Submariner Funerals

Submariner funerals are interesting. Standards will be paraded. Old men will line up awaiting the coffin. Alarmingly, when given the command, "Submariners - submariners HO!", these old men will come to attention so smartly, it was as if they'd been practising on Whale Island for the past two weeks. The chapel at the crematorium is always packed.

After the move to the Royal Naval Association for the wake, or more correctly 'drinks at the RNA', there is always an assault on the bar. Then there will be food. Salads usually get a good stiff ignoring, but otherwise, the Scotch eggs disappear almost immediately, and the sandwiches and chicken wings follow soon after.

And then there will be rum. There is always rum. And it is always Pussers. There is a toast, the glasses are upended and that warm sensation in the depths of one's innards slowly radiates.

These are occasions for everyone to catch up and to discuss matters submarine, but usually, those from previous decades for these are men from those decades. It's interesting times as stories from one generation are shared with another - it's a two-way flow; one group did 'mystery tours', the later did 'sneaky patrols'. Both did the same but the name changed somewhere through the years.

Badges are everywhere. Dolphins. Of course. And not just British ones for some of these old gentlemen will wear Australian or Canadian dolphins for they served in the submarine squadrons in those countries. There are medals galore. Some wear nothing but a lapel pin. There are one or two who have parachutist wings on the shoulders of their civilian jacket. There is any number of non-service badges or pins. Some wear theirs just on their lapels so they resemble an aged 3rd Former from my grammar school days. Others have one or two, whilst there are those who wear many and some of these are so big it looks as if the wearer was attacked by a vicious paintball assassination squad outside on the car park.

They are always cheerful events but when looking at the comrades assembled, one has to wonder when the next one's life will be celebrated and a tot drunk.

I Think Of That Grey Wall

I don’t care about religion

The Sin Bosun's just white noise

He drones a while, and then a pause

And soon we hear the boom.

Pipe the Still.

And I start to think….

I look around those there

There are one or two from then

They slowly age, and their numbers thin

And we will thin, will age like them

I think of him down South

With the Guards, the heat, the noise

His wounds were deep, no marks were seen

30 years and blackness took him

I think of the sandbox

The screen, Op Minimise

A half-built airport that would quieten

For a Lockheed and its passenger

I think of podviniki

Of their treacherous end

Some unnamed thugs, a syringe on screen

A widow’s fading cry

I think of that grey wall

I think of that long grey wall

So many written there, husbands, brothers, sons

Thousands more on walls elsewhere

I think of…..

Carry on.

And so that's it

Off we troop inside

And line up for our glass

All smiles and cheer for one more year

And memories.

I Think Of That Grey Wall

I don’t care for religion

The padre is just white noise

He drones a while, and then a pause

And soon we hear the boom.

Pipe the Still.

And I start to think….

I look around those there

There are one or two from then

They slowly age, and their numbers thin

And we will thin, will age like them

I think of him down South

With the Guards in the heat and noise

His wounds were deep, unmarking, not seen

30 years on, blackness took him

I think of the sandbox

Of the screen and Op Minimise

A half-built airport becoming still,

Of a Lockheed and it’s only passenger

I think of podviniki

Of their treacherous end

Some thugs, a nurse a syringe on screen

And a widow’s fading cry

I think of that grey wall

I think of that long grey wall

So many written there, husbands, brothers, sons

Thousands more on walls elsewhere

I think of…..

Carry on.

And so thats it

Off we troop inside

All line up for our glass

And all smiles and cheer for one more year

And memories.

Remembrance Without Religion

Up until last year, there was a rather simple Remembrance Parade held at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in November. People would gather, old submariners would fall in, Laurence Binyon's words would be spoken the Still would be piped, silence observed, wreaths laid and then a Tot taken, Last year a vicar came in and led the service. For me the simplicity and elegance disappeared with the imposition of the religious ritual and the, for me, meaningless biblical words and prayers and this became just another remembrance service.

