An ex RAF serviceman’s time in HMS DRYAD

 

HMS Dryad the Navy's Maritime warfare School opened in 1974 and moved to HMS Collingwood in 2004. This location is now the Defence College of Policing and Guarding.

 

In the early 1990's, whilst working on Naval Intelligence Production for GCHQ I attended a week long Senior Officers course at HMS Dryad, along with about 50 other senior Army, RAF and Naval officers as well as a small number of civilians from MOD, and the Royal RADAR Establishment, (RRE) Malvern. Typically these courses were run for senior Naval officers commanding ships or in high level jobs requiring the latest intelligence on all aspects of Naval Warfare. Also on the course were Senior officers from the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA), (There were a number of Commodores on this course), Royal Marine Colonels and Lt. Colonels, and an RAF Group Captain.

 

The course was conducted in an indoor amphitheatre with a floor plot controlled by a number of staff from the school, mainly WRNS personnel. The really senior officers on the course sat in arm chairs around the floor plot whilst the rest used seats running back up behind and around three sides of the plot. Each day commenced with updates to current intelligence on a wide variety of technical data associated with military hardware used either by our forces or any potential enemy. These updates were conducted by senior naval personnel, mainly commanders and former captains of RN vessels, such as submarines, destroyers, frigates etc. Various instructional data was presented using white boards, video film, black boards and slides. (This was the slickest presentations I have ever had the fortune to see) After the update an exercise was conducted incorporating the latest intelligence. The course was divided into groups/teams of approximately five people usually incorporating an expert (hopefully) in a specific intelligence field, such as subsurface, surface, marine operations, air and air defence. The instructors set the rules of engagement for the exercises and divided the course into teams. It was then up to the teams to come up with the best or correct solution to the exercise. There was always an element of competition to see which team came up with the best solution, which was rarely comprehensive enough for the instructional staff and quite a few corrections were fired off with little regard for rank and no-one was spared the indignity of being corrected, when actually getting something wrong.

 

Attendees to the course, who lived away from the area, were billeted in the Ward Room. There was quite a lot of evening socializing which helped to gel the course members together. As the attendees were from a wide variety of disciplines the social events helped a lot. There was a cocktail party at the Captain's home followed by dinner in the wardroom, attended by about 100 people, including the instructors and their guests. It was here that I was reacquainted with a naval captain with whom I had played squash in Moscow some 18 years previously. He later went on to become an Admiral and the head of RN communications.

 

As a example of the exercises we studied a scenario where a British island protectorate was being threatened by a foreign power and was thought likely to be attacked. The teams were allocated the following defence forces. One aircraft carrier with 12 Harriers embarked. One submarine. Two destroyers and two frigates and a brigade of Royal Marines fully equipped with landing craft to put the brigade ashore. Plus there was also a squadron of land based RAF Tornado ADF aircraft on the island. Each team had to come up with the deployment of assets in order to repel any attempt by a foreign power to take the island. I don't remember any team escaping some critisism but by enlarge all the assets were deployed in a good defensive position. That's when the fun starts. The instructors then mount the attack on the island and you quickly find out where one has gone wrong. Now it is down to getting the reactions right. None of the teams got it entirely right, but it certainly made the attendees think on their feet, which of course, all the preamble was designed to ensure.

 

On an interesting note also, in the hallway to the main amphitheatre was a map depicting the sinking of the German Navy Battlecruiser Scharnhorst. The map having been used by Churchill in his bunker during the war. When visiting the German Navy staff college in Flensburg I was shown the German version of the same engagement, which is on display in thier library. It was not the time to discuss differences!

 

 

S/m Dennis Philp (Ex RAF)

 

 Trafalgar Dinner and Weekend

 

Monies to be paid at September Meeting

 

The accommodation this year at the Hannaford Point Hotel has been held at last year’s prices and can be secured with a non-returnable deposit of £10 per room

 

Sea View

For Friday & Saturday Night £37 per person per night

 

Saturday Night only £42 per person

 

Non Sea View

For Friday & Saturday Night £32 per person per night

 

Saturday Night only £37 per person

 

If you are just attending the Dinner then.

