THE MOORINGS ISSUE 53
13 September 2017
Core Values: Unity, Loyalty, Patriotism & Comradeship - Once Navy, always Navy
LEGION D’HONNEUR PRESENTATION
Shipmate Les Holyome in receipt of his Légion d’Honneur medal with RNA Rayleigh and Rt. Hon. Mark Francois MP on 1 September 2017.
Incorporated by Royal Charter
Patron: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
RAYLEIGH BRANCH (No.5 Area)
BRANCH CONTACTS RNArayleigh@outlook.com President:
Bob Hill
01268 780449
Chairman:
Jim Hammond
01268 414616
Vice Chairman:
Terry Barker
01268 456165
Hon. Secretary:
Gary Daisley
01268 555570
Hon. Treasurer:
Margaret Day
01702 524561
Membership Secretary:
Bill Vernon
01268 772775
Standard Bearer:
Dave Bishop
01268 770521
Welfare Officer:
Dave Mead
01702 307922
Social Secretary:
Audrey Blomfield
01268 781116
Gangway:
Mike Sandbrook
01702 801103
Padre:
Revd. Canon Mike Lodge
01268 742151
PR Officer:
Vacant
BRANCH DETAILS Bank Details: email: RNArayleigh@outlook.com HSBC Rayleigh Royal Naval Association Rayleigh Branch. A/C: 81065955 Sort Code: 40-38-24. Meeting Venue: Royal British Legion 2 London Hill, Rayleigh SS6 7HP Tel: 01268 776503 Meeting Dates: Fortnightly (see back cover). Registered Charity: Registration Number 1069148 2
From the front page: Shipmate Les Holyome became the fifth member of Rayleigh Branch to receive the French WW2 medal, after shipmates Len Hobbs, Don Browne, Alan Iles and Tom Hurley. Les is pictured on the front page with fellow shipmates; Mark Francois MP with Jim Hammond, Ray Fenn, Terry Barker, Eddie Dray, Harry Irons, Iain Hendry, Mike Sandbrook, Dave Smith, Bob Hill and Dave Bishop. On 5 September the Echo Newspaper Group published the following article: Rayleigh war veteran presented with special medal A war veteran was officially presented with the French Government’s highest decoration after his efforts in WW2. Les Holyome, 91 from Rayleigh, was awarded the Legion D’Honneur on Friday by Rayleigh MP, Mark Francois at the Royal British Legion Memorial Hall. The day also consisted of a buffet and an open bar for visitors to enjoy along with the presentation. Les was delighted with how the day panned out. He said: “I had a lovely time and everything went really well. The weather was nice so we also got to sit outside. There was about 20 people there including my granddaughter and my nephew who lives in Australia that I haven’t seen since he was a child - he’s now 78 so it was lovely to catch up.” Les Holyome’s Story: Les volunteered for the Royal Navy at the age of 17. He was called up at 17¼ to report to HMS Ganges. After basic training he was posted to Hitchin to train as an electrician wireman/torpedo man. Before the invasion of France, Les had been transferred from Seaman branch and sent on three different commando courses and on completion was drafted to LCTR 436, which was a Landing Craft Tank that had been converted to a Rocket ship. He worked as an Electrician in charge of firing the rockets and also as the Captain’s runner, passing orders from bridge to wheelhouse. He was told to join the ship in Portsmouth but on arrival the vessel was in Scotland. So he headed to Scotland but again there was no LCTR 436 and was told it was in Southampton. 3
4
This time though he was escorted by two Buffers all the way to Southampton. However, on arrival the greeting he received from the Skipper was, “Where the hell have you been for the last four days? We have been waiting for you to sail�. They joined a convoy that sailed to Sicily, Massena and worked their way up to Naples. They sailed again and eventually arrived in Ajaccio in Corsica. There they took on supplies and loaded with a full complement of rockets and ammunition. They sailed in the early hours of the morning to join a convoy destined for Southern France. They were attacked on the way by enemy aircraft who also tried shooting down the barrage balloon air cover with the convoy. On arrival off the French coast at 06.30 and close inshore, the crew were ordered to take cover as the ship was cleared for firing rockets. Rockets fired, at the time the vessel was being shelled from shore batteries, a shell exploded alongside the stern of the vessel and Les received shrapnel in the back of his right wrist and also in the left knee, the shipmate with him received a four inch gash in his helmet.