I suspect many will be used to the religious service  and be happy to continue with the familiar format. I wonder if there are others out there, though, who would appreciate a secular gathering, one where people might have their own thoughts and be able to remember those 5300 and others without religious overtones.

If there are, please get in touch.

Memories and Loss

A couple of days before Christmas, some flowers were delivered to the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. Each year a lady leaves a floral tribute to the crew of HMS P48, a Royal Navy submarine sunk in the Second World War, and her brother in particular.

Coincidentally, another lady visited just after Christmas. Her god father was Able Seaman Miller who, along with Lieutenant Low was posthumously awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal (which later became the George Cross). An account of his actions on HMS UNITY can be found online:

"Lt. F. J. Brooks. RN (On the first day of his first patrol, on his first command) was lost in an accident in the North Sea, while operating out of Blyth. (ack. Ron Biddle). In collision with Norwegian SS Atle Jarl. At 1730 on 29-April-1940, Unity sailed from Blyth for Norway. The weather was poor, with visibility down to 300 yards as Unity moved out of the harbour; in the main channel, where the Norwegian ship Atle Jarl was proceeding inbound on her way from Methyl, Scotland to the Tyne, visibility was down to 100 yards: Neither vessel was aware of the other until the submarine spotted the ship at 50 yards and on a collision course. At 1907 a prolonged blast of a ship’s siren at 50 yards was heard on Unity's bridge. There was just time to shut the bulkhead doors and order the engines astern before the Atle Jarl smashed into the submarine. The order to abandon the submarine was given at 1910 and Unity sank only five minutes after the collision.
The order to abandon the submarine was given at 1910 and most of the crew made their way topside and were crowded on the bridge. HMS Unity had taken an angle of 25 degrees and sank within four-five minutes. Although all the members of HMS Unity, bar the 1st Lt., Lt JNA Low RN and AB Miller, escaped from the stricken vessel, Leading Seaman James Hare and Stoker 1st Class Cecil Shelton were not picked up by the crew of the Atle Jarl during the subsequent search. A subsequent investigation revealed a breakdown in internal communications between the Submarine and the fact that the Methyl-Tyne convoy had not been due off Blyth until at approx 1930.
Four men were lost - Leading Seaman James S HARE P/JX 145574; Lieutenant John N A LOW; Able Seaman Henry J MILLER P/J 55387; and Stoker Cecil SHELTON P/KX 91083.
Lieutenant Low and Able Seaman Miller were the two men on duty in the submarine control room. When the order to abandon ship was given by the submarine commander they were instrumental in helping almost every member of the submarine to escape. Lt John N. A. Low RN and AB Henry J. Miller were each awarded a posthumous Empire Gallantry Medal, later (Sept 1940) exchanged by their next-of-kin to the George Cross."
(Source: http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/war-sea/20681-hm-submarine-unity-ss-atle-jarle.html)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Unity_(N66)
http://uboat.net/allies/warships/ship/3385.html

As far as the ladies are concerned, it's touching that someone should be remembered for so long after their death. It also shows, perhaps, how traumatic, how scarring it can be to lose someone in such violent circumstances, and where there is no grave or memorial. The Area of Remembrance at the Museum takes on that role for many people it seems.

Having read of the actions of Lt Low and AB Miller, I find myself wondering if I could do anything as selfless and as brave. Of  course our actions are always tempered by the time and the environment and I'm sat at home watching telly. So who knows?

Christmas Under The Sea

As has happened for the past 50 years or so, there will be at least one British submarine at sea today. The ships' company won't get boxes from The Sun, a mention on the BBC or additional minutes on their Paradigm cards. If they're lucky they will get their 40 word Familygram from home, which may have been censored; they certainly won't get the chance to talk to their families. They will be at 15 minutes notice to fire their terrible weapons against which ever foe they are directed. Their routine will be unchanged from any other day.

