Twinned with SAOC East

Submariners Association ▪ Barrow-in- Furness Branch Newsletter ▪ Issue 143

BarrowSAnews@gmail.com HMS B11

May 2012

Barrow Submariner’s Association Branch OfficialsHON

PRESIDENT

John V. Hart

01229 821831

CHAIRMAN

Dave Barlow

01229 831196

SECRETARY

Ron Hiseman

01229828664

TREASURER

Mick Mailey

01229 821290

NEWSLETTER

EDITOR

Richard Britten

01229 820265

WEB MASTER

Ron Hiseman

01229 828664

SOCIAL TEAM

Colin Hutchinson

01229 208604

Jeff Thomas

01229 464493

STANDARD

BEARERS

Pedlar Palmer

Ginge Cundall

WELFARE

COMMITTEE

Michael Mailey

Alan Jones

Contents: 2) Chairman 3) HMS B11 4) Ron Hiseman & Social Secretary 5) Indian Subs

6) Affray Memorial Trust 7) St Georges day Parade 8) General Info 9) Quiz Page

Every branch should have a John Hartlookalike. Long tall Kenny came gallopingto the rescue and as there were no othertakers Ken Collins was elected unopposedas our Vice Chairman. He was baptisedpretty quickly as I was unavailable for thefirst committee meeting of the year.

Fortunately for us Ron Hiseman has returned to Barrow to work after beingaway down south for a year or two. He volunteered (coerced) to take over the secretarial reins he vacated when Barrietook over. Welcome back Ron. SomehowI don’t think it will take him long to getback into the swing of things.

The May Word

Well, that’s the AGM over for anotheryear. It was quite painless really albeit itwas touch and go for a while on whetherwe would fill the offices.

We haven’t had a Vice Chairman for 2 or3 years and I felt that a branch our sizeneeded one. When required, our President John Hart has stood in and Ihave been very grateful for that but in hisposition he shouldn’t need to. ThanksJohn for the times you have stood inwhen I have been unavailable.

I would also like to thank themember who wishes to remainanonymous who although hedidn’t really want the job wouldhave taken on the roll of secretary had we been unable tofind someone else. You knowwho you are, thanks a lot fromme and your desire to ensure thebranch didn’t perish without asecretary.

It gave me a lot of pleasure atthe AGM to make two presentations. The first was to KenCollins. Having presented himwith his Life Membership Cer-tificate I presented him with aLimited Edition print of theChurchill Class of Submarine inwhich he served, as a thank youfor the hard work he put in overmany years as Chairman. It waswell overdue but I was happy toredress the lapse.

And so to Barrie. It was his lastmeeting as branch secretary andagain I was very pleased topresent him with a print of theinside of the DDH suitablyinscribed with our thanks for ajob well done.

I expressed our thanks andgratitude for all he has done forthe branch, not just as secretarybut the support in every fieldthat he has given. A renownedsubmarine historian he hasunearthed many a useful snippetof information and answeredmany queries that have been

thrown his way. I expect we willstill see quite a bit of him untilsuch time as he manages to findhis way on the M6 and M74 anddisappear up to the ‘FrozenNorth’. Barrie; thanks for allthat you have done for us and Itrust you enjoy your retirement.

I apologise for the confusion atthe AGM arising from the proposal relating to our widows.I think that we eventually got itresolved, but you can take itfrom me that we will alwaysremember them in some way. Ihave already got some ideas andJeff Thomas is chasing one ofthem up.

A couple of weeks ago the Courageous Association heldtheir biennial reunion in Barrowwhich had been arranged byKen Collins. My thanks go toRoger Brailsford in helping outand also to Gas Mayes ex ofAmbush but now outside andworking in DTO.

