The Journal of the Honourable Company of Master Marinersmastermarinersa.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/HCMM... · 2016-10-14 · Company News The Journal • Issue 3/2016 • Page

The Journal of theHonourable Company of Master Mariners

Issue 3/2016Volume XXIII No. 015

Livery Company of the City of LondonFounded 1926, Incorporated by Royal Charter 1930

The Honourable Company of Master Mariners

PATRONHer Most Gracious Majesty THE QUEEN

ADMIRALHis Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh,Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom, KG KT OM GBE

FOUNDERSir Robert Burton-Chadwick, Bt.

b. 1869 d. 1951

Contents

Contents

Company News Page 913

Latest News Page 927

Ports News Page 930

Features Page 933

Merchandise Inside Back Cover

Court of the CompanyWardens and Court from 1 May 2016

MASTERCaptain F K D'Souza FNI

SENIOR WARDENCaptain M Reed MNI RNR RD*

IMMEDIATE PAST MASTERCaptain H J Conybeare

WARDENSCaptain R B Booth MNI;Captain W J Barclay AFNI; Captain D Chadburn

COURT OF ASSISTANTSCommander P R F D Aylott MNI RN; Captain R F A Batt; Mr M F Burrow; Commander L Chapman RN; Captain G Cowap FNI; Captain B A Cushing; Captain G English AFNI; Captain I C Giddings FNI; Captain P T Hanton RFA; Mr J Johnson-Allen FRIN; Captain J K Mooney AFNI; Captain R Nosrati BA(Hons); Captain T Oliver; Commander D G Phillips MVO MNI RN; Captain M R Powell FNI; Captain M M Reeves MNI; Captain R S Richardson FNI; Captain N F Rodrigues; Captain I A Smith FNI FRNI; Mr I P A Stitt FRIN; Mr T Starr MNI; Captain J R Freestone MNM; Captain J W Hughes FRIN FNI; Captain S S S Judah MBE FNI

CLERK OF THE COMPANY – 0207 845 9871Commodore Angus Menzies FCMI MNI RN – [email protected]

BUSINESS MANAGER – 0207 845 9872Mrs Alison Harris BA (Hons) – [email protected]

FINANCE OFFICER – 0207 845 9875Mrs Penny Burningham – [email protected]

RECEPTIONISTMrs Phyllis Holder – [email protected]

HONORARY CHAPLAINThe Reverend Reginald Sweet BA RN

CORPORATE MEMBERS*Birchtree Limited; J&J Denholm Limited; Fairdeal Group; FurnessWithy (Chartering); *International Maritime Pilots' Association;John Swire & Son Limited; Maritime Underwater SecuritiesConsultants Limited; P&O Ferries; PCA Maritime Ltd; Star Reefers; Stephenson Harwood; The Baltic Exchange;Witherby's Publishing Group; X-PRESS Feeders. (*Tenant company)

HQS WELLINGTON, Temple Stairs, Victoria Embankment, London WC2R 2PN

www.hcmm.org.uk Tel: 0207 836 8179 Fax: 0207 240 3082Email: [email protected]

Produced by Copyprint UK Limited. Unit 5a Canterbury Court,Kennington Park, 1-3 Brixton Road, London, SW9 6DE.

Published by The Honourable Company of Master Mariners, HQSWellington, Temple Stairs, Victoria Embankment, London WC2R 2PN.

Company News

www.hcmm.org.uk The Journal • Issue 3/2016 • Page 913

From the MasterCaptain F K D’Souza

A quarter of a year has flown past since Iwas installed as Master of the HonourableCompany of Master Mariners. Since thenthere has been no time to stand and stareexcept for the summer break in August. TheMaster’s duties are in full swing again andmy Mistress and I are well into the grooveof embracing every moment of the same.To start with I had to go through and gleana series of invites with the Clerk, kindlysent by various Livery Masters and Cityinstitutions to formulate my diary for theyear. This wasn’t always easy because attimes we had more than one overlappinginvite. Our Clerk’s wisdom prevailed inmaking the right choice. The age old traditions and procedures to befollowed either be at Banquets, Churchservices or Livery functions were soonbriefed by Angus who most often escortedthe Master. I found myself attending manyfine afternoons and evenings at theinvitation of some ancient and somemodern Liveries spending time amongstother Livery Masters and Prime Wardensmany of whom have now become goodfriends. To give you a few examples,Master’s invitations came from theCarpenters, Brewers, Apothecaries, Carmen,Weavers, Tobacco and Pipemakers, Drapers,Grocers, Chartered Surveyors, Innholders,Water Conservators, Leathersellers, Insurersand Butchers.I am very pleased to note that quite oftenthe Master Mariner was given the honourof being seated at the head table and much

attention and interest given to our famousbadge and the rich history of our Company. The Queen’s Garden Party on 24th May wasone of the spectacular events I attendedalong with my family. It was a wonderfulafternoon in the Palace gardens besideselegant gentry out in their finery and inclose quarters with the Members of theRoyal family.

HM The Queen's Garden PartyIt was very kind of Sheriff Dr ChristineRigden to invite me to the Old Bailey on3rd June. This was one of the highlights ofmy last quarter, sitting shoulder to shoulderwith the Sheriffs, Aldermen and ninejudges of the Old Bailey, ceremoniouslydressed. They explained to me the workingsof the criminal justice system. I had tochoose one of the court sessions to witnessand chose one which was a murder case. Both Mina and I attended the most soughtafter Ironbridge weekend from 10th to12th June. This was a well-organized Liveryweekend with more than 100 Mastersattending along with their Mistresses andConsorts. The Right Honourable the LordJeffrey Mountevans, the Lord Mayor of theCity of London graced the occasion.Ironbridge, apart from its seat of industrialrevolution and natural beauty became avenue for making contacts and friendshipsamongst Masters, Mistresses and Consorts.This being the 350th centenary of theGreat Fire of London, the Masters formedtheir Past Master’s Association under thebanner of Phoenix whilst theMistresses/Consorts formed their owngroup as Firebirds.

IronbridgeMina has attended several functions too onher own as well as our Company eventswhich have all been very memorable. One

of the highlights of her visits was toSmithfield’s Market in the very early hoursof the morning by kind invitation of theMaster Butcher’s Consort Mr Angus Dart.She also attended the Mistresses andConsorts lunch for Weavers, visitedFortnum and Masons courtesy of theChartered Accountants, a Lightmongers’lunch at Vintners Hall and the Duke ofKent’s 80th birthday celebrations at aChoral concert at Westminster Central Hall.

Mina and others with the Master Butcherat Smithfields

A very interesting visit to Taunton wasorganized by the South West Outport tothe offices of the UKHO. We were madeprivy to the original charts complied andnavigated by James Cook around NewZealand We were all very proud to viewthe sundial, a gift to the thenHydrographer Admiral Sir Nigel Essenhighin 1995 by Past Master John Gray, inrecognition of 200 years contribution tosafety of life at sea.

At the sundial with Captain Tony Davis

We are sorry to re cord the death ofthe following members of theHonourable Company of MasterMariners:

•Mr Matthew Taylor (Junior Associate), 5 May 2016

•Mr Martin Braime (Member), 22 June 2016

•Captain John Maurice Woollen(Freeman), 28 June 2016

Company News

Page 914 • The Journal • Issue 3/2016 www.hcmm.org.uk

In May we visited Chester for the NorthWest Outport annual Ladies’ Lunch; a mostenjoyable occasion and a good opportunityto meet members and wives – the visitcoincided with the Chester Races, whichcertainly added to the colour of the event!On 27 July, I laid a wreath on the memorialto Captain Charles Fryatt VC at LiverpoolStreet Station. Captain Charles Fyratt wasthe master of the SS BRUSSELS, one of theGreat Eastern Railway Company’s ferriesthat operated between Harwich, Tilburyand Rotterdam, the Netherlands’ neutralityallowing the service to continue during theFirst World War albeit resented byGermany. Of an encounter in March 1915,Fryatt informed his employers thus:“I beg to report that on Sunday afternoonon the 28th instant, when from Parkestonto Rotterdam, I sighted a Germansubmarine. I sighted him about 2 points onmy starboard bow at a distance of 4 milessteering to the southward. As I got closer tohim he turned round very quickly of his porthelm and steered towards me, very fastfrom starboard to port. I at once altered mycourse E by S to ESE, which brought him onmy port bow about one point. I could see ifwas no use trying to get away from him asby steering my course to the southward hecould easily have torpedoed me and hisspeed was far greater than mine. He hoistedtwo flags for me o atop but I did not likethe idea of giving up my ship so I decided toram him”.

The Master & Clerk at the Liverpool StreetmemorialFryatt’s actions were lauded in the Commonsand he was presented with gold watches byboth the Admiralty and Mayor of Harwich.Germany, however, was enraged: Fryatt was

a marked man. On 22nd June 1916, he leftRotterdam in the BRUSSELS for Tilbury; outfrom the Hook of Holland just aftermidnight, at least four German destroyers,showing no lights, surrounded theBRUSSELS. The ship, her crew of 47 -including five stewardesses - and 100refugee passengers were takes to Bruges,Belgium then under German occupation.In spite of being a civilian non-combatant,Charles Fryatt was regarded by theGermans as a franctireur or guerrilla.

Court-martialled on 27th July 1916, thedeath sentence was passed at 4.30;confirmed at 5 and at 7pm was carried outby firing squad.The annual Maritime Ball was held onboard on 8th July and the theme wasBollywood. All attending did us proud bydressing for the occasion in Bollywoodattire. Thanks go to Alison Harris for herorganisations and charity fundraising skills.

The Bollywood BallAs Master I have enjoyed my task ofinterviewing our new joining members allof good calibre. I have also thoroughlyenjoyed the induction of Freemen,members and apprentices, meeting theirmentors, families and guests during theCurry Lunches.

Merchant Navy Day Commemorative Service

Congratulations to the following on being sworn in as:

Freeman: Captain Alan Adamson,Captain Kiran Benny, Captain JeremyDavies, Captain Philip Gilbert, CaptainGordon Lowe, Captain David Morrice,Captain John Strathearn, Captain JohnVercoe, Captain Alistair Whyte, CaptainChristopher Williams

Member: Mr Christopher Farnfield, MrTony Gosden, Mr Robert Hodge

Associate: Jessica Boulton, Joe Furness,Caroline Graham, Reese Holland, LukeShort, Joe Whetton

Apprentice: John Spofforth

On being elevated from Member toFreeman: Mr John Bonham, CaptainPeter Rasmussen

On being clothed as Liverymen: CaptainJohn Reid, Captain Chris Ryan, CaptainKen Sprowles

Congratulations also to the followingon being awarded the 2016 MerchantNavy Medal for Meritorious Service:

Captain P J McArthur, for services tothe Merchant Navy (Manchester ShipCanal amongst other things)

Captain D S McCallum, for services tothe Merchant Navy (Marine ManagerNorthlink Ferries, Aberdeen)

Company News


I, along with the Senior Warden Martin Readand Immediate Past Master Jim Conybeare,had the privilege of attending the MerchantNavy Day Commemorative Service andReception at Trinity Square Gardens onSunday 4th September. The service was heldwith great dignity and splendour for theMerchant Navy souls who lost their lives atsea. I as Master Mariner had the privilege tobe seated right in front of the congregationand read the homage and also laid a wreathon behalf of our Company.On Sunday 4th September also, at 2030,the model of the City of London as it was350 years ago -made of pine wood byschool children, floating abaft HQSWellington - was set ablaze as part of thecentenary celebrations of the Great Fireof London. It was a spectacular rare sightat close quarters and the fire waseventually ‘put out’ by Massey Shaw oneof the historic London Fire Brigade fire-fighting vessels manned by veteranfiremen. Massey Shaw also served atDunkirk in WW2.Mina and I thank all for allowing us toenjoy the Master’s duties and look forwardto actively supporting the events of thenext quarter.

Clerk’s CornerCommodore Angus Menzies RN

City of London BriefingsFreemen and Liverymen are encouraged toattend the City of London briefings whichtell you about the City and its structureand are designed for all Liverymen, and

indeed Freemen, Court Assistants, andWardens (as well as their spouses andpartners who are very welcome toaccompany). All are at 1700 for 1730 in theGuildhall, and are over by 1930.Registration and bookings are preferred viathe website www.liverycommitteecourses.orgbut if this presents difficulties, pleasecontact the Course Administrator atGuildhall, Claire [email protected] 020 7332 3176.Monthly Livery BriefingsThese Briefings are produced monthly andcontain details of interest for CityLiverymen. They are posted on theCompany Website in the News Section.

Merchant Navy Senior Officer’sCoursesThis Masters and First and Second MatesCourse runs three times a year and is aimedat fostering relations between the twoservices; the programme is a mix of lectures,visits and practical demonstrations all tiedtogether with a strong social thread. Itincludes briefs on the Royal Navy’s ships,weapons, and worldwide operations. It alsoincludes a day at sea in a warship during aThursday War – a visit to Royal MarinesPoole provides a slant on anti-piracyinitiatives and indeed the UK Chamber ofShipping also brief from their perspective.The whole course runs for 4½ days.

Briefs will be provided from NorthwoodHQ, the FCO Piracy Desk (Gulf of Guinea),DfT and the UK Centre for the Protectionof the National Infrastructure (CPNI) andEuropean Union Naval Force (EUNAVFOR).Also a brief and buffet lunch will beprovided by the UK Chamber of Shipping.

Numbers as ever are always tight, and ifyou wish to attend any of these Courses,please email to Lt Cdr David Carter RNR(formerly Shell Tankers) at: [email protected], or write to, RoyalNavy Merchant Navy Liaison Officer,Maritime Trade Section, Maritime WarfareSchool, HMS COLLINGWOOD, NewgateLane, Fareham, Hampshire PO14 1AS

CommitteesThe Company operates five StandingCommittees (this means permanent andreporting direct to the Court). Theygenerally formally meet four times a yearand cover the following areas:

• Finance. All aspects of the Company’sinvestments, subscriptions and accounts

• Membership. Policy on membershipcriterion, recruiting, and numbers

Company News


• Education &Training. Oversight oftraining standards and theApprenticeship Scheme

• Technical. Oversight of professionalpractices in every area of maritimebusiness and shipping

• Treasures. Management of all models,art, library and silverware collections

Members are invited to consider joining oneor more of those committees and therebyto take more part in the day-to-day life ofour Company. Membership will not take upmuch personal time and a great deal of thework is achieved by email. If interested, I amalways delighted to update members on theworkings of the Committees whose Minutesare published in the Member’s Area of theCompany website.

Strategic Plan 2016 (The Passage Plan) The Honourable Company’s Strategic Planfor 2016 – 2020 was approved by the CourtAssistants at their meeting last October andyou are strongly encouraged to study it.The Plan is available on the Companywebsite; hard copies can be obtained fromthe Clerk.

The Company Mentoring SchemeThere are over 200 Associates andApprentices in our Mentoring Scheme andif you are not yet a Mentor you arestrongly encouraged to consider signing upwith the Professional Development Officer,Captain Geoff Cowap [email protected] and he can provide fulldetails of what is involved.

The aim is to deliver experience basedmentoring, not training, through bothpersonal contact whenever possible and byelectronic correspondence (70% weighting);provide an insight into the Company’sactivities and the Livery (10% weighting)and to leave Mentees with a lasting feelingboth for the Company and from theirmentoring experience.

Also, for Mentors to support the aims andaspirations of the Company by providing anopportunity to make a difference to theMentee’s development and outlook in theirmaritime career and perhaps with the Cityand with that the personal satisfaction thatcomes with mentoring (20% weighting).Sign up today!

Office Direct Line TelephoneNumbersThe direct telephone numbers for Companystaff are listed on the inside cover of theJournal and you are encouraged to usethem whenever possible in order to speedup and improve our service to members.

Honourable Company of MasterMariners and Howard LeopoldDavis Charity Members are reminded that our associatedHCMM & HLD charity is focussed on thesupport of needy Merchant Navy DeckOfficers and their dependents. Any memberknowing of a mariner or widow in needshould contact the Clerk.

Our Charity also oversees our presentationat Christ’s Hospital School. The presentationcovers all fees, uniform and equipment atthe School for the full secondary course.This presentation is currently not filled anda suitable candidate is being sought: detailsthe Clerk. Christ’s Hospital, Horsham,West Sussex RH13 0YP; Tel: 01403 211293 Fax: 01403 211580; Email: [email protected]

The Royal Hospital School at Holbrookoffers generous bursaries to the sons ordaughters or the grandchildren of male orfemale officers of the UK Merchant Navy.The School also offers generousScholarships in four areas: Academic, Arts,and Sports and, in particular, Sailing. TheRoyal Hospital School, Holbrook, Ipswich,Suffolk, IP9 2RX; Tel: +44 (0)1473 326200;Email: [email protected]

AccommodationThere are two ensuite cabins, one doubleand one twin, in WELLINGTON for the useof members (£50 single, £60 doubleoccupancy). Both cabins have colourtelevisions, digital radios and full Wi-Fifacilities. Please let us know if you will bearriving after normal working hours tocheck in and collect your key.

