O
S/M W.L (Bill) Armstrong, OBE
It was only as a result of a solicitor’s letter that we knew of the passing of Bill Armstrong. That resulted from our February newsletter having been passed to them. Whether he had any surviving relatives we don’t know but it is a very sad way to hear of the loss of one of our shipmates.
Bill, who died on 2nd February 2004, was one of the survivors picked up by HMS Legion when Cossack was torpedoed on 23rd October 1941. At that time he was an Ordinary Seaman on the midships secondary armament. He later served in the Jackdaw and the Vestal.
Invalided out of the RN just before the end of WWII he returned to his native Glasgow where he studied law. He became Secretary of the Scottish Engineers Association and was awarded the OBE in 1983.
BITUARIES
S/M A.S. (Stan) Edgell
To his fellow messmates on the after mess deck he was a very modest and well liked mess mate. He was a Gunnery rating and during his time in Cossack was Y Gun Sweeper. His Far East service was partly in Cossack. from 1949 to 1951, and then in the Belfast from 1951 to 1952.
At his last reunion at Eastbourne Stan told Alan Quartermaine about being billeted aboard the USS Dixie, the HQ ship in Sasebo, from where sea operations on the East and West coasts of Korea were controlled. He and several others were waiting for the Belfast having just left other ships. Stan said that they lived like Lords while aboard the Dixie, with chicken and steaks on the menu and proper laundry facilities. This came to an end of course when they joined their next ship. Just before leaving though he heard two USN ratings say “these Limeys live like Pirates”. They were two crew of the US landing craft on loan to Cossack for harbour duties.
He was very proud to have been selected for the Ceremonial Guard outside Buckingham Palace during the Queen’s Coronation. He also served in Pembroke and in the Diamond. Continued
After his RN service Stan worked for Marley Tiles and was, ably assisted by his wife Barbara, a keen organiser of tours in both the UK and Germany for his fellow employees.
Stan Edgell passed away at the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, Kent on 29th March 2004 from a heart attack and stroke, following a long and painful illness. The funeral took place at Charing in Kent on 5th April and S/Ms Ernie Watts and Peter Harrison were honoured to represent the Association at the ceremony.
His widow Barbara, who is now an Associate member of the Association, said that SSAFA had been absolutely marvellous in the help and support they had given during Stan’s long illness.
Continued
After his RN service Stan worked for Marley Tiles and was, ably assisted by his wife Barbara, a keen organiser of tours in both the UK and Germany for his fellow employees.
Stan Edgell passed away at the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, Kent on 29th March 2004 from a heart attack and stroke, following a long and painful illness. The funeral took place at Charing in Kent on 5th April and S/Ms Ernie Watts and Peter Harrison were honoured to represent the Association at the ceremony.
His widow Barbara, who is now an Associate member of the Association, said that SSAFA had been absolutely marvellous in the help and support they had given during Stan’s long illness.
MAY OUR DEPARTED SHIPMATES REST IN PEACE
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On behalf of the members, our sympathies and condolences were sent to S/M Austin Tarbard (D57 1951-54) for the loss of his partner Juanita who passed away after a long fight against cancer.
The late S/M Eddie Dove
The last newsletter included a report on the funeral of our departed shipmate. We were unaware that Peter Dove and his sister, Eddie’s children, had asked that, instead of flowers, mourners might like to donate to the HMS Cossack Association. They attended the reunion in April and, just before leaving on the Sunday morning, handed over cheques to a total of £300. The Association’s thanks were given at the time and later in writing but we will now try to think of a suitable tangible way of commemorating S/M Dove.