Spare them just a fleeting thought.

It's A Small, Small World

Over the summer months I help the Royal Aero Club Records Racing and Rally Association (the 3Rs) run their series of handicapped air races as the Chief Marshal (www.airraceuk.co.uk). In the past we've held races on Menorca but also hold ones at Abbeville in France and on Alderney as regular and annual events.

In my other job as a guide on HMS Alliance, I was taking a group through the boat this afternoon. At the end I chatted to one gentleman who was Spanish and from Majorca. I replied that I only had ever been to one place in Spain which was Menorca and that wasn't a holiday but for air racing. We chatted a little more about his interest in submarines and military matters before he asked me if I had said 'air racing'. I replied that it was and he said that he had a friend who also air raced. "It's not Gabriel, is it?". Astonishingly,  this man who is a Spanish commercial pilot currently flying from Stockholm to Vietnam and SE Asia, and I both knew the same man who generally attends the 3 air races above. In fact this man, Onofre, and Gabriel have been friends since childhood and Gabriel was responsible for getting him into flying (and for helping him get a flight at 7 years old!).

A clip from the Schneider race on Alderney with Gabriel at the controls

I can't imagine what the probability of this happening must be as for one thing, our running order as guides is decided on the cut of the cards, and this guy could have appeared at any time during the day.

Peter's Immutable Law of Ironing

The crease that is accidentally made when ironing is a million times harder to smooth out than the ones created during the laundry process.

History Oozing Out Of The Bricks

RNSM Guides with Chris Donnithorne
l-r John Buffrey, Pete Chilcott, Chris, Dennis Wade,
Denis King (photo taken by Charlie Hayward)

Today, myself and some of the other guides form the Royal Navy Submarine Museum who undertake heritage tours of Fort Blockhouse, were taken around the site by Chris Donnithorne site so that we could improve our knowledge. Chris has done much research on the history of the site and has gathered together a lot of material from a  variety of sources.

There is a likely history of a presence on the site since Roman times with the first records coming from the 15th century and then pretty much constant development. As one walks around the site it soon becomes pretty clear that it's possible to pick out any feature and realise that there is some tale or historical fact related to it: it might be the origins of Petrol Pier, the unique saluting guns, the world's first Attack Trainer or the fittings for the harbour boom. A few myths got debunked too.

• The recognisable fortifications date from the time of Queen Anne
• When the casemates were built in 1802, they were the first ones to be built since Henry VIII
• The only other saluting guns of the same type were to be found in Hong Kong and were probably returned when HK reverted back to the PRC
• There never were stables at Fort Blockhouse/HMS Dolphin
• The original (and existing) jetties, including Petrol Pier, were built in 1906

It's a truly fascinating site. Through the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, it's possible to organise a guided tour, and every September tours are organised as part of the borough wide Heritage Days

Plaque at the site of the first (of four) main gates

.

The Next Tour Will Be At 1050

Hi everybody, I’m your guide and my name’s Pete
As you go on board mind your head, watch your feet
She’s really quite old, and has earnt her pension
Been here since ‘81 without much care
But you see the  scaffold’s there
And she’s getting well deserved attention

This end’s for escape, its the fore-ends and TSC
These white lockers hold escape gear and here’s the SSE.
Originally there’d be 12. Then that was 9 in ‘60
Down the loading hatch via the rails
Onto the racks or through the rear doors
Cuddling up to the spuds to the carrots and more

Over the sill, to the bunks that stay warm
In the mess for sleep, to eat, to play that’s the norm
Some quite low bunks and some more roomy
The next space has a battery
(In ‘71 we lost Chief Kimber)
The tower to the 4 inch gun is in the Wardroom

Ah - here’s the control room, oh so busy, so much to see
There’s the fruit machine, its face all black and dialled
We’ve got four wells although not four masts
Warner’s gone but there’s attack
Two-eyed search is further back
And rotating radar brings up the rear