If unable to book onboard, The Vintner’sCompany, Upper Thames Street, London EC4V 3BG (close to Cannon Streetor Mansion House District/Circle Line TubeStations) offers our members access to theirovernight accommodation; some rooms areen-suite and start at £60 + VAT. Contact:[email protected]; 0207 651 0748.

Members, who are still serving, may makeuse of the facilities of the Union Jack Clubat Waterloo Station, where a single ensuiteroom begins at £72.00 and a doubleensuite room begins at £126.00. Contact:Daiva Sobole, Advance ReservationsManager ([email protected]);Tel: 0207 902 7379; Fax: 0207 620 0565;Union Jack Club, Sandell Street, LondonSE1 8UJ.

Meeting RoomsThere are three bookable rooms forbusiness meetings available onboard

WELLINGTON:The Committee Room

– seats 16 at the table.

The Medals Room– seats 14 at the table.

The River Room– seats 9 at the table.

All three rooms have large-screen wallmounted computer monitors (HDMI) andconference call facilities. All have roomfor additional seating round thebulkheads. Contact the Office for detailsand for bookings.

In addition, the Catering Company canoffer business meeting facilities in:

The Model Room– seats 20 at the table

The Court Room– seats 52 at the table

The Court Room is provided with full IT andsound facilities and both are bookedthrough the Cook &The Butler – Gwen,whose office is onboard WELLINGTON canbe contacted on 0207 240 9888 [email protected]

Cruise ShipsThe Association of Cruise Ships Lecturers isseeking former Master Mariners to present4 to 5, forty-five-minute power pointpresentations on topics relating to the seaand other subjects on the world’s cruiseships. The Association founder has, sinceretiring ten years ago, cruised worldwidelecturing with the leading British andAmerican cruise companies on a full andpart time basis.

Associates lecture on a wide range of topicsfrom Astrology to Royalty and have a fullseason ahead. There is an associate’s three-year fee of £125. Should a cruise not beoffered within 12 months a full refund willbe given. There is a daily charge of £15 perperson for the duration of the cruise. TheLecturer may be accompanied by a guestand both will enjoy full passenger status,the best available accommodation and,dependent on the Cruise Line, on board andexcursion discounts. For more information,check their website.

Income Tax Relief on AnnualSubscriptions and LiveryQuarterageThe Honourable Company is approved byHer Majesty’s Revenue and Customs for thepurposes of Section 334 of the Income Tax(Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (whichreplaces the previous legislation). Where amember is employed in a marine or marinerelated occupation, the Annual Subscriptionand Livery Quarterage is allowable as a

Company News


deduction from earnings for tax purposes(but not Freedom or Livery Fines). Section334 is limited to earnings fromemployment, but members who are self-employed receive relief under Schedule D.

For our newer MembersBeing a modern Livery Company issomething special bringing with it a mix ofheritage and traditions of the City as wellas our own seagoing craft. Our Dinners andLunches allow us to display our customsand ceremonies and our dress code servesto support that aim. Firstly, the dress codeBlack Tie means, for men, strictly black andwhite only so that we all look the same(Company Cummerbunds accepted), unlessin military uniform. Wild waistcoats arediscouraged. For ladies, strictly long orcocktail dresses should be worn and ofcourse colour and variety being de rigeur.

The expectation is that all electronicdevices will be turned off – if this rule isbroken I encourage a donation to theWELLINGTON Trust to make up for yourfaux pas! You should not network or leavethe room during the meal; sometime,particularly at ladies’ events, there will be acomfort break after the loyal toast. If youwish to swap business cards or catch upwith a colleague, there is usually anopportunity before and after the event.

There are four major elements at majorCity events:

1 The Rose Water ceremony

2 Sung Grace

3 The Loving Cup ceremony

4 Formal Toasts

You will always see some or all of these atLivery Lunches and Dinners (although thefirst is rarely seen at our events and thesecond never)

The Rose Water ceremony is a mediaevalnicety that is meant to promote cleanlinessand health. The singing of Grace harks backto the most ancient roots of LiveryCompanies being fellowship organisationsthat worshipped together as communities.Finally, the Loving Cup is the first incidenceof health and safety regulations in functionterms! It too is medieval in origin anddesigned to ‘protect the drinker during hissup’. The number of toasts varies but israrely below three; it is not unusual to havesix or seven toasts at a major banquet.

Some are confused regarding the traditionsaround the loyal toast; it is the custom thatat City events glasses should be left on thetable until the toast is actually spoken. Ifmusical accompaniment is available, theNational Anthem may be sung – this can be

confusing as it is sung for the Loyal Toastbut not for the Royal Family. For example,when the Master says “The Queen” all stand,the National Anthem is played andeveryone sings the first verse. The Masterthen repeats “The Queen” and then glassesare raised for the response, which is “TheQueen”. For the second toast, which is tothe Royal Family, we do not sing while thefirst six bars of the national anthem areplayed. Beware, some Companies sing thefirst two verses of the National Anthem;best to practice the second unless you wishto be seen by those opposite to youmouthing like a fish as you pretend to joinin! I am always available for advice!

Social• Curry Lunches on: Friday 28 October2016, Friday 25 November 2016[currently both FULLY BOOKED with awaiting list], Friday 27 January 2017 andFriday 24 February 2017. Members arereminded that guests must conform toour Curry Lunch dress code of jackets andties. A stock of maritime type ties is heldat Reception. Also, that set tables andindividual groups will be called forwardby the Catering Manager when theyshould rise to select their curry lunch.

• The Annual National Service forSeafarer’s at St Paul’s Cathedral onWednesday 12 October 2016 (1700),followed by our traditional Hot PotSupper onboard (1900 for 1930). TheService is usually attended by our PastMaster, HRH Princess Anne and by themajority of the maritime sector inLondon. Tickets should be ordered assoon as possible from the Office. Boththe Service and Hot Pot afterwards, arefor us, our ladies and partners andprivate guests. Members do not have toattend both events. Wardens will bewearing Mid-Morning Dress; CourtAssistants and members, who wish, mayconform, although lounge suit isperfectly acceptable.

• The Ladies’ Night Dinner on Friday 7October 2016 (1900 for 1930). Thisevent is for our Ladies and Partners andwe; private guests are also mostwelcome if there is space available. Thedress is Black Tie so that our Ladies canoutshine us!

• The Member’s Lunch on Friday 18November 2016 (1230 for 1300). Thisevent is for us and private guests (not spouses or partners), where theguest of honour is the (new) LordMayor of the City of London. Wardenswill wear Morning Dress; CourtAssistants and Members, who wish, may

conform, although Lounge Suit isperfectly acceptable.

• The annual Christmas Lunch on Friday16 December 16 (1230 for 1300). Thislunch is for us and our spouses andpartners and the aim is to have fun atour final event of 2016. Santa Claus willbe in attendance once again this year.The dress theme for all is Go for Gold,with a prize for the most extravagant.And, available for collection by pre-order through Alison, is the perfectChristmas Gift, the Company’s ownlabelled delicious Champagne at thespecial price £25.00

WardroomThe Wardroom is available for members andtheir private guests from 0900 until 1700either to relax during busy visits to Londonor to conduct business. You should advise ifyou will be onboard, to prevent congestion.The bar opens from 1230 to 1430, whenthe Chief Bar Steward, Simon, serves a fullrange of drinks and cold and hot food (hotfood should be ordered 24 hoursbeforehand) and is available when Roy thechef is on duty; please check beforehand).

Members are reminded that during baropening hours any formal businessmeetings underway in the Wardroom mustbe put on hold and, that dress for membersand their guests in the Wardroom is jacket(optional in the summer) and tie. A stock ofspare maritime ties is held in Reception.

MerchandiseThe back inside cover shows the revisedCompany (and WELLINGTON Trust)merchandise items including, for thesummer, white or navy blue logoed PoloShirts. I am currently trying to sourcelogoed baseball hats but if any Member hasany proposals for additional merchandiseitems please let the Clerk know.

Library New publications received recently are:

• The Sea Chart (2nd Edition) – John BlakeISBN HB 978-1-8448-6314-3donated by the author

• Sailing Ship to Super Liner – FalmouthDocks – David BarnicoatISBN 978-0-9558914-1-0

• Making Waves – A History of the RoyalYacht Squadron 1815-2015 – Alex MartinISBN-978-1-910787-35-9

• The Battle of the Atlantic – JonathanDimblebyISBN 987-0-241-972-10-6donated by Terence Burke

Company News


Wardroom NotesJohn Johnson-AllenHonorary Wardroom Mess Secretary

The Maritime Charity Ball was a greatsuccess. The weather was, once again,glorious. Tori Freestone’s band, with Kai onvocals, kept the dance floor full and theBollywood themed food was thoroughlyenjoyed. We are still awaiting the final resultso that we can award the cheque to thisyear's charity.

We are already thinking about next year'sBall; we have a tentative theme already butthere is much to do.

It seems slightly odd to be sitting here inshirt sleeves thinking about the ChristmasLunch. However, as I write this, the Olympicsare about to start so the dress theme for thisyear's lunch will be Gold - Go for Gold!Santa will, of course, provide a first line for aLimerick. He has pointed out, yet again, thatwit will be prized above obscenity, but is nolonger surprised when this comment isresolutely ignored in some cases! TheChristmas Lunch does get booked very wellin advance; last year it was fully booked bythe end of October. Book early – you havebeen warned!

The Clerk’s Column will expand on theopening hours of the Wardroom and dresscode. Hot food must be ordered at least 24hours beforehand. It is also advisable toorder sandwiches in advance.

The Wellington TrustCaptain Guy Brocklebank RNChairman of the Trustees

In the education programme we are nowbuilding on the success of the primaryand secondary programs with anextension into 6th form with a focus onScience, Technology, Engineering andMathematics (STEM) from a maritimeaspect using the whole ship as theeducational space were appropriate. Ourinitial STEM meeting had support from anumber of STEM ambassadors and schoolsand there was sufficient enthusiasm toproceed with the project.

We plan to start classes in May 2017. Theship offers a number of opportunities forpractical aspects of STEM for specific studytopics. STEM is also supported by a widerange of organisations so there areopportunities for additional support. Theeducation programme remains a success andis highly praised by the schools who attend.

The lecture programme for the comingyear is finalised and has been published; as always, Members are most welcome to attend.

Medals and Martyrs, our 2016 exhibition,opened on 31 July. It is about the twoMerchant Navy Victoria Cross awards ofWW1 to Captains Blisset Smith and Parsloe,also Cadet Drewy; we also will include thestories of the two martyrs, Captain Fryatt

and Nurse Edith Cavell who were executed.The exhibition has been supported by P&OHeritage which owns many of the associatedartefacts and pictures we will use. They willconduct the majority of the design work.The exhibition will run from July toDecember, similar to our previous exhibitionsfunded by the HLF, but on a smaller scale.

Work on the Wellington Future bid (WEFT),now renamed Welcome OnboardWELLINGTON (WOW), is proceeding with theaim of being ready to apply for funding bythe Heritage Lottery Fund LondonCommittee in September, subject to progresson the Garden Bridge project, or morespecifically our move to the new step-freeberth. As part of the discussions with theGarden Bridge Trust we have agreed to a setof design drawings and illustration of thenew access to be displayed onboard andhopefully it will be mounted soon. However,delays have occurred due to issues over landownership and the date for our ship move isnow looking like early 2017.

We still seek support from Master Marinersto run aspects of the Educationprogramme; the secondary and 6th formintroduces new aspects, closer toprofessional mariner work. We are still alsolooking for volunteer guides again for theMedals & Martyrs exhibition on Sundaysand Mondays. If anyone is interested inmore detail of what is needed, please donot hesitate to get in touch with me.

Wellington TrustHeritage CommitteeGlynn EvansChairman, Heritage CommitteeFrom the Wellington Trust Chairman’s notesin Issue 2/2016 of the Journal you willunderstand that I have assumed the roleundertaken by John Johnson-Allen for overnine years in organising the HeritageLectures. During that time John consistentlypresented a programme of erudite speakersto entertain and educate us, for which ourgrateful thanks. A hard act to follow indeed.

On handing over to me, John, in his usualefficient manner, has already put in placethe programme for this season and beyondso that, in the unlikely event of a lectureyou do not enjoy, blame John not me!

I am, as you may imagine, on the lookoutfor future speakers on maritime relatedsubjects who might continue the traditionof education through an entertainingpresentation. I will be pleased to hear fromany member with offers to fill a slot or

Company News


recommend a speaker whose presentationthey have perhaps enjoyed at another venueEmail: [email protected]

PDC ColumnCaptain Geoff CowapThe Company website has for some timebeen the cause of concern amongstmembers. Our original website was seriouslyhacked some 18 months ago and anemergency update was undertaken. Thisupdate was a necessary fix to ensure thatHCMM had a presence on the web.

The PDC approached the Wardens and theClerk at the end of June with a suggestionthat we should consider a proposal for thedesign and implementation of a newwebsite. The proposal met with a positivereaction and as PDC, I took up the challenge.I was ably assisted in this venture by WardenRobert Booth

The first step was to ask a number ofpertinent questions:1) What is purpose of the website?

2) Who would be the potential visitors?

3) What information should be displayedon the website?

4) What would our members expectfrom a website?

5) What devices would our potentialvisitors be using to access the site?

6) How will we maintain and update thecontent?

Some initial searches for information onwebsite design, enabled me to form aninitial concept on a layout which wouldappeal to visitors such as use of graphicsand images, consistency and layout of pages

and what to avoid, such as too much text,too many menu options, unnecessaryclutter on the home page and, importantly,the physiological impact by subtle use ofcolour and shading. Too many prime colourscan be distracting and confusing, as is acluttered page.

Warden Derek Chadburn suggested that weattended the North East Meeting inNewcastle to put ideas to members of thatOutport. It was decided at that meeting thatthis was such an important issue that themembership at large should be given anopportunity to express their opinions on thedesign and content of a new website. TheMaster and Wardens were all in agreementthat this was a high priority project. Thewebsite is the window on the Company. Itshould convey who we are and what we doto, not only to our own members, but to themaritime community worldwide. The websitemust be attractive, informative and hold theinterest of any visitor.

A google form questionnaire wasdesigned to identify the answers to thoseimportant questions.

A link to obtain that questionnaire wasemailed to the whole membership of theHonourable Company (or at least to all thosewho had an email address).

The link was sent to 179 Liverymen, 357Freemen, 109 members, 2 life members, 172associates and 42 apprentices on theNeptune database - Total of 861 members.

The response was both overwhelming andencouraging. 168 members responded, some20% of the membership which gives arepresentative view of the whole membership.

May I take this opportunity to thank all

those 168 members who responded. It wasyour comments that determined the siteplan of a new website.

There are some interesting results:First, the demography of respondents whichis a good indicator of the whole membership

− 30% are seagoing, of which 30% areMasters

− of the non-seagoing members, 40% areretired and 16% are self-employedconsultants

− 28% are Liverymen, 39% are Freemen,17% are members and 16% areassociates or apprentices

− 99% use email regularly, 53% useLinkedIn, 43% use Facebook, 12% usetwitter, 31% use Skype and 19% useFacebook messenger

The purpose of the Website is to:− Create a window to the world on whowe are and what we do

− Offer an information system formembers.

− Enable members to communicate − Promote information about theHonourable Company.

− Provide an application form for thosewho wish to join.

There are 3 groups of potential visitors:1. Our own members 2. Those with a maritime connection whoare researching the Company

3. Casual visitors who may have beengiven our URL by members or those whocame across us by chance

The one outstanding response to thequestion “which single page or facility wouldyou visit most frequently” is the need foreasy and quick access to a calendar of events

A Baltic Escape

Operation Husky

David Parry MAMonday 10 October 2016

Vanessa JenkinsMonday 14 November 2016

Institute of Seamanship Annual Lecture - No Moon &Night Landings: Special Operations by Sea in World War 2

Rear Admiral John LangMonday 12 December 2016

Heritage Lectures 2016

Robert FitzwilliamsCaptain Bligh

Historic Ships UK

Lt Cdr Beattie VC and the raid on St Nazaire

Monday 9 January 2017

Martyn HeightonMonday 13 February 2017

Nick BeattieMonday 13 March 2017

Heritage Lectures 2017

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Answers to the question “which are the 5most wanted primary pages” revealed 5front runners above all others:1. Events calendar

2. Information about the HonourableCompany - who we are and what we do

3. The Mentoring Scheme

4. Chartered Master Mariner

5. A section for use by members only

The results from the questionnaire haveproved crucial in designing the site map fora new website.