Tickets for the Five Course meal £35.00 per person

 

Please make any diet issues known to the Committee as soon as possible

 

If there are sufficient numbers requiring transport then it may be possible to arrange. Again let the committee know

 

Tonight’s the night. Give the man your money

 

 

Poppy in the Park

POPPY IN THE PARK

 

Sunday 4 September dawned bright and dry for the royal British Legion 90^th Anniversary Poppy in The Park event.

 

I arrived at 1100 at Liskeard Upper School to find the RNA trailer fully fitted out and Lee and Kelly just about to brew coffee, many thanks must go to them for being up so early and getting the trailer fit for viewing.

 

Many other attractions were being set up including the RBL Bikers Branch with a good display of motor cycles, but I think we topped them, certainly as far as I was concerned, when John arrived with his magnificent MG Magnette.

 

The Town band gave a concert and I must say that they have come on in leaps and bounds with their new musical director.

 

At 1300 your President John and myself as, Specially Invited Guests, were ordered by Trevor into the Guides HQ to partake of a buffet lunch where we mingled with some of the Town and County dignitaries after which we were seated in a marquee at the main arena, how lucky we were!!!.

 

A display by the HMS Drake volunteer band was much appreciated and I give them 10 out of 10 for presentation and their music, this was followed by a parade of Standards and youth organizations and a short service by Kev the Rev, Last Post and Reveille by The Junior Rifle trumpeters and then the march off. Followed by what can only be described as a `charge of the lancers` as the standard bearers ran for cover as the heavens opened

 

Unfortunately this put a damper on the rest of the proceedings although a few brave souls with umbrellas continued to enjoy the music from the main stage.

 

Thanks must go to Jonathan Stevens and his team for the great organization of the event and to all those who took part. A good day and a sizeable sum raised for the Poppy Appeal

 

S/m Roger Grace

Sunday 4 September saw a large crowd, including dignitaries, RBL and other organisation members, and a considerable number of the public assemble at the Liskeard College grounds to take part in "Poppy in the Park" Liskeard Branch RBL's contribution to the 90th anniversary celebration of the foundation of the RBL. Despite the loss of Service bands the crowd was entertained by the excellent efforts of 'HMS Drake Devonport Volunteer Band' who agreed to perform at quite short notice. Unfortunately 'chuck it down', the local god of weather, decided also to be in attendance. Fortunately it stayed reasonable clear until the end of the ceremonial part of the day, the parade of standards. The RNA standard was paraded under the care of John Hunt.

 

The Chairman and I had been invited to represent the Branch as VIP's'; this enabled us to stay away from the catering vans and to partake in the excellent refreshments that were provided. We were thinking of you (all the time) as we ate and chatted to people of various backgrounds, including the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall.

 

When 'chuck it down' arrived he did with a vengeance. This was very unfortunate because a fairly large crowd had assembled and were enjoying the stalls, big eats, the bar and a very good band 'Various Assortment' a local band which had gone on stage to follow a very impressive female singer, Vanessa Pryor, who had filled in at very short notice and who had entertained with a series of popular big ballads and chart busters. She had a great voice, powerful and capable of a wide range of songs. . Pour down continued and lots of the audience took their soggy bodies home. This was perfectly understandable but they lost the chance to listen to another two excellent bands. A Glen Miller big boogy sound from 'Company B' and the Irish (played at Dixie speed) band Black Friday.

 

Several dancers of extreme grace and ability were seen stamping up and down in the mud in front of the stage. Fortunately no photographs were taken (of if they were they have not yet emerged).

 

Bravo Zulu (naval slang for well done) to the RBL; yet another excellent piece of work for the cause. I don't really like individual praise on such occasions, however, it would be remiss of me not to mention the Steven's army who were quite magnificent.

The President

Christmas Dinner/Dance.

10th.Dec.2011.

 

Venue-Looe Bay Holiday Park.

 

Time-1900 for 1930.

 

Tickets-£20 per person.

 

Transport-Cost will be determined by numbers.

 

Accommodation is available at £35 per unit which sleeps 4, breakfast at about £5 per person if required.

 

Menu choice sheets will be available at the Sept. &Oct. meetings to be returned at or before 24th. Nov. which is the Nov. meeting night.

