The Moorings, Issue #77

THE MOORINGS ISSUE 77

MAY 2019

Core Values: Unity, Loyalty, Patriotism & Comradeship - Once Navy, always Navy

ALL STEAMED UP!

S/M Jim Hammond pictured with the RNA’s new General Secretary S/M Bill Oliphant, during the Rayleigh Branch visit to the Bluebell Railway in April.

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 INFORMATION email: RNArayleigh@outlook.com tweet: @RNArayleigh

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

Lily Irons The Crossing of the Bar of S/M Lily Irons on 3 April 2019 is a sad loss to Rayleigh Branch.

Lily, an Associate member for the last 13 years, was a staunch member of the Branch.

She helped with various jobs within the Branch and in later years ran our Branch Meeting raffles, going out, purchasing the prizes and then laying them out at our Branch meetings, selling the Raffle tickets and collecting the money and bagging it up for the Treasurer. At our Mess Deck Suppers, she was always there with husband Harry, a fellow member, selling the Raffle tickets at these functions, as well as going round with the flag collecting on behalf of the Branch.

Lily was also a great supporter with her husband Harry, (married for 64 years) at all our events and days out and visits to other Branches.

She will be sadly missed at our meetings and events.

Unbeknown to most of us Lily was a great supporter of the Women’s Institute, she was a member of various branches for some fifty years. She was also a member of the Royal Voluntary Services, which used to be called the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service, (WRVS) she served with them for ten years. She helped as an assistant on the wards in Southend Hospital and in the later years she worked in the hospital shop supplying teas, coffee and sweets etc.

Lily you are greatly missed by us all.

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Extract from the Semaphore Circular April 2019 Dear Shipmates, Welcome to April’s Semaphore Circular which is a little early this month, not because I’m any keener but rather my trusty DGS Andy, has had enough of the March weather and is off to sun himself in Barbados and I need to exploit his publishing skills before the off. For the same reason, your Semaphore Circular is a little thinner than usual this month but that only means it’ll be a bumper edition next month.

It’s been an interesting month. Last week saw the Conference of Naval Associations meeting which I was privileged to be addressed by Captain Nick Cooke-Priest, the current CO of HMS Queen Elizabeth. He tells a powerful story of this new capability the Navy is starting to understand and exploit and made us all feel very proud of where the Navy is going. After the Iraq and Afghanistan adventures which marked the immediate aftermath of 9/11, it is clear that the current Secretary of State, and indeed his predecessor, now understand the maritime narrative and are totally supportive of the naval case. They also understand the political power and respect a capability like the QEC wields.

On the tactical side, we’re now informed that the Queen Elizabeth is planned to sail from Portsmouth in early April but you’ll understand I’d be a fool to say when exactly. And then, a few days later, she arrives in the Firth of Forth to face all the challenges of docking her down back in the place of her birth at Rosyth. It’s like a navigator’s Trade Test getting her low enough to creep under the Rail Bridge and then high enough to get over the bar, and that’s before squeezing through the lock into the basin with only 43cm clearance on each side. Oh, and that’s backwards but that’s no problem because you can’t see the waterline from the bridge anyway! Good luck Navs!

Saturday 16 March saw another Sir Donald Gosling funded 4

project coming to fruition; the planting of the Jutland Wood at Langley Vale near Epsom. This was the culmination of several planting events arranged by the Woodland Trust who have managed a fantastic programme to plant four woods; one each in Scotland, Wales, Ireland and the one at Langley Vale to commemorate all the British and Commonwealth personnel who fell in WW1. The Battle of Jutland was chosen as the focus for the 44,000 naval and merchant marine deaths during the War and the planting on Saturday saw an avenue of 14 oaks; each one representing a ship that was lost during the Battle and over 6,000 saplings to represent the men who were lost.

The National President, Admiral John McAnally, was invited to plant the oak representing HMS Invincible while the National Chairman, Keith Ridley, planted the HMS Queen Mary’s both ships going down with over 1,000 souls. There was a good RNA turnout and supported by the Sea Cadet Corps, it meant that all generations were represented. It was good to see Sir David Steel, the former 2nd Sea Lord, who was instrumental in connecting the RNA with the Woodland Trust on this project and, as our National President recognised in his vote of thanks, this will be a permanent living memorial on the land for those lost at sea and will be able to be enjoyed by generations to come. It was somewhat poignant to look back across the hillside and rolling fields beyond to see the many thousands of protective green plastic sleeves and realise that each one represented a personal sacrifice. BZ to all those who turned out.

Meanwhile, planning continues for the Annual National Conference at St Neots and it promises to be a marvellous weekend.

Also, this year marks 50 years of Continuous At Sea Deterrent and to mark the occasion, there will be a service in Westminster Abbey on Friday 3 May 2019. Veterans who have a connection are very welcome to attend and application forms can be found at the end of this edition. I have the honour of representing the RNA but with all those submariners crushed into the Abbey, I’ll be having a good scrub when I get home!

Open Days are starting to fill up. It includes a harbour tour of Portsmouth Naval Base to see all the works which have been 5

done in the Base for the Queen Elizabeth Class. If you’re lucky, you may even see the carrier herself. The dates are: 17 May, 21 June, 26 July, 30 August and 11 October. Please book with Nigel on 02392723747 or Andy on 02392720782.

As well as the Annual Conference in St Neots, please do try and come to the Biennial Parade in Whitehall on 8 September. The RNA has this very great privilege to pay our respects to fallen comrades in a separate march on the Cenotaph and it is important that we exercise our right to do so. Clearly, we’ll be mustering on completion to raise a glass too.