Questions were asked about the need toredesign or add on to what we already hadin the current website. Could our currentwebsite be modified without incurring theexpense of a rebuild which some thoughtcould be unaffordable?

To answer the question of whether or notwe should rebuild or use what we alreadyhave, it was necessary to learn more aboutmodern website design and to understandwhat elements of design were necessary tocreate an attractive and user friendlywebsite that would appeal to all of ourmembership, 75% of whom are currentlyover 50. However, the average age of ourmembership is dropping dramatically andwill continue to do so due to the influx ofyoung associates and apprentices. The useof smartphones to access websites must be amajor consideration and one whichinfluenced the decision to design and build awebsite for a younger membership.

Choosing a DesignerIt is essential that we select a websitedesigner who can deliver and with whom wecan work.

1. The selected company must havetechnical expertise and experienced inprogramming or configuring themodules that build the website and beconversant with the ContentManagement System (CMS) they use.

2. The selected company must have artisticand design expertise and be aware ofpsychological effect of triggers and useof colour to create attractive imagesand graphics that immediately conveythe intended message to the visitor andencourage the visitor to explore thewebsite.

3. The Company must have a solid andproven sustainable business record andbe able to work with the HonourableCompany and provide backup long afterthe web site is launched.

The design of the home page is crucial. Thewhole of the planning and content of the

rest of the website is of no value if thevisitor is not encouraged to delve beyondthe Home Page.

The Home Page must convey the full extentof what the Company is about by use ofscrolling, interwoven, continually changingimages/patterns perhaps inter-mingled witha few key words.

My vision of this Home Page is that it willconvey messages/concepts by subtle use ofdynamic images and colour which leave thevisitor in no doubt as to who we are andwhat we do.

Also on the Home Page will be buttons tolog in (requiring user name and password),option to recover password if forgotten, anda link to Contact us and to How do I join.

NB these links should be available from anypage.

From the Home Page, the visitor will haveaccess to the 5 main themes:

1. Events2. About HCMM 3. Mentoring Scheme4. Chartered Master Mariner 5. A section just for members and onlyvisible if a member has logged in

Switching to any one of these five themeswill open up a whole new vision whichfocuses on each major aspect of what wedo. Both the Events section and theMembers Only section are aimed at our ownmembers whilst About the HCMM willattract a more general audience. Thoseembarking on a career at sea will be mostinterested in the mentoring scheme whilstthe more experienced seafarers and thosewithin the maritime industry who havereached positions of responsibility will bedrawn to the section on the newlydeveloping project on achieving the statusof Chartered Master Mariner.

Five potential designers have beenidentified and each is expected to prepare aproposal and quotation which will bepresented to the Master and Wardens ofthe Company in September and on whoseshoulders rests the responsibility ofselecting the successful bidder.

It is anticipated that the website will be liveon the internet early in January 2017.

Congratulations to the following:• Robert Bellis on achieving a BSc Degree inNautical Science, with First Class Honours,and OOW Certificate of Competency atLiverpool John Moores University. Robertis sponsored by the Conway MerchantNavy Trust Charity whose chairman is

Liveryman Matthew Burrow

• James Edwards on achieving a First ClassHonours Batchelor of Science Degree.James is being mentored by the Master,Captain Flavian D’Souza

• For obtaining Master’s unlimitedCertificate of Competency: Paul Shepherd, James Winterton

• For obtaining Chief Mate’s Certificateof Competency:Paul Askew, Sarah Berry, AnthonyBordoli, Sam Caulkin, Stuart Chapple,Mark Ellis, William Fellows, RobertGoodall, Mark Hart, Rhys Herd, AlastairMazumdar, Alan Pitt, Richard Porter,Jordan Ruse, Michael Stannard, ChrisWilletts, Oliver Wingfield

• For obtaining Officer of the WatchCertificate of Competency:Rachel Arnold, Robert Bellis, JamesEdwards, Scott Edward, Reece Holland,Daniel Pile, Chloe Sandell, Jordan Small,Connor Ward

Ship affiliationsHMS SUTHERLANDCaptain Christopher LaycockFollowing a very busy period of operationsthroughout the period April to July,SUTHERLAND’s team got away from the shipfor some well-earned summer leave.Although much of the Ship’s Company livein and around the Plymouth area, manytook the chance to travel overseas for ashort break. The ship’s company having onlyrecently returned on board; SUTHERLANDhas actually sailed again for a post-leaveshakedown which will allow the ship to beready for whatever challenge comes alongnext. As ever, the taxpayer is most certainlygetting value for money from SUTHERLAND!

HMS SUTHERLAND in action

On top of an extended period at sea,SUTHERLAND has also successfully completeda complex engineering maintenance andupkeep period to ensure the materialreadiness of the Ship for future tasking.

Morale is high and everyone is lookingforward to the coming months which willinclude further periods of operations

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alongside various high profile internationalexercises with our NATO partners and others.

Firefighting training

Four photos are included here from the mostrecent period at sea, but we mustunderstand that much of the detail ofSUTHERLAND’S operations on high alert atthis time is not for our eyes or ears.

Diver training

As ever, SUTHERLAND sends her very bestwishes to the Honourable Company, and islooking forward to having the opportunityto catch up in the near future, and wouldbe delighted to host us on board at asuitable moment.

RIB in action

The HonourableCompany MentoringSchemeSir Nigel Essenhigh, Chairman ofthe Membership CommitteeLieutenant Commander PeterAylott, Chairman of theEducation Training Committee.The Honourable Company’s campaign toswell membership figures by attractingyounger mariners is having considerablesuccess and we now have on our books, oron a waiting list, a record number ofApprentices and Associates.

Those under the age of 21 join theApprenticeship Scheme where they aresupported in achieving the goal of obtainingtheir Masters’ Certificates of Competencywith help and encouragement through theprovision of a Master as their guide. Thistakes place under the rules of the LiveryCompanies’ Apprenticeship Scheme.

However, a much greater number ofapplicants are now over the age of 21 andineligible to join as Apprentices. For them wehave the Associate category of membership.To cater for the needs of that group, theHCMM’s mentoring scheme has evolved tosupport these older applicants who aredesignated as Mentees with their guidesbeing Mentors.

Whilst the number of Mentees continues togrow, Mentors are in short supply to theextent that a waiting list of potentialAssociates has developed and there is someevidence to show that this serves as adisincentive to our young people to join.

Mentoring is not difficult nor is it

exceptionally time consuming. Mentors donot teach or train which is the responsibilityof the colleges and ships’ officers. However,mentors themselves will have experiencedthat journey and can offer a good listeningear, support, guidance and theencouragement that mentees need on theircareer paths to their Masters’ Certificatesand possibly beyond.

Understanding is the key, combined with thelife skills that have been gained over manyyears at sea where conversing andinteracting with diverse cultures and peoplesgenerates invaluable knowledge thatMentors can pass on to their charges. Theimpact of digital technology on theoperation of ships may have altered manytasks, especially on the bridge, but the basicsof seamanship and navigation remain at theheart of our profession. That is exactly thearea where a mentor’s light touch on thehelm can be of great value to an Associate.

We are therefore asking all members if youwould please consider joining the mentoringteam and passing on your invaluable lifeskills. Upcoming mariners who, hopefully, willbe our future members will benefit greatlyfrom your knowledge, calm voice and steadyhand and you can feel justifiably proud ofensuring that the Honourable Company andthe United Kingdom’s proud maritimeheritage will continue into the future.

Mentors find it advantageous to have areasonable knowledge of email and somesocial media, but, particularly in the case ofthe latter, we can provide some simpleassistance to help new mentors.

Please contact Captain Geoff Cowap, theProfessional Development Consultant foradditional detailed information of thescheme. His email is [email protected].

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The life of an HCMMApprenticeJamie EdwardsI was offered the opportunity to shed somelight on the life of an HCMM Apprentice. Iam a newly qualified deck officer who, as acadet, was sponsored by CMA-CGM andstudied at Plymouth University. Mycadetship was split between lectures backat the university and sailing on shipsgaining experience. The university course,like nautical colleges run courses, is anMCA approved course. The course coveredevery aspect required from stability tobridge watchkeeping principles using a fullbridge simulator.

Jamie Edwards

My seagoing experience was on 2 containerships, sailing as part of a multi-national deckcrew. The ratings and junior officers weremainly Filipino and the senior crew wereGerman, Croatian or Montenegrin. My twovessels were CMA CGM BELLINI and CMACGM THALASSA. BELLINI was a 72,500 DWT,280 m LOA, 5,500 TEU container operatingas part of a weekly liner service from Europe,Middle East, India and Pakistan. My secondvessel was CMA CGM THALASSA, which wasa 131,938 DWT, 348 m LOA, 11,038 TEU shipoperating on a liner trade from Europe tothe Middle East and on to Asia. I’ve foundthat working and living on a container shipis a demanding but also rewardingexperience. A particularly fulfillingexperience was helping save 650 Syrianrefugees in the Mediterranean last year.

It was after my second phase that I wassworn in as an Apprentice in the HCMM.Membership to the company has provedboth enjoyable and beneficial; between themembers there is a huge amount ofexperience and knowledge and each timeI’ve stepped onboard the Wellington I havemet someone new who has gone to greatlengths to offer me support and advice. Thementoring scheme is similarly advantageous,having a Master Mariner in place to offer his

views and give advice on importantdecisions is a crucial element of theprogramme. However, I don’t believe it is aone-way street and I feel the scheme is justas useful for the mentors themselves. Amentee can offer different viewpoints andcan provide feedback or opinions on whatlife is currently like for this generation ofseafarers. This opinion can help ensure thatthe Company can continue supporting thegenerations of seafarers at sea.

When starting their cadetship cadets aregiven a Training Record Book (TRB). Thisfolder, among other purposes such as theplace to record sea time or ship particulars,serves to list the many tasks that must becompleted before the cadet can take his finalexam. This TRB is taken in with the cadet,along with the Navigation and OperationsWorkbook (which provides evidence thatthey have completed the aforementionedtasks) to their MCA Oral exam.

The MCA exam, for me anyway, was adaunting experience and despite revising formany weeks beforehand it felt as if I didn’tknow anything. However, I passed andhaving spent another year back at universitycompleting my degree I aim to start sailingthe seas again shortly.

STS LORD NELSON– a busman’s holiday…Jonathan HemingwayAssociate

I qualified from Warsash Maritime Academyin December 2015 with an Officer of theWatch (Unlimited) licence. I decided to fulfila long held ambition and apply to the RoyalFleet Auxiliary (RFA). After extensiveinterviews I was successful and due to starta ten-week training period at BritanniaRoyal Naval College, Dartmouth at the startof June 2016.

London to Greenock May 2016However, at the beginning of May 2016, Ireceived the disappointing news that due tolimited accommodation space at Dartmouthmy intake would be deferred to February2017. I agreed to postpone my entry but thenews of my deferral was not onlydisappointing but it also presented aproblem. At this point, I was in the positionof being a newly qualified officer with nowatchkeeping experience having leftnautical college six months prior.

Therefore, I decided to contact my mentorRobin Mallam and Clerk Angus Menzies toenquire if they knew of any volunteer workthat may be available. Angus fortunately put

me in touch with the Jubilee Sailing Trustwhich offered a Supernumerary OOWposition for two weeks with the prospectupon recommendation to sail in rank asThird Officer for future voyages. Iimmediately took the opportunity andboarded STS LORD NELSON in London. Thiswas to be somewhat a busman's holiday,and it brought back memories - I first sailedon this ship at the age of nine andremember writing a message to the Captainfor a bridge visit. This started my desire towork at sea.

I joined LORD NELSON on the 27th Mayalongside HMS PRESIDENT. Prior to boardingI took the opportunity to visit HQSWellington for a Curry Lunch as a send-offbefore my adventures began. I enjoyedmeeting with other members sharing storiesof their time sailing with the JST.

I was introduced to the crew and settled in.It was then that I met the infamousCaptain Barbara Campbell. I was suitablyinformed that one does not look forCaptain Barbara but to remain in oneposition and you will see her numeroustimes running backwards and forwards. Inaddition, I discovered this was usuallyfollowed by a series of charts trailing in herwake. A few hours later a pre-voyagemeeting was held with the crew to discussthe route. The initial plan was to sailaround the East coast; however, windsbecame northerly and increased so theCaptain decided to follow the West coastto Greenock.

The LORD NELSON is unique as a tall shipbecause it's not classified as a passengership. It takes both disabled and able-bodiedmen and women to sea to teach them howto crew a tall ship. The LORD NELSON is oneof only two tall ships in the world that havebeen purpose built to enable people of allphysical and sensory abilities to take anactive role in sailing.

LORD NELSON usually sails with twelvepermanent crew members who areprofessional seafarers. The voyage crewworks as part of a watch and participates inall aspects of crewing. This could involvesetting sails, washing dishes, helming theship and keeping watch at night. I was naiveat first at the concept of people paying toexperience the delights of waking up for the4-8 watch, washing decks and cleaningplates. However, nearing the end of thevoyage it became clear that the experiencethey gained became invaluable, gaining self-confidence, learning new limits to their owndisabilities, and friendships made would lasta lifetime.


Before the ship can sail, the voyage crewhave to complete basic safety training. Thisincludes; safety talks, familiarizationbriefings, helming, basic seamanship,mooring briefings, harness fittings andunassisted climbs. The first day becomestime constrained for the permanent crew tofulfil all the necessary training before settingsail. After training it became clear howmuch responsibility the voyage crew have ifthe ship is to sail. LORD NELSON cannot sailwith permanent crew alone. The Officersonboard are there in the capacity to directand guide the voyage crew. The experiencethe voyage crew have is completely handson and they undertake tasks which othershipping companies wouldn't allow unlessthey are suitably qualified.

The following day we left HMS PRESIDENTbehind bound for Southend Anchorage andalong the way the voyage crew were taughtbracing (a brace on a square rigged ship is aline used to rotate a yard around the mast).This was the first time I witnessed how theJST managed to bring together a group ofpeople with different disabilities and seethem working as part of a team. Theresponsibility onboard for the OOW isintensified whilst underway mainly due toworking with a crew which may have neversailed before. For example, determining if arisk of collision exists can become difficult ifthe heading is twenty degrees either side ofthe course you're trying to steer. Or lookoutshaving never performed the task before maynot naturally report important informationsuch as fishing marks becoming closer.

After Southend Anchorage we sailed for theIsles of Scilly where we tendered peopleashore. The operation again relied on theteamwork of the voyage crew. Those inwheelchairs were lowered into the DOTI boatvia a block and tackle with the disabled crewmember relying on his fellow crew mate’sstrength to support him.

After leaving Isles of Scilly the ship sailed forDublin, Rathlin Island, Lamlash, Holy Lockanchorage and Greenock. This involved acombination of both sail and enginedepending on the wind direction.

The rest of the voyage was made withoutmuch trepidation apart from an injuredpigeon which continually managed to findits way into the Captain’s cabin. It was onlywhen it flew out from behind the Captain’spaper bin whilst she was seated at her deskthat she ordered it off the ship!

Southampton to Cadiz July 2016(Tall Ship Races)I re-joined the LORD NELSON on the 30th

June in Southampton to sail in rank as ThirdOfficer for four weeks. This would be myfirst voyage sailing in rank and it quicklybecame apparent the sense of responsibilityrequired. As a cadet you are always mindfulthat there is somebody to watch over you.Whilst I was signing Master’s standingorders, logbooks, contracts and SMS I soonrealized there was no-one watching overme. LORD NELSON then set sail towardsAntwerp to partake in the Tall Ship Races.This comprises off a series of legs the firstone being from; Torbay to Lisbon, Lisbon toCadiz and finally Cadiz to A Coruna.

The meeting point for the Race began inAntwerp. Upon arrival I saw a fantastic sightwith over 20 tall ships sailing into the port.Each tall ship had its own unique character;the Mexican naval ship CUAUHTEMOCplayed loud mariachi music. The German sailtraining ship ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLT hasgreen sails. In Antwerp the voyage crew tookpart in the crew parade where all crew fromthe tall ships parade through the city centre.Some crew took this very seriously and woretheir finest uniforms whilst others worefancy dress (including one crew membercovering himself in lifebuoy lights). Upondeparture the ships left for the parade of sailwhere the LORD NELSON was the only tallship under sail for part of the pilotage.