As I mentioned at the AGMunless we could get a few morenames for the Branch DinnerDance I would have no alternative but to cancel. Wehad just 42 names which is not aviable number for a dinnerdance so Colin H and I met withthe Lisdoonie management todiscuss the situation and we tookup their offer of holding a Dinner only with an enhanced 5course menu. Having phonedeveryone round to give them theoption of dropping out withtheir money back all but 2agreed to the dinner only. I haveto say it was the best meal I haveever had at the Lisdoonie.We used the occasion to dine outBarrie Downer and his wifeMargaret out as he was going tobe a guest speaker at the danceanyway. Everybody I have spoken to said they enjoyed itand reiterated my thoughts onthe quality of the meal. It hasgiven us food for thought(excuse the pun) on the potentialformat for future functions. Iwould like your reasons on whyyou elected not to attend thisyear. It is an important function

in our calendar and we need toknow what the core reasons areso that they can be addressed

and resolved. It is very disheartening for the Social Secto put so much work in toarranging an event only to findthat the support he gets is to behonest pretty abysmal. Was itthe cost, the venue, the menu,the timing or some other reason? I know that some regulars were away but surelynot all. Unless we know it is difficult to do something aboutit. What I do know is that thosethat didn’t attend are the losersas it was a good night all roundplus we made about £100 with araffle for the Anniversary fund.

Last week I held a sub commit-tee meeting for the 50thAnniversary celebration.Along with Jan Mead and ColinHutchinson, I welcomed onboard Jeff Thomas to the committee and to make sure hewas up and running with whatwas going on I also invited RonHiseman. We had a goodexchange of ideas with an actiongrid produced to capture all theactions that need to be done toensure that next year is reallymemorable. Rest assured thatthings are now starting to movenot just on the Main Anniversary Ball in the Forumnext May but other events andthings that need to be done.

We do still need your supportwith the fund raising as my aspiration is that the Anniversary Ball should be relatively easy on all our pockets.

Talking of which we are havinga fund raising social in the RBLon Friday 27 July. Songs for aSummer Evening with Voce andSpecial Guests "The Girls".

It promises to be another greatnight with the ticket price beingheld at £5 once again.

Well, that’s all for now, see youall at the Branch meeting onTuesday 1st.

Dave

May 2012

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3

May 2012

Well ladies gents, my firstnewsletter as your newSecretary. In case youhaven’t heard Barrie hasresigned as Secretary

following his retirement fromBAE SYSTEMS. Margaret andBarrie are now planning tomove back to Scotland to enjoytheir retirement. I wish them thebest of health and a long andhappy retirement. I also thankBarrie for his sterling efforts inthe role as Secretary.

Now down to the logistics of theposition as your Secretary. Ihave received a membership listfrom Barrie and have put all e-mails into my system. On the15th April I sent an e-mail to allthose on the list. It didn’t go toowell as the file stated to manyrecipients. I am now trying torefine files and will try again forthose not net contacted. I willsend minutes of AGM usingindividual e-mails, so if you havenot received a copy on the lastminutes please e-mail me at ron-hiseman@tiscali.co.uk and I willupdate my list. If you have morethan one e-mail address pleasereply from both addresses if youwish me to use both. The morethe Branch can carry out on e-mail reduces the cost to theBranch for normal mail, especially now that the PostOffice are introducing largeprice increases for stamps.

The hand over from Barrie isnow complete and all my goodwork to reduce the rubbish inmy office has now been undoneby all the Branch records theBranch has amassed over theyears. I am currently workingmy way through them to seewhat we hold and the relevanceof the items.

From the AGM and the Committee meeting following itbecame obvious that some of theBranch rules need to be revisited for relevance and theaddition of Peter’s proposal thatthe Branch remember our Widows. To that extent I willlook at the Branch rules andreport to the Committee in duecourse. If anyone has any further ideas on the Branchrules please let me know so I canincorporate them.

The HMS Courageous reunionwas held in Barrow over theweekend of 13-15 April. A meetand greet was held in the RBLon the Friday night and Iattended the golf and eveningmeal on the Saturday. As I wasnever on HMS Courageous Lynand I enjoyed the company of allpresent and had a good night.Lyn and my thanks once againto the events organising committee, especially KenCollins.

As part of the 50th celebrationsof the Branch next year weintend to make a bid for theSubmarine Flotilla Golf completion to be held in Barrownext year. If you have an interestand would like to join the organ-ising committee please let meknow.

