HMS Modeste 1957-1958

26 Pages·2008·2.26 MB·English

A THAI i.r.NC;I-:\\asm ade in April, 1957, when two litrndred oflicers and incn assembled at Singapore
and rccommissioncd hfsrler.~lrF, or the last timc.
Con<idering that we were all cnmpictc st rangers. that our average agc was under 1I , and that
M'C' vcre Fo~etherF or better or worse for eightccn monthr, serving thousands of milc~fr om our
honies and rarnilics, it didn't need ;I fortunc-teller to forecast that we were going to have a few
intcre5ting ;tdventures.
And so it lins turned out. Wc have sailed four or thc scven sea5 and taavc berthed in ports
from Tnkyo tn Aqaba, and finally tliere is the great pleasure of steaming hack to our home port
.-PORTSMOUTH, where our rclativcq can visit tlie ship we have hccn wifing about ror thc
!art year :tnd a barf.
Surcly wc retain happy nien~orieso f a vigorous and succerrsrul ctlrnmiwion, and 1 certainly feel
wiser for nllc testing cxpcrierice or leading such a fine crew ol' Rritifh sailors.
,Worlr.ste has bccn our home from home and we have came to love the old lady and learnt to
nurse her gently ~hsoughh er brier illnesses and keep her fighting fit. Now we hcnr thnl she is to
be retired-a sad thought after slic has served us so wcll.
I wish you all ;I happy home-coming, an enjoyable 1e;lve. and good luck in the future.
From Beginning to Encl
WE HAVr NOW come tn the end of a 50,000-milc journey and it all beyan in Stansled Airport,
Essex, early April, 1 957.
Two hundred nf us left England in succcwive fliphls of Hermes aircr.~ftv ia Brindisi, Ankar:~.
Raghdad. I'lahrain, Karachi, Delhi and Calcutta. with vary in^ rorli~nesa nd misforttunes on the
way. However, by the 8th April we werc all aswmbled wfely and firmly aground in H.M.S.
Trrmr, rhe naval barracks in Singapore.
Tli us on thc following day. the 9th April, we rccomm is~ionedH .M.S. Mor/./srr and the chronicle
or our travels from this day now I'olrows:
1 9 5 7
9th April-14th April Singapore Recomrnissioncd.
15th April-22nd April ASs ea On passage to Hong Kong. Anchored for
one d:~ya t Tioman PI! roure.
23rd April-31 SI April Hong Kong Self-rnaint cnance nt Kowloon.
I st May- 16th May Hong Kong waters Work-up period.
17th May-6th Jvnc kt sea On passage la Aden, callins at Singapore
and Colombo.
7th Ilane-20th Junc Adcn Visited Pcrim for n day.
2 1st June-27th June At sea On pnssilge to Aqaba. Anchorcd for anc
day i ~Kt arniiran pn rmufs.
Covering final withdrawal or British farces
irom Jordan. Ev:icuation convoy con-
sisted of Troopship Drvunslriw. Empfre.~
Gull, Kil riv4rrXP , Gtri/l~t>?or1,' 1rlnnar and
Ganntjf.
6th July-tZth July At sen On passage to Adcn. Escorted evacuation
fleet through straits of Tiran.
13th July-!Nth July Aden
19th Jitly-23rd July At sea On pnTsage to Persian Gulf nrca. Pn~scd
hetween Kuria Musia Isics en ~ U I C .
24th July-291h July Oman Coast Anti-pun-running patrols occasioned by
uprising in Oman. Anchored for 24 hours*
rccrcnlion in Khor Kuwai.
Sailed from Muscat for Hong Kong,
calling nr Colornho and Singapore.
20th August-12th Nov. Hong Kalig Refit. Total miles steamcd by 20th
Airgust-I X,553.
13th Nov.-20th Jan., Hnng Kong (i) Exe~ciscsin Hong Kong wafers.
19% (ill Elect Rcea;ttn. Ships laling part werc:
A t / Rqai i,vI , C'lrevtrrr, C'ocl~~rir-.
Anzrrr., Tohrlrk, Opo~srrr~Sl,t . Rrid~~.'~(I J.,
Alvr~,A rir.rr~v~alen d ,Mor/rsrr.
(111) Captain (D)X's Inspection.
Y
21st Jan.-27th Jan. At sea On passage to Singapore.
28th Jan.-] st Feb. Singapore On passage to Rangoon in company with
H.M.S. Newcastle.
7th Feb.-9th Feb. Rangoon Attended unveiling ceremony of Burma
War Memorial.
10th Feb.-15th Feb. At sea On passage to Singapore.
16th Feb.-23rd Feb. Singapore Third Frigate Squadron Sports. Modeste
was best.
24th Feb.-1st March At sea Fleet Exercises. Ships taking part were:
Newcastle, Royalist, Nenfoundland, Voy-
ager, Cheviot, Warrarnunga, Cossack,
Cavalier, Crane, Mounts Bay, R.F.As.
