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VISIT
TO CHATHAM DOCKYARD
Unfortunately it has been necessary to cancel the summer visit to the
Chatham Historic Dockyard on 23 June 2010 due to the very low number
of bookings. Apologies to those who had booked and are disappointed by
the cancellation. However, there was no choice due to the cost of the
coach and also being unable to take advantage of the group discounts
that had been negotiated.
BOOK
REVIEW
ENGLAND’S LAST WAR AGAINST FRANCE;
Colin Smith; (Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2009; £25) ISBN 978-0-297-85218-6
Most
people think that England’s last war with France involved point-blank
broadsides from sailing ships and breast-plated Napoleonic cavalry
charging red-coated British infantry. But there was a much more recent
conflict than this. It went on for two years at the cost of several
thousand lives. Under the terms of the French armistice with Nazi
Germany, the unoccupied part of France and its substantial colonies
were ruled from the spa town of Vichy by a government led by Maréchal
Pétain. Between July 1940 and November 1942, while Britain was at war
with Germany, Italy, and ultimately Japan, also fought land, sea and
air battles with the considerable forces at the disposal of Petain’s
Vichy French.
When the Royal Navy sank the French Fleet at Mers-el-Kébir almost
1,300 French sailors died in what was the twentieth century’s most
one- sided sea battle. British casualties were nil. My Father’s
Captain in Ark Royal, ‘Hooky’ Holland, had the unenviable task at
Mers-el-Kébir of delivering the British ultimatum to the French
Flagship,Dunkerque, and, rejected, was piped over the side from
Dunkerque, six minutes before the British opened fire. (My
father always said that was the darkest moment in Ark Royal’s hectic
war service). Holland then spent five hours in his boat outside the
harbour mole as 15ins shells rained overhead.
The war the
British and eventually the Americans fought against France in 1940-42
has never been written about as an entity. The embarrassment at the
time and the subsequent air-brushing of history by the Gaullists has
resulted in this bloody hard-fought campaign being largely forgotten
in Britain though bitter memories of “the English” hostility remain in
France. Colin Smith’s masterly account, extensively researched and
most readable, redresses the balance and I unhesitatingly recommend
the book, available in Sussex libraries, to SANO membership.
Philip Sherwin; April 2010.
BARBECUE
Our
annual barbecue will be held on Saturday 24 July. This has always been
a most enjoyable social occasion and we look forward to good support
and good weather. The price is £15.50 (not including drinks which may
be purchased separately from the bar). Rig smart casual (no jeans,
shorts or trainers please). Also participants are asked, if possible,
to bring a prize for the tombola. Further information may be obtained
from John Woods and applications should be sent to him by 19 July.
MEMBERSHIP
For
personal reasons, Lt.Cdr (SCC) Roger Daniels RNR and Mrs
Norma Colwell have relinquished membership of the Association
OBITUARIES
It
is with sadness that we record the death, last month, of Lieut
Peter Farley RNR. Peter, although not a member of SANO was well-
known to many members of Sussex Division RNR during the 1960’s We also
have to report the death of Cdr Peter Court VRD* RNR on
Thursday, May 27th. Peter, a member of SANO, was a past XO of
HMS Sussex and joined the Association in 1983. A thanksgiving service
will be held at St. Augustine’s Church, Cooden Drive, Bexhill at 1415
on 8th June. Cdr Child and Cdr Noel will be in attendance
to represent the Association.
PROGRAMME FOR 2010
Barbecue Sat 24 July
Guest Lunch Sat 11 September
Trafalgar Night Sat 23 October
Lunch/lecture Sat 13
November
President’s Evening Fri 10 Dec
MAPLEHAUL
REUNION REMINDER
Exercise
MAPLEHAUL involved the deployment of four RNR minesweepers to
Nova
Scotia to mark the 50th anniversary of the RCNVR. The March
edition of the Newsletter gave details of a reunion lunch to be held
in Cardiff on Saturday
14
August. Anyone interested should contact John Pressagh at (johnpressagh@talktalk.net).
ROYAL NAVY BLOG
For
those with computers, you may be interested to know that the Royal
Navy is the first of the services to have its own blog called ‘Jack
Speak’ which can be found at
www.royalnavy.mod.uk/jackspeak/
TAILPIECE
Best wishes,
Bob
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