 

The Christmas Dinner/Dance is always an enjoyable and relaxing evening with plenty of cavorting, yo ho hoing and carol singing, also Looe Bay always look after us very well. The house wine is a very reasonable £9.25 a bottle and the beer is reduced by 20p. for us so come along and enjoy a convivial warm up to the Xmas season. Attendee's usually add some sort of Christmassy attire to help the evening on, be it a tie, socks, a seasonal hat or even red shoes Terry. By the way if you have a suitable prize to donate for the raffle that will be much appreciated and it will help if said prize could be delivered to us before the 10th.

                                            S/ms Nancy & Gordon.

 PS. Nancy sends a belated thank you to all well wishers and senders of Get Well cards during her recent recuperation from her time in hospital.

 

 

Any queries or dietary requirements please see S/m Gordon Strudwick

 

S/m Gordon Strudwick

 

NWS

REFURBISHMENT QUALITY WORKMANSHIP

SMALL BUILD

PLUMBING/CENTRAL HEATING

PLASTERING CARPENTRY

LOCKSMITH

DECORATING TILING

ALL ASPECTS OF PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

CONTACT NEIL ON 01579 320678

MOBILE 07966 381615

NO JOB TOO SMALL

 

 

How the Internet REALLY began . .

 

In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot.

 

And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. In deed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com. And she said unto Abraham, her husband, "Why dost thou travel so far from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?"

 

And Abraham did look at her - as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load - but simply said, "How, dear?"

 

And Dot replied, "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price. The sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."

 

Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with the drums. The drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.

 

To prevent neighboring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew. It was called Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures: Hebrew To The People (HTTP).

 

But this success did arouse envy. A man named Maccabia did secrete himself inside Abraham's drum and began to siphon off some of Abraham's business. But he was soon discovered, arrested and prosecuted for insider trading.

 

And the young men did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung. They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS.

 

And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land. And he did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates' drum heads and drumsticks.

 

Lo, Dot did say, "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others!" And as Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or eBay as it came to be known, he said, "We need a name that reflects what we are." And Dot replied, "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators." " YAHOO," said Abraham. And because it was Dot's idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.

 

Abraham's cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot's drums to locate things around the countryside. It soon became known as God's Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE).

 

And that is how it all began. Honest to God!

 

S/m John Lennon

 

 

 

 

 

Social Calendar 2011/12

 

            October                       Poss visit to Tank Museum

                                                Pos visit to Dockyard & Ship visit

            Sat Oct 22^nd              Trafalgar Night Dinner/Dance @ Hannaford Point Hotel

            Sun 6^th Nov                Rededication of Field of Remembrance 1100 Webb’s House

            Sun 13^th Nov             Remembrance Parade 1030 Cattle Market

            Sat Nov 26^th               Quiz @ RBL

            Sat Dec 10^th                Christmas Dinner @ LBHC

            Sat Jan 28^th                 Quiz @ RBL

            Sat Feb 11^th                Burns Night @ RBL

            Sat Feb25th                Quiz @ RBL

            Sat March 31^st            Games Night @ RBL

            Sat April 21^st              St George’s Night @

Cartwheels or Eliott Hotel

            Sat May 5^th                 Quiz @ RBL

            Sat July 28^th               Quiz @ RBL

            Sat Aug 25^th               Summer BBQ @ Twelvewoods

            Sat Sept 29^th               Quiz & RBL

            Sat Oct 20^th               Trafalgar Night Dinner @ Hannaford Hotel

            Sat Oct 30^th                Liskeard RBL Concert

            Sat Dec 1^st                  Quiz @ RBL

            Sat Dec 8^th                  Christmas Dinner @ LBHC (TBC)

 

Reunions for 2011

            HMS Alert 1961 - 1963                      1^st October

            HMS Ajax & River Plate Ass            5-6th October

            HMS Tartar                                        7-8th October

            HMS Morecambe Bay                        14- 16^th October

            FAA Safety Equip & Survival           14 -16^th October

            822 Royal Marine Recruit Squad       21 -23^rd October

            HMS Lowestoft                                  28 -29^th October

See RNA Circular for further details

Bilge Rat Hon Editor.

Cae Gwer, St. Ive Cross, Liskeard, Cornwall. PL14 3LZ.

Open from 1930 meeting starts at 2000. You do not have to be ex Royal Navy to join. All are welcome.- Bar Open

 

Meeting Notes:-