the battle was not over until the very last day of the war. This long battle was of enormous significance. It not only saved Britain herself, but it enabled the Western Allies to successfully invade Europe. With the advance of the Red Army from the east, victory in the Atlantic formed the complementary arm of a gigantic pincer movement that crushed Nazi Germany, moving Churchill to remark that the only thing that worried him was ‘the U-boat menace’. © Richard Woodman 2013
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CROSSWORD & JACK CHAT the CUTTY SARK PRIZE crossword
Ships by Daisy There will be a bottle of Cutty Sark whisky for the first correct entry pulled out of Flagship’s bicorn hat after the closing date of 1 May 2013. Post your entries to: Flagship Crossword, Seafarers UK, 8 Hatherley Street, LONDON, SW1P 2QT.
JackChat
cartoons by Paul Thomas
© GAP productions 2013
Roger Ballast Pump
ACROSS
1 Three-masted ship reportedly found on tree (6) 4 Sailing ship with cannon shortened to become a famous racer (3-2-3) 8 Adventure film about Knights sheathed in armour (8) 10 Look over weight of alloy (6) 11 Old Mediterranean vessel – Royal Engineer in new remit (7) 12 A common smell? (5) 13 Maiden name? No, we are told (3) 15 A target set for a series of boat races (7) 17 Consultant showing modern day piece of armour (7) 19 Take off United Nations costume (7) 22 Philippine language index with a record (7) 24 Top card doesn’t get a return (3) 25 Single masted sailboat backing popular betting activity… (5) 27 …Flat bottom boat found in casino (7) 30 Aluminium and wood from a mountain region (6) 31 Nervous ailment reportedly from two fruit (8) 32 Heather with Ireland nightdress (8) 33 Virtuous, although pursued audibly (6)
3 Dirty without an aunt’s partner (5) 4 Insane Hoover, maybe, gets up (3) 5 24 on stormy 12s perhaps (5) 6 Ford film character giving evidence perhaps (7) 7 Bowie album is not well done (4) 9 Stadium near a maze (5) 12 View, we hear, often part of 5 (3) 14 Two-masted vessel could be training move (10) 16 Starting point, of course, is Assam, we hear (3) 18 Six gallons of juice (3) 20 Utensil to put sand out (7) 21 Club fool (3) 22 Tent exercise in 16 (5) 23 1857 steamship – Elsa maybe … (7) 26 … another cat – a lightweight (5) 28 13, we hear, a stable sound (5) 29 Swerve off course before novice makes craft like 25 (4) 31 Worker is a vessel of the Royal Navy (3)
DOWN
1 Stormy issue – robot broke down (10) 2 Running amok getting port drink (7)
The solution to last issue’s crossword is given here, Stavanger, Bari, Miami, Hobart, Ostend, Split, Tangier, Oslo, Cartagena, Recife and San Juan are all ports. The winner of the Flagship Winter 2012 Crossword is Lieutenant Commander J B Hick RN from Guildford. 40
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Officially used to acknowledge reports from the ballast pump operator, it is also frequently used as a false identity – in hotel registers or when encountering a naval patrol ashore, for example – or as a sarcastic reply to someone offering trivial or obvious information.
furore, Woodroofe was suspended for a week by the BBC. The following year, commentating on the FA Cup final between Preston North End and Huddersfield Town, Woodroofe told listeners one minute before the final whistle, ‘If there’s a goal scored now, I’ll eat my hat!’ Preston were immediately awarded a penalty and duly scored. Woodroofe was later given a hat-shaped cake to eat.
Andrew
General term used by all ranks to refer to the Royal Navy. It has nothing to do with HRH The Duke of York, but is believed to refer to Lieutenant Andrew Miller, a highly successful 18th century press gang officer.
Oggie
Traditional nickname for a Cornish pasty; the name is said to derive from Edward Hogg, a pie-seller who sold pasties at the toll-gate on the Stonehouse bridge between Plymouth and Devonport. Maybe related to the term ‘tiddy oggy’ – a sailor who originates from Plymouth itself.
Lit up
Drunk. The term may derive from the BBC commentary on the Coronation fleet review in 1937 by Thomas Woodroofe, a retired Royal Navy Commander. Having been royally entertained in HMS Nelson, Woodroofe’s slurred and excitable commentary culminated in repeated exclamations that ‘the whole bloody fleet’s lit up!’ After the resulting
Rodney
Nickname for a Royal Navy officer, especially in the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. A ‘closet Rodney’ is an RFA officer who is seen to have adopted too many RN habits and attitudes. The term probably comes from the traditional use ashore of ‘Rodney’ or ‘Rupert’ to refer to any upper class male deemed to be of low intelligence.
You can order a signed copy of Jackspeak: a guide to British Naval Slang and Usage, by Dr Rick Jolly OBE, for just £10 including p&p, a saving of £2.50. Send cheque for £10 to Palamanando Publishing, PO Box 42, Torpoint, Cornwall, PL11 2YR, marking your order “Flagship Offer”. The author will personalise copies being bought as gifts on request.
Enjoy The Lifestyle You Deserve at The Hawthorns retirement facilities are all about lifestyle – the perfect lifestyle for active retirees in a beautifully appointed building, with a choice of apartment designs and sizes. The Hawthorns lifestyle incorporates a whole range of important elements including excellent service; mouth-watering food; security; companionship and fun. Further, we take care of the mundane tasks so our residents have time to spend with friends and family, and really get the most out of their retirement. Falling in love with The Hawthorns: One of our
residents first came across The Hawthorns when she attended a music event for residents and guests. “I had a large house and, to be honest, I’d had a few falls because there were so many hazards around the house. I wasn’t getting out very much and I just felt it was time for a change, so when I came across The Hawthorns it was just what I wanted. Within a week, I had moved in. It was so simple! I was even allowed to bring my cat with me.”
then being able to walk away and let someone else worry about clearing away.” “Whenever I am away for any reason I can’t wait to get back to The Hawthorns; it just gets better and better, and I wish I’d moved earlier.”
In addition to providing a whole range of services, we make life even simpler by asking residents to pay only one all-inclusive monthly rent, which covers everything from utilities and apartment rent, to “What I really love about life at meals and housekeeping. This The Hawthorns is being waited eliminates the need for endless bills and standing orders, while on. I look forward to having my food prepared for me and ensuring budgeting is easy.
to find out more and enjoy the lifestyle you deserve