5
Les returned to the bridge and the Captain said “That was a near one ‘Wires’.” He then asked about his injuries and if he was OK. He said that the shrapnel will work its way out. He was told to duck as they came under heavy machine gun fire, luckily they did not hit any of the miss-fired rockets still on board. The Captain then said, “Wires, will you tell that gunner that he has my full permission to open fire and give us some cover.” There was a short burst from the Oerlikon gun, then the shout “man down!” Still being splattered by bullets, the Captain said “We have got to get out of here Wires. Wheel hard to port.” This was followed by a terrible crash, as we rammed a gun boat. Captain said, “Sorry Wires, we should have gone to starboard.” They eventually sorted themselves out and made their apologies, still under machine gun fire whilst this was going on. They were then told by the Flagship to reload with rockets as the Americans were in trouble at St. Pavlo. “Make way and assist.” Les told the Captain that they still had eight live rocket miss-fires on board and he was instructed to reload with range rockets. The order was then rescinded as the 5th Army had taken the Town. The next order was to, “Make smoke!” The containers were put over the side aft. The next message was from Flagship was, “Beware floating mines.” Les then told the Captain that his shipmate Len needed a loader on the Oerlikon and there he stayed for many hours shooting at enemy aircraft. They then received the order to return to base at Messina, Italy. They stopped off at Naples for the rockets to be unloaded which had miss fired. This was all done by Italian volunteers. Finally sailing to Alexandra to be paid off, sleeping under canvas in the desert, then a train to Port Sa’id and finally sailing home on the SS Franconia to Liverpool. Les’ next orders were received to relieve the Channel Isles (Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney etc. The ship was eventually paid off and transferred to Combined Operations, Commando Group. Les was finally demobilised in June 1945. 6
Extract from the Semaphore Circular September 2017. Dear Shipmates, Welcome to the September Circular, full of important info as usual and only one bonkers joke! Well, she’s here! HMS Queen Elizabeth made her first entry to Portsmouth harbour on Wednesday 16 August. She made a stirring and wonderful sight, with five Merlin Helicopters on deck and a Flypast of four Merlins, two Lynx Wildcat, a SeaKing ASAC (bagger to WAFUs) and 2 Hawks from FRADU. She is now safely berthed at the new Princess Royal Jetty and we are all getting used to seeing this huge ship on the way into the office. QEZ, as she is known in the Dockyard, was originally due in about mid October, but a decision was taken during her Sea Trials to bring her to Portsmouth early. The tide determined the window and the wind strength the actual day. There was a plan to bring her in on Friday 18 August and many RNA and CONA members booked with Central Office for Fort Blockhouse – but a late shift in a weather front meant that the Chief Pilot decided to bring her in two days earlier, at 36 hours notice! So a big apology for all those who were disappointed – but as sailors we know that tide and weather pay no attention to our desires. I talked to the Chief Pilot afterwards who said that the entry had gone perfectly in 5 knot winds – on the Friday there were gusts of over 30 knots, almost double the first entry limit. I had the task and privilege of being on Radio Solent Breakfast Show for nearly 2.5 hours giving details of the RNA and giving a sailor’s perspective on events. We hope to have an invitation back to talk on the radio about Project Semaphore. We have taken delivery of the final LIBOR minibus, so all three are now here in Portsmouth. They will go up to London for the Biennial Parade and will move to their home ports on completion: 7