Again my thanks to Barrie forall he has done over the yearsand I hope as I settle into the jobthese newsletter dits becomeeasier

Ron

On Saturday 21st Aprilwe held our Branchannual dinner at the Lisdoonie, due a disap-pointing response therewas unfortunately not

enough numbers to sustain adance as well, so the Chairmanand myself had a tete a tete onthe way ahead and decided toring round those who requestedtickets to see if they were agree-able to just having a dinner atthe Lisdoonie with an enhancedmenu. I was really encouragedthat not one person was againstthe idea, so 40 members andtheir guests attended andenjoyed what was a really niceevening with good food andgood company. I would like tothank all of you who attendedand for your support for the raf-fle which raised £96 on thenight.

I would like to echo the Chair-mans comments on providingfeedback on this social event sothat we can plan for better functions that you would like inthe future.

Future events include a Ladiesinvite / Quiz for the July meetingand a Summer event withVOCE in July and of course theLadies night dinner at theAbbey House hotel on Novem-ber 9th.

Colin Hutchinson Social Secretary

Scottish Branch Submariners Association

On 5th & 6th May 2012, Services for the loss of the Vandal at Loch Ranza andUntamed at Dunoon cemetery.In 1992 the Branch discoveredthat two submarines, 'VANDAL' and 'UNTAMED'had been lost in the Clyde withall hands some fifty years beforein 1943 within a couple ofmonths of each other. VANDALwas lost in February 1943 andUNTAMED at the end of May ofthe same year. Both were newlybuilt boats undergoing their initial sea trials and both lost asa result of accidents rather thanenemy action.

The crew of UNTAMED isburied in Dunoon cemetery withthe exception of the ChiefEngine Room Artificer who isburied in Campbeltown.UNTAMED was subsequentlyrecovered, refitted, renamedVITALITY and was used as atraining boat for the remainderof the war. VANDAL was neverrecovered, and in fact it was theScottish Branch that initiated itseventual true location:

For further information pleasevisit Scottish Branch Submariners Association or visitSubmariners Association Website

If you have any questions related to the above, please contact: Jim Rea Esq, Hon Secretary, Scottish Branch, Submariners Association

May 2012

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Ron Hiseman Secretary

Social SecretaryMay 2012

India has formally commis-sioned a nuclear-powered submarine into its navy, rejoin-ing the elite club of nations withsuch a weapon.

The $1bn (£630m) Russian-builtvessel is being leased by theIndian navy for the next 10years. It was handed over toIndia in eastern Russia in January.

India previously operated aSoviet nuclear submarine until1991.

It now rejoins China, Russia, theUS, the UK and France as anoperator of nuclear submarines.

India is also developing its ownnuclear-powered submarinewhich is expected to be ready bythe end of this year.

'Big boost for navy'

The 8,140-tonne Akula II-classsubmarine, built by the Russians as the K-152 Nerpa,has been renamed by India asthe INS Chakra II.

The submarine was formallycommissioned into the navy bythe country's Defence Minister,AK Antony, at a ceremony inVishakhapatnam, on India'seast coast off the Bay of Bengal.

"This will be a big boost for theIndian navy," Mr Antony toldreporters after the ceremony.

"The INS Chakra will ensuresecurity and sovereignty of thecountry," he said.

It has a crew of 80 under thecommand of Captain PAshokan.

The submarine set sail from theRussian port of Vladivostok atthe end of February.

In keeping with internationalnon-proliferation treaties, thesubmarine will not be equippedwith nuclear weapons. It isexpected to only carry cruisemissiles. India had previouslyleased a nuclear submarine fromthe Russians in the late 1980swhich was used to train its naval personnel.

The INS Chakra will, however,be operational and is expected togive the Indian navy an addedadvantage and is capable ofremaining submerged for aboutthree months at a time.

It was due to be handed over toDelhi in 2009 but the transferwas delayed because of problems during testing.