Leaving Antwerp behind we sailed towardsTorbay where the first leg of the race began.In the Dover Straight TSS we encounteredstrong head winds and our speed droppedconsiderably. Captain Richard Cruze took thedecision to enter the ITZ for calmer waters.Upon arrival at Torbay a member of thevoyage crew became ill and had to betransported ashore. I remember a lecturer atWarsash Maritime Academy saying themodern day deck officer consisted ofsunglasses, slick hair and white gloves. Wellthere I was living to that stereotype racingat full speed in the DOTI boat, wind in hairand sunglasses (it was just the James Bondmusic missing). It was critical that the tripashore was fast to cross the start line at ourallocated time.

It was at Torbay that Captain Richarddecided to turn off all navigationalequipment - radar, GPS, speed log, gyroheading, AIS and echo sounder. The onlypieces of equipment that officers wereallowed to use included a chip log (whichthe cadets made), magnetic compass and asextant. The following days consisted of starsights in the evening and early morning withtransferred sun sights during the day withmeridian passage at noon. It was duringpassage that for some reason I contemplatedthe ten situations leading to you calling the

master, in Bridge Procedures Guide. Thefollowing are the two which I had thought Iwould never use but this seemed more likelywith all navigation equipment turned off:

− If, unexpectedly, land or a navigationmark is sighted or a change insoundings occurs

− On failure to sight land, a navigationmark or obtain soundings by theexpected time

Unfortunately, due to the size of LORDNELSONs platforms the ship cannot braceas sharp to the wind as other vessels. Thisresulted in us having to tack the ship twiceto round Finisterre. Despite this effort wemissed the waypoint given by race controlwhich meant we would incur some penalty.However, after rounding Finisterre weheaded south through the TSS. At thispoint the ship was hard up against thewind and on our current course headingfor the separation zone which should beavoided. To avoid being shouted at byFrench VTS we engaged engines and retiredfrom the race. This became a wise decisionbecause it soon became apparent that withlittle winds reducing our speed considerablywe would not arrive on time in Lisbon forthe second leg.

During the passage we encounteredrestricted visibility with fog moving in. Withthe ship underway at four knots, the Captaindecided to hold a man-overboard drill. Thedummy was in sight for all of five minutesbefore losing sight of its position. Stillwithout any navigational equipment therewas no datum point to take reference from.After a fifteen minute fruitless search therescue was abandoned much to the comfortof the voyage crew.

Fortunately, we made landfall at theexpected time. Never before have I maderunning fixes using a distant island, whichbecame a speck on the horizon, for anaccurate fix. Arriving at Lisbon pilotage theCaptain restored the ships navigationalequipment with a sense of relief from thefellow officers.

Lisbon brought some respite before the nextleg of the race towards Cadiz. Departureconsisted of another parade of sail towardsthe race line. Again, a fantastic sight towitness so many tall ships gathered metresfrom each other battling to cross the line.Sailing close to the wind, manoeuvringbecomes intensified when 20 other tall shipsare competing for the same space whencrossing the start line. Tactics becomeimportant and when vessels start overtakingon the windward side then the opportunityto luff them should be seized. Heading south

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brought following winds, although once wealtered eastwards the wind become lightand southwestwardly.

Reaching Cadiz, the LORD NELSON crossed thefinish line having come fourteenth for that legof the race. It was at Cadiz that I signed off.The Spanish Port Authority made the LORDNELSON, once it had docked, walk back anentire ships length then changed their mindand walk it forward another ships length. TheChief Mate upon completion of mooringannounced over the PA system ‘welcome all toSpain a land of organisation’ which summedup my feeling after finishing with the aftmooring station for the final time.

Sailing with the LORD NELSON during thetall ship races has been an incredibleexperience. It has been challenging andrewarding throughout. I became evermoreconfident in my own watchkeepingexperience and found sailing celestiallywithout any navigation equipment a greatopportunity which I probably will never getagain. This sums up the ethos of the JubileeSailing Trust which provides experienceswhich cannot be obtained elsewhere.

By the end of both voyages I had a fullappreciation of the work that the JSTperforms and the opportunities they offer. Ihope that other Associates might follow inmy footsteps to gain valuable experience,which cannot be obtained elsewhere.

Careers at SeaAmbassador Scott EdwardsAssociate Member

I first became a Careers at Sea ambassadorin 2014 as a 2nd year deck cadet andthroughout the proceeding years, I haverepresented myself, the Merchant NavyTraining Board (MNTB) and the MerchantNavy in promoting what we do as seafarersat careers fairs, events, schools and ingeneral day to day life. Our aim asambassadors is to encourage recruitment tothe industry and develop a much deeperunderstanding of what the Merchant Navy isand what it does for the UK, as of course,we are an island nation. Surprisingly when Igo to events, it is quite amazing how manypeople do not realise the impact theMerchant Navy has on everything we needfor our daily lives in the UK.

The voluntary ambassador scheme was setup by the MNTB to use the vast pool ofexperienced and enthusiastic mariners to aidthe continued development of the industry.Many of the current ambassadors are sea-

going but we also have many who are inshore-based positions or are retired. Everyrank is represented allowing us to promoteand educate in all sections of our wonderfulindustry to those learning about it for thefirst time and to those who find themselveswanting more form what they already know.

Scott Edwards - Careers at Sea Ambassador

It is a very rewarding role being able to talkto people about being at sea, and whenpeople do find out what we do, they arefascinated. Recently I found out thatsomeone I had met at an event, which hehad attended and at which I had spoken, isnow a signed up a deck cadet at FleetwoodNautical Campus where he has begun histraining and journey in the maritimeindustry. Which of course is excellent, as forme being an ambassador for a career at sea,it is what I wish to achieve.

With the support from the MNTB and ourpeers the ambassador programme iscurrently the strongest it has ever been. Theambassadors are supported magnificently byeveryone at the MNTB, who provide thematerials and guidance to allow us to dowhat we do best - which is to go out andpromote the industry to the next generationof seafarers.

If you are interested in becoming anambassador, please contact Careers at Seausing the e-mail [email protected]

Seamanship:What is it?John Johnson-AllenChairman, Institute of Seamanship

It is said that the elephant is difficult todescribe but you know one when it’s in theroom. So it seems with seamanship.Yachtsmen all know an exhibition of goodseamanship when they see it: comingalongside perfectly in challengingconditions; riding out the gale safe and snug

with the storm sail set and sea anchor out;that tiddly bit of ropework. Big ship sailorsknow it too: Commodore Warwick puttingthe QE2 alongside in New York without tugs;warships replenishing at sea with a carrieron one side and a destroyer the other; thecoaster winding ship in a river with the bowin the mud.

The maritime historian, Academic andMaster Mariner, Alston Kennersley ofPlymouth University quotes the Sailors'Word Book: An Alphabetical Digest ofNautical Terms (London 1867, 1991) asgiving us a definition of a seaman thatmatches this Victorian conceit:

“Seaman: this is a term seldombestowed among seafaring men upontheir associates, unless they are knownto be pre-eminent in every duty of thethorough-paced tar.”

So does seamanship change withtechnology? Or, because today’s seamen nolonger need to (and probably cannot) hand,furl and reef, does that mean they are less ofa seaman, less knowledgeable aboutseamanship, than their forebears? Or are thefundamentals of seamanship timeless: theability to manage a vessel in all its aspects?

If the seaman of yesteryear had to knowhow to maintain rigging, handle boats undersail and oar, tack, wear, reach, and box thecompass in quarter points, is the seaman oftoday any less a seaman because he canhandle epoxy and resin, use GPS, ARPA,ECDIS and rely on a gyro?

And what about the elements? They haven’tchanged. But does having the ability tosafely manage a 400-ton barque in a neargale make the master a better seaman thanthe master of a VLCC pushing aside anAtlantic swell?

What then, is a seaman? And what is thedefinition of seamanship?

For the first let’s revert to Alston Kennersleyagain for he also provides us with someformal definitions from The Shorter OxfordEnglish Dictionary on Historical Principles(London, 3rd ed., 1983):

Mariner: sailor, seaman; in law anyoneemployed on a ship (17C)

Sailor: one who is professionallyoccupied in navigation; a seaman,mariner; also a member of a ship'scompany below the rank of officer (17C)

Seaman: one whose occupation is on thesea; a sailor as opposed to a landsman.Also one skilled in navigation; a sailorbelow the rank of officer (old English)

Seafarer: a traveller by sea; one whoselife is spent in voyaging; a sailor (16C)

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A sailor is a seaman and a seaman is a sailor,they are both mariners and all are coveredby the generic Seafarer’ – which probablyprovides a useful nomenclature for today toavoid the gender specific Seaman.

Nicholl’s considers itself an academic bookon seamanship - and the latest edition wasrevised by one of our members, Past MasterCaptain Graham Pepper - so that saysgoodbye to any idea that seamanship is awholly practical art. But it does tell us thatthe ideal seaman is he who says and doesthe proper thing in just the proper way andat the proper time – useful qualities in anyprofessional or social environment. But itcontinues to provide us with a qualificationof that statement with the ideal seamanbeing person who has developed sea senseand nautical sagacity.

The Seamanship Handbook was the biblefor the Efficient Deckhand – those whowere commonly referred to as theseamen. However, it doesn't say what aseaman’s job is other than to say that theseaman is “called upon to play a part inthe smooth running of the floatingcommunity of which he is temporarily amember”. Every yachtsman, superyachtsman, mercantile seaman or navalperson can relate to that – but it doesn’treally get us any further forward.

So, what does the Admiralty have to say?Surely they will make sure everything isclearly defined – it’s a militarycharacteristic. But alas NO! Not a sniff ofa definition. Clearly, the Admiraltypresumes that everyone knows what aseaman and seamanship is – it’s theelephant in the room.

So where do we go from here? Well in 2003a group of people with a common interest inseamanship came together to exchangeviews, ideas and initiatives to maintain,encourage and advance the practice ofseamanship. Out of the early conversationscame the formation of the Institute ofSeamanship with the following aims:

• To promote seamanship througheducation and training as a practicalskill that requires both knowledge andcommon sense

• To encourage professional and amateurseamen to extend their seamanship skillsand experiences and adopt soundseamanship practices

• To advance the research into, andknowledge of, the history, presentpractices and future possibilities of seamanship

The founding fathers also had a go at theirdefinition of seamanship as: the practicalskills required to manage and handle a shipor boat effectively and safely.

Note that there is no academic aspect asespoused by Nicholl’s here and nonavigation as mentioned by The ShorterOxford English Dictionary on HistoricalPrinciples. So how good a definition is it?

It may be semantics, but seamanship is suchan important, ubiquitous, omnipresent skillof all seafarers that it deserves some clarityto quantify its omnipotence over all types,grades and category of seafarer and everyclass, type and use of vessel.

If you would like to join that debate you’llfind the Institute, whose President is RearAdmiral John Lang, (Freeman of theHonourable Company, Pangbourne, P&O, theRoyal Navy and former Chief Inspector ofMAIB) very worthwhile joining. Cost ofmembership is £25 per annum.

We publish a quarterly Journal (which somemay have seen in the wardroom), have anannual lecture - which is part of the HeritageEvening series - an annual lunch and arrangeannual visits: recent visits have included thesmack Excelsior, and a visit to the MarinePolice HQ at Wapping. About a dozenmembers of the Honourable Company arealready members, including 3 Past Masters.

For details of membership, contact: DavidParry (Membership Secretary) [email protected] or me([email protected] )

HMNZS WELLINGTONupdateEnsign Nick O’LearyAs HMNZS WELLINGTON (WGN) exited theRangitoto Channel on the 18th July, a lot ofour ship’s company would have been sayinggoodbye to our loved ones, our friends andthe lifestyles they have established at homefor the second time this year.

HMNZS WELLINGTON

The next chapter in WGN’s very busy 2016 isOP CALYPSO 16/02, a six-week operation upinto the South-West Pacific, visiting fourcountries and ranging from Auckland tobeyond the equator. The main purpose ofOP CALYPSO is assisting our Pacific partnersin Resource Border Protection Operations,this essentially means patrolling theExclusive Economic zones (EEZ) of ourpartners, tracking down foreign fishingvessels and inspecting cargos forinfringements, such as illegal equipment,unreported catches and keeping on thelookout for any other illegal behaviours.

Throughout our patrols we have embarkedFisheries Officers and Police Officers fromVanuatu, the Solomon Islands, and Nauru.These officers participate in the planning forany boarding operations and accompanyWGN’s boarding teams for fishing vesselinspections. The benefits of working togetherwith our partners in these operations areinvaluable to both parties, the foreignFisheries Officers receive boarding traininginto the way New Zealand does things, andtheir Governments receive a lot of assistancepolicing their waters which would otherwisebe unpatrolled and ripe for exploitation byforeign fishing companies. On the otherhand, we gained a lot of insight from theminto how they operate in their countries, wereceive assistance in conducting boardingoperations and importantly to the crew, weget to have port visits throughout the trip,into countries that many people may nevervisit if not for this job.

The first two weeks of OP CALYPSO werespent in the Waters of Vanuatu, throughoutthese weeks the ship had two port visits, oneinto Port Vila, Capital of Vanuatu and oneinto Luganville, also known as Santo.Throughout this time numerous boardingswere conducted, we operated with the RoyalSolomon Islands patrol vessel AUKI and Ship’sCo. were able to have some rest and respiteand were afforded the opportunity to visitmany activities which Vanuatu has to offer.

On completion of the visit into Luganville,WGN headed north into Solomon Islands

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waters to begin our patrols there. We spentanother week at sea conducting boardingsand transiting throughout all of theSolomon Islands northern waters. Oncompletion a port visit into Honiara, locatedon Guadalcanal Island, awaited us. Themajority of the crew had the weekend offand many took the opportunity for fishing,diving and to visit many of the memorialslocated on the island, dedicated to the fiercefighting that took place on the islandsthroughout World War Two between Japanand the Allies.

Our visit happened to coincide with the74th anniversary of the first landings ontoGuadalcanal Island, by the U.S Marines inthe Guadalcanal Campaign and the 74thanniversary of what is now known as theNaval Battle of Savo Island, which occurredoff the coast of Guadalcanal in which manythousands of sailors and soldiers from boththe Allies and Japan lost their lives in thebattle during which Iron Bottom Soundearned its name.

On departing Honiara WGN stopped atopthe final resting place of the originalHMAS CANBERRA, an Australian vesselwhich was lost in the battle. A smallceremony was conducted onboard by theAustralian members of our ships Co. andwas a poignant reminder of the lossessuffered by ourselves and our closest alliesin the Pacific War.

We now find ourselves on transit towardNauru for our final week long fisheriespatrol with a lot of the Ships companiesattention on our next big event – Thecrossing the line ceremony, in which oncrossing the Equator for the first timemembers of Ship’s company are welcomedinto King Neptune’s Court.

Afterward one final Port Visit in NewCaledonia awaits us and then the four-daypassage home in which we will be travellingin company with the FNS VENDEMAIRE, aFrench Navy frigate based in New Caledonia.

The SW Outport visitto the UKHydrographic OfficearchiveCommodore Bob ThorntonChairman SW Outport

On what was the hottest day of the yearthus far (32°C) warm welcomes wereguaranteed as the SW Outport greeted TheMaster, a Past Master and our learned Clerk,who joined us on a glorious 19th July for

lunch and a visit to the UK HydrographicOffice Archive in Taunton.

Lunch in the conservatory of a convenientpub felt rather more like Singapore thanTaunton, but was nonetheless enjoyed by allas we chatted with members of The Bristoland West Outport, several partners and I’mdelighted to report, our hosts for the visit,Doctor Adrian Webb and 3 of his team fromUKHO. Lunch with our hosts was an inspiredway to begin, as conversation flowed freelyand made the later visit much more relaxed,focussed and interesting for all.

Once lunch was finished, the executivesignal travel in convoy was given. Thefamiliar manoeuvring for position in the carpark ensued and rather surprisingly, orderwas eventually created from chaos, withoutrecourse to semaphore, flags, or secure voice,although there were a few flashing lightssignals. The convoy surely proved its worthonce more, as we arrived without the loss ofa single unit to mine, submarine, or airthreat, although there may have been someunreported close calls with hostile surfaceunits in areas of heavy traffic!