• SM10 RNA will go to Blackburn under the care of Alan McGrath (07964 721849 and email belfastblues_812@icloud.com) • SM17 RNA will go to Liskeard under the care of Liskeard branch (Lisa Strutt strutt.family@btinternet.com 01579 348078) • RN10 RNA will be base ported in Portsmouth. Contact Nigel. Handover of documents etc will be done before the Biennial. Full details will be in the next Circular, but bookings open after the Biennial Parade. In summary: • The minibuses seat 8 passengers plus driver and can take up to three wheelchairs (straps etc provided). They are fully airconditioned and have easy access steps and grab handles. • They are fitted with a wheelchair lift that can take someone on a mobility scooter. • Drivers age 30 to 70 and in the UK only. Contact Central Office if you need cover over that. Normal car licence, no D1 category or minibus permit required. • Primary idea is to address social isolation of naval veterans to encourage home-bound or restricted mobility folk to join in branch events. • Minibuses cannot be sub-contracted to anyone else or lent to other organisations – we would expect at least one naval veteran to be on board. Associate members welcome, provided naval veterans are part of the group. You cannot charge a fare, but can seek contribution to fuel costs. The driver cannot be paid, expenses claimable. On that subject the buses will be dedicated to modern naval holders of gallantry medals at the Biennial Parade, details in the Biennial Parade report. Now to some important admin: • With the sad passing of S/Ms Dick Ascott and Paul Harries, we have two places on the Standing Orders Committee that need to be filled. The nomination form is at the back. • There isn’t too much of a commitment with one meeting in February to review Conference motions and the management of Conference on the day (expenses paid). 8
• Nominations for DNCM 5, 6 and 8 please. Nothing so far from either 5 or 8 Areas. Please note looming deadline. Important that we have candidates please. • We have our Christmas cards for sale again with the HMS Queen Elizabeth picture. Please get your orders in to Nigel for them. Order form at the back. • The RNA poppy pins have been going like hot cakes, which is great value if bought in bulk. Orders to Nigel please for the Remembrance season. • I have had a number of queries about the new state pension and the effect of being contracted out of SERPS during naval service. Please see an excellent article from the Forces Pension Society. • Please note that the Project Semaphore Project Manager has changed – it is now Sarah Clewes and she can be contacted on sarah@royalnavalassoc.com. The new administrator is Julie Royston and she can be contacted on julie@royalnavalassoc.com .There is a nice article about them in the Circ. I attended S/M Dick Ascott’s funeral on Tuesday in Chelmsford. It was great to see such a big turn-out for him. Andy attended Paul Harries funeral for me in Wales and again we had a great turnout. Many thanks to branches and standard bearers for turning out, and the National Standard Bearer and his Deputy, who paraded too. A reminder that we are in the leave period, with at least one and often two of us away most of the time over Sept. Please be patient, we will get to you! This also means that there will not be an October Circular since Andy is on leave (and highly deserved after managing the QE entry saga!). We hope you enjoy the rest of the summer and that branch activities start again in earnest after the break. Kindest regards from me and all at Central Office Paul Quinn General Secretary 9
Guess Who? Can anyone put a name to this charming young WAAF? As a clue, our mystery girl has been a regular attendee since joining Rayleigh Branch joining in 2015 and has taken part in both Uckers and Quiz nights. There aren’t any prizes for guessing correctly, it’s just for fun! The answer will be published in the next issue of The Moorings. Last issue’s Guess Who was Shipmate Bill Pye.
Get smart! Official RNA crested ladies head scarves (as modelled by S/M Audrey Blomfield (right) are available to order from S/M Margaret Day or RNA Central Office for just £14.44 (including P&P). Alternatively, a cravat is also available in an identical style for £14.00. Nigel Huxtable is ready to take your order at RNA-HQ on 02392 723747. Payment can be made over the phone with your debit or credit card. Treat yourself for Poppy Day! 10
Diary Date:
RNA vs RBL Darts Match Friday 6 October 2017 First arrows at 8pm - free admission Royal British Legion, London Hill, Rayleigh. Diary Date:
Mess Deck Supper Friday 13 October 2017 (8pm) Tickets on sale from Audrey Blomfield. Diary Date:
Remembrance Parade & Service Sunday 12 November 2017 Muster: Websters Way car park 09:30 Service: Holy Trinity Church 10:00-10:15 start Diary Date:
TURKEY & TINSEL 27 November - 1 December 2017 A festive Christmas break to the Isle of Wight. Details from S/M Margaret Day. Diary Date:
RNA Rayleigh Christmas Social Wednesday 6 December 2017 Enjoy letting your hair down and spending the evening with the Frank & Edna disco. Diary Date:
UCKERS TOURNAMENT Saturday 16 December 2017 (10:30 - 16:30) £5.00 entry. 11
12