In November 2008, at least 20people died in an accident on theNerpa when a fire extinguishingsystem was activated by mistake. India is also buildingan indigenous nuclear submarine, the Arihant, which isexpected to join the navy sometime later this year.

Russia is also expected to helpIndia train the Arihant's crew.

India and Russia are long-timeallies and Russia supplies 70%of India's military hardware.The submarine will be deployedoff the eastern Indian coast....towards China"

I would like to thankthe Branch member-ship for the presentation of the FramedChurchill class print at

the AGM last month, it wasgreatly appreciated. I would alsolike to thank the Branch members who made the effort to

join us at the Meet and Greet forHMS Courageous Associationon Friday the 13th April. It wasa fantastic function as was thewhole weekend of celebrations, especially the Dinner at the Lisdoonie Hotelwho done us proud.

I would also, on behalf of theAssociation, like to thank BobPalmer and John Smith and theRoyal British Legion for theirhospitality in affording us theuse of the Concert room on theFriday (Meet and Greet),Saturday (AGM) and Sundayfor the farewell drinks.

I was asked by our PresidentCaptain David Wixon and thecommittee, to pass on the Associations best regards to theRBL and Branch for all that wasdone over the reunion weekend.

The Branch annual dinner atthe Lisdoonie last weekend wasgreat, the food was second tonone and the Trout, according toFiona Barlow, was delicious (askJan Mead). Although there wasno group or dancing it was a terrific function and a grandfarewell to our guest speakerand outgoing Secretary BarrieDowner.

May I take this opportunity topersonally thank Barrie for allthat he has done over the yearsfor the Branch, not only as secretary, but a whole host offunctions that he has performedon behalf of the Association. Hiscontribution to the history of theSubmarine service will be sadlymissed in the Newsletter and Ihope that he will continue submitting dits in the future;after all he is only an emailaway.

Good luck with your retirementBarrie, you will be sadly missed.

Yours Aye

Ken CollinsVice Chairman

May 2012

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Indian Nuclear Submarines

The Vice Chairman

The Trust has been establishedwith the objective of providing apermanent public memorial tohonour the 75 Royal Navy submariners and Royal Marinesthat were lost in the sinking ofHM Submarine “Affray” whichoccurred off Alderney, ChannelIslands on 16th April 1951. TheTrust is also responsible for theinstallation, maintenance andpublic liability insurance for thememorial, together with theannual provision in perpetuityof poppy wreaths to be placed atthe memorial on the anniversary of the sinking andon Remembrance Sunday.Guernsey registered charitynumber CH389. Member of theAssociation of Guernsey Charities.

Donations are welcome and maybe made in the name of the“Affray Submarine MemorialTrust” by cheque and posted to:Alderney Trustees Limited, TheOld Presbytery, Les Rocquettes,Alderney, Channel Islands, GY93TF or alternately from anybranch of the NatWest bank inthe UK and through internetbanking by sending to: NatWest

Bank, account number74320025, sort code 60-09-20

Branch address: Victoria Street,St Anne, Alderney, ChannelIslands, GY9 3AG

There is currently a shortfall ofabout £12,000 that must befound as soon as possible if weare to achieve our goal. A grantapplication has been applied forthat will hopefully provide£6,000, but if successful it willnot be available until the end ofMay. Many people have givengenerously in the past 12months, but I earnestly requestthat those who have not yetdone so, should please considermaking a contribution, if youare able. The trust is notempowered to take out bankloans or personal guarantees,but any offers of short-termfinancial assistance will be verywelcome.

Environment Minister AlexAttwood has said what appearsto be a submarine or boat hasbeen identified submerged inLough Foyle.

Mr Attwood said he had viewedsonar images of the vessel."Ihave asked that urgent work isundertaken to determine howand when the submarine or boat

came to rest in this part of thelough. "It is unusual that thereappears to be no record of thecircumstances behind thissituation," he said. "I have also

asked that all agencies continueto work with DOE and the harbour commissioner to createcertainty about the identity ofand the reason why the submarine/boat is in the currentlocation."He said it was crucialthat no diving should occur inthe vicinity of the vessel. "Theremay be unexploded ordnancewhich means there are potentialrisks. This may also be a wargrave," he said.

