Northumbrian Universities Royal Naval Unit

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Northumbrian Universities Royal Naval Unit Alumni Newsletter Winter 2012

Welcome to NURNU and HMS EXAMPLE’s Alumni Newsletter for 2012/13. As you are aware I think it is of great importance to keep you informed of our current activities so that you can continue to see us thrive and so that we can keep you

abreast of our forthcoming social events as well as hopefully take you on a pleasant trip down Memory

Lane!

Since I joined in October 2011

it has been an immensely enjoyable and rewarding year, which has seen us deploy not just around the UK but also into the Baltic, venturing as far afield as St Petersburg in Russia! We have also demonstrated our sporting prowess at the annual Inter URNU sports weekend, despite not winning the trophy we certainly put in a great

performance! In between hosting numerous visitors to both the Ship and the unit we have had another successful recruitment process, and also enjoyed a wide range of social events, including a charity Halloween party and Trafalgar Night Dinner, boasting some

excellent sea shanties!

The forthcoming year promises to be just as productive with a wide range of events planned not just as sea but also within the unit. For now though I hope you enjoy this newsletter and I look forward to meeting you at

our Ball in the New Year!

Lt CM Strawbridge RN Commanding Officer HMS EXAMPLE OiC Northumbrian URNU 0191 4909605 / 077 489 32786

[email protected]

Foreword From the Commanding Officer

Lieutenant Chantal Strawbridge

Contact

Phone:0191 477 5584 Email: [email protected] @NorthumbrianURNU

HMS Example

mailto:[email protected]

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NURNU Newsletter Winter 2012

The new committee has hit

the ground running with a

fantastic Traf’ night organised

by the new social secretary

Alexandra Forth which, as

ever, had a great atmosphere

and was a good chance for

the first years to integrate

with the existing members.

Copious amounts of port

helped this along to a certain

extent as well! The stash

orders are being handled by

Emma Morton who, like

Obama, is now entering her

second term of office.

Chris Pascoe takes the most

important job in any mess as

bar manager. Josh Pearce has

been maintaining the

operational security against

the likes of Al Qaeda by

taking up the mantle of IT

manager, a position created

last year by Luke Burton.

NURNU is going to bring back

tons of medals now Charlotte

Edmondson is Sporto and

hopefully not have our flag

stolen like last year! The PR of

the unit is now the

responsibility of Megan Cox.

Sceptre division has been left

in the capable hands of Elisa

Tindale and she has been

guiding her new students

through the perils of

Dartmouth and the new entry

weekend, where they did so

well they got mentioned on

the Royal Navy Facebook

group needless to say lots of

encouragement was left for

them. Elisa also takes over

responsibilities of organising

the charitable events that

NURNU will be involved in

over the year.

James Dewing has had to fill

the massive boots of Thomas

Good to become the new DO

of Northumberland Division,

whilst Tom himself has taken

on the responsibility of

Dauntless DO. A new breath

of life has been blown in to

the position of vice by Alex

Townsend-Rose. Last but by

no means least of the SMID

himself, the Rogue of Redcar,

Andrew O’Connor.

The New Committee Thomas Good

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Whilst the UK was preparing for the London 2012 Olympics HMS EXAMPLE along with HMS RANGER, TRUMPETER AND EXPLORER was tasked with providing maritime training to students from not just Northumbrian, Yorkshire, Sussex and Cambridge Universities Royal Naval Units but also from those units providing support to the London 2012 Olympics. Taking advantage of the extended duration of the Summer deployment, the four P2000s ventured deep into the Baltic, covering in excess of 15,000 nm between them over five, two week long phases of deployment, enabling 200 URNU Students to experience the maritime environment with this valuable sea time.

Our journey commenced at

Gravesend on the Thames as the

standby

P2000 for

the Queen’s

Diamond

Jubilee

Pageant,

prior to the

four Ships

conducting a

ceremonial

rendezvous in the vicinity of

Goodwin Sands and heading south

east towards the first port of call of

Bruges, Belgium. Enthusiasm and

morale were particularly high

considering the requirement for foul

weather gear rather than sun screen

as the Ships spent the first week

heading east towards Kiel. The

weather improved as we entered

the Kiel canal and the Ships made

most of the calm, sunny weather

to ensure they looked their very

best prior to arrival at Kiel where

we joined the convoy of Ships

from numerous nations including

Germany, Poland, United States of

America, Russia, Norway, Holland,

Denmark to name just a few, for the

Entering Port ceremony.