Once arrival formalities were complete wewere gathered around a series of large tablescovered with some of Captain Cook’soriginal charts derived from his surveys ofNew Zealand and the East Coast of Australiaduring his legendary voyages of exploration.James Cook has always been foremostamong my seafaring heroes and what aprivilege to gaze upon those documents andwonder at his skill, determination, courage,leadership and many other attributesbesides. The value of his work in so manyfields was brought into sharp focus and

what a pity that we had only hours and notdays to ponder! Other archive materialdisplayed for us included original surveys ofareas close to our homes from South Walesto Cornwall and on to Southampton –someone had done their homework anddeserves top marks for it – thank you andwell done indeed.

Conservation and preservation of fragilepaper charts is a skill that few possess, itbeing something of a cross between art andscience, applied with patience, respect andlove of the job. (Plea from conservator –“Don’t put your coffee mug or tankard ofporter on the chart” – as if we would!) (Canwe use an ECDIS display instead?)

With the thermometer high, it was a joy toenter the temperature controlled andregulated humidity of the archive, wherehundreds of thousands of hydrographic andnavigational records dating from 1755 arestored. This collection represents one of themost complete maritime collections of itstype in the world and long may it remainso. We spent a couple of hours ponderingjust 5x10-3% of the collection; imaginehow much more time would be needed tosatisfy curiosity!

Our sincere thanks go to Dr Adrian Webband his staff who went an extra mile tomake us very welcome and provide us allwith an unforgettable afternoon’s visit tothe UKHO. As Chair, I also extend our sincerethanks to The Master and Clerk for joiningthe SW Outport for the very first time andof course, to Vivien Foster, our Secretary,who does a sterling job of arranging andorganizing we sailor folk – Thank you all.

Clyde Outport visitto Rosyth DockyardHew R DundasOn 19th August 2016, Capt. Stuart Millar(Hon. Sec. Clyde Outport) (plus 2 guests) ledan intrepid band of HCMM stalwarts(Captains Kelso, Bailey, Smith and Griffiths,

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Cdr Brown (RN retd), Professor Milne, ChiefEngineer (retd) Aitken and Liveryman HewDundas on an expedition to RosythDockyard to see HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH inthe flesh. Past Master Captain and MrsMunro were to have joined us but were,sadly, prevented by indisposition.

It was an opportunity to hear details ofthis extraordinary 2-carrier project wherethe expected service lives of the ships are50+ years. As the then First Sea Lord saidin a video interview, the final CO of HMSPRINCE OF WALES (likely decommissioningdate 2072+) has almost certainly not yetbeen born.

No doubt in a warm-up for the two ships’deployment of their military capacities, theHCMM team was bombarded with statisticsbut what might have otherwise been OTTand/or sterile in that regard was brilliantlybrought to life by Babcock’s StephenMacKenzie, our exceptional guide (known as‘JJ’), whose huge depth of knowledge wasmatched by the brilliance and humour ofhis delivery; the Clyde Outport greatlywelcomes this opportunity to place onrecord our warmest thanks for such awonderful performance.

After coffee and biscuits, JJ summarised thehistory of Rosyth Dockyard from its originsin 1902 (its official opening was in 1915); itwas involved in supporting the Battle ofJutland in WW1 and HMS HOOD was adistinguished visitor both in 1920 and in1941, the latter immediately before her final,fatal, voyage to intercept BISMARCK andPRINZ EUGEN in the Denmark Strait.

Interestingly, we heard that the entiredockyard area is reclaimed land. Further, ithas three large graving docks and isprobably the largest non-tidal basin inEurope. Built elsewhere in the 1960s, at theheight of the Cold War, several of thePolaris-carrying Dreadnought class nuclearsubmarines (including HMS DREADNOUGHT,HMS REVENGE, HMS REPULSE, HMSCHURCHILL and HMS SWIFTSURE) are nowat Rosyth for decommissioning but, withthat programme on hold, they still requiredry-docking every five years. The presentproject for two QE class carriers kicked off in2002 and HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH isexpected to leave Rosyth in March 2017 forsea trials.

The first steel for HMS QUEEN ELIZABETHwas cut by HRH The Princess Royal on 7thJuly 2009 and we at Clyde Outport wereunaware (but not entirely surprised to hear)that revered lady possessed such skills.

For those who don’t like statistics, doze offnow or ignore the next paragraph:

The two carriers are 280m long, 70m beamand 56m high with an 11.2m draught (threetimes the size of HMS ILLUSTRIOUS on whichI was privileged to sail recently); theydisplace 65,000T (the largest ships ever builtfor the RN), usually operate with crew of 680but can accommodate 1,600, have a topspeed of 25 knots (necessary to allow thefighters to take off as there are no catapults).

The fighters will be 40 F35Bs (known asLightning 2s) by Lockheed-Martin whichhave VTOL capability. Interestingly thedowndraught from the F35B’s engines in VTmode is 600ºC so the paint for the flightdeck cannot be sourced from B&Q orHomeBase but is a sprayed-on metalliccompound based on titanium.

No less interestingly, the magazines arefully-automated and there is no humaninvolvement until the actual loading orfitting of weaponry to the aircraft. The shipsalso carry Merlin and Apache helicopters.

On a different tack, the ships are dividedinto three wholly separate firezonesseparated by massive steel curtains. Theflight deck can carry 470 London buses. Theships have 1,500,000 m2 of paintedsurfaces. They have an operational range of10,000 nm. 75% of overall project costs(but 94% of the steel and 100% of theelectrics) have been sourced with UKsuppliers and 800 apprentices and >10,000adults were employed.

Of course, we were not allowed on boardbut could view HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH atreasonably close range from the other sideof the dockyard from a small display areawith storyboards and a detailed model(approx. 1:400) of the ship. We also saw twocompelling video films, one making excellentuse of time-lapse photography to show theassembly of the huge (up to 10,000T) unitsconstructed elsewhere (all within the UK).

It was impossible not to be overwhelmed bythe combination of, the enormousmagnitude of the project, the brilliance ofthe technology, the boldness of the concept- a warship with a 50+ year life – and much,much more.

All-in-all, a profoundly impressive visit,which will live in our minds for a long timeto come.

This truly wonderful visit was rounded offby lunch in the wardroom at HMSCaledonia with the arrangements havingbeen made by Cdr Steve Brown, recentlyretired from the RN.

I close with the warmest thanks to our Hon.Sec, to Cdr Brown, to the outstanding JJand, of course, to Babcocks.

Latest NewsWorld’s First UKHOapproved Appproviding officialpaper chartcorrection serviceAs part of their ongoing mission to enhancenavigation standards in the maritimeindustry, on 1 September 2016 thenavigation management company Da GamaMaritime (DGM), launched their new VascoApp. Having been accepted by the UnitedKingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) asmeeting the rigorous standards to provideofficial paper chart corrections, this is thefirst means by which the information isprovided to the mariner via an electronictablet device.

The team at DGM are all mariners with over130 year’s combined navigation experienceand therefore utilised their background aswell as working with trusted clients togenerate an efficient and easy to use appwhich provides simple flexibility in chartoutfit maintenance. As a distributor ofUKHO products it was evident to DGM thatit was not necessary to incorporate any ofthe Admiralty Digital Publications (ADP’s) asupdates to these are already available free ofcharge from the UKHO through e-mail andthe internet.

In what is believed to be another industryfirst, the Vasco app has been developed toallow for multiple copies of the same chartto be recorded in the system. This makes itideal for training academies to keep a recordof the correction state of every chart evenwhen they have many copies of the sameone for their students, or for vessels whichhave routes inked in on copies of the samechart for regular routes in or out of port.Each copy of the chart can be given aunique tag or label to identify them.

Folios within the app can be generated toeither UKHO recommended folio listings, asunique named custom folios to that vesselor both.

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With the Vasco app available from theApple iTunes or Google Play store, it can bedownloaded free of charge straight to anytablet and once an account has beensubscribed to through DGM, the marinercan get straight on and start correctingtheir outfit without any software having tobe mailed to the ship or engineer sent toinstall it.

Further information can be found at:www.vascoapp.com

Sea piracy drops to21-year lowPiracy and armed robbery at sea has fallento its lowest levels since 1995, despite asurge in kidnappings off West Africa,according to a new report from theInternational Chamber of Commerce’sInternational Maritime Bureau (IMB).

IMB's global piracy report shows 98incidents in the first half of 2016, comparedwith 134 for the same period in 2015. Whenpiracy was at its highest, in 2010 and 2003,IMB recorded 445 attacks a year.

In the first half of 2016, IMB recorded 72vessels boarded, five hijackings, and afurther 12 attempted attacks. Nine shipswere fired upon. Sixty-four crew were takenhostage onboard, down from 250 in thesame period last year.

Captain Pottengal Mukundan, Director ofIMB said:

"This drop in world piracy is encouragingnews. Two main factors are recentimprovements around Indonesia, andthe continued deterrence of Somalipirates off East Africa

But ships need to stay vigilant, maintainsecurity and report all attacks, as thethreat of piracy remains, particularly offSomalia and in the Gulf of Guinea.”

Nigeria is the world’s piracy kidnappinghotspot. Despite global improvements,kidnappings are on the rise, with 44 crewcaptured for ransom in 2016, 24 of them inNigeria, up from 10 in the first half of 2015.Said Captain Mukundan:

"In the Gulf of Guinea, rather than oiltankers being hijacked for their cargo,

there is an increasing number of incidentsof crew being kidnapped for ransom.”

The Gulf of Guinea accounted for sevenof the world's 10 kidnapping incidents,with armed gangs boarding vessels 30 to120 nm from shore. Nigerian attacks areoften violent, accounting for eight of thenine vessels fired upon worldwide. IMBsays many further assaults go unreportedby shipowners.IMB reported two further kidnap incidentsoff Sabah, where tugs and barges weretargeted. And in early June, a tug and bargewere hijacked off Balingian, Sarawak inMalaysia and its palm oil cargo stolen."This drop in world piracy is encouragingnews. Two main factors are recentimprovements around Indonesia, and thecontinued deterrence of Somali pirates offEast Africa," said Captain Mukundan.Low-level theft to ships at anchor has beenbrought down by introducing designatedanchorages with improved security. This hascontributed to a fall in the number ofincidents in Indonesia to 24 in the first sixmonths of 2016, compared with 54 in thesame period in 2015.IMB also applauded the Indonesian Navy'sprompt response in recovering a hijackedproduct tanker, south of Pulau Serutu, offwest Kalimantan in May, saying: "This isexactly the type of robust response requiredin response to such threats." Nine pirateswere apprehended and the crew of thetanker unharmed.IMB’s global Piracy Reporting Centre hassupported the shipping industry, authoritiesand navies for 25 years. It is the world's onlyindependent office to receive reports ofpirate attacks 24-hours-a-day from acrossthe globe. IMB strongly urges all shipmasters andowners to report all actual, attempted andsuspected piracy and armed robberyincidents to the local authorities as well asthe IMB Piracy Reporting Centre. This firststep in the response chain is vital toensuring that adequate resources areallocated by authorities to tackle piracy.Transparent statistics from an independent,non-political, international organization canact as a catalyst to achieve this goal.

Minister announcescommencement ofnew powers in theModern Slavery ActThousands of law enforcement officersacross the United Kingdom will be

empowered to join the fight against modernslavery at sea using new powers in theModern Slavery Act which come into forceon 8 August 2016.

The new powers will enable officers fromBorder Force, police forces and the NationalCrime Agency (NCA) to board and searchvessels, seize evidence and arrest offenders,where it is suspected that modern slavery istaking place.

Officers will be able to intercept vessels withreasonable grounds, arrest offenders andrescue victims from ships in UK waters.

Minister for Vulnerability, Safeguarding andCountering Extremism Sarah Newton said:

“Modern slavery is a crime that ripsvictims from their families, trappingthem in a cycle of abuse at the hands ofruthless gangs.

Officers from the Shetlands to the Islesof Scilly now have the power to arrestoffenders and protect victims from thisabhorrent crime whether on board aship or on our shores.

Our message is clear – the UK is takingaction to protect victims.”

Offenders arrested at sea for modernslavery offences now face up to lifeimprisonment for their crimes under theModern Slavery Act.

The new powers are in addition to thesupport announced by the government theprevious week, including a new taskforce tocoordinate cross-government action, £33.5million in official development assistancefunding and a HMIC inspection to assesspolice response to modern slavery.

Over 2013 and 2014, the NCA identified 37potential victims of modern slavery whoreported exploitation in the maritimeindustry. Victims onboard vessels will bebrought to the mainland and will be able toaccess tailored care and support through theNational Referral Mechanism, as part of thegovernment’s national care and coordinationcontract administered by the Salvation Army.

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Project MARTHA onsea fatigue- the findings Captains suffer from fatigue and stress morethan their crews; fatigue can result in longterm physical and mental health issues;motivation decreases over the length of thevoyage; and night watchkeepers getsignificantly less total sleep than others onboard, according to the latest research onseafarer fatigue.

These were just some of the key findingsfrom MARTHA - the international researchstudy into short term sleepiness and longterm fatigue of seafarers - discussed anddebated by the UK shipping industry at aseminar and workshop, held at Warsash on28 June 2016.

Hosted by the Project’s lead partner,Southampton Solent University, MARTHA’spartners from Sweden, Denmark, China andthe UK presented some of their findings,followed by a workshop to get feedbackfrom industry and University staff.

Project MARTHA workshop

Funded by the TK Foundation, the $1millionthree-year project gathered a large databaseof new information from over 1,000seafarers, and carried out a field study ofover 100 seafarers working at sea worldwide.The study has collected data on their fatiguelevels, sleep patterns and psychologicalwellbeing. Of particular importance was theuse of Actiwatches for extended periods,which volunteers wore to register theirperiods of activity and sleep.

Attendees from the industry – including theMCA, MAIB, ITF, Lloyd’s Register, IMarEST, theUK Chamber of Shipping and Shell – wereparticularly interested in the impact of longvoyages on sleep patterns, including bothsleep quantity and sleep quality.

Claire Pekcan, Associate Professor atWarsash, who worked on the actigraphyanalysis with Dr Anne Hillstrom of theUniversity of Southampton, said:

“The actigraphy analysis has been

particularly interesting anddemonstrates how the overall amountof sleep decreases over time on board,and how the quality of sleep, asmeasured through disturbances to sleep,increase the longer crew are on board.”

Other important issues covered during theseminar included the differences inperception of fatigue between seafarersmanaged by European companies andChinese owned companies, and the effectsof port visits on workload and fatigue.

Speaking after the event, the partnerleading the dissemination activities, CaptainKuba Szymanski, Secretary General ofInterManager, said:

“Other workshop events for managersand seafarers are planned in theautumn in locations like Singapore andManila, and the outcomes of theseworkshops will be used as a basis for apublication of all the main findingstowards the end of the year”.

Speaking about the future impact of thestudy, Emeritus Professor Mike Barnett said:

“The shipping industry has beenfollowing MARTHA’s progress withconsiderable interest as the momentumfor revising the guidance on fatigue hasgrown at the International MaritimeOrganization (IMO).

The findings from MARTHA are anticipatedto have an influence on the eventualguidelines to be published by IMO.”

To request a copy of the full report uponpublication please register your interest [email protected].

Naval Officersexperience life withthe Merchant NavySub Lieutenants Alex Snow and MarkWalker, of HMS Collingwood, recently tookadvantage of the Royal Navy’s MerchantNavy Liaison Voyage scheme.

On a voyage with Geest Line they joined MVAGULHAS STREAM on a voyage which tookthem across the Caribbean, visiting placessuch as St Lucia, Martinique and Antigua.

Met by Geest Line’s Port OperationsManager, former Lieutenant CommanderVince Noyce, on day one, the officers weregiven a comprehensive view of the ship’sprogramme, how the ship ran and how thecompany operated, before taking to theircabins for a good night’s rest prior todeparting Portsmouth to begin their journey.

Their first port of call was Le Havre where

they witnessed for the first time the franticpace of container operations as four vastcranes loaded and unloaded as manycontainers as quickly as possible.

For the next part of their journey as theybegan to cross the Atlantic, the Officersfamiliarised themselves with the sextant andastro publications on board and got aroundthe ship, talking to crew and performingsafety rounds.

With the weather improving as they sailedwest they were able to fully embrace thenavigation training they'd previouslyreceived and observe the Captain of the shipin action.

When asked about his experience SubLieutenant Walker said:

“We’d like to give special thanks tothe Merchant Navy Liaison Voyage(MNLV) staff, Vince Noyce and MasterJose Trimanez.

We learnt a great deal and had a veryenjoyable time – a career highlight.”

The Merchant Navy Liaison Voyage (MNLV)scheme offers all Royal Navy, Royal Marineand Royal Navy Reserve personnel theopportunity to serve on deep-seainternational voyages on-board MerchantNavy Vessels in order to gain widerfamiliarisation and experience of commercialshipping operations.