The left hand side, is the side with tappers
One to steer, and heed voices from above
The man behind can be shallow or quite deep
His neighbour is the level headed one
All that brass lifts us up or drags us down
Two elements do the work although we might Q

Eyes left - radar, eyes right - comms and here’s the heads
Oh! the galley! Small enough for babies heads
The heads are quite modern these loos  flush
On Talent and others before  
If those steps weren’t followed
Getting your own back was your just reward


And through to the engine room we go
There’s the compressor in the corner
And here’s a lathe and a 6 valve chest
On the surface or just under
(Using snort and exhaust)
These 2 Vickers donks will drive us on

On we go, nearly done, past the screamers
To the switch gear and all that copper
Motors under here for when we’re sneaky
Through one more bulkhead
To the after ends we go
And this is like the fore-ends only less so

And that, everybody ends the tour
Thank you and if you’d like to ask some more
I’ll see you outside and what’s more
Buy me a cuppa and a cake
And I’ll ever be your mate

Especially if I get at least four stars and a good review on Trip Advisor.
(OK - it hasn't got a good cadence and the rhyming is rubbish but I'll chip away at it)

Original source:

Gosport - the south coast town thats full of surprises; from the Group Leisure website

Gosport - the south coast town that's full of surprises

Venue: Gosport

Date: 29 Sep 2012

Pictured: Enjoying a cruise of Portsmouth Harbour as part of our Gosport fam trip.

A familiarisation trip to Gosport gave readers the chance to get up close to a nuclear missile, cruise the Solent, step onboard a submarine and visit the world’s only museum of Hovercraft. Rebekah Tailor reports.

Legend states that the name Gosport is derived from God’s Port - as christened by the Bishop of Winchester back in the 12th century, after he was rescued from a fierce storm and brought ashore by local fishermen. A rather romantic notion, however the heavens were certainly smiling down on our recent Reader Club Trip to the south coastal town, located on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, as blue skies and sunshine were the order of the day.

Visits to Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower, the Royal Navy Submarine Museum,Diving Museum and Hovercraft Museum would reflect upon the area’s rich maritime history and naval heritage; while a climactic cruise of Portsmouth Harbour - courtesy of Gosport Ferry Ltd - basked in the present, absorbing the picturesque hub of Gosport’s marinas, with fantastic views across to the iconic Spinnaker Tower and Gunwharf Quays.

The story of the submariner

Approaching via waterbus, it’s near impossible to miss the incredible hulk of HMS Alliance ‘parked’ alongside the Royal Navy Submarine Museum - yet I almost did.

I’d be forgiven for the fact it’s currently concealed under tarpaulin as it undergoes a major £6.75 million conservation restoring it back to its former glory - but that’s not why I almost glanced past it. The truth is, I hadn’t been prepared for the sheer size of this World War Two era submarine - the only surviving one which remains in the UK - and I was genuinely enthralled as I climbed up to the gangway, ducking through the hatch into the forward torpedo compartment.

Pictured: Submariner Peter Chilcott shared his experience of life beneath the waves.

While conservation works continue through next year in preparation for the re-launch ofHMS Alliance in 2014, it’s business as usual for the Royal Navy Submarine Museum - and this includes the chance to climb on board and take a tour with a real submariner. Our guide was Peter Chilcott, and it was a real privilege to listen and learn as he guided us through the cramped living quarters, control room and engine room, sharing his personal experience of the submariner’s lot and revealing what these men are tasked with in the service of their country.

The Royal Navy Submarine Museum offers discounted group rates for parties of ten plus, with free entry for GTOs and free coach parking. Welcome talks can be arranged on arrival, and additional attractions include the Royal Navy’s very first submarine Holland 1 and midget X24. Combined tickets with neighbouring attractions are also available, including the option to travel via Portsmouth Waterbus Service between Explosion! Museum of Naval Firepower.