Finally, a huge thank you to No4 Area for the kind invitation to their Area Reunion in Bideford, 1-3 March. What a cracking weekend and great to meet such a lovely group of people who clearly know how to enjoy life.

Best wishes from the Central Office Team, Bill Oliphant General Secretary

2019 Biennial Parade: The Biennial Parade in Whitehall is to take place this year on Sunday 8 September. It’s a chance to dust down your No.1’s (RNA Rig) and polish up your medals as hundreds of RNA and CONA members march in front of the Cenotaph, you get the opportunity to meet the RNA’s top brass and rub shoulders with ‘the good & the great’. More details to be published as soon as available.

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Bluebell Steam Railway visit: 11 April 2019 Our first visit of 2019 was to the Bluebell Steam Railway Station at Sheffield Park in Uckfield. Many of our members were looking forward to travelling back in time to a yesteryear long since passed. Our tried and tested routine of get off the coach, comfort break and then brew was carried out with the usual efficiency.

We then headed for the museum and train sheds all the while taking in the sights of an original steam railway station and all signs and details from days long passed.

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Listening to the memories that were flooding back sparked by the sights, sounds and smells of the steam trains made the visit worthwhile. Some had family members who used to drive the steam trains or had experiences of their own from when they were growing up in the age of steam.

We had arranged to meet up with the new RNA HQ General Secretary Captain Bill Oliphant and had the pleasure of his company during our visit. All our members appreciated catching up with him and sharing the odd dit or two.

At 12:00 we boarded the train to East Grinstead much to the delight of our group who were taken back in time boarding an original observation coach being pulled by a steam engine. The noise and smoke from the steam engine brought smiles to many faces. Once at East Grinstead the train was readied for the return journey which took about 15 minutes. We were then on our way back to Sheffield Park station and lunch in the Bessemer Arms which is part of the station. We then had a quick look around again taking in the atmosphere of the surroundings 8

before heading back to our coach for our return journey.

For me, having grown up after the age of steam it was a real treat to go back in time to see how things were, but for many of our group it was like they went back home for the day. I think this will definitely be a visit that will be remembered for a long time.

S/M Mike Sandbrook Social Secretary

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Photos courtesy of S/M’s Terry Barker & Mike Sandbrook

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A reminder on behalf of the Social Secretary: As you know we have a busy social programme lined up for you, so I have listed the events that need to be paid for below: Games Night: Friday 24 May 2019

The price of the Games Night will be £11 (with supper) or £6 (entry only). Please come and support this event if you can.

Mess Deck Supper: Friday 28 June 2019

The price of the Mess Deck Supper tickets will be £11 (with supper) or £6 (entry only).

New Hall Vineyard Visit: Tuesday 23 July 2019

The price of this visit will be £33 minus the £5 deposit everyone has already paid. Therefore, £28 will need to be paid.

Don’t forget that you will need to pay £8.50 on the day for your lunch at the Royal Oak. Mess Dinner: Saturday 3 August 2019

Anyone who has not paid for their tickets or wine are encouraged to do so as soon as possible.

S/M Joan Crick and I will be collecting money for these events at our meeting on Wednesday 1 May and would appreciate it if you could put your names down for any events you would like to attend and pay as soon as you can.

Thank you.

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Department of Corrections: Part I The Branch line-up in April’s edition of The Moorings should have looked like this (with apologies to S/M Dave Bishop)…

Back row LtoR: Dave Bishop, Alan White, Bill Vernon, Mike Burnham, Dave Mead, Terry Barker, Ray Fenn, Gary Daisley, Eddy Dray.

Front row: Eddy Callis, Iain Hendry, Cliff Severn, Harry Irons, Dave Smith, Mike Sandbrook & Ken Benson.

If nothing else, this oversight gives me another opportunity to print this wonderful photo taken by S/M Claire Todd at the Branch Auction back in March.

Department of Corrections: Part II S/M Jim Hammond’s title in the 2019 Branch Yearbook should have looked as follows (without reference to the Area ViceChairman’s position).

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What is Twitter?

You may have heard of Twitter as a social media platform, but what does it do how does it work and why should the RNA be using it?

Twitter is an online news and social networking site where people communicate in short messages called tweets. Tweeting is posting short messages for anyone who follows you on Twitter, with the hope that your messages are useful and interesting to someone in your audience.

In a nutshell, Twitter is another way of ‘spreading the word’ about the RNA, who we are and what we do. RNA Rayleigh started it’s Twitter page late in 2017 and since then has had relatively few engagements, which is why we are still looking for a Publicity Officer to take up the role to help move this project forward. I have created a league table of some of the RNA Branches with their own Twitter pages. To their shame, many branches have remained inactive so far this year!

You can find us on Twitter @RNArayleigh 14

Diary Dates

RNA v RBL Darts Match Friday 3 May 2019 (first arrows at 8pm) S/Ms Dave Bishop & Dave Harding

RNA No.5 Area Meeting

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Saturday 4 May 2019 (2pm) Hosted by Norwich RNA Canary Social Club, Norwich, NR1 1RT

TV Show Games Night Friday 24 May 2019 (7:30pm start) Tickets from S/M Mike Sandbrook.

Rayleigh Trinity Fair Sunday 9 June 2019 (11am-5pm) Rayleigh High Street

Korean War Veteran’s Service Thursday 27 June 2019 (Times TBA) Operation Sweet Pea, Rettendon

Armed Forces Day Flag Raising & Reception Monday 24 June 2019 (TBC) Castle Point Council Offices, Kiln Road

Mess Deck Supper Friday 28 June 2018 (8pm) Tickets from S/M Mike Sandbrook.

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