The scheme is being supported by a selectfew Merchant Navy companies at the toplevel of the commercial sector.

Voyages range from a week to two months’duration and are administered through theRoyal Navy’s Merchant Navy Liaison Officer.

Sub Lieutenants Alex Snow and MarkWalker with Captain Jose Trimanez

RFA WAVE KNIGHT- reassuring theoverseas territoriesAfter taking over the Atlantic Patrol Tasking(North) from HMS MERSEY, in July 2016,RFA WAVE KNIGHT has begun her duties of

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reassuring the overseas territories and ifrequired, providing humanitarian anddisaster relief during the hurricane season.

RFA WAVE KNIGHT at anchor

With the Caribbean still largely devoid oftropical storms – despite the advent ofthe hurricane season – the disaster reliefteam aboard WAVE KNIGHT havecontinued community work on theirisland-hopping deployment.

Anguilla became the latest British OverseasTerritory to benefit from voluntary efforts ofthe soldiers and marines especially embarkedupon the tanker for humanitarian aid duties.

The WISE school, which provides aneducation for youngsters aged 12-17 whowould otherwise struggle academically,needed some considerable TLC.

Anguilla WISE School

The tanker team set aside two days to installfans in classrooms – there’s no airconditioning in the building – removed adangerous bannister leading to the mainentrance, fitted catches to the woodenshutters on windows to prevent themslamming shut continuously and finallypainted the walls, floors and ceilings, helpedat times by some of the students.

The pupils, said WAVE KNIGHT’scommunications officer Chris Marchant,“expressed overwhelming appreciation forus being there and said that it made themfeel so special to have us doing thesethings for them.”

Anguilla is twice the size of Portsmouth butwith a population of fewer than 15,000. Putsimply, it would be overwhelmed should itbear the full force of a hurricane.

Two days of valuable exercises with the

Anguilla Department of DisasterManagement were held to testcommunications while island authoritiesplayed out a table-top disaster exercise toplan a coordinated response to anearthquake hitting the island.

Natural disaster is a possible rather thanclear and present danger on Anguilla, unlikegun crime which is on the increaseaccording to the island’s policecommissioner, who asked for assistance intraining his men.

Step forward Royal Marine and skill-at-armsinstructor L/Cpl Joshua Howell-Williams,who spent a day with the island’sconstabulary, inspecting their weapons andadvising them on the ranges.

Anguilla Police Boat

It wasn’t the only help the police receivedfrom WAVE KNIGHT because the radio ontheir launch was out of action – and, asfour volunteers from the ship found,beyond repair. Being good eggs, theyfitted a new one, plus aerial, and tested itwith a successful communications checkwith the tanker!

Ports NewsTransport Ministervisits Liverpool2development

Chris Grayling MP met with operators PeelPorts to view the latest developments atthe £400m investment in Liverpool’s deep-water container terminal

The new Secretary of State for Transport,Chris Grayling, visited the Port ofLiverpool on 5 August 2016 to view thelatest developments at its containerterminal, Liverpool2.

The visit provided an opportunity for theMinister to view progress on the project,which started handling its first containersin July 2016 as part of trials ahead of aphased opening throughout the summer.The Liverpool2 project forms part of awider £750 million investment programmeinto biomass, steel, port-centricwarehousing and infrastructure by PeelPorts at its sites in Liverpool and along theManchester Ship Canal.

The Minister met Peel Ports’ ChiefExecutive Mark Whitworth to discuss theimportance of investment in the north andissues on transport integration andinfrastructure improvements to improvefreight connectivity between the port andmajor logistics centres. Once completed,the port giant’s developments will createjobs and contribute to the rebalancing ofthe UK economy.

Mark Whitworth, CEO of Peel Ports, said: “We very much welcome the Minister’sinterest, which maintains thegovernment’s support for our efforts tofacilitate UK trade through this keycargo gateway. The timing of the visit isparticularly opportune given the recentarrival of the first containers at the portduring our marine trials. With fullopening now imminent, we will soon beable to offer companies ship-to-dooraccess to the heart of the UK market viathe biggest container ships in the world.”

Commenting on the visit Mr Grayling said: “The major investment we are makingin transport across the North West willimprove journeys for local people aswell as helping industry grow acrossthe region.

This is part of our plan to invest in theNorth, and make an economy thatworks for everyone – not just theprivileged few – by ensuring economicprosperity is spread throughout thecountry. Better infrastructure is likely toboost productivity.”

Sheerness expansionplans on show toThames growthcommissionLord Heseltine, government local growthadviser and chair of the Thames Estuary2050 Growth Commission, has welcomedthe potential of the Port of Sheerness tocontribute further to economic developmentin the area.

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The Commission’s delegation metrepresentatives of the port’s operators, PeelPorts, to hear about the company’s vision fornew infrastructure on the River Medway.

The visit included a tour of the port, whichcurrently handles around 1.4m tonnes perannum in bulk cargo and car importation,providing around 600 jobs. Peel Ports has along-term plan to reclaim up to 125hectares for expansion, mixed usedevelopments and a new marina.

The delegation also heard about plans tocreate new logistics facilities, including arailhead, at the site of the formerThamesteel plant which shut in 2012. Thetour ended with a visit to the formerDockyard Church and Naval Terrace, whichform part of the historic port and could bereleased for public access, boosting heritagetourism and providing communitydevelopment opportunities.

Paul Barker, Port Director at Peel PortsLondon Medway, which includes Sheerness,welcomed the visit, saying:

“We see very exciting possibilities for thewhole area, building on the strategicopportunities presented by oursuccessful port and other majorinfrastructure developments close by.

While there is much to be pleased aboutalready, I’m very confident that we canaim even higher by working together tomake the most of our shared vision forthe Medway economy.

Lord Heseltine and his colleagues on theCommission can make a majorcontribution to the process byfacilitating the public sector leadershipand investment necessary for privatecompanies such as ours to flourish.”

The Thames Estuary 2050 GrowthCommission was announced in March 2016.It has been tasked with developing anambitious vision and delivery plan for NorthKent, South Essex and East London up to2050. The Commission will, by March 2017,produce an interim report setting out itsvision for the region. It will then report backto the Chancellor by Autumn Statement2017 with a clear and affordable deliveryplan for achieving its vision.

The port of Sheerness, along with the portof Chatham, forms the core of Peel Ports’London Medway cluster. The companyhandles a range of cargo along the 27 milestretch of the Rivers Medway and Swale,including forest products, steel and cars.

In June, Peel Ports opened new grain loadingfacilities at Sheerness in partnership withmultinational commodities giant Glencore,opening up new opportunities for farmers inKent and Sussex.

The River Medway has the largest catchmentarea in Southern England, with deep-wateraccess and onward connection by road, railand water.

Port of Cardiffwelcomes cruisepassengers to the city

MS BRAEMAR arriving at Queen AlexandraDock, Cardiff on 10 August 2016

ABP Cardiff welcomed two cruise vesselsthrough its lock gates this week providing agateway for over 1200 passengers to explorethe city and its surrounding areas.

The two vessels, the MV MINERVA and theMS BRAEMAR, both visited the port for oneday as part of luxury voyages around theBritish Isles.

The MINERVA visited Cardiff’s QueenAlexandra Dock on Saturday 6th August.The 437ft long luxury cruise liner isoperated by Swan Hellenic. This was thevessel's second call to the port as its maidencall was in July 2015.

The 643ft MS BRAEMAR visited the port onWednesday 10th August; making it thesecond cruise vessel to berth in the QueenAlexandra Dock in less than a week. The visitalso marked the Fred Olsen operated vessel’smaiden call to the port. Captain Jozo Glavicwas presented with a Cardiff port plaque byABP South Wales Director, MatthewKennerley.

Elizabeth Nash, ABP South WalesCommercial Manager, said:

“ABP’s Port of Cardiff is a great locationfor cruise ships to visit. Situated inCardiff Bay, the port is just a five-minute drive away from the City Centre.

It also has quick links to the M4motorway; making it perfectly locatedto explore the diverse landscape ofSouth Wales.

We worked closely with Cardiff Counciland Cruise Wales to prepare for thesevisits in order to ensure passengers wereprovided with the information andfacilities needed for them to make themost of their visit to the city."

Passengers of both vessels were able toboard shuttle buses into the city centre andbay area or to venture on organised tours toplaces such as Dyffryn Gardens andCaerphilly Castle.

ABP Barry solar arraygenerated 3.6million kWh ofrenewable energy inits first year Associated British Ports’ (ABP) 4.5MWp Portof Barry solar array has generated over 3.6million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity inits first year of operating; which is enoughto boil enough kettles required to make over140 million cups of tea.

The solar array was officially opened inAugust 2015 by Jane Hutt AM and AlunCairns MP. It represents an investment of £5million by ABP and was built on 20 acres ofbrownfield port land.

An aerial view of the 14,904 solar panelsat ABP Barry

ABP South Wales Director, MatthewKennerley, said:

“We’re delighted that our Barry solararray has been so successful in its first12 months of operating. This projectwas designed to reduce the carbonfootprint of the port and make it more competitive.

We are committed to the environmentand the use of this solar energy topower our port operations means wehave been able to further reduce thecarbon emissions we produce.”

Ports News


The main use for the energy generated bythe solar array has been to power portoperations with any surplus energy exportedto the national grid.

The solar array consists of 14,904 individualsolar panels that were installed betweenMarch and June 2015. The project wasshortlisted for a 2015 Wales Green Energyaward in the Outstanding Renewable EnergyProject Category

ABP South Wales is also home to severalother renewable energy projects and by theend of 2016 its five ports will be home toover 10MW of renewable energy projects.

Completed projects across ABP South Walesinclude a 2.3MW wind turbine in Newport,and 250KW rooftop solar array schemes atCardiff, Newport, and Swansea. A second2.3MW wind turbine in Newport and a0.5MW wind turbine in Swansea arecurrently under construction.

Renewable energybusiness triggersbusiest period at the Port of Ayr in 25 years ABP’s Port of Ayr has recorded one of itsbusiest days in the last 25 years, with fivevessels calling at the port recently.

Overall, it was one of the busiest weeks inAyr in a generation, with 10 vessels callingat the port - four of those for renewableenergy projects. The last time the port sawthis level of activity was when 1.1 milliontonnes of open cast coal was exportedthrough Ayr in 1991.

Port of Ayr

As the UK energy industry transitions torenewable energy sources, the boost in shipnumbers has been a result of growingdemand to serve wind farm projectsunderway in the south-west of Scotland.

The record day saw the port become a hub

of activity with five ships calling in Ayr, eachaccommodating different cargoes such asonshore wind turbine components, coalexports and timber discharge.

In the previous week, wind turbinecomponents were delivered for threeseparate renewable energy projects:

Port Manager for Ayr and Troon StuartCresswell said:

“Along with our traditional agribulk andmineral business, the wind turbinecontracts we have secured this yearhave provided a fantastic boost to theport and all our local supportingcontractors and suppliers.”

ABP Short Sea Ports Director AndrewHarston said:

“Following our success in supportingadditional cruise calls this year, we arenow actively supporting thedevelopment of more renewable powerin south-west Scotland.

The location of ABP’s Ayrshire portsplaces them in close proximity to theseonshore wind farms. The Ports of Ayrand Troon are equipped and ready towork with renewable energy companiesto serve their projects.

This has been a strong period for ourtwo Scottish ports. ABP is continuallyinvesting in the ports to underpin theimportant regional role they fulfil inserving the needs of the Ayrshire regionand the west coast of Scotland.”

Across the Group, ABP has over 30 years’experience serving the UK onshore andoffshore renewable energy industry. Theports are well-placed to support thissector and ABP have been involved in arange of renewable energy projects acrossBritain including: The Walney Extensionwind farm development off Barrow-in-Furness, Galloper wind farm projectserviced from ABP Port of Lowestoft andthe Green Port Hull development withSiemens in the Humber.

DP World LondonGateway Port is first in the worldto be awarded The Planet MarkDP World London Gateway Port, the UK’smost advanced deep-sea container terminal,has been awarded The Planet Mark™ fordemonstrating its commitment to carbonemissions reduction.

This internationally recognised certificationprogramme is wholly-owned by Planet First,a sustainability service provider working inconjunction with the iconic Eden Project inCornwall, ensuring UK trade is not justaccelerated, but facilitated in a moreenvironmentally friendly way.

Certification was awarded based on DPWorld London Gateway Port’s commitmentto reduce its carbon emissions by aminimum of 2.5 per cent per TEU in 2016.

The port was able to demonstrate thesystems it already has in place to reduceand monitor its carbon emissions, whichinclude high quality data and detailedcarbon measurement, automated stackingcranes and other hi-tech initiatives thatincrease efficiency, LED lighting throughoutthe port and operations buildings and zerowaste to landfill.

The port will now work towards its baselinetarget to reduce carbon emissions caused byenergy use, water use and waste disposal.

So far, two deep-sea berths and landsideareas of the port development have beencertified to The Planet Mark™. The terminal,became operational in 2013 and is currentlyundergoing expansion with construction ofa third deep-sea berth.

The two deep sea berths

Development of that berth is benefitingfrom the sustainability achievements of itsmain civil works contractor,VolkerFitzpatrick - another businesscertified to The Planet Mark™.

Another initiative aimed at reducing carbonemissions once Berth Three becomesoperational is through the use of electrichybrid shuttle carriers. Sustainabilityworkshops will also be held with staff

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members to ensure best practice is instilledacross the terminal.

This award comes just a few months afterthe first two distribution centres on thehub’s Logistics Park also received The PlanetMark™ Certificate for New Development.

Peter Stewart MVO, Eden Project, ExecutiveDirector, said:

“Congratulations to DP World LondonGateway Port on gaining thisaccreditation. It is important thatmembers of the transport industry areoperating sustainably and thinkingabout how they can be even moresustainable, to ensure carbon emissionsare reduced.

It is pleasing to see that aninfrastructure development as importantto the UK as DP World London Gatewayhas carbon reduction and sustainabilityat the forefront of its thinking.”

Steve Malkin, CEO The Planet Mark™, said: “This is an outstanding achievement andwe are proud to certify DP World LondonGateway Port. By reducing its carbonemissions year-on year, DP WorldLondon Gateway is also helping everyorganisation reduce the carbon footprintof their products being shipped throughthe port and onwards into the supplychain.”

Cameron Thorpe, CEO, DP World LondonGateway, said:

“We’re extremely proud to have becomethe first port in the world to achievePlanet Mark certification from PlanetFirst in partnership with the iconicEden Project.

Minimising impacts on the environmenthave shaped our planning, constructionand the way we operate the port’sberths and distribution centres on ourLogistics Park. Indeed, a key valueproposition for having a logistics hub inthis location, closer to consumers, is toreduce CO2 emissions in UK supplychains, making this a particularlypleasing achievement.

We have now set the standard forourselves in terms of reducing ourcarbon footprint year-on-year for everycontainer passing through this hub – Ilook forward to London Gatewaycontinuing to contribute to reducingCO2 emissions in UK supply chains.”

The first phase of the DP World LondonGateway Logistics Centre achievedcertification in November, closely followedby the 316,000 sq ft joint venture buildingwith Prologis.

FeaturesJotting MonthlyGlyn L EvansThomas H Shuttleworth– Maritime ArtistSome while ago I wrote an article for theHCMM Journal on the life and work of themarine artist Jack Spurling; two of hisoriginal paintings, featuring the sailing shipsHarbinger and Torrens, being on display inHQS Wellington. Recently, looking as onedoes through some back copies of themagazine Sea Breezes, the one forNovember 1997 to be exact, my attentionwas caught by the painting of a sailing shipthat I thought must have come from thebrush of Jack Spurling. However, the captionread ‘The tall ship Mermerus from a paintingby T H Shuttleworth’. It accompanied anarticle about the ship, written by the artistand, as I had not previously heard of T HShuttleworth, another of my marine artresearch projects was born.

The opening paragraph of the article reads, Among the well-known builders of ironships in the 1870s, Messrs Barclay-Curle& Co must rank among the best. Theywere the designers of some of the mostbeautiful ships that sailed the oceans ofthe world. Among these was the fleet ofiron clippers of A & J Carmichaels’Golden Fleece Line which bore suchnames as Golden Fleece, Jason,Mermerus, Thassalus and Argonaut.

Journal readers will no doubt smile here andmutter “Shades of Alfred Holt’s Blue Funnelvessel-naming policy.”

Firstly, I discovered that T H Shuttleworthhad been a member of the Guild of RailwayArtists, and the current CEO of the Guild,Frank Hodges, kindly provided the followingbiographical details.