Lough Foyle

Captain Robin Heath’s funeralwill be at the St Thomas BeckettChurch in Box, Wiltshire, at1230 on Thursday 3rd May2012.

Family flowers only. Donationswelcome to the RNLI.

The Well Turned Phrase

He who hesitates is probablyright.

If all is not lost where is it?.

I Have the body of agod...Buddha.

May 2012

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Affray Submarine Memorial Trust

Submarine or boatsubmerged in Lough

Foyle

HMS Affray memorial unveiled in Alderney 16th April

Six Members of the BarrowBranch took part in the AnnualSt George's Day Parade on Sunday 22nd April 2012. Thesewere Ginge Cundell with theBranch Standard, Brian Downie, Bob Faragher, BarrieDowner, John Smith in the mainbody of the Parade and BobPointer (who marched with theMayors Party).

There were 15 Standards onParade and the Standard Bearers were presented withRoses by the Mayor outside theTown Hall.

The Parade stepped off at 1300and marched to St GeorgesChurch for the Service conduct-ed by the Rev. Linda Cronin.The Parade was led by the Barrow Pipe Band playing slowfor the benefit of the marchersbut leading to a large number of'Change Steps' on the way.

After the Service the Paradereformed and marched back totown and halted near the Ambulance Station and wasFallen Out. The Members thenmade their way to the Engineersfor a well earned Pint (or two)and Pie & Peas. The StandardBearers were each presentedwith a Commemorative Salverto mark their participation inthe Parade.

Denis Horan then provided theentertainment (he also providedthe entertainment at last yearsLadies Night Dinner Dance atthe Abbey House Hotel).The usual raffle then took placewith a large number of prizesbut, needless to say, no one fromthe Barrow Branch won!

Overall the Parade seemed to bea bit smaller this year than inprevious years but thanks aredue to all Branch Members whoparticipated.

There was a plan to continue theSocial events in the Steelworksafter the Engineers but I don'tknow if any of our Memberslasted that long!

Barrie Downer

We are lucky to have an enthusi-astic and loyal support base inthe submarine community.Amongst the various differentorganisations we can count theSubmariners Association,Friends of the RN SubmarineMuseum, Submarine OfficersAssociation, and the members ofthe City and Serving community.

We all drive toward the samegoal to ensure that the story ofthe Royal Navy SubmarineService is properly told and thatin turn we educate future generations ensuring that the5300 submariners who havegiven their lives are not forgotten. The Alliance Appeal hasdemonstrated our passion forthe cause; donations given to theAlliance Appeal by fellow members have been incrediblygenerous and gratefullyreceived. As the Alliance Appealreaches a mature stage we havean opportunity to consolidateour support base and build oursubmarine community for thefuture.

The Royal Navy SubmarineMuseum is the focal point of theSubmarine Community servingsubmariners, veterans, familiesof submariners and anyone whosupports the work of the RoyalNavy Submarine Museum.

We now have a LIVE websitewhich we hope will help tocement the foundations of thesubmarine community. The linkis http://39753.bbnc.bbcust.com

We hope that you will join usonline. From here you will beable to look at the events thatare organised by the Museumand others.

You will be able to book events,hold tickets and keep track ofhow much you have donated.You can even try and find othersubmariners a sort of Submariners Reunited. Ofcourse, the more people thatsign up, the more effective thewebsite will be. It also provides

you with a choice of what youwish to hear about events, exhibitions, news from otherorganisations etc. The website issecure and you can select theinformation that you wish others to see.

If you would like further information, please login asabove or contact Allison Dufoseeor Rosie Munns on 02392510354or email supportus@submarine-museum.co.uk.

May 2012

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St George's Day Parade

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

Non Member03 April 2012

LMA Keith Burns. Submarine service

Churchill and Superb

Non MemberApril 2012

Sidney Harrison.Submarine service

Opposum, Onyx, Warspiteand Conqueror (Falklands)

Merseyside BranchApril 2012

CERA Thomas (Andy)Anderson.