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OTHER MEMBERSHIP MATTERS
New Members
Although we have sadly lost two members since our last newsletter went out in February, we have gained eleven new members to whom a warm welcome is given. They are:
S/M N.C. Drake A.B.(AA3) L03 1941
S/M D. Millard Shipwright D57 1952-54
S/M J. Stannard Boy D57 1955-56
S/M J. Brines Able Seaman D57 1945-46
Mr. A. Ferguson Associate Member Grandson of Able Seaman A.E. Connell L03 1938-40
Mr. A. Featherstone Associate Member Nephew of L/Sea A. Marshall, DSM who died in L03 23 Oct 41
Mr. J.W. Dixon Associate Member Relative of Boy J. Hannah who died in L03 23 Oct 41
Mr. J.G. Hunter Associate Member Nephew of Able Seaman A. Hunter who died in L03 23 Oct 41
Mr. T.S. Grimes Associate Member Grandson of the late Petty Officer H. Gilham (D57)
Mrs. B. Edgell Associate Member Widow of the late S/M A.S. Edgell (D57)
CPO S. Williams, USN Associate Member Son-in-law of S/M M. Davidson (D57)
Our total membership now stands at 292 and is made up as follows:
166 D57 members [47]
24 L03 members
96 Associate members [31]
6 Honorary members
You may wonder what the figures are in brackets. Despite the warning in the last newsletter that the subscription for 2004/05 would become due on 1st May, those figures are the number of each category who have not yet paid. A form will be attached to the front of your newsletter if you are one of those. If so, please pay up or this will be your last newsletter. We don’t want to lose you but ………
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Reunion 2005
In the last newsletter the dates for Reunion 2005 were given as 8th-10th April 2005. Despite having made the arrangements with the Burlington Hotel in February our Chairman found in his discussions with the Manager after Reunion 2004 that, although he had written a provisional booking in the diary, one of the under managers had booked another association reunion for the same dates. Since we were in first I feel that the other one should have been made to change. However, our Chairman accepted the situation and the dates for our reunion are now for the following weekend, the dates being 15th, 16th and 17th April 2005.
Sorry about that. Please remember to change the dates in your diary.
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Reunion 2004 - Report
As you will have gathered from George’s problems in getting to Eastbourne he did not arrive until late Friday afternoon. However, the well drilled machine had gone into action and the business of settings things up was well underway by that time. Peter Marchant, Alan Edinborough, Brian Hibbert and Eddie Gilham had got the flags up, etc. and got the archive room ready for Keith Batchelor to move in. The weather couldn’t have been better and many took the opportunity to walk along the prom and see some of Eastbourne’s amenities.
With the usual evening musical entertainment provided by the hotel, members and their guests took their time to settle in and renew old acquaintances. Despite a special beer promotions price the bar staff reported that takings were down this year. Whilst not encouraging people to drink too much, it should be pointed out that we are able to negotiate low prices for rooms, etc. on the basis of a number of things, including bar takings.
Saturday morning dawned with bright sunshine and many were out early taking advantage. There was a good turnout for the AGM which commenced at 11.00.
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AGM
The meeting opened with remembrance of those who had passed over the bar with the names of those who had died since the last reunion being read out during the two minute silence. These were
Ernie Williams (D57 1946-47)
Peggy Miller (Associate member)
Charles Scott (L03 1938-40)
Vic Hiscock (L03 1940-41)
Fred Andrews (D57 1945-46)
Eddie Dove (L03 1938-40)
George Casey (D57 1947-49)
Warner Dennis (D57 1947-49)
Bill Armstrong (L03 1941)
Geoffrey Craven (L03 1939-41)
Stan Edgell (D57 1949-51)
After the silence, the exhortation was spoken by the Chairman.
Next came the introductions. Following our usual routine each member present stood up in turn and gave his Name, Ship (D57 or L03), the years he served in the ship and his rank/rating at the time. This routine is popular because it allows new members to be seen and to perhaps recognise others with whom they may have served. Each new member present was given an enthusiastic cheer.
The Secretary gave a short report on the financial situation. He referred to the report which had been distributed showing the situation as at 31st March 2004 and said that there had been little change since then. He pointed out that there were disposable funds of almost £3000. He said that, with the generosity of members, particularly at reunions, there was no need to increase the annual subscription and this would remain at £5.00.