Representing the Royal Navy,

alongside HMS ST ALBANS, the

Ship’s company and students were

proud to take part in the Kiel Week

Remembrance services and wreath

laying ceremonies as well as

enjoying the social aspects on offer.

Finally exhausted from the

generosity offered throughout Kiel

Week the Task Group headed into

the Baltic visiting Flensburg, home

to the German Naval Academy

before transiting towards Sweden

where we took the opportunity for

a four Ship Splice the Mainbrace

courtesy of the Queen in

celebration of her Diamond Jubilee.

Heading north along the Swedish

coast under Ȍlands Bridge the

crystal clear, but deceptively cold

waters were the ideal location for

an impromptu hands to bathe,

before embarking Commander 1PBS

Squadron, Cdr Sue Moore, to

conduct an assurance visit and

continuing further north to

Stockholm. Glorious weather

prevailed as the Ships benefited

from plenty of navigation training,

Officer of the Watch manoeuvres

and shipping reports enroute along

the Swedish and Finnish coastlines

before entering Russian territorial

waters. With subtle scenery

differences this brought about new

challenges, namely the ability to be

understood and to understand the

required VHF calls! However the

four Ships made history visiting the

small port of Vyborg before our

furthest eastern destination, the

long awaited St Petersburg! Visa

regulations precluded an extended

visit so after being hosted by the

Defence Consul it was as all too

soon time to once again commence

our journey west visiting ports in

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with a

number of official visitors both at

sea and alongside before embarking

COMPORFLOT, Commodore Michael

Cochrane and making history by

being the first British Warships to

visit the beautiful seaside resort of

Hel (Poland)!

Summer Deployment

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Our journey continued in glorious

weather along the Polish and

German coasts, prior to transiting

the Kiel canal and visiting the small

island of Helgoland, which provided

the perfect sunshine paradise island

for one of the final visits – boasting

glorious sunshine, a fabulous beach

and stunning views from the top of

the 60m high island formed from

red sedimentary rock it was the

perfect place to relax (and

consolidate task books!) prior to the

final day of in company time

enroute to Den Helder for our last

visit as a Task Group. From here we

dispersed and commenced the long

transit home across the North Sea.

After 11 weeks together and having

visited in excess of 40 ports across

11 countries it was finally time to

proceed alongside for the final time,

destore Ship and conduct a final set

of Captain’s Rounds before a well

deserved break after such a unique

and successful P2000 Summer Baltic

deployment.

Summer Deployment – Continued

On Sunday 26th February, Durham

University Rifle club hosted the Uni-

versity Interservices shooting com-

petition. Teams of 4 from the North-

umbrian University Royal Naval Unit,

Northumbrian University Air Squad-

ron and the Durham University Rifle

Club competed in a range of disci-

plines including grouping, rapid and

snap shooting.

After the first round, the competi-

tion was looking tight between the

NURNU and DURC, O/C Balston of

NURNU scoring well, and with the

NUAS trailing. However with an

astonishing shoot from NUAS in

round two and a disappointing per-

formance from NURNU, NUAS were

back in the match. Undiscovered hot

shot O/C Lodge of NURNU replied to

this turn of events with a fantastic

shoot, setting one of the highest

individual scores of the match and

putting the NURNU well ahead of

the NUAS leaving the Team Captain

O/C Lidgitt to bring home the inter-

services prize for the NURNU with a

strong finish.

Final Scores (out of 440):

1st DURC: 231

2nd NURNU: 215

3rd NUAS: 187

DURC was relegated for the inter-

service competition.

Congratulations to everyone in the

team: Mid Balston, O/C Tuckley, O/C

Lodge and O/C Lidgitt and the bril-

liant supporter O/C Campbell who

provided inspiring banter between

shoots.

Inter-Services Shooting Competition

Murray Lidgitt

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NURNU’s preparations began early

in the year for this greatly

anticipated sporting event, with

weekly team training and fitness

sessions underway weeks in

advance. Team morale was sky

high as we made the journey

down to Portsmouth and settled

in on HMS Bristol raring for the

days ahead!

Saturday morning brought jittery

stomachs, excitement and a good

full English to fuel our players.

With our very own Angel of the

North (Mid Reid) in tow the sports

fixtures kicked off with the rugby.

Unfortunately the outcome was

not as planned in the rugby with

no silverware being won and a

defeat at the hands of Yorkshire.

Despite this, the team put in some

good performances and worked

well together on the pitch.