Thomas Henry Shuttleworth, b.1920 – d.2007. Associate Member of the Guildfrom 1983. Although a life-long painter,Tom did not take painting upprofessionally until 1975 at which time,due to the demise of world shipping [Tomworked for a shipping company] he wasgiven early retirement. Tom exhibited hisworks often – usually at Liverpoolgalleries, two at the Medici Society’s BoldStreet Gallery in 1975 and 1978.

He was regarded as both a fine railwayand marine artist with an extensiveknowledge about the respectivesubjects. His depictions of old Liverpoolwould combine all aspects of his work -

railway, marine and cityscape. TomShuttleworth’s works have beenreproduced as fine art prints and asgreetings cards, many marketed by theMedici Society.

I thought the Medici Society’s Gallery,Liverpool would be a good place to beginexpanding on this information but my letterto them (or rather to Rennie’s Gallery – there-incarnation of Medici in Liverpool) wentunanswered. Next port of call was SeaBreezes magazine, but my enquiry of themelicited only the fact that, due to recentchange of management and/or ownership,information on articles and their authorsprior to that change was not available. Thiswas most galling as, in the May 1999 editionof that magazine, I had found anotherarticle by Thomas H Shuttleworth, entitled ‘ABrassbounder’s Voyage in the Twilight ofSail’ which included two fine paintings byhim of the subject sailing ship, Wray Castle.

WRAY CASTLE – steel built by Williamson ofWorkington and launched 1892, she wasship rigged with crossed royals over singletopgallants and double topsails on all threemasts. She was 3,200 dwt and traded aroundthe world for Robert Thomas & Co (FourWinds Shipping Co) originally with an officein Criccieth, North Wales, later of CastleStreet, Liverpool. Wray Castle is picturedoutward bound from the Mersey, setting allfair sail off South Stack and leaving theLiverpool No 1 Pilot cutter FrancisHenderson astern.

WRAY CASTLE

Under the heading ‘Shipping Snippets’ inthe Liverpool Mercury newspaper for 26thJanuary 1907, we read,

“Com. W F Caborne, Inspector of theBoard of Trade, inquired into the causeof the fire on board Wray Castle” ofLiverpool on 28th August 1906 at Lat.22.4N and Long. 23.39W, states, “Thereis no evidence to show what was thecause of the fire.”

To add to my now growing collection ofShuttleworth paintings, I found in theSeptember 1999 edition of Sea Breezes, acolour centre spread of four ships, namelyReina del Pacifico, Olivebank, HMS

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Agamemnon and MVAntenor. These camewith no narrative text other than eachpicture’s caption and the tantalising heading‘The skill of a fine artist giving pleasure to all– More from the Brush of Thomas HShuttleworth.’ I have taken the liberty ofadding the text to the paintings.

REINA del PACIFICO

REINA del PACIFICO – was built by Harland& Wolff, Belfast in 1931 for the PacificSteam Navigation Company’s passengerliner service from Liverpool to theCaribbean and E C South American portsvia the Panama Canal. Of 17,702 grt andwith a service speed of 18 knots, shecarried 800 passengers in three classes. Sheserved as a troopship during WWII, takingpart in the Allied landings in North Africa,Sicily and Normandy. In 1947 she returnedto her normal service although her latercareer was marred by an engine-roomexplosion in which 28 personnel lost theirlives, a grounding on Devil’s Flat offBermuda and the loss of one of her fourpropellers on a subsequent voyage. She wassold in 1958 and scrapped the same year atNewport, Mon.

OLIVEBANK

OLIVEBANK – was built for Andrew Weir &Co. by Harland & Wolff, Belfast in 1962.Andrew Weir had entered the ship-owningbusiness in Glasgow in 1885 and eventuallycontrolled one of the largest fleets of sailingships under the Red Ensign. In 1905 theCompany was registered in London as BankLine but the ships continued to bear on theirstern, ‘Glasgow, as their Port of Registry. Thepicture shows the third vessel to carry thename Olivebank for Andrew Weir & Co., thefirst being a steel-hulled sailing ship built in1892 and surviving until hitting a floatingmine off Jutland in 1939 with the loss ofher Captain and fourteen of her twenty-

one-man crew. Olivebank [III] seen here inthe River Mersey about to pick up the tugJames Lamey, with a Birkenhead ferryboatvisible astern, was sold to Panamanianowners in 1978.

AGAMEMNON

AGAMEMNON – King of Argos and mostpowerful Prince of Greece, was elder brotherof Menelaus, King of Sparta, married to thelovely Helen. It was Agamemnon who waschosen as commander-in chief of the greatfleet assembled by Menelaus to sail againstthe Trojans. HMS Agamemnon [64 guns],pictured here, the first Royal Navy ship ofthat name, was built at Buckler’s Hard onthe Beaulieu River in 1781. Her battlehonours included the two Battles ofCopenhagen, 1801 and 1807 either side ofthe Battle of Trafalgar, 1805. Her crew, whodid not like the classical names that were invogue with the Admiralty at that time,renamed her ‘Eggs-and-bacon’, a traditionmaintained by the dock workers ofMerseyside in later years. Although she waswrecked in Maldonado Bay in 1809, hername lives on. After four more RN ships ofthat name we now have the nuclearsubmarine HMS Agamemnon of the Astute-class currently under construction.

ANTENOR

ANTENOR – When Alfred and Philip Holtconceived the founding of The Ocean SteamShip Company they saw this as the greatestadventure of their lives and, becauseHomer’s ‘Odyssey’ was for them the finestadventure ever written, they gave Homericnames to their ships. Antenor was a Trojanprince related to King Priam and, whenOdysseus and Menelaus came to Troy asambassadors, they were received into hishouse. He recommended to the Trojans thatthey return Helen to her husband, Menelaus,and thus end the war. This advice was

ignored, the war dragged on and later it wasAntenor who, in an act of treachery,suggested to the Greeks they should buildthe Trojan horse. MV Antenor was built onTyneside by Vickers-Armstrong in 1957 forAlfred Holt & Co., Liverpool for their UK –Far East cargo liner service. Of 7,965 grt andwith a length of 452 feet, she had a servicespeed of 15 knots and accommodation for12 passengers. Sold to Far Eastern buyers in1973, she was broken up in 1983.

Continuing my research into the life andworks of the artist, the enquiry I put to theMerseyside Maritime Museum in 2014 hasyet to bear fruit, but I have to say that myexperience of making enquiries of UKmuseums in general is somewhat akin tothat of throwing a sausage down the MerseyTunnel. This is a Merseyside expression,politely interpreted as ‘a futile gesture’. Otherfeelers were put out but came to nothing.My friend, Alan Hardy thought T HShuttleworth had attended the same churchas his old auntie in Liverpool, but sadly shedied before this could be followed up.HCMM member, Lt. Richard ShuttleworthRN, confirmed that the artist was not partof the Derbyshire Shuttleworth clan. Myfellow-member of the Liverpool NauticalResearch Society, Ian Duckett, who has inthe past kindly made local enquiries on mybehalf, also drew a blank. The trail wasgrowing cold and I was running out of leadsto follow when, once again, reading anarticle in a 1998 copy of Sea Breezes, I cameacross another T H Shuttleworth painting,‘HMS Dolphin at the Siege of Suakin’.

The article, under the same heading, hadbeen written by a Professor Gordon S Milne[now OBE] Scotland, co-incidentally afellow member of the HCMM. Via aroundabout route, I was able to makecontact with Gordon who emailed to say “Iam very happy to assist you…I met theartist on a couple of occasions.” Sadly, itseems T H Shuttleworth was of a fairlyreserved personality, but Gordon recollectsthe circumstances surrounding theirmeeting as follows:

“This stems from my going to LeithNautical College in 1952/3 and spendingsome of the cadet course seamanshiptraining on TS Dolphin based at WestOld Dock, Leith. In 1998 I decided torecord HMS Dolphin for posterity andasked T H Shuttleworth if he wouldaccept the commission. He was quitedemanding in his requirements of mybrief, one example of which was acutting I had from the 1885 LondonIllustrated News showing Dolphin at theSiege of Suakin.”

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The resulting picture that accompaniedGordon’s fascinating article on this historicevent, is shown here. I will say no moreabout the article as it may be that, at somestage in the future, Gordon might wish toshare this with Journal readers. Suffice tomention that Dolphin was launched inDecember 1882 and gave good service tothe Royal Navy until her sale to privateowners in 1924. From then she was used asa boys’ club until 1944 when she was takenover by Leith Nautical College, finally beingscrapped in 1974.

HMS DOLPHIN

As a last tribute to the artistic talent ofThomas H Shuttleworth, I have included hispainting of the full-rigged ship Wavertreehove-to off the Mersey Bar in the late1890s, signalling for a pilot and tugs. Thepilot schooner is the George Holt, the two-funnelled tug is the William Jolliffe and theBlue Funnel liner is Ixion of 1892.

WAVERTREE

Wavertree was built of wrought iron atSouthampton in 1885 for R W Leyland ofLiverpool for the carriage of Jute from Indianports to Dundee. Later, when trampingworld-wide, she was dismasted roundingCape Horn and limped to the FalklandIslands. From there she was used as a floatingwarehouse in Chile and a sand barge inBuenos Aires before being acquired by theSouth Street Seaport Museum, New York in1968. Last year (2015) she was moved intodry dock on Staten Island for stabilisationand restoration. The work will take twelvemonths and cost US$10.6 million.

It is unfortunate that such sums of moneycannot be found to save more historic shipsof significance to the British mercantilemarine and Merchant Navy.

Sir Ernest ShackletonCVOMaster Mariner andAntarctic ExplorerDr Beau RiffenburghInstitute Associate

The Scott Polar Research Institute University of CambridgeSir Ernest Shackleton’s maritime career beganaboard the cargo ship Houghton Tower andin 1898 he passed his Master’s examinationand the following year became an officer. Hisfirst expedition to Antarctica was as thirdofficer on the Discovery Expedition (1901-03) led by Captain R F Scott RN.

Sir Ernest Shackleton CVO

In 1913 Shackleton announced an audaciousplan – one that smacked of his unboundedenergy and imagination: ‘It has been anopen secret for some time past that I havebeen desirous of leading another expeditionto the South Polar regions… I am glad nowto be able to state that … an expedition willstart next year with the object of crossingthe South Polar continent from sea to sea.’

Four years earlier, following his triumphantreturn from a farthest south of 88°23'S onhis Nimrod Expedition (1907–09), Shackletonhad hoped to return to the Antarctic toconquer the South Pole. That goal had beenpre-empted by both Roald Amundsen andRobert Falcon Scott, but Shackleton stillviewed the far south as a venue in which toachieve fame and fortune. Shackleton’s planwas to land a dozen men at Vahsel Bay, sixof whom would make the first trans-Antarctic journey of approximately 1,700statute miles, sledging with dogs to theSouth Pole and thence on to McMurdo

Sound. A second ship at McMurdo Soundwould lay depots of food and fuel for thetrans-Antarctic party. Scientific studieswould be conducted on the ships, at thecoastal bases and across the continent.

The two vessels chosen for the expeditionwere Polaris and Aurora. The former was aNorwegian-built barquentine of 350 tons,which Shackleton immediately renamedEndurance in honour of his family motto:‘Fortitudine Vincimus,’ or ‘By endurance weconquer.’ The later, at 386 tons, was a one-time Newfoundland sealer. WhilstShackleton received several large donationsthe expedition was desperately underfunded.

More than five thousand men and boys (and‘three sporty girls’) applied for positions butAntarctic experience was extremely limited.Shackleton’s second-in-command, FrankWild, had been south with Scott, Shackleton,and Mawson; artist George Marston hadbeen part of Shackleton’s Nimrodexpedition; and photographer Frank Hurleyhad been a key member of Mawson’s AAE.Aboard Endurance, second officer Tom Creanhad served under Scott on both Discoveryand Terra Nova, and third officer AlfCheetham had served on Morning, one ofthe relief ships for Discovery, then Nimrod,and finally Scott’s Terra Nova. However, thecaptain, Frank Worsley of the New ZealandShipping Company, and eventual first officer,Lionel Greenstreet, were Antarctic novices.

Endurance sailed from London on 1 August1914, but was still in British waters whenthe general mobilisation of troops wasannounced in anticipation of the comingwar. In a grand gesture typical of theflamboyant Shackleton, he offered the ship,men, and provisions to the government forthe war effort. The Admiralty declined hisoffer; as with Captain James Cook,exploration and science would continuedespite the nation being at war.

Endurance sailed to Buenos Aires and inOctober continued to South Georgia, wherethe whalers told Shackleton that the packice was unusually heavy, had drifted farthernorth than usual and advised him to delayhis departure. Endurance finally sailed forthe Weddell Sea on 5 December 1914,encountered heavy pack ice and for sixweeks made slow progress as she dodgedaround or forced her way through theheavy ice. The Antarctic coast of Coats Landwas sighted on 10 January 1915, andShackleton briefly considered landing, butdecided instead to maintain course forVahsel Bay. It was a fateful choice, not farfrom their destination the ice closed tightlyabout the ship.

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Drifting at the mercy of the ice, on 22February Endurance reached the 77thparallel, her farthest south. But there, withland on the horizon, the ship drifted slowlyto the west, away from her intendeddestination. ‘It was more than tantalizing, itwas maddening,’ Alexander Macklin, one ofthe ship’s two surgeons, noted in his diary.‘Shackleton at this time showed one of hissparks of real greatness. He did not rage atall, or show outwardly the slightest sign ofdisappointment; he told us simply andcalmly that we must winter in the Pack,explained its dangers and possibilities; neverlost his optimism, and prepared for winter.’

The ship was converted into morecomfortable winter quarters, and althoughthe sun disappeared during the first week inMay, Shackleton kept his men busy withregular duties, training with the dogs, and

other activities and entertainments, whilethe scientists turned their land-basedresearch into a sea-based programme.Throughout the winter, the gyre in theWeddell Sea continued to take Endurance ina roughly clockwise direction. In the middleof July, a 70-mile-per-hour blizzard struck,and thereafter the pressure from the iceincreased. In the following months, the shipgroaned as she was tormented by the ice –beams were twisted, door frames werethrown out of alignment, and woodenbraces were dislodged. On 24 October thepressure forced the entire ship to shakefuriously, then list to starboard. Waterpoured in by the damaged sternpost andShackleton ordered the engine fired up todrive the pumps and the men also franticallypumped throughout the day and night butthe water continued to rise. Finally, on the

evening of 27 October, Shackleton gave theorder to abandon ship.

Shackleton and Wild survey the remains ofEndurance. F. Hurley

With the dogs and everything that could bereadily carried, the 28 men set up five tentsto form ‘Dump Camp’ about 100 yards (90m) away on a large ice floe. Understandingthe need to keep his party in good spirits –particularly the seamen, who seemed ill atease away from the confines of the ship –Shackleton made sure that the 18 fursleeping bags were given to the sailors andjunior expedition members, while the higherranks and scientists kept the less well-insulated wool bags. Shackleton alsoexplained his plan: to man-haul two of thethree lifeboats – James Caird and DudleyDocker – and any necessary supplies overthe ice towards a well-equipped hut onSnow Hill Island, some 200 miles (320 km).The men all had new winter clothing, andeach was allowed to take two pounds ofpersonal possessions, although exceptions tothis limit were made for morale, includingmeteorologist Leonard Hussey’s banjo.

In anticipation of the hardships anddeprivations ahead, on 30 October, Creanshot the three puppies and Mrs Chippy,carpenter Harry McNish’s cat – a realist,Shackleton knew they were in survival mode.For three days the boats were dragged acrossbrutally difficult surfaces before, havingmade less than one and three quarters miles(2.8 km) in total, Shackleton decided suchefforts were futile and the attempt wasabandoned. ‘Ocean Camp’ was established,and the party settled in to await the breakupof the ice, when the men could take to theboats and attempt to reach Paulet Island,some 400 miles (650 km) away.

In the following weeks, material wassalvaged from the ship and the area aroundit, including the third boat, Stancomb Wills;containers of food; materials to build akitchen; and the 120 negatives that Hurleyand Shackleton adjudged the best of themore than 500 images already taken. On 21November 1915, Endurance‘s bow dipped,her stern raised in the air, and she slippedbeneath the ice.

