Gentlemen,

            As our Chairman is on forced Sabbatical due to his recent ill heath, which I am sure you will join me in wishing Andy a speedy recovery, I will open this issue.

It is with great regret I inform you that  A.J. (Jack)  Reeve. CPO.Coxn. and member of the Dolphin Branch SA. Age 89 has crossed the bar.

S/M Service

1940 to 1946

Pandora,P34,Una,P556,Virtue

Our thoughts are with his family.

  It has been a busy year in the Submarine world of Coxswains with quite a few changes in the way we do things. The implementation of the Armed Forces act brings all three forces into line along the Judicial Trail adding a whole new rash of paperwork for us poor Coxswains, seriously though once we get our heads around the paperwork it should be a better system!

 John Adam has safely returned from his OP Tour in Afghanistan, hopefully in the next issue we may have some dits and pictures.

 Carl Donald has been promoted to WO1 Congratulations, he is getting ready to relieve Mark Duffy at FOST who is going to head up the Leadership School at HMS Collingwood. Good luck Marc.                                                                                   

I would like to introduce two new Coxswains into our fraternity. Congratulations to Paddy Sheeky and Al Wakefield membership forms on their way.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

                                                  AL being presented his Death Star by Taff Harris                                                                                                                                                 Paddy joining the fold. Is that John Hendren in the background?

 

This has been an eventful year on the escape front. The demise of Pressurised SETT although I believe the jury is still out on that one. The introduction of EOGS and CO2 blankets which replace the CO2 absorbtion units.

 

HMS Trafalgar bows out.

                 The First of Class sailed into her home port Plymouth for the last time on the 10^th of November this year.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

                                       HMS Trafalgar flying her Decommisioning pennant                                                                                                                                                          Submariners line HMS Trafalgar as she sails into Devonport Naval Base                             [Picture: LA(Phot) James Crawford, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]                                                                                                                                                    [Picture: LA(Phot) Dan Hooper, Crown Copyright/MOD 2009]

                                                                                  

HMS Trafalgar's Commanding Officer, Commander Charlie Shepherd, said the final homecoming of any submarine is an especially poignant one for submariners who regarded them with affection.  He added: "The feeling of everyone, including me, as we came in today for the final time, was a mixture of pride and sorrow. Sadness, because this is the last time the submarine will be operational and some sailors who have been on board for up to seven years will miss their occupational home for so long, and because close-knit submarines are almost families and this community will be broken up. "Also, pride because of the fantastic work the submarine has done over 26 years and the more recent work we have done in the last two-and-a-half years since I have been on board.
 "We spent five months east of Suez working with a carrier task force and interacted with other navies. We also supported the training of would-be submarine commanders - called 'Perisher'."

 He said many hundreds of different personnel had served on HMS Trafalgar over the years and among the achievements of them and the submarine was becoming the first British submarine to circumnavigate the globe:

"Although she is being decommissioned, she remains an extremely reliable vessel and has proved this over the years. Also, she still has cutting-edge hardware and software supporting her systems on board.
"Most of all I am very proud of my ship's company, they have been resilient, cheerful and hardworking right to the end. They, like the submarine, are a credit to the Royal Navy."

The submarine, affiliated to Morecambe, is due to decommissioned in December. To mark this, a decommissioning ceremony was held in HM Naval Base Devonport on 4 December. The proceedings were overseen by Lady Fieldhouse, the ship's sponsor.
HMS Trafalgar was launched on 1 July 1981 at the Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited shipyard. This year marks the 26th year since HMS Trafalgar was commissioned at Barrow-in-Furness by Lady Fieldhouse on 27 May 1983.
HMS Trafalgar is being prepared for disposal in Devonport; her ship's company will be assigned to new submarines including HMS Ambush and other Trafalgar Class submarines.

HMS Sceptre Back on Duty.

The Oldest seagoing vessel in the RN,the Clyde-based submarine, which was commissioned on 14 February 1978, has undergone a deep maintenance period which occurs around once every three years.
The procedure allowed engineers to strip equipment and inspect areas of the submarine which are usually inaccessible. The Design Authorities also used the period to inspect the vessel, certifying that Sceptre is safe for operations for the remaining two years of her operational life.

