Submariners Association Recognised by the Ministry of Defence Patron: Admiral the Lord Boyce KG GCB OBE DL Chairman: J. McMaster Esq. 1 Blantyre Court Bargarran, Erskine Renfrewshire PA8 6BN Tel: (0141) 571 4094 E-Mail: [email protected] Hon. Treasurer: I. H. Atkinson Esq. 48 Craggyknowe Hawthorn Park Washington Tyne & Wear NE37 1JZ Tel: (01914) 167996 [email protected] Hon. Secretary: D.N. Watts Esq. 19 Christal Terrace Fulwell Sunderland SR6 9HW 0191 548 0971 [email protected] President: Admiral Sir James Perowne KBE Honorary Chaplain to the Association: Reverend Paul Beresford Jupp Vice Presidents: P.W.C. Elliot MBE R.L. Gritt Esq. Rear Admiral A.J. Whetstone CB Cdr. R. C. Seaward OBE RN R. Elrick Esq. D. Barlow Esq. FRIENDLY NEWSCROLLER DETAILS FOR BRANCH SECRETARIES AND THEIR MEETINGS 21st January 2015 Illustrating the two magnificent cakes that were made for the service to commemorate the 65th Anniversary of the loss of HM Submarine TRUCULENT. The Memorial Service took place on Saturday 10th January 2015 at St. George's Church, Chatham, formerly HMS Pembroke, the event as always was hosted and organised by the Medway Towns Branch. Please see Photographs on the Website 13th January 2015 Dear Gallipoli Venture Supporter/Contact & Fellow Submariners Please see latest version of plan attached + related documents As we approach the 100th anniversary of Gallipoli, our planning for the commemorative venture is coming to a close At this point, our main stumbling block is official recognition and access to the Gallipoli peninsular between 20 to 28th April If you have any wisdom, influence, connections or rank grateful if it could be employed now to help us.<br> I do hope we can meet and extend friendship to the Australian Submarine group who will in the area at the same time. Four Documents regarding the Gallipoli campaign are now on the Website Russ Timpson Esq 12th January 2015 Fellow Submariners Hopefully you have all recovered from the ravages of a hectic festive season? Can I please remind you of the following, that the closing date for applications to attend the fully integrated reunion taking place at the Holiday Inn, Leicester, Friday 27th – Sunday 29th March should be received by Dave Barlow by Friday 6th February at the latest please. As there are only a limited number of rooms left, I would strongly advise that if you wish to attend and haven’t booked that you do so sooner rather than leaving it until the last minute, otherwise you may miss the boat and be disappointed Application forms were sent to all members contactable by email as attachments as well as being included in Issue No. 46 of “In Depth”, they can also be downloaded via the Events page on our Website. So please send your applications, including meal choices and full payment to Dave Barlow as soon as possible please, many thanks Dave Watts Esq, National Secretary 6th January 2015 I am writing to let you know of the passing of my mother, Philippa Purdy, who was the widow of submariner (and former CO of HMS Alliance) Patrick Purdy I was hoping that you might be able to forward this news in some way to your members, some of whom will have known both Pippa and Pat. My brother and I are contacting all of the people for whom we have details, but I'm sure a few will slip through the net, so I'd be very grateful if you could help with the workings of the grapevine The funeral will be on Thursday 8th January at 1145, at Portchester Crematorium, with a gathering afterwards at Cams Mill in Fareham Many thanks in advance for any help you can give in getting the word out to those who knew my parents. Best regards - and a Happy New Year Sean Purdy 21st December 2014 Xmas Greetings Please find attached on the Website the Christmas greetings that I sent to Barrie Downer for inclusion in “In Depth”. 19th December 2014 Military Voices Battle for Number One100 years on from the very first Christmas in the trenches of the Great War, military voices are once again raised in harmony for a moving song of tribute to bravery and sacrifice. Please go to the Website Notices Pages, for more information Chris Freeth Esq, Bath Branch 18th December 2014 Holbrook Museum Australia Please go to the Website for the photos and further information. Have just received the email and attachments from the curator of the Holbrook museum at Holbrook, NSW, Australia. Have also sent a thank you email to the museum. One of the photographs also shows the scale model of Holbrook's boat B11 which is just outside of the entrance to the museum and is their