He asked for retrospective approval for a donation of £100.00, which was given to T.S. COSSACK, the Barry unit of the Sea Cadet Corps. An invitation had been received to attend the unit’s annual inspection and having canvassed those members who lived near Barry, he and S/M Dai Rees (D57 1958-60) attended. It had been agreed with the Chairman beforehand that we should make a donation but, of course, it is impossible to get agreement of all members prior to such events. He gave a brief report on the visit (see the later article in this newsletter). Approval was given by a unanimous show of hands.
The Chairman said that before asking whether there was any other business he wanted to make a presentation to Peter Harrison for all the hard work that he did throughout the year and particularly for the reunion. He then presented Peter Harrison with a power washer! Peter Harrison thanked the Chairman but said that he was trying to figure out the significance!
The Chairman also proposed that authority be given for the Secretary to purchase a new computer from our funds. His current one was on its last legs with a recurring hard disk problem and since this was the third one, which is almost exclusively used for Association work, he had purchased himself since taking over as Secretary, the Chairman thought it only fair that he should be given some financial help. This was seconded by the Vice President, Alan Edinborough and carried unanimously.
On calling for any other business, Keith Batchelor, the Archivist, asked for the Association to purchase some display stands to replace the wooden boards and easels made by Reg Doring years ago. The Chairman said that this had been suggested a number of years ago but had gone no further. Keith Batchelor said that he thought that it might cost up to £600. Seconded by Peter Harrison, the proposal was carried unanimously.
There being no other ordinary business, the meeting was adjourned for a presentation to be given by Warrant Officer Gary Smith from HMS RALEIGH about the transfer and continued operation of the Cossack Building (the Board and Search School) from HMS CAMBRIDGE. A copy of his presentation has been promised but had not been received as we go to press. It will be included in a later newsletter when received.
The Chairman thanked W.O.Smith for such an enjoyable and interesting talk and was presented by W.O. Smith with an HMS RALEIGH plaque.
The AGM was re-opened temporarily in order to close it and pipe Up Spirits.
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The “free” afternoon sped by and it was soon time for members and their guests to assemble in the lounge/bar area for pre-dinner drinks and to await the arrival of our special guest. Arriving in style in the Mayor of Eastbourne’s limousine, Henry Allingham was met outside and helped into the wheelchair by Christopher Dean, the Hotel General Manager, and then pushed in to a right royal salute. He was piped aboard by S/Ms Jack Price and Geoff Lane and it looked as though he very much appreciated it. Mr. Allingham was wearing the Croix de Guerre, presented to him a couple of years ago and was, he said, the only medal he had since his First World War ones were lost during the blitz in WWII. Inside he was greeted by our President, Admiral Sir James Eberle, the Chairman, S/M George Toomey and others and sat patiently while a photographer took photographs of various groups.
One of the photographs, and several others from the reunion, are reproduced on the centre page of this newsletter. The others will be on display at the next reunion.
Whilst more photographs were being taken, Admiral Eberle was asked to pin on some medals to two of our members. The son of one of our more recent members, Norman Parker (L03 1938-41) got in touch about an article he had read in the Navy News. This was about a man who had worked in the Plymouth Naval Base for some years and during his time in the Navy during WWII had been involved in escorting convoys for the relief of Malta. The Government of Malta had issued a medal marking the 50th anniversary of the award of the George Cross to the island and all those who were involved in the defence of Malta were entitled to apply. Due to the poor publicity few of those entitled did actually apply. In due course the Maltese Government gave approval to Award Productions Ltd. to supply a reproduction of the medal to those who could prove eligibility. This chap’s workmates got together and got the medal for him, and this was the subject of the Navy News article. Norman’s son asked whether we could arrange for medals for eligible L03 members who had served on Malta convoys.
Some already had the medal, and of those who didn’t but were eligible only four wished to purchase them. Two were not attending the reunion but two were and it was arranged that for these two, Norman Parker and Ken Robinson, to have their medals pinned on by Admiral Eberle.
Ceremonies over, it was time for members and guests to take their places for dinner before the President, Mr. Allingham, the Mayor of Eastbourne and the Chairman and his lady processed into the dining room. The Grace was said by S/M Peter Hampstead and all took their seats for an enjoyable dinner.
After coffee had been served the Chairman asked members to stand for the Loyal Toast. It had not been expected that Mr. Allingham would stand but he made a determined effort and did so - a fantastic show of loyalty to his Queen. The kitchen and dining room staff then lined up and the Chairman thanked them for all their efforts. He also thanked all the members and their guests for their attendance to make it another evening to remember. He then handed over to the President, Admiral Eberle.
Admiral Eberle reminded everyone of Henry Allingham’s past and of how honoured we were to have him as our very special guest. He went on to talk about how important it was that associations such as ours existed to remind people of the past sacrifices made by our forces and of the current work that British forces are doing in the various hot spots around the world.
The Secretary, S/M Peter Harrison, then asked the President to present Henry Allingham with an engraved tankard as a reminder of his evening with us. Further presentations were made of an engraved vase to Miss Olive Woodall the Mayor of Eastbourne, an engraved tankard to Mr. Ron Cussins, the retiring Director of Tourism & Leisure for Eastbourne, and a ship’s badge wall plaque to Janet Grist, our Eastbourne Co-ordinator. Finally the President was asked to draw a ticket for the door prize. The winner was S/M Jack Price who got a bottle of malt whisky and two engraved whisky glasses.
Led by those at the top table, members and guests then retired to the lounges for and evening of relaxation, with music and entertainment by Jack Hazledene. During the evening the draws took place for the dozens of items donated very generously by members and few seemed to go away empty-handed. The draw was also made for the Cash Raffle. Because the number of tickets sold was so good it was decided to increase the number of prizes by adding two more at £25. The winners were:
Ticket No.
£100 R.P. Dearing 143
£50 B. De Lara * 556
£25 P.A.C. Day 109
M.S. Cook * 254
D.G. Rees 259
K. Batchelor 642
K. Batchelor 644
A. Edinborough 330
All were present except those 2 marked with and asterisk above and received their cheques there and then. The other 2 had theirs sent by post.
Henry Allingham had stayed on for about half an hour after the dinner finished but, although he said that he had enjoyed himself, he was starting to feel very tired and was taken home. Whether it is because we are all getting that bit older or what, there were no night owls holding up the bar and it closed about 11.30. On the other hand, perhaps everyone had gone over to the nightclub on the pier (I saw a few wistful eyes following the young, skimpily clad young girls as they walked in front of the hotel on their way)!
Next morning, Sunday, once again that weekend found the sun shining for us. Quite a difference from the previous year when, although it had been dry , was quite cold. With a hearty breakfast inside, those of us attending church set off for Holy Trinity, with a coach provided for those unable to make the walk. As usual there was a very good turnout, with Cossack’s filling at least a third of the church, and a large contingent of standards providing an impressive line up at the entrance. Holy Trinity always give us a good welcome and tailor their service with nautical themes. The service was also attended by the Deputy Mayor of Eastbourne and the lesson was read by Admiral Eberle.
On completion of the service, those taking part in the parade made their way to the Lifeboat Museum at the western end of the promenade whilst the coach dropped the standard bearers there before returning to the hotel with those unable to walk.
You may remember that we had a little bit of a fiasco last year when the parade marched off early and the saluting base was not ready. To save this happening again we had purchased a pair of two-way radios, so this time we were in touch at either end. Led as usual by the Eastbourne Scottish Pipe Band, behind which came the Association’s Standards and a mass of other Standards from local ex-service organisations, the platoon of Cossacks and a small contingent from the local Sea Cadet Corps. On arrival at the saluting base the salute was taken by Admiral Sir James Eberle, supported by the Deputy Mayor of Eastbourne.