The netball team were dealt an

unfortunate hand by way of their

first opponents, Southampton

URNU were a strong side and a

tough match was sure to be

ahead. NURNU held their own

with a strong opening

performance from the team;

however Southampton proved to

have the edge over us, winning

the game and going on to win the

tournament. This meant that

NURNU was relegated to the plate

league with several matches still

to play. NURNU outperformed the

other teams to reach the plate

trophy final where their effort and

hard over months of training

shone through and helped NURNU

take home the plate.

The Royal Navy’s favourite sport,

bucketball, is also a favourite

amongst NURNU students and this

year we were fielding a strong

team and setting our sights on a

podium position. Despite a good

opening performance the team

was knocked into the plate trophy

league. From here on the teams

performances only grew stronger

and with some outstanding

defensive play by Mid Haigh and

O/C Adreniran, to name a few,

NURNU breezed into the plate

final. It seemed appropriate that

our opposition in the final were

arch rivals Wales and after a fierce

battle NURNU had another plate

to add to the collection!

A mention must go to the sterling

effort made by this year’s rowers,

Mid Dewing and Mid Tindale, who

placed fourth overall in a task of

determination and endurance.

This event was particularly difficult

as the opposition’s times were

kept secret, however in true

NURNU style the pair were

supported and encouraged by

other members of the unit

throughout. Congratulation also to

Mid Forth and O/C Campbell for

placing tenth in the dinghy sailing

after some eventful racing!

Although our Hockey team may

have been lacking somewhat in

experience this year, we more

than made up for it in enthusiasm

on the pitch! Sadly, there were

some excellent teams fielded in

the tournament whose

understanding of the game shone

through. Hopefully next year with

a little more practise we’ll be

tallying up the goals!

The social followed an Olympic

theme this year, with NURNU

making up the equestrian team

and a fantastic effort was made by

all. Once again we showed the

other units how to play hard and

party hard! As the weekend drew

to a close and the points were

totted up, NURNU had placed

eleventh out of fourteen units and

we hope to even better next year!

Sports Weekend Charlotte Edmondson

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This Easter I had the great

privilege of attending the

URNU Easter Flying Camp at

RNAS Yeovilton where I

completed a two week special

flying award with 727 sqn

flying the Grob Tutor aircraft.

As I was interested in

pursuing a career in aviation,

the course provided the

perfect opportunity to learn

more about the fleet air arm

and naval aviation.

A packed two weeks

included 8 hours flight time as

well as visits to front line

squadrons operating from the

base with opportunities to

meet pilots and observers as

well as view the aircraft. The

first week comprised of

learning the basics of flight in

a classroom environment

then putting the new

knowledge into practice in

the air with sorties lasting

between 30mins and 1hr

15mins. The most exciting

being the aerobatics sortie in

which I executed moves such

as the loop, barrel roll and

stall turn, luckily no sick bags

were filled during the flight!

Visits were made to 815 sqn

operating the Lynx Mk8

aircraft, 846 sqn operating

the Sea King Mk4 and the

NFSF (FW) Naval Flying

Standards Flight Fixed Wing

operating the Hawk aircraft.

Tours of each squadron were

conducted as well as tours of

their aircraft and the chance

to sit in the flight seats in the

helicopters of 815 and 846

Sqn’s.

Accommodation was

provided at the wardroom

HMS Heron, where I shared a

cabin with a member of the

Sussex Unit. The wardroom

bar provided an excellent

place to get to know each

other and build friendships as

well as play countless games

of pool and darts, some

better than others!

The second week started

with a 0900 circuit training

session in the bases gym with

a PTI. The session was tough

but also a great way to wake

up and get in to the zone

ready for the new week. My

personal highlight was

planning then executing an

air navigation exercise around

the local airspace, all of the

hard work calculating speed

distance time over the

weekend paid off as the flight

went perfectly to plan.

Easter Flying Camp Oliver Gordon

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The annual URNU Ski trip is one not to miss out on, with 6 great days on the slopes and plenty of socials to fill in the gaps. With over 70 URNU members participating and a strong attendance with 9 NURNU members, ranging from complete beginners to experienced skiers and snowboarders.

This year Avoriaz was the chosen resort, located in the heart of the Portes du Soleil ski area. Avoriaz is unique due to its fully pedestrianized streets allowing you to ski straight from the door of your accommodation.

After a long coach journey from Newcastle we finally arrived in the Alps where the snow was falling heavily, already looking promising for the weeks skiing. After quickly finding our apartments we went to find a bar, to relax and prepare for the first day

on the slopes. Naturally, despite the extortionate drinks prices, this kept us entertained for many hours.