“We’ve had a wonderful day in Gosport - a place I’ve never ever thought to visit before. I’ve got loads of ideas for my group and we’ve been made really welcome by people from the tourist board and all the attractions. I think it’s probably a place that people have forgotten to visit and I would strongly advise that everyone visits Gosport as there’s lots to do.” - June Barnard, Shepperton Ladies Club

Submarine Books

Have a look at some of the books that are available in the Gift Shop at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. A lot of these books are privately published, are written by submariners or because of their subject matter, not readily available.

Submarine Books

Bogged Down Below

Forgotten Flotilla

Generations

This past Sunday was a day of generations at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. I worked with a man who was on board HMS BELFAST as it undertook the bombardment during the D-Day landings at Normandy in 1944; guided visitors on a Cold War submarine, talked to submariners who were on HMS CONQUEROR when it sank the ARA Belgrano during the Falklands War in 1982, and worked with a young man who's been patiently waiting to join the Royal Navy at HMS Raleigh for several months despite knowing that others who join up quit within the first week because they find the training too hard.

THE ROYAL NAVY SUPPORTING ALLIED FORCES 

IN NORMANDY, JUNE 1944. Starboard 4 inch guns of 

HMS BELFAST open fire on German positions 

around Ver-sur-Mer on the night of 27 June 1945.

Operational, not decorational

No fanfares at the jetty
No newsclips on flat TVs
No Freedom marches through Dalgety
No recognition given by the public
No medals from the body politic

We Come Unseen

And then

More private reunions at home
More polyblocks removed from off the plant
More vital maintenance on the dome
More PAGs, more deadlines - there is no can’t
More time on drills and time in trainers
More turkeys, steaks, eggs passed down to the fridge
More crap cleared from 'round the strainers
More paint is added to the bridge
More warheads worked on ‘round the corner
More time spent getting back in order

And then

Once more  the final checks for sea are made
Once more  the family ties are given up
Once more the plant is in the half power state
Once more, stern and headropes singled up
Once more, on a drizzly  Argyll day
Once more, for umpteenth time a black boat makes it's way...

We Go Unseen

©Peter Chilcott

Twelve Little...

I became aware of this little ditty after attending one of the 'Third Thursday Talks' at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. The talk was given by Tim Clayton, based on his book 'Sea Wolves'. 

It's about the first submarines of the S-class.

Twelve little S-boats "go to it" like Bevin,

Starfish goes a bit too far — then there were eleven.

Eleven watchful S-boats doing fine and then

Seahorse fails to answer — so there are ten.

Ten stocky S-boats in a ragged line,

Sterlet drops and stops out — leaving us nine.

Nine plucky S-boats, all pursuing Fate,

Shark is overtaken — now we are eight.

Eight sturdy S-boats, men from Hants and Devon,

Salmon now is overdue — and so the number's seven.

Seven gallant S-boats, trying all their tricks,

Spearfish tries a newer one — down we come to six.

Six tireless S-boats fighting to survive,

No reply from Swordfish — so we tally five.

Five scrubby S-boats, patrolling close inshore,

Snapper takes a short cut — now we are four.

Four fearless S-boats, too far out to sea,

Sunfish bombed and scrap-heaped — we are only three.

Three threadbare S-boats patrolling o'er the blue,

(from Wikipedia)

At the beginning of the war in 1939 there were 12 boats of the S-class, and these operated around the UK or North Sea. By the time HMS SNAPPER was lost, the war was barely a year old, 8 of the boats were lost and this poem reflects the high attrition rate. Of this batch of 12, 3 survived to meet a planned end, whilst HMS SUNFISH was transferred to the Russians and sunk in 1944 by the RAF.

My Facebook profile picture and remembering

Engine Room Artificer L J 'Tug' Wilson in 1939.
Courtesy of the Royal Navy Submarine Museum.

I should perhaps explain my unusual Facebook profile picture.