Admiral Eberle had taken much of his time whilst waiting for the parade to arrive in talking the many of the visitors to Eastbourne who thronged the promenade to watch the parade. He never misses the opportunity to talk to people about the importance of the services, especially to the younger ones.
The parade halted just before reaching the pier and was inspected by the Admiral. The parade then marched across the pelican crossing under the watchful eye of two police cadets. Returning to the hotel most were soon taking advantage of the open bar and the buffet lunch which soon followed.
The Chairman took advantage of the crowd to get tickets sold for his Sunday raffle, getting a total of £143.00 in ticket sales. Incidentally, the profits made on the other raffles will be shown in separate report.
All too soon it was time to say goodbye to the many friends who were leaving that afternoon, although a good number were staying on for the extra night. For those of us who are involved in organising the weekend, the extra night gives us time to enjoy a rest after the hustle and bustle. However, that was quickly over and we were making our farewells to the rest. All except George and Pat (see the report on the “aftermath” which follows this).
The weekend seemed to go very well and the many letters of thanks we have received seems to confirm that. Our thanks though go to you all because it is you who make it a great weekend.
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Reunion 2004 - The Aftermath
George and Pat’s catastrophe with their car did not of course end with the arrival of their car, courtesy of the AA, in the car park behind the hotel. The car had to be dealt with before they could leave for home. George and Pat stayed on at the hotel and he had arranged for it to be seen by a garage on the Tuesday morning. This gave him some time to talk to the Manager about this year’s reunion and discuss prices for the next. One result of this was the change of dates for the 2005 reunion, reported on earlier. George reports as follows:
I had been told by the Bar Manager that the takings were considerably down on what were expected on the Friday evening but after dinner on Saturday I noticed that most of the seating closest to the bar area was nearly empty. This mystified me as the very good deal I had done with the hotel on beer prices would not have been touched by outside pubs. I spoke to a number of shipmates about this and some said that because there were “No Smoking” signs at the bar they thought the whole lounge area was a no smoking area. That wasn’t so of course, it was only AT the bar where smoking was not allowed.
The bar staff also reported that they had seen a number of the guests drinking their own drinks, ie not purchased from the bar. I hope that wasn’t so. Each year we have a battle to do a good deal so that it will be an affordable weekend for as many members as possible. This includes getting a much reduced beer price. If sales are low there is no incentive for the hotel to keep the price down below that of outside pubs. So members, it’s in your hands.
My sojourn at the hotel lasted for 8 days, until the end of the next week. My car was a write-off and I had to buy another. We arrived home the following Sunday with another car and empty pockets.
By the way shipmates, when you use your car that car you are driving has all the paperwork like Log book, certificate of insurance, MOT and is taxed. If not you may not get paid out by your insurer. These were the first questions I was asked. I was OK but make sure you are too. I would also like to draw your attention to changes being made by the AA. I understand that they are going to limit Relay call out and roadside assistance, so make sure you read your renewal terms carefully if you are an AA member. They say that this is due to a small number who call them out many times in one year. I said that this had always happened since the AA was formed but of course the AA is now part of a profit making company named CENTRICA. Incidentally, now that the AA no longer issue their handbooks, they are becoming collectors’ items. So keep your old ones safe.
My thanks go to Les and Jean Taylor for picking up Pat and me on the way down.
George
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Can you help?
1.
Our Chairman, George Toomey, is on the scrounge. In the run up to the reunion it wasn’t until very late on that we realised that Mr. Allingham, our 107 year old guest for dinner, would need a wheel chair. I suppose we had thought that the hotel would have had one for the occasional use of needy guests. However, that proved not to be the case. Ever resourceful, Janet Grist our Eastbourne Co-ordinator, tracked one down at the local Red Cross that we could use in return for a donation.