We woke up to find snow falling heavily and visibility very low, this wasn’t going to stop us from grabbing our kit and heading out to explore the area. Unfortunately this poor visibility continued for much of the week with a number of runs being closed due to avalanche risk, however this did produce some amazing conditions and infinite quantities of snow to enjoy.

One thing that I had been looking forward to was the mountain meal as I had heard some really good things about previous ones. Unfortunately this wasn’t memorable for the food but this wasn’t going to stop us having a good night. After the meal we skied down through glorious untouched powder, which is always a great experience in the dark.

The evening socials were a massive part of the trip. Most nights ended in the ‘Yeti Club’, the resorts only club.

The last day we awoke to a clear and sunny day which

meant that much more of the resort was open, allowing us to ski across the border to Switzerland. A great way to round off the trip before the journey home in time for Christmas.

Overall a trip thoroughly enjoyed by all involved, and I cannot wait until next December for Tignes 2012.

Avoriaz– Ski Trip Chris Pascoe

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Ship's company and even some students looked resplendent in their beautifully pressed uniform gathered by the ensign of HMS Calliope clutching G&Ts under the fading summer sun. Dining the leavers out is an event always anticipated with mixed feelings because while it always proves to be one of the most memorable - or forgettable! - occasions in many of the students URNU experiences it signifies the end of an era; be that for those moving on to life as a graduate or to those staying behind and saying goodbye to graduating friends. Either way it's nothing that port doesn't cure by the end of the evening.

After the unit photograph was taken we moved into the wardroom for a fantastic dinner. Our departing SMid and Vice SMid then stood to

say a few words about the leavers. The reminiscing about each leaver in turn left no accolade unpraised and no gossip unrevisited. As there was a particularly large number of leavers this year it felt like we had gone over nearly every URNU memory for the last three years, but I still feel fairly confident that the dits could have continued well into the night. Eventually Janie and Dan managed to find something nice to say about everyone and wished each other and all of the leavers all the best for the future. Following this was the award giving to acknowledge the various achievements of the unit members over the previous year. Then it was the Boss’s turn to say a little something for the departing NURNU members, which she did in true style through the medium of poetry penned by the CO's own hand. The limerick covered the best stories and well wishes for the future of every leaving member of the unit and had everyone laughing and some crying by the end of it.

There ended the formal part of the evening and that which followed included mess games and other various messy activity that embodied the spirit of the social side to being an URNU member. Those that will remember the end of the night will know that it did not conclude with goodbyes but with promises that we'd all stay in touch and come back to visit because, hard though it may be to believe, URNU blood runs even thicker than the Tyne.

LDO Hannah Slater

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We finally arrived and were shown

to our rooms, some were just 2

people, others were 6. We had 4

NURNU members and 2

Manchester URNU people in ours.

After unpacking our stuff and

stretching our legs we headed

down for a free 3-course meal

which was unbelievably welcome at

this point! After dinner we got

some time to relax and unpack

properly then headed to the lecture

room at 2200 to get given our foul

weather kit and name badges,

followed by a quick introduction to

BRNC. We also had some “snap”

lectures which were on topics

chosen and presented by students

at random. After this we headed

back to our cabins and began the

arduous task of polishing our shoes

and ironing our kit. For some

reason our room became some sort

of ironing factory, churning out

crease-free (ish) shirts, everyone

brought their irons and ironing

boards in. We finally got to bed

about 12:45am.

I never knew 5 O’clock could have

an AM after it instead of a PM! Up

at 0530 for a shower and kit prep,

then getting changed into our 3s

and heading to the Quarter Deck

for inspection at 0630. We were

victim to the 10minute rule, so

everything had to be 10minutes

earlier than the timetable.

Therefore breakfast had to be

inhaled in about 10minutes before

getting to the lecture theatre to

have some staff introductions –

during which our Coxswain

announced that NURNU is the best

URNU – too right; we were always

first for anything, including drinks!

We watched a video presentation

about the RN and then went off to

do our group exercises for the day.

My group was on the river in Motor

Whalers and Picket Boaters for 3

hours which was very relaxed and

fun to be a part of.