Submarine service Spark, Shakespeare & Stygian

Beds and Herts BranchApril 2012

L/S RP2 John Merrett.Submarine service

Tally-Ho, Thorough, Tiptoe

Bath Branch Captain Robin JP Heath.

18 April 2012Submarine service

Auriga, Aurochs, Scorcher,Selene, Totem, Alderney,

Seascout, Alcide, Acheron,Renown and Skipjack.

Gosport BranchApril 2012

R.T(Ralph) NunnAged 89

WW11 Service in 1945 (Safari)

Lord these departed shipmateswith Dolphins on their chest are

part of an outfit known as the best.Make them welcome and take

them by the hand you’ll find with-out they are the best in the land.

So Heavenly father add theirnames to the roll of our departedshipmates still on patrol let them

know that we who survive willalways keep there memories

alive.

If anyone can help out steward-ing for the Keswick to Barrowwalk on Saturday 12th Maythen please contact John Hart.

We usually do one 2 hour stinteach but that is depending onthe number of volunteers we get.Don’t forget the Branch usuallyget a donation from the K2Bwalk to help with our charitablework so it’s only right and proper that we help them out inreturn.

Letters

To the welfare committee andmembers of the SubmarinersAssociation. Thankyou for thecard and good wishes. I wouldlike to say a big thankyou toRichard & Clarice for theirkindness.

I am now on the road to recovery , it will be a long slowjob but I will get there.

Regards to all

Joan Cole.

Ian Edmondson

Although not a Branch Memberor Submariner, SubmarineHeritage Centre volunteer IanEdmondson died last week.funeral details are St Mary’sDalton on Thursday 3rd May at1200. Ian did a lot of good workwith regard to HMS ONYX andmade a very big contribution tothe paintings collection and tothe Big Book - Dive! Dive! Dive!Barrow Built Submarines - theBest!

Christine Breeze

Also it is my sad duty to reportto the Branch that we lost one ofour widows on Friday 28/4/12.Christine Breeze passed awayand her funeral will be on Friday 4th May at 1430 at Thorncliffe Crematorium

Tue 1st Monthly Meeting 2000 RBL

Tue 15th Branch Committeemeeting 1930 RBL

w/e 26th Magennis memorialdinner

Belfast NI Branch

Tue 5th Monthly Meeting2000 RBL

Tue 19th Branch CommitteeMeeting 1930 RBL

www.astuteclass.com

News Letter

Contact InformationDo you have a story to tell or

have information you feel

should appear in the news letter

then ring Ben Britten on 01229

820265 (evenings) or if you

wish to send me an article

please ring for postal address.

or send your contribution by

e-mail to:

BarrowSAnews@gmail.com

Constructive suggestions about

the news letter are very

welcome. The news letter will

be published in the last week of

each month ie last week of

May for the June 2012 issue.

Please try and have any

information with me by the

15th of each month. Thank

you to everyone who

contributed to this edition.DISCLAIMERThis Newsletter is published bythe Submariners Association(Barrow in Furness) and is (c)2012. The opinions expressed inthese pages are not necessarilythe opinion of the Editor, The Submariners Association, theMoD or the Submarine Serviceunless otherwise stated. The Submariners Association may notagree with the opinions expressedin this Newsletter but encouragespublication as a matter of interest.Nothing printed may be construedas policy or an official announce-ment unless so stated. Otherwisethe Association accepts no liabiltyon any issue in this Newsletter

May 2012

T.Fell 04/05D.Smith 06/05D.Cooper 07/05D.Barlow 09/05A.Evans 09/05D.Wade 11/05N.Hildrew 12/05K.Brumby 17/05P.Winsland 19/05C.Madin 21/05T.Spurling 22/05C.Chittenden 25/05I.Walsh 25/05R.Britten 31/05N.Lowden 31/05

June

May

May 2012

8

Keswick to Barrow

9

Barrow SA Puzzle no 44May 2012