York & District .

York and District Branch Newsletter-January 2010.

Ahoy Shipmates.

A new year begins,let's hope we meet the challenges it throws at us with the enthusiasm and good humour that's been instilled in us since first we took the 'Queen's shilling'.
Spare a thought for Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling; it must be hard for them coming up with new ideas to spend money that we dont have. Spare a thought too for Tiger Woods, he's built up a worldwide reputation for what he does best........he's now thinking of taking up golf, its less strenuous!

I read the following verse in the book; When I was on the Tartar',and thought I would share it with you all;

O Lord above
Send down a Dove
With wings as sharp as razors.
To cut the throats
Of them there blokes
Wot sells bad beer to sailors.

My thanks go to the following for their contribution to this edition of the newsletter; S/M's John Lynch, Lol Chipchase, Paul Smith, Bill Sunderland and Pete Shepherd.

A message from the Treasurer.

2010 yearly subs are now being accepted (£10.50)by the Branch Treasurer; S/M Terry Halder at Branch Meetings. Alternatively send cheques (made payable to The Royal Naval Association) to;
S/M Terry Halder
40 Redbarn Drive
Osbaldwick
York
YO10 3JD.

Crossing the Bar.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family of Shipmate George Ledger who 'crossed the bar' in late September. Several members of the Branch attended George's funeral and he was 'remembered' at the October Branch Meeting.

New Joiner

At the December Brabch Meeting we were introduced
to a new member; S/M Geoff Titman.
Geoff gave a brief on his time 'in the mob' serving as a Radio Engineering Artificer (REA),whose role was to maintain weapons guidance systems. During his 13 years Geoff served on HMS Tenby and county class Destroyers HMS Devonshire and HMS Glamorgan. He left the RN in 1972, and has recently retired as a Technical Auther. Welcome aboard Shