THE MOORINGS ISSUE 70
OCTOBER 2018
Core Values: Unity, Loyalty, Patriotism & Comradeship - Once Navy, always Navy
PREPARE FOR POPPY PARADE
Poppy Crosses are now available from RBL Rayleigh in preparation for Remembrance Sunday on 11 November 2018
Incorporated by Royal Charter
Patron: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN
ROYAL NAVAL ASSOCIATION 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:
Joan Crick
01268 741303
Membership Secretary:
Bill Vernon
01268 772775
Standard Bearer:
Dave Bishop
01268 770521
Welfare Officer:
Dave Mead
01702 307922
Social Secretary:
Mike Sandbrook
01702 801103
Padre:
Rev. David Oxtoby
01268 971814
BRANCH DETAILS Bank Details: email: RNArayleigh@outlook.com HSBC Rayleigh Royal Naval Association Rayleigh Branch Account number & sort code from Hon. Treasurer.
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
Poppy Parade: Preparations are well in advance for this year’s 100th Anniversary of the Armistice. Rayleigh’s Holy Trinity Church in conjunction with the Town Council, will be unveiling their Poppy Installation with a dramatic display of thousands of handknitted and crocheted poppies cascading from the 15th Century church at the top of the High Street at 4pm on Saturday 27 October. Rayleigh’s annual Remembrance Parade of veteran, cadet, volunteer and youth organisations through the town will be lead by a marching band on Sunday 11 November and will see Commander Richard Pethybridge (Chief of Staff to the Naval Regional Commander for Eastern England) taking the salute on behalf of the Royal Navy. The parade will be followed by the act of remembrance.
Rochford District Council will be lighting Rayleigh’s Beacon at a ceremony outside Mill Hall in Bellingham Lane as part of the nations ‘Battle’s Over’ commemoration on 11 November starting at 6:30pm. Remembrance day wooden Poppy Crosses (front page), Star of David (left) and Crescent Moon tributes are have been produced by the Lady Haig Poppy Factory and are now available to purchase from behind the bar at Rayleigh’s Royal British Leigion Club, or directly from Margaret Read on 07969 048087 if you wish to place a special order for one of the 3,000 regimental badges available. The Poppy Crosses cost just £1.50 each and can be placed on the Remembrance Wall on 11 November. 3
Extract from the Semaphore Circular September 2018 Dear Shipmates, Welcome to our September Circular. It’s been a busy few weeks for the Central Office team, but I’ve been off on leave in the Lake District, visiting the sunny stormy harbour of Maryport. It was good to see the HMS Queen Elizabeth sailing safely for her fixed wing trials in the Western Atlantic. Having been fully certified for rotary aircraft, the time has come to try out our new fast jets, the F35 (Lightning 2) or Sea Lightning as Admiral West likes to call it! Lets wish them the best of luck. A huge thank you and BZ to all those who made the Royal Navy’s temporary custodianship of the Lamplight of Peace such a success. Please read Andy’s great article. This was our first gig with the new Chaplain of the Fleet, Rev Martyn Gough (soon to be a venerable). Our beloved National Chairman gave a moving speech in Westminster Abbey on the RN’s contribution to WW1. The National Museum of the RN hosted the Lamp in their gallery and provided a rumsoaked breakfast buffet for the participating shipmates. So many thanks to the great turn out of standard bearers and shipmates, it really showed the Army and the RAF how it can be done! An important date for the diary. After marvellous support for the Jutland Wood, the time has come to plant it! Shipmates, families, cadets etc. are all warmly invited to the planting event on 16 March 2019 at Langley Vale. The Woodland Trust provides guidance and equipment and we’ll put on a buffet and a tot. We’ll provide more details in due course but get booking the LIBOR bus to come and join in the fun. We’ll be inviting our Phase 2 friends from Collingwood and Sultan and the Sea Cadet HQ. Let us know in good time if those who can’t walk 500 metres over rough ground want to come and we’ll hire a 4x4 for the day. Royal Marines can do the Commando Crawl. We are coming up to the Remembrance season. We have a bid 4
in the Circular for branches to review placing a cross in our Field of Remembrance plot at Westminster Abbey. As the senior association we get pride of place, but only a few crosses, which are dwarfed by the Merchant Navy, Royal Marines even the WRNS! Please consider having a cross placed in our plot. We have a lovely mini service after the senior Royal has visited our plot and you are welcome to join us. Nigel is the contact for tickets. Some important matters of business: • We have now put the dates of the Open Day into the Longcast, so please start booking up with Andy and Nigel, good chance to meet the new GS and have a great day out. Made even better by the fact that our lift is now working! • Christmas Card order forms are at the back of this Circular, get ordering! • There won’t be an October Circular, due to staff leave, so the next edition will be November. • We’ll be having our branch motion forms in the Nov Circular, so if you want to raise anything at Wyboston Lakes, please start the ball rolling in the branch. The National Council has decided that from 1 January 2020 the RNA will move to metal beret badges. This allows easier transfer for those who are members of more than one association, and also aligns more closely with the Royal Navy. We have been working with Forever Jack on adapting the design of the 10 Area badge and we have now taken delivery of our first 1,000. The NC has decided that there will be a free issue to all Area and Branch Standard bearers and that SB should wear the metal badge from 1 January 2019. Those Areas and branches with an appointed Deputy SB may also apply for a grat issue. The remaining 700 or so badges will be available at the highly discounted rate of £2 plus postage. Subsequent orders will be at the cost price plus postage of about £4.50. Non-standard bearer members may continue to wear the cloth badge until 1 Jan 2020, but then must move across. Applications for the badges to Nigel please. The Chair of the Standing Orders Committee and National Advisor on the Charter (NCBA), Shipmate Ivan Hunter BEM, has expressed his intention to retire due to ill health. This is a very 5
important, independent appointment that supports the democracy and integrity of the RNA Conference and our Royal Charter. The NCBA sits on the National Council, but not as a trustee, to advise on Charter and Rules matters – and is the National President’s right-hand man at conference. NCBA attends the AMC and FAC as business dictates. If you are interested, please give me a ring or send me an email. Applications by 5 November please to me at paul@royalnavalassoc.com Captain Bill Oliphant will be arriving at Semaphore Tower on 7 November to start training and handover – assuming the duties after the National Council meeting on 8 December. I will be remaining for a couple of weeks to write the annual report, as best I can and go on leave and draft as the Central Office shuts for Christmas on 21 December 18. Finally, I had a wonderful visit yesterday to the Royal Alfred Seafarers home at Esher in Surrey. The Project Semaphore Team have issued nine iPads and I had the pleasure of meeting some of the candidates who have benefitted. It was humbling to hear the difference it makes to them to be online for the first time. A great reminder of this Project. • Issued over 670 iPads to date (Aug 18) • Reached Shipmates from 114 RNA Branches • Collaborated with over 50 services related Charities and organisations • Engaged with 10 service specific Care Homes. • The Project is managed by a team of 3 but supported by over 65 Volunteers and Ambassadors. Thanks and best wishes from the Central Office staff. Paul Quinn General Secretary 6
Merchant Navy Day: Monday 3 September 2018
Rayleigh RNA was in attendance at the annual Flag Raising Ceremony at the Rayleigh Town Council Pavilion in King George’s Park. Shipmates Jim Hammond and Ray Fenn are pictured with S/M Jack Lawmon (Chairman of the Town Council) and one of our Merchant Seamen brothers in support of the national celebration of the Merchant Navy’s sacrifice and contribution to our nation. Merchant seamen crewed the merchant ships of the British Merchant Navy which kept the United Kingdom supplied with raw materials, arms, ammunition, fuel, food and all of the necessities of a nation at war throughout WW2 literally enabling the country to defend itself. In doing this they sustained a considerably greater casualty rate than almost every branch of the armed services and suffered great hardship. 7
Funeral of S/M Philip Edwards The funeral of S/M Phil Edwards took place on Friday 7 September 2018 and consisted of a church service at St Aiden’s in Leigh, then on to Pitsea crematorium which concluded with the release of a white dove and finally a wake at the Royal British Legion in Rayleigh.
It was no surprise to anyone that there was a fantastic turn out from family, friends and RNA Rayleigh Branch members. At the church and crematorium RNA Rayleigh Branch members lined the entrance and S/M Mike Sandbrook was honoured to be asked to take charge of this detail. There were two standard bearers at the church and crematorium, our own S/M Dave Mead and RNA Basildon Branch S/M John Kingsley, RNA Basildon Branch President S/M Alan Walker also joined us at the crematorium. They all did a splendid job and said they felt honoured to give Phil the send-off he deserved. The wake at the Royal British Legion gave all of us a chance to exchange stories of Phil’s exploits both in and out of the Royal Navy. Phil’s wife Linda is very well known to the branch as they attended all of our Mess Deck Suppers and visits together. Linda has said she will continue to attend our functions in the future and she will be made very welcome by all. 8
Phil rarely missed a RNA Rayleigh meeting or event and will be greatly missed by all. Stand Down Phil your watch is done, we have the watch. S/M Mike Sandbrook Social Secretary
New RNA Beret Badges: The Royal Naval Association’s shiny new beret badge design has been given the go-ahead, with production and distribution already underway. The new two-tone (brass & chrome) metal staybrite badges made by ‘Forever Jack’ have already been distributed to Branch, Area and National RNA Standard Bearers across the Country. Retailing at just £5 each, additional badges are also available for rank and file members to purchase either directly from Nigel at Central Office Slops, or via S/M Joan Crick at Rayleigh Branch. The word from the General Secretary is that all RNA Standard Bearers will be sporting the new badge by January 2019, with everyone else fully converted by January 2020.
OUT WITH THE OLD
IN WITH THE NEW 9
The WW1 Royal Navy £2 Coin: Since 2014, the Royal Mint has been producing special edition coins to commemorate the 100 years since the ‘war to end all wars’ came to an end. In 2015, a special £2 coin was minted to mark the contribution of the Royal Navy in WW1. The final design was of HMS Royal Oak, a Revenge class battleship built for the RN in the WW1, launched in 1914, and completed in 1916. Royal Oak first saw combat at the Battle of Jutland as part of the Grand Fleet. In peacetime, she served in the Atlantic, Home and Mediterranean fleets, Torpedoed at Scapa Flow 14 Oct 1939. The 2015 £2 Royal Navy coin was only minted in small numbers and is the second rarest bi-metal £2 currently available. A total of only 588,500 were minted. Think yourself edxtremely lucky if you find one in your change anytime soon. The Royal Mint launched the coin in 2015 from the gift shop on HMS Belfast. Since then, it has become (incorrectly) known as the Belfast coin. I managed to track down David Rawlands, the military artist responsible for the coin artwork and asked him how his work came to be on one of our nation’s rarest coins. David said “With the approach of the centenary of the 1st World War, I was invited by the Royal Mint to submit designs for coins which would commemorate the different Armed Services. A statement by The Royal Mint declared that it has been recognised as extremely important that the sacrifice of members of the armed forces and support services be strongly reflected in programme of commemorative coins including those for the Army, Navy, Air Force, Merchant Navy, Nurses and Doctors and the Home Front. 10
The £2 coin for 2015 was to commemorate the Royal Navy. I submitted several designs. The Royal Mint’s judging committee included Members of Parliament and eminent historians of the 1st World War (eg Sir Hew Strachan), who selected my design of a battleship viewed from directly in front. A seaplane represents the Royal Naval Air Service. In my research among contemporary photographs of British warships, I found it quite hard to find a head-on view of the bow of a ship.” I think you will agree, that David has done a wonderful job in capturing the essence of this great icon of the Royal Navy. S/M Gary Daisley
Two of David Rowlands Designs, the final article and box-art as produced by the Royal Mint.
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RBL Membership Renewals: Legion membership for 2019 is now due and if you make your payments by Direct Debit, your card should be dropping through your letterbox over the next few days. The RBL Club in London Hill will be holding a Surgery for branch and club payments on Wednesday 16 and Wednesday 31 October from 78pm (before Rayleigh RNA branch meetings) in the bar area. Additional payment dates are posted on the RBL Club noticeboard.
Branch Photo Competition: It’s still running. You have until the end of the year to submit your entries, so keep sending them in! The winner is to be announced at the Rayleigh Branch AGM in February 2019.
Royal Navy photographer Steve Johncock
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Diary Dates
Pub Games & Darts Practice Wednesday 3 October 2018 Get some in before the big match, plus cribbage, table skittles, dominos and more.
RNA vs RBL Darts Match Friday 5 October 2018 First arrows at 8pm - free admission Royal British Legion, London Hill, Rayleigh.
WW1 Armistice Commemoration Sunday 7 October 2018 Lowestoft, Suffolk.
Mess Deck Supper Friday 19 October 2018 Entertainment with Ian Jordan Tickets £11 from S/M Mike Sandbrook
Trafalgar Day Dance Saturday 20 October 2018 Supporting Basildon RNA Tickets £11 from S/M Mike Sandbrook
Rayleigh Poppy Installation Saturday 27 October 2018 Holy Trinity Church, High Street. 4pm In association with Rayleigh Town Council
No.5 Area Quarterly Meeting Saturday 3 November 2018 RBL Hall, 2 London Hill, Rayleigh. 2pm All branch members welcome 15
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