Gold Ranger, Wave Master, Fort Charlotte
and Fort Sandusky.
2nd March-3rd March Singapore Fleet Sports.
4th March-8th March At sea Originally on passage to Hong Kong in
company with Crane. Diverted to Tawau,
British North Borneo, to safeguard
British interests in territorial waters.
9th March-1 3th March Tawau and Celebes Sea Carried out night radar patrols with
police launches. Stood by to evacuate 80
British, American and Dutch nationals
from Menado. Other arrangements for
evacuation subsequently made.
14th March-20th March At sea On passage to Hong Kong.
21st March-7th April Hong Kong Took part in Exercise "Festoon" from
1st to 3rd April. Other ships were: Mel-
bourne, Royalist, Voyager, Warrarnunga,
Quiberon, Cheviot, Alert, Cardigan Bay
and Crane.
8th April-14th April At sea On passage to Japan.
15th April-18th May Cruise to Japan and (i) Japan-Yokosuka, Tokyo, Kobe,
Korea Sasebo, Beppu, Nagoya. Passage also
made through the Inland Sea.
(ii) Korea-Jnchon, Peng, Yong Do.
19th May-25th May At sea On passage from Yokosuka to Hong
Kong. Total miles steamed by 25th May
-35,357.
3
1 9 5 8 - continued
3rd Junc-7th June At sea On passage to North Borneo via M indoro
Strait.
8th June-17th Junc North Rorneo cruise Visited Tawau, Sandakan, Kudat and
Jcssel ton.
18th Junc-21 st Junr At sea On passage to Si ngaport..
22nd June-14th July Singnporc Self-refit.
15th July-30th July At sea Whilst at anchor at Tioman for thc night
after exercises with Cosrack ordcrcd ro
proceed to Rahmin, Persian GulT, in
support of orher ships in prozcctin~
British intcrcsts ernbarmsqcd hy Traq i
revolution.
31sl July-1st Aug. Bahmin Anchorcd in Sitra roads.
2nd hug.-9th Aug. At sca in Persian Gulf On anti-yun-running patroIs in Trucial
Oman area.
IothAu~.-15thAuy. Atsea On passage to Aden.
16th hug.-17th hug. Aden
On passngc to Por~smouthv ia Aqaha.
Suez Canal, Malta :~ndG ibraltar.
22nd September PORTSMOUTH HURRAY!
Diving Notes
WE STARTED rtw COM~~ISSIONw it11 Tour
divers: Yeoman Rey. P.O. Huet, L.M.(E.)
Long and A.R. Charles, During thc refit
at Hong Kong wc qlralified two rnorc.
P.O. Davis and A.H. Woollon, and put tlrc
rcst through rcfrc~licrc nurccs. I11 (lit last
eighteen months lve lii~vch ccn aillcd upon
to undertake a varicty or tasks from clcnr-
ing screws to rccovcring tlic body of A
drowned man in thc Dockyard at Hang
Kony. Pcrh;~pst lic moct inlere~ting( and
the mwt profitahlc) w:\s repairing the nnti- THI S.W.11 1 I hhi
shark fcnrc :tt thc Gold Uohur cwimming club in Adcn. Tlint was three days' rearly enjovable
dit ing.
On zFic ligli~crs idc. wc ho\c also had the odd diving banyan, diving and swinln~ingr rt-in the
heach and cnrnl fiqhEng front iqlcts :~ndr eefs.
!:or tlic rccord, up to the end of July, I'358, we had succeeded ill clockiiig up 3,567 millutcc
~rndcrr rntcr hctwee~t1 15. Quite R reasonable figure when you think that you can only piit onc
divcr in lhc water at a time.
Shooting
iu THl: nh1.Y ~1li.b.M F~IVGin which we could take part, the squadron competition. wc h:ld thc
individual winncr in E.R.A. Andlaw.
In S:~schnw c took on the U.S. Marines at a pistol match. and wcrc wcll nnd tri~lyb eaten
. . . however, we did defeat SI.B rides Bar, who were also taking part.
Almost everyone has had an opportunity of firins some kind 06 wcapon this commission, be
it -22 or ,303 rifle. pistol. Lanchester or Rren.
Landing parties have been exercised so often that some of us were hepinning to think that wc
had joined the Army. In Little Aden. two complete platoons did a I'our-day <pel! each in the
dcscrt, under the wing of the 1 st Camerons. Apart from one ordinary seaman trying to blow the
major's head off, a11 went well, and the training value was excellent.
r(?l~)T~o ~k:ee p one soldier piny in the dcsert for one day requires one pin1 oi liquid. To
keep one sailor on the go it took 13 pints.)
During the Hong Kong refit, 80 per cent. of the ship's cnnip;lny carried out thcir annual
muskctry course. .22 sliooting on ho:ird has heen well stlpportcd. Of the manv compctitionq
the wardroom won both the Inter-Mecs and the League, A.RF. Wclls and Humher the Tile
Competition and A.R. Greenwood the Individual Application.