On Christmas Eve 1939, seven Petty Officers from the nearby submarine base at Blyth, went along to The Astley Arms and took part in a raffle. One of them, 'Tug' Wilson of HMS SEAHORSE, won a bottle of Johnnie Walker whisky but, due to go out on patrol, he asked the landlady, Lydia Jackson to hold onto it until he came back.Tragically he didn’t; the Seahorse was destroyed by a mine with the loss of its entire crew. But Lydia Jackson held onto the whisky until she retired 30 years later, when upon investigating what happened to Wilson, she donated it to the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, where it has remained ever since. An account of the sinking can be found here.



With thousands of submariners of all nationalities lying in unmarked, unknown oceanic graves, I really just wanted to 'remember' in my own way.

HMS Seahorse in Portsmouth Harbour on October 14 1933.
Courtesy of the Royal Navy Submarine Museum.

My thanks to culture24.org.uk

In The Beginning

From the Submarine Guide of the Year, as voted for by readers of Bunty (Google it)

I know you all like to keep up to date with the comings and goings of the visitors to HMS ALLIANCE, so here's today's report.

A really busy day today with the Waterbus bringing over loads of folks on the Big Ticket, even though the Submarine Museum gets very little of that ticket price. The cosmopolitan crowd today included Germans, a German doctor and his family, more Germans a family from Cape Town, the father of which has done the Comrades Marathon in about 7 hours, some French folks, a colleague from work with his family, inclusive of fun and extrovert daughter, ex submariners from the Amphion class and the Oberon class, a guy who had been on the Port crew of HMS REVENGE (my boat and crew) but a couple of years after me, and 6 US servicemen from RAF Molesowrth, who seemed jolly nice chaps. Oh yes, and lots of other people.

We did start doing tours but we became overwhelmed by the numbers coming off the Waterbus, so ran a free-flow system to allow people to see the boat but still be able to chat to a guide if they wished. That works well to 'break the back' of the numbers, and allows us to revert to tours if we're able.

Oh, by the way. Harbour Stations, the onsite cafe, does a mean mocha

A Submarine Weekend - kinda

Another weekend, another day acting as a guide on HMS ALLIANCE at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum. The big turnout would seem to indicate that t was either a rainy day (it was), or that the summer holidays are almost here (they are); the 4 guides were taking a tour of 25 people through every 20 minutes.

This weekend I was able to cross the generations. It's always good to chat to the older, more experienced guides for it's always possible to learn something new about the boat (more in a later blog) but the tours often include other older submariners. This weekend I encountered a Chief Stoker from the modern day HMS VANGUARD,

HMS VANGUARD S28

HMS TAURUS P399

and an old salt who served on the previous T Class of submarines, and on X craft (Coincidentally, this article appears in today's Daily Mirror). Both were able to give me the benefit of their experience and that will enable me to give a better tour next time I'm there.

Then there's always the kids :) When you get the good ones, they are so curious and so well informed and they are a joy. Some do seem to have fairly gruesome ideas that involve either the destruction of the boat, or the world, or where is the dead body is kept if someone dies. Then you get the one who will cling to his mum with his cuddly toy and not even say hello. I'll take the former every time.

X24

Images from Wikipedia

Amazing coincidence Number 91387

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I was taking a group through HMS ALLIANCE last week. As a diver I recognised the Scapa Flow polo shirt one of the visitors was wearing and remarked upon it, and continued with the tour.  A friend commented on a Facebook post of mine today where I said I would be guiding today, that it was his diving club that were on the boat; their diving trip had been blown out so were filling their time. A minor, so slightly amazing, coincidence.

One of today's trips included an original crew member of HMS ALLIANCE, a comms tech (another name for an intelligence gatherer, and some Poles who were sailing back to Poland having started in Brest.

And if anyone knows about the strongbacks on the Tube Space doors, and the locking rings, I'd like to hear from you.