A month later, concerned that they were

Endurance in the ice. F. Hurley

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drifting farther from potential safety,Shackleton, in consultation with Wild andHurley, determined to try again to man-haulthe boats to open water. On 23 December,leaving behind Stancomb Wills, the men –many of whom harboured doubts andresentment about the decision – began todrag the other boats and the necessarysupplies west. Each back-breaking day’slabour resulted in an average gain of littlemore than a mile (1.6 km), and on 27December McNish – still aggrieved over theloss of his cat, and bitter that Shackletonhad rejected his offer to build a sloop fromthe wrecked parts of Endurance – verballyabused Worsley and refused to proceed,claiming that with the loss of the ship hisduty to obey orders had terminated.Shackleton promptly mustered all hands andread aloud the ship’s articles, which,according to him, kept them under hiscommand for the duration of theexpedition. On the surface Shackleton ‘won’but he was evidently swayed by the incident,for within two days he halted the march andestablished ‘Patience Camp’ where the partyremained for about three months.

Wild led a party to ‘Ocean Camp’ to retrieveStancomb Wills. While the drift took theparty past Paulet Island, and Shackletondecided on Elephant Island as his newtarget. On 9 April 1916, the ice finally brokeup enough to allow Shackleton and his mento set sail between ice floes and into stormyseas. For six days the men huddled in thesmall boats, cramped and constantly soakedby freezing water, while suffering terriblyfrom thirst, hunger, and seasickness. ButShackleton and Worsley drove them on, andon 15 April they landed at Elephant Islandand established a camp on a spit of landthey named Point Wild. Although they werenow on dry land for the first time in 16months, they were far from safe, becausetheir supplies were low, their health poor,and location unknown to the outside world.In true Shackletonian fashion, their leaderdetermined to go for help – to SouthGeorgia, a journey that took 800 nauticalmiles (1,480 km) across the most dangerousocean on Earth. ‘Shackleton sitting still anddoing nothing wasn’t Shackleton at all,’Macklin wrote. ‘We’d had all that atPatience Camp.’ McNish carried outextensive work on the 22-foot (6.7-m)James Caird, including stiffening the keel,adding an extra mast, and overseeing theconstruction of a canvas decking to protectits interior.

Shackleton carefully selected fivecompanions for the voyage – Worsley, anexceptionally skilled navigator; Crean, who

had consistently proved his stamina andvalue; McNish; and seamen Tim McCarthyand John Vincent. It is likely that McNishand Vincent were taken in part so thatShackleton could keep an eye on them –McNish was an obvious malcontent, andVincent’s bullying had seen him demotedfrom boatswain to AB.

The six men left on 24 April, heading northto clear the pack ice, and then turning easttowards South Georgia. Over two weeks, thesmall boat was buffeted by gales andmountainous seas, including one giant wavethat nearly swamped her. There was littleprotection from the icy water, which soakedthe men and their sleeping bags below. Infreezing conditions, the undernourished menchipped away the ice that built up on theboat and its rigging. The continuing stormand regular heavy cloud cover also meantthat it was extremely difficult for Worsley totake the necessary observations fornavigation. Finally, they sighted SouthGeorgia. Heavy seas and bad weatherprevented them from landing for two daysand threatened to wreck James Caird on arugged lee shore, but on 10 May they werefinally able to make a landing on the island’ssouth side. Unable to sail around the island,the men rested for several days, and turnedthe boat over to create a shelter they named‘Peggotty Camp.’

As Vincent was too weak to continue, heand McCarthy were left under the commandof McNish, while Shackleton, Worsley, andCrean headed inland. Their aim was to crossthe interior of South Georgia and find helpat the whaling station at Stromness Bay.However, although the station was only 22miles (35 km) away, the spine of the islandcomprised an unmapped mountain rangecrisscrossed with glaciers and snowfields.Equipped only with an adze for an ice axe,screws in their boots for crampons, and arope, the three marched for 36 straighthours, ascending, according to Worsley, tomore than 5,000 feet (1,525 m), rarelystopping for food or rest, and having tobacktrack up steep hills when attemptedways forward proved impossible. Exhaustedand near the end of their endurance, theyfinally reached Stromness in the morningand informed the station manager, ThoralfSørlle, of the disaster. Worsley set out thatvery night with a relief ship to collect thethree men – and James Caird – from KingHaakon Bay.

Shackleton was determined to rescue themen at Elephant Island as soon as possible.Having organised passage back to Englandfor McNish, Vincent, and McCarthy, hearranged for the whaler Southern Sky, then

in Stromness Bay, to pick up the rest of hisstranded crew. However, she was thwartedby pack ice about 60 miles (100 km) fromElephant Island and sailed to the FalklandIslands. There, Shackleton boarded thetrawler Instituto de Pesca, no. 1, which theUruguayan government had loaned. But she,too, was forced back by ice, this time about18 miles (30 km) short of Elephant Island.Shackleton, Worsley, and Crean then arrivedin Punta Arenas in Chile, where, withcontributions from local residents, theychartered the schooner Emma. However,about 90 miles (150 km) north of ElephantIsland, the engine broke down, and the shiphad to retreat.

Finally, the Chilean government agreed tosend down the Chilean Navy steel tugYelcho, commanded by Piloto Luis Pardo. OnElephant Island the two remaining boats hadbeen overturned and placed atop stone wallsabout four feet (1.2 m) high to make acramped shelter. Several of the men hadsuffered serious physical or psychologicalproblems during the boat journey to theisland. Macklin and fellow surgeon JimMcIlroy had to amputate Blackborow’s toes,as well as dealing with numerous othermedical issues. Despite these problems, Wildmanaged to hold the party together. On 30August 1916, after 137 days on ElephantIsland, the Yelcho reached the men anddeparted the moment the last expeditionmember was aboard, before the ice couldtrap her. They returned to Punta Arenas, andthen continued to Valparaiso.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Antarcticathe Aurora had been swept from the shoreby sea ice. The marooned men were forcedto lay the supply depots for the trans-Antarctic party with their limited resourcesand items scavenged from previousexpeditions. Tragically, Lieutenant ÆneasLionel A Mackintosh, RNR., V G Hayward andThe Rev A P Spencer-Smith lost their lives. InJanuary 1917, Shackleton reached thesurvivors and brought them home.

In many senses, the Imperial Trans-AntarcticExpedition was a failure. Not only had noneof its geographical or scientific goals beenattained, but a ship and three men had beenlost, along with most of the scientificspecimens. And yet the manner in whichShackleton and his officers held his partytogether on the ice, and then proceeded torescue them earned Shackleton recognitionas one of the greatest leaders in the historyof exploration.

[Images courtesy of the Picture Library,Scott Polar Research Institute, Universityof Cambridge]

Features


The ScottishNational WarMemorialProfessor Gordon S Milne OBEPart 1The ancient Castle, sitting atop the crag andtail formation of an extinct volcano, looksdown on the douce City of Edinburgh.

Edinbburgh Castle

To the North lies the Firth of Forth and thePort of Leith, for over 700 years to thepresent day it is the port for Edinburgh.From 16th to 19th Century Leith was theprincipal port of Scotland until Glasgowgained the premier position to become TheSecond City of the Empire.

In 1917 the Secretary of State for Scotlandappointed a Committee to consider theconcept of a Scottish National Memorial tocommemorate the Fallen in what was to bethe War to end all Wars. It was suggestedthat the location of such a Memorial shouldbe on the Castle Rock within the Capital. On31st January 1918 the Cabinet of DavidLloyd George approved the concept and thelocation. The Committee was instructed toproceed. It was presided over by HRH ThePrince of Wales with His Grace The Duke ofAtholl as its Chairman. This became theManagement Committee.

The Memorial was to be a permanent,publicly accessible record, situated on theunique national site, embracing the namesand other details of war service of everyScots man and woman who died in theservice of King and Country. Significantly,the Memorial was to embody the spirit ofremembrance of sacrifice. It was not to betriumphant, lauding victory over theaggressor. It was to be respectful, sacred butoccasionally secular in design. To be includedin the building above the main door wouldbe the words:

To the Glory of God, And in Memory ofScots who Fell, 1914-1918

The initial tasks of the Committee were to

raise funds and to appoint an architect.Entirely by public subscription funds pouredin, predominantly from Scots within Scotlandand elsewhere in the UK. The first subscriptionwas of £500 (£25,000) received from aprominent Scottish businessman, the secondwas of 2/6d. (12.5p) from an ex-tinker servingin France with the Black Watch.

Sir Robert Lorimer was appointed Architect-in-Chief. After delays in the design andother processes, construction started in1923. Under his control over two hundredartists, artificers and labourers participatedin the project. The result is a creation ofwhich the World has said “This is perfect”.

The Opening Ceremony took place on 14thJuly 1927 and was performed by the Princeof Wales. Their Majesties King George V andQueen Mary, accompanied by the PrincessRoyal, then entered the Memorial.

Their Majesties King George V and QueenMary, accompanied by the Princess Royal,at the Opening Ceremony,1927

The actual site of the Memorial wasoriginally occupied by the ancient Chapel ofSt. Mary which was restored about themiddle of the 14th Century. In time theChapel was demolished to make way for theGarrison Barracks building which, in turn,was to be removed. The site lay vacant untilthe timeless Memorial was created. Some ofthe stone of the Barracks building was re-used and incorporated with stone fromNorthumberland, all giving the appearancethat the Memorial has been part of CrownSquare for Centuries.

In Crown Square are the ancient RoyalPalace, Banqueting Hall and the rooms inwhich are displayed the Scottish Regalia andother Royal Jewels – the so called Honoursof Scotland. During the Great War they wereremoved to a vault beneath the Palacebuilding. This was to prove fortuitous for, in1916, a German Zeppelin dropped a bombon the Castle Rock.

The design and construction of the entireMemorial gives a most robust presence,well-mannered within the context of CrownSquare which it completes on its North side.

On the exterior symbolic or representativefeatures are deliberately few. Of note forreaders of this article is a carved stonecommemorating the Mercantile Marine andRoyal Naval Reserve.

The carved stone commemorating theMercantile Marine and Royal Naval Reserve

Leaving the noble, very Scottish exterior weenter the building and are presented withthe emotional splendour of the Hall ofHonour, a sanctuary of calm and serenity.

On its North side opposite the lofty entranceporch stands the Shrine entered throughwrought-iron gates.

The Scottish National War Memorial frontage

Features


The Shrine

A green marble stone of remembrance sitson the highest outcrop of the rock of theextinct volcano. On top of the stone is awrought-steel casket guarded by fourbronze angels, the gift of King George V andQueen Mary. The casket contains the bookswith the names of the dead of the 1914-18War deposited by their Majesties on theOpening Day in 1927.

Plan of the Memorial

It is only right and proper to record thatmuch of the Memorial is devoted to thehuge losses of soldiers of twelve old ScottishRegiments, Corps, other Units, newerRegiments and the Naval and Air Services.These respectfully dominate the Hall ofHonour. It is a purpose of this article to showdue deference to these military losses, butalso very specifically and essentially to dwellon the maritime elements of remembrance.These include the Merchant and Royal Naviesand related seafaring services.

The windows which let in such glorious lightare adorned with stained glass panelsrepresenting many significant subjects, thefour Seasons of the Year, the Air Services,the sea and a dedication to all who go downthereto. This latter window is perhaps themost arresting, not just of service but muchdeeper in significance, simply designatedwith the immortal words ‘They have noother grave than the sea’.

Stained glass window – MinesweepingTrawler

The Navy window

Much is said in this window of the sacrificesby the Royal Navy and clear reference ismade on the panels below to HMSCarmania – importantly the formerCunarder RMS Carmania – and the GermanCap Trafalgar, both armed MerchantCruisers which fought an epic battle, withCarmania emerging with full honours.Requisitioned merchant ships became fullycommissioned Royal Navy men-of-war.Many Mercantile Marine officers and ratingsthereby served in the RNR.

In addition to the windows manymagnificent Memorials to the Regiments areto be seen and admired with due reverence.One is to the Royal Marine and the RoyalMarine Artillery Regiment which played asignificant part in the onboard defence ofmerchant ships in both World Wars.

To mariners the most relevant Memorial is inthe West Bay. Dedicated to the Brotherhoodof the sea and the personnel whose couragein adversity kept safe the high seas so thatcommerce within our Country would remainopen and free from invasion. So iscommemorated the Mercantile Marine,Royal Naval Reserve, Royal Naval VolunteerReserve, the mine sweepers mannedpredominantly by fishermen of the EastCoast, the Q Ships, the auxiliary Patrolsincluding trawlers, drifters and privateyachts. The whole dedicated by the citationon the Memorial:

To the Officers and Men of theMercantile Marine who laid down theirlives in maintaining the Services ofTransport and Supply during the GreatWar; and to those ranks and ratings ofthe Auxiliary vessels who sacrificed theirlives in Home and Foreign waters so thatthe Merchant Fleet might keep the seas

The Hall of Honour

Features


The HonourableCompany of MasterMarinersEditorial

The views expressed in articles or incorrespondence appearing in the Journalare those of the writer and are notnecessarily endorsed by the HonourableCompany of Master Mariners.

Items appearing in the Journal maynot be reproduced without theconsent of the Editor.

The Editor will be pleased to receivecorrespondence from Members intendedfor reproduction in the Journal.

Committees

Education and Training CommitteeChairman: Commander Peter Aylott RN

Finance and Risk CommitteeChairman: Mr Iain Stitt

Membership CommitteeChairman:Admiral Sir Nigel Essenhigh GCB Vice Chairman:Commander L Chapman

Technical CommitteeChairman: Captain Ian Giddings

All correspondence, books, documentsor enquiries relevant to the work ofthe Technical Committee should beaddressed to the Secretary, Mrs AlisonHarris c/o HQS Wellington.

Treasures CommitteeChairman: Captain Graham Pepper, FNI

Joint Informal MeetingsHonorary Secretary: Mr Matt Burrow

Wardroom Mess CommitteeChairman: Mr John Johnson-Allen

The Journal

EditorCommodore David Squire, CBE‘Trees’, 45 Esp Lane, Barnoldswick,Lancashire BB18 5QQ

Tel: 01282 814998

All correspondence, articles andreports for the Journal should be sentto the Editor’s home address, or byemail to [email protected]

Copy for Issue 4/2016 of The Journalshould be sent to the Editor by Friday, 18 November, 2016

The Mercantile Marine Memorial

Below lie the Rolls of Honour and to the sideis the Red Ensign. The qualificationsnecessary for names to be accessioned bythe Trustees to the Rolls of Honour forWorld War I were set down as:

‘To appear on the Roll of Honour of theScottish National War Memorial, a manor woman must have died between thespecified dates or as a result of sicknessor wounds acquired on service betweenthese dates; must have belonged to adistinctively Scottish Unit, or must havebeen of Scottish origin, as follows:Scottish parents on both sides; Scottishparentage on his or her father’s side;continued residence in Scotland.’

It is always a cause for confusion in theminds of the visiting public that all thereferences are to the Mercantile Marinewhereas today’s generations know only of thedesignation The Merchant Navy. King GeorgeV’s request in 1928 that the MercantileMarine be henceforth known as MYMERCHANT NAVY is not clearly understood.

The Memorial was closed during World WarII. In December 1944 the Committee agreedto transfer responsibility for the fabric of thebuilding to the then Ministry of Works. Thiswas effected in April 1945.

In November 1947 the Royal Charter wasgranted at the Court at St. James’s. TheManagement Committee was then re-formed as the Board of Trustees of theScottish National War Memorial.

It is interesting to note that twoamendments were made to the RoyalCharter in 1975 and 2004. Neither alteredthe nature or functions of the Memorial andits Board of Trustees but the Amendment of

2004 reduced the Service representation onthe Board to the Army, the Royal Navy andRoyal Air Force each having decided not toappoint a Trustee.

The Red Ensign

Let us pause here awhile. Part 2 will tell indetail the maritime part of thisinternationally renowned and veneratedMemorial. It will embrace the WWIMercantile Marine aspects of the Memorial,those of the Merchant Navy and relatedmaritime losses in World War II andsubsequent theatres of conflict.

Acknowledgments, Bibliography andCredits

Acknowledgments:Major General Mark Strudwick, CBEChairman, and the Board of Trustees

of the Scottish National War Memoria

Lt Col Roger J Binks Secretary to the Boardof Trustees and Keeper of the Rolls

Lt Col Ian ShepherdImmediate past Secretary and Keeper of the Rolls

Bibliography:Their Name LivethThe Book of the Scottish National WarMemorial – Hay (1931 and 1985)

The Scottish National War Memorial Official Guide (2004).

Scotland’s ShrineThe Scottish National War Memorial –Macmillan (2014)

Credits: Photo images of the Elevation, Hall ofHonour, Shrine, Window panel, RN Windowand Mercantile Marine Memorial arereproduced by kind permission of theTrustees, Professor Duncan Macmillan andAntonia Reeve

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