Another 3 course meal entailed for

lunch followed by parade training

for 1.5hours; learning how to march

properly and getting used to all the

commands and the expectations of

us. Afterwards we spent 1.5hours

doing PLTs which was very fun, and

entertaining. A group of officers

were laughing at my groups

attempt at one of the tasks but

afterwards tried it themselves, and

despite seeing 3 groups complete it,

they could not complete it

themselves – they all died several

times on the mines. We had a good

laugh at them, but it was all taken

in good spirit (thankfully). At 1700

we had a college tour around BRNC

and had a peak in the gift shop. We

then had time to get changed

before dinner at 1900.

After a tasty meal we headed to the

Pavilion for some drinks with the

officers in training and full time

naval officers. Mess games ensued

until it was time for us to return to

our cabins and start the arduous

task of prepping our kit for the next

day and attempt to get an earlier

night.

New Entry Weekend, Dartmouth Alex Sharp

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Another 0530 start with the SMIDs

fresh looking face at the door

followed by another inspection and

the cleaning of our

accommodation. Breakfast was

inhaled again at 0800 and then my

group headed to the fitness centre

for our swimming test in huge

overalls that weighed more than I

thought they would! It was

definitely much harder than I

anticipated. Unfortunately straight

after was a 1.5mile run – certainly

not welcome after a full English

and a swim!

After a shower we headed to the

lecture theatre, returned our kit

and got praised for basically being

the number one URNU!

Despite an extremely long coach

journey back to Newcastle , the

visit was a fantastic experience and

thoroughly enjoyed by all.

New Entry Weekend, Dartmouth - Continued Alex Sharp

Throughout the year, the unit has received several visits from various ships and navy personnel. The first of these was Christmas 2011 when the ships company of HMS Mersey joined us for mess and games and drinks at the Christmas social.

Later on in the year the aircraft carrier HMS Illustrious was berthed at Royal Quays, a group of recently passed out officers came for a drill night and gave us a brief on what to expect at Dartmouth as well as their personal experiences through-out their time in the navy so far. This visit was reciprocated later in the week when a few students and the commanding officer went on board Illustrious for a cocktail party and a great time was had by all, es-pecially when we were invited to join their ’Just Dance’ challenge!

In October 2012 the Commodore of the Portsmouth Flotilla, Commo-dore Hon Michael Cochren OBE Roy-al Navy, joined us for the night. After participating in pre drill sport

he took a question and answer ses-sion after lectures. It was interesting to gain the point of view of some-body who is significantly higher up in the navy’s chain of command. It was particularly enlightening to hear his views on the future of the armed forces and current conflicts and I think that everybody gained a great-er insight in to these issues.

The most recent visit that we had was from the river class ship, HMS Severn, some of the ships company came for a bucketball match prior to the drill night, despite it being a closely fought game they were vic-torious with a result of 18-16. Four of their officers also stayed for the remainder of the evening. They pro-vided us an insight in to the recruit-ment process as well as giving us information on their intended ca-reer paths with a particular focus on submarines. As well as this the fol-lowing day a small group of students went to North Shields to tour around HMS Severn.

Visiting Ships Megan Cox

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The students rowed the 48km from the Meeting of the Waters, where the north and south sources of River Tyne meet in Hexham to the Mouth in North Shields on concept rowing

machines.

Participants, many of whom had never rowed an inch in their lives before, completed their 4.4km share in sets of three on the machines right under the Ensign

at HMS Calliope.

NURNU's drill nights are held at the RNR building situated directly on the south bank of the Tyne, with the ship normally berthed directly between the Tyne Bridge and the Millennium Bridge; the students feel a special affinity to the river and so felt it fitting to complete the row outside under

the fading spring sunshine.

Taking a grand total of 3hours and 48minutes students were left with a feeling of thorough satisfaction and aching legs going into their Easter break, during which they plan to increase the current total of £451.46 so far raised for

Seafarers UK.

NURNU Rows the Tyne Hannah Slater

Upcoming Events

For 2012– 2013 it has been decided that

Northumbrian Universities Royal Naval

Unit will be supporting the following

charities;

Homeless Heroes

www.homelessheroes.co.uk

RN and RM Children’s Fund

www.rnrmchildrensfund.org.uk

RN and RM Charity

www.rnrmc.org.uk

Northumbrian University Royal Naval Unit Spring Ball 2013 Date:- Saturday, March 2nd 2013

Where:- St James Park. Newcastle

Dress code:- Black Tie and to include something that is either black and/or white

Price £40- including Reception drink, 3 course meal, DJ, photographer and Charity auction

For tickets, contact Tracey on 01914775584 or

[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

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Northumbrian Universities Royal Naval Unit