We escorted HMS Plymouth and HMS Glasgow to Ascension island today. The Plymouth looks a right state – not surprising given the hammering they have been through.
My counterpart on the Plymouth is George Peddie – a real salty old sea dog if ever there was one! George invites me on board to take a look around. What a mess!…. Continue reading
By dogs, of course, I mean salty sea dogs. Surely, they can’t get seasick – well, they can!
Certainly, when I joined the Leeds Castle for my ‘jolly’ to the Falklands it took me a little time to get my sea legs…. Continue reading
We came alongside the jetty at Grytviken yesterday and spent the day shifting stores – that’s what we do! Of course, Grytviken and Leith is where this conflict kicked off. It was on the 26th April that South Georgia was retaken with the help of the Plymouth and Antrim – the Argentinians didn’t like their fire power at all…. Continue reading
Well, here we are, steaming from ascension to the TEZ with more supplies to deliver throughout the fleet.
The Leeds Castle from the superstructure to aft is all flight deck – this probably accounts for half of the length of the ship. Pretty big for a ship of this size…. Continue reading
1982 in the TEZ, South Atlantic. Well, I’m back were I started these ramblings – I’m in the crows nest again – taking the middle watch duty (midnight to 0400).
Again I’m up here keeping lookout for signs of enemy aircraft. A pretty boring, but necessary job. I continually scan the horizon looking for tell tale signs of aircraft above…. Continue reading
We are again in the TEZ and spend the day transferring stores to RFA Fort Grange. This was to prove quite an eventful day.
The weather was very cold and the seas a little choppy, but not too bad. The flight deck is covered with a thick sheet of ice, making moving stores extremely difficult – however, we press on…. Continue reading
Some images from my visits to South Georgia and the Falklands – circa 1982 and 1984-85, HMS Leedscastle and HMS Yarmouth, respectively…. Continue reading
HMS Antelope took part in the Falklands War.< .p>
On May 23, 1982, while Antelope was on air defence duty at the entrance to San Carlos Water, protecting a beachhead established two days earlier, she came under attack by Argentine jets…. Continue reading
So, what makes a hero?
Is it a member of the public who takes on a bank robber, a man who saves a child from a burning house or a soldeir who storms a machine gun nest? Who knows – I’m sure we all have our views….. Continue reading
Steaming towards Ascension Island from the UK.
We have now settled into the routine. There are constant exercises – obviously, very necessary. An effective crew is one that has been well drilled. The aim is to practice for all eventualities – attack, fires, damage control, men overboard, aircraft ditches etc. As you can see, an awful lot can occur on board a Royal Navy ship….. Continue reading