In addition, a lady needed help when she found walking very painful. George spotted a wheel chair by the hotel front door and, thinking that it belonged to the hotel, arranged for it to be sent up to her room. She appeared back downstairs in the chair, much to her husband’s relief, and was taken into dinner. However, he then found that the chair was the property of another guest who had left it inside the front door for use on returning to the hotel, and had returned to find it gone! Fortunately the lady’s painful feet had eased and the chair was returned to the owner, with George’s profuse apologies.
George feels that we should have one available at the hotel for our reunions and, before spending money unnecessarily, has asked whether any member has a wheelchair which is no longer required to get in touch with him on 01754-872116.
The second thing he is after is a record player, which will play the old 78 rpm records. We have a copy of “The Navy’s Here” record which was issued after the Altmark Incident. We also have a tape which purports to be a copy of what’s on the record but is very short and George wants to check that we have the whole thing. If not he wants to re-record it. If you’ve got such a record player, please phone George on 01754-872116.
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2.
Does any one remember Stoker Mechanic John Henshaw? He was in Cossack on the 1949-51 commission. We are trying to persuade him to join the Association and it would help if we could point to someone who knew him who is already a member. Please let the Secretary (see page 1) know if you knew him.
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The Quest Went On
George, fired by the results of his quest to find more details of the first Cossack, found himself intrigued by the information produced by the website about the Rose. Their site put HMS in inverted commas because, they said, at the time the original Rose was built ships were not known as His Majesty’s Ships. George’s new quest therefore was to find out just when this usage began. The Naval Historical Branch could not help, nor the Imperial War Museum. So he turned to the Daily Mail.
His question was “Which Royal Navy warship was the first to be given the title ‘HMS’? The following reply was published in the Daily Mail of 21st May.
‘HMS’ and other ship prefixes are not actually part of the ship’s name, but are like ‘Mr’ or ‘Mrs’ - an identifying title used in formal circumstances. Like many things, the practice developed over time rather than being laid down by rule.
Historically the Royal Navy referred to its ships by name - ‘Captain Nelson of Agamemnon’ is typical (rather than ‘of the Agamemnon’).
Nelson and his contemporaries normally wrote ‘ His Majesty’s ship Agamemnon’, often shortened to ‘His Maties’ Ship’ or sometimes ‘HM ship’ (the S being either upper or lower case) - though he himself did occasionally use ‘HMS’.
HMS began to be used regularly only in about 1790 (the first recorded reference being to HMS Phoenix, in 1789), but it only became widespread practice by around 1820.
As a principle, the use of HMS for ships up to that time is best avoided as a general anachronism; before 1790 it is wrong, except where one has to use it for clarity.
A related and common modern mistake is to call all Royal Navy sailing vessels HMS. Captain Cook’s vessels were, for example, ‘His Majesty’s bark Endeavour’ and ‘His Majesty’s sloops Resolution, Adventure and Discovery’. Even the 1789 example HMS Phoenix, a 36-gun fifth rate, was as likely to be called ‘His Majesty’s frigate’.
Pieter van der Merwe
National Maritime Museum
Greenwich, London
George now reckons that the Trincomalee was also a sister ship to the first Cossack.
He was a bit miffed to find that after all his hard work, someone in the HMS Bulawayo Association had done it all before. This chap collects cap tallies and for each one he gets, and he’s now got about 1000, he researches into the ships history.
By the way, the Chairman of the Bulawayo Association got in touch with George to make a tie up between the associations. The Bulawayo was originally the Nordmark, a sister ship to the Altmark and did a similar job in the North Atlantic as Altmark did in the South. But more of that when we get more information.
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Lieut. Commander Bradwell Turner
In the December 2003 newsletter we reported back on our attempt to find the number of the house in Maltravers Road, Littlehampton where Lt. Cdr. Bradwell Turner of Altmark fame had lived. The house had been demolished and an alternative site for the blue plaque was being investigated. It turned out that the house had been in St. Winefride’s Road and agreement was reached for the plaque to be affixed to No. 27.