 During the RAMP at HM Naval Base Clyde, the opportunity was taken to upgrade weapon and electronic systems on HMS Sceptre, ensuring that the vessel is kept at the cutting edge of war-fighting capability. Crew members also took the chance to catch up with leave, professional courses and adventurous training before heading back to sea.                            

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Commander Steve Waller, Commanding Officer of HMS Sceptre, said: "I have been immensely impressed with the engineering support provided by Babcock and the efforts of my ship's company in getting Sceptre ready to commence the final years of service.  As a crew we are looking forward to completing our operational training and continuing on operations, spearheading the Royal Navy's employment of maritime power."

From the Oldest to the Newest.

HMS Astute has arrived at Faslane and has completed its first round of trials on the way up. The Astute submarine has the latest stealth technology, a world-beating sonar system and is armed with 38 torpedoes and missiles - more than any previous Royal Navy submarine. The submarine, which can manufacture its own oxygen from sea water to replenish the onboard atmosphere, will be able to circumnavigate the entire globe while submerged and advanced nuclear technology means that she will never need to be refuelled.                 Measuring nearly one hundred metres from bow to stern, Astute is longer than ten London buses and, when fully stored, will displace 7,800 tonnes of sea water, equivalent to 65 blue whales. The crew are preparing for the onslaught of trials which will start in the next year.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

The Astute Class of submarines will deliver a step change in capability for defence in terms of anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, protecting the deterrent, and providing land attack and intelligence-gathering.

Closure of British Forces Post Offices.

It seems that this is a hot subject on some websites and is being discussed at length in other Association publications which state it will affect our forces deployed. This is not the case. The offices facing closure are headquarters in Europe and the like for which our personnel who are assigned there receive adequate allowances for. If anyone wishes more information please drop me a line.

LITTLE JOHNNY

It is near the Christmas break of the school year. The students have turned in all their work and there is really nothing more to do. All the children are restless and the teacher decides to have an early dismissal.

Teacher: "Whoever answers the questions I ask, first and correctly can leave early today."

Little Johnny says to himself "Good, I want to get

outta here. I'm smart and will answer the question."

Teacher: "Who said 'Four Score and Seven Years Ago'?"

Before Johnny can open his mouth, Susie says, "Abraham Lincoln."

Teacher: "That's right Susie, you can go home." Johnny is mad that Susie answered the question first.

Teacher: "Who said 'I Have a Dream'?"

Before Johnny can open his mouth, Mary says,

"Martin Luther King."

Teacher: "That's right Mary, you can go."

Johnny is even madder than before.

Teacher: "Who said 'Ask not, what your country can do for you'?"

Before Johnny can open his mouth, Nancy says, "John F.Kennedy."

Teacher: "That's right Nancy, you may also leave." Johnny is boiling mad that he has not been able to answer to any of the questions.

When the teacher turns her back Johnny says, "I wish these bitches would keep their mouths shut!"

The teacher turns around: "NOW WHO SAID THAT?"

Johnny: "TIGER WOODS. CAN I GO NOW?"

Christmas Time

The Teacher asked young Patrick Murphy:  "What do you do at Christmas time? 
Patrick addressed the class:  "Well Ms. Jones, me and my twelve brothers and sisters go to midnight mass and we sing hymns; then we come home very late and we put mince pies by the back door and hang up our stockings.  Then all excited, we go to bed and wait for Father Christmas to come with all our toys. 
"Very nice Patrick," she said.  "Now Jimmy Brown, what do you do at Christmas?" 
Well, Ms. Jones, me and my sister also go to church with Mom and Dad and we sing carols and we get home ever so late.  We put cookies and milk by the chimney and we hang up our stockings.  We hardly sleep, waiting for Santa Claus to bring our presents. 
Realizing there was a Jewish boy in the class and not wanting to leave him out of the discussion, she asked, "Now, Isaac Cohen, what do you do at Christmas?" 
Isaac said, "Well, it's the same thing every year.... Dad comes home from the office.  We all pile into the Rolls Royce; then we drive to Dad's toy factory.  When we get inside, we look at all the empty shelves... And begin to sing: “What A. Friend We Have In Jesus.”  Then we all go to the Bahamas ."