Our two team matches late in the commission wcrc against the Police nt Snndnkan and Jesselton.
At Sandakan we shot .22 in the evening and nd.journed to the y:lchl club afterwards, having won
by 64. At Jesselton we shot ;I[ 0,an d had tlrc hccr on the range nfterwards, having been
heaten hy 18 points.
G. I.
5

el-
Rangoonery
WHEN WE HEARD that we were to visit Rangoon in February, the news was received with mixed
feelings. Even more so when we learned that the visit was timed to coincide with the opening of
a war cemetery, and that H.M.S. Newcasfle was to be there too. A few keener members got the
encyclopredia out, and learned that Rangoon was a city of some 700,000 people, and boasted
two night clubs, one race-track, 40,000 bicycles and a giant lake for swimming and sailing. That
didn't help much, but it did brighten the prospect a little.
We arrived off the Rangoon River early in the morning of the 6th, after a dawn-encounter
exercise with Burmese Navy M.T.Bs., and the first thing we saw was what Kipling described as
the "waking winking wonder," the Shwedagon Pagoda, situated in the city twenty-one miles
inland.
Steaming up the river against an incredible current, we passed and saluted the Burmese Navy
Flagship Maya and eventually berthed outboard of Newcasrle at the Customs House Pier. Later
on we thanked our lucky stars that Newcastle was between us and the pier-she made a wonderful
wind break.
The gleaming pagodas, colourful shrines and visions of Win Min Than soon drew the camera
fiends ashore. Invitations to the Anglo-Burmese reception and to other private parties flowed in,
and with them swimming parties, sailing expeditions and sightseeing tours. The Shwedagon was
the focus of attraction and many journeyed to see this unique wonder. Its 326 feet of glistening
gold leaf dominated the city, and drew one's attention wherever one went. For the record, it is
1,420 feet around the base, and surrounded by 64 smaller gold-covered pagodas; at the top there
is a jewel-studded globe, 10 feet in diameter, surmounted by a necklace which cost some £60,000.
Quite a showpiece!
The naval contingent, together with the R.A.F., R.A.A.F., R.N.Z.A.F. and the Lincolns,
who travelled up in Modeste and Newcastle, arrived at the war cemetery for the ceremony early
on the Sunday morning for the unveiling. The cemetery contains some 27,000 graves of Allied
war dead, and commemorates a further 70,000 names.
The remainder of that day was spent in frantic last-minute sightseeing and rabbiting, which
due to the high prices ashore left many with a touch of financial cramp.
The ship finally sailed from Rangoon early on Monday morning for Singapore, thus ending a
four-day visit full of variety.
Commission Alphabet
A is the Army, Aqaba and Aden,
And thoughts of a shapely Arabian maiden.
B is Beppu, Beer and a Bath;
The antics of some would make a cat laugh.
C is the Celebes and Coral reefs too,
Canoes full of copra the Borneans grew.
D is for the Dhows we chased, looking for arms-
Most of them smelt like Whaley's pig farms.
E is for England and an eighteen-month stay,
But the end of September is not far away.
F is Formosa and for Fuji too,
Snow on the peak and a wonderful view.
G is for Girls, brown, yellow or white,
In cheongsam or kimono, the sailor's delight.
H is Hong Kong and a stay in the dock-
How many got all of their kit out of hock?
1's the Inspection, which shook quite a few
By the amount of hard work we all had to do.
J is Japan, of our visits the best;
After six weeks up there we needed a rest.
K is Kamaran and Kobe,
Korea too, where we almost lost Dhobey.
L is for Landings by Stuart's Rangers,
Braving natives, mud and all sorts of dangers.
M for Menado, Malaya, Mounts Bay;
We beat them at almost all they could play.
N was Nagoya, where china is made;
'Twas there that Modesre almost bought up the trade.
0 is the Orient-it's true what they say:
You do read the books the opposite way.
$ P was our Passenger-the Police for Perim;
:a=- In such a lone spot we don't envy him.
.
; .-4 : Q was the Queen and her birthday parade
RANGOON And the slip in the drill that the O.O.G. made.
R is Rikkyo and a sad Rugby side,
Who lost by a lot-but certainly tried.
S is for Sport, where we really were good;
Some say it was all due to Jack Dusty's food.
T stands for places like Tawau and Tiran
And other resorts such as Paulo Tioman.
U's the Unusual things we've all done;
Ashore or afloat, they've all been good fun.
V's Volunteer-which some will NOT do,
But to come East again-there'll be quite a few.
W is where you'll find sailors in force
Not far from the Dockyard-yes, Wanchai, of course.
X is experience, of which we've gained a lot,
Some good to remember-some better forgot.
Y is for Yen and the rabbits we seek
And the Yanks who bought all the beer in Blank week. .-
-
Z is for Zizz-at which some are A1 ; I
They sleep the clock round, while others get none. "DINGD ONG"