We were invited to attend the unveiling ceremony and L03 members were contacted to see if they would attend. Not surprisingly, most were unable to travel, but at 11.00 am on 24th June S/M Lt. Cdr. Peter Day and his wife Betty, plus S/M’s Alan Edinborough, Marchant and Harrison with their wives gathered at the site for the unveiling.
The Chairman of Arun District Council, Mrs. Sue Kelly welcomed everyone present and then introduced Mr. Ronald Proyer who made a short speech about his involvement. He had interviewed Lt. Cdr. Turner many years ago and had been very impressed by the story told to him about the Altmark incident and, over the last 4 years had worked hard to get the plaque erected to commemorate this gallant officer.
The Chairman next introduced Commander T.J. Gulley, the Commander Specialist Training and Recruit School at HMS Raleigh. Commander Gulley explained that because the boarding of the Altmark had always been regarded as a textbook example that when a Board and Search School was being set up at HMS Cambridge, the building in which it was housed was named the Cossack Building. It had been opened by the, then, First Sea Lord Admiral Jock Slater and some members of the Cossack Association were also present at that opening. In 2003 HMS Cambridge had closed and the School had been transferred to HMS Raleigh and under his aegis. Warrant Officer Gary Smith who runs the B & S School would normally have attended this ceremony but, since he was involved in the training of people about to go to Iraq, he had delegated it upwards!
Keith Batchelor, our Archivist, then made a short speech about the Association, and remarked on how appropriate it was that there were now commemoratives both here in the UK and at Joessingfjord in Norway.
This was followed by another short speech, this time by Mrs. Fiona Hartley, Lt. Cdr. Turner’s eldest daughter. She spoke about her time living in the house which used to stand there and her memories of her father.
Mrs. Kelly then asked Commander Gulley to pull the cord and unveil the plaque. As he did so a Royal Marine bugler played the Last Post.
Picture of Blue Plaque
See ‘REUNIONS’ Web page
After the ceremony all were invited back to the Arun Civic Centre for a reception and refreshments. This gave everyone chance to meet. Keith Batchelor quickly erected a small display of some of our Association’s photographs, etc. around which a crowd soon assembled. The Council had put on a very nice selection of small eats and drinks.
Alan Edinborough just happened to have with him the video about the Altmark Incident, which had been produced several years ago by our Norwegian friends from Sokndal. As it happened too there was a television set and video recorder in the room and it wasn’t long before everyone was engrossed. As well as Mrs Fiona Hartley, the two other daughters of Lt. Cdr. Turner were also present and were particularly interested in hearing more about the action.
The BBC had cameras covering the ceremony at St. Winefride’s Road and that evening it was shown on South Today. Another camera team covered both the ceremony there and the reception at the Civic Centre and we hope to be able to get a copy of that one.
Mrs. Hartley told us that she had got a scrap book which contained quite a lot about her father and HMS Cossack and we are hoping to borrow it so that we can take a copy of some of it.
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60th Anniversary of the end of World War Two
We have been given warning that there are to be some ceremonial happenings next year, in July, to mark this anniversary. Contact with ex-Service organisations such as ours is being made with a view to gauging ticket requirements and allocations.
There will be a big ticket only commemoration at the Mall in London and some will be invited to a lunch. It is unlikely that our Association will be allocated more than for 10 couples and probably 5 double tickets will be nearer the mark.
Only those who served during WW2 will be eligible to attend. Many of you who served in D57 after the war ended may well have served earlier on other ships and will be eligible that way.
We shall be asked to give our requirements sometime next month, ie July 2004, so anyone who wishes to bid for tickets, please contact the Secretary as soon as possible.
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A PART OF A LIFE
1935 - 1947
by Victor John Bunyan Durey
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