most recent acquisition The picture of the Oberon control room, was built inside of the museum using the control room scavenged from HMS OTWAY before she was finally broken up. The guy that built it did it from photographs and was an aircraft engineer. Absolutely amazing - they have done well. Greetings to all from Holbrook We had a dinner to celebrate the centenary of Norman Holbrook VC with his crew aboard the B11 13th Dec 1914 Our guest speaker was Laurence Ryan author of Holbrook the Submarine Town, he gave a brilliant talk on Normans Parents, brothers and sisters and Norman's lifeAround 40 attended with a mix of locals and Submariners, our Mayor Heather Wilton gave an address with past GHSC Officer Ian Gilbert proposing a toast to the Holbrook family with a special mention for Gundula Holbrook who turned 100 three weeks ago It was a was an excellent night to honor an exceptional man and his family. All the best to you and your families for a happy Christmas and a great New Year Roger Cooper Honorary Curator Holbrook Submarine Museum 17th December 2014 Dex Armstrong Dex Armstrong was an American submariner. He was also a gifted wordsmith who authored numerous and hilarious dits about his time aboard diesel boats. He was an associate member of the Merseyside branch of the Submariners Association until he sadly crossed the bar in early September this year. Here is a short but appropriate seasonal extract from one of his yarns about Christmas Eve aboard the USS Requin, one of his old smoke-boats as he affectionately referred to them. He once described diesel submariners as, and I quote, "A buccaneer fraternity that prided itself on not being bolted too securely to the planet." A suitable epitaph to the man and I rather suspect one for the rest of us Merry and Peaceful Christmas and a Happy New Year in 2015 to you and your families. Pedro & Shirley Pedro, Thank you for taking the moment to honor the memory of our dearly departed Dex Armstrong. And seasons greetings to my dear friends and shipmates of Merseyside Branch of the Submariners Association. May the good Lord bless us one and all. Tommy Cox Peter Dickenson Esq, Merseyside Branch 13th December 2014 Move of MOD Veterans UK website to GOV.uk Veterans UK website has moved from a standalone site to become part of the new GOV.uk super-website. This email is to advise you that with the new pages now successfully running, redirects from the old to the new pages will be put in place. Anyone trying to access www.veterans-uk.info will be redirected to www.gov.uk/veterans-uk . No-one should receive a broken link. MOD Veteran Welfare Service, Veterans UK The statutory support to Veterans across the UK is delivered by the Veterans Welfare Service; their direct web site can be accessed via: https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/veterans-welfare-service Whilst this is a positive move and supports better accessibility/future development of online services, some content has changed and it may take some people a little time to get used to the new format and content locations. Veterans UK was previously ‘Service Personnel and Veterans Agency’. Please distribute across your staff, any other organisation you feel may benefit from this information and most importantly update your web site with the new details below: Veterans UK Veterans UK HELPLINE - 0808 1914 218 Monday to Thursday, 07:30 to 18:30 Friday, 07:30 to 17:00 www.gov.uk/veterans-uk E-mail: [email protected] Veterans Welfare Service, Veterans UK The Veterans Welfare Service (VWS), part of Veterans UK, provides one to one support to Veterans via a national network of welfare managers across the UK and Republic of Ireland. https://www.gov.uk/government/groups/veterans-welfare-service The VWS has 4 Veterans Welfare Centres, providing advice and support across the UK. Centurion (London, SE and SW England) Tel 02392 702232 Email: [email protected] Kidderminster (South and Central Wales, Midlands and East England) Tel 01562 825527 Email: [email protected] Norcross VWC (NW England, Yorkshire and Humber, North Wales and IOM) Tel 01253 333494 Email: [email protected] Glasgow (Scotland, NE England, NI and ROI) Tel 0141 2242709 Email: [email protected] If you are supporting a veteran and need further advice, the VWS may be able to help. To locate your nearest centre, call our Veterans UK helpline on 0808 1914218. Useful leaflet: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/330719/VeteransUK_AFCS_ WPS_Leaflet1.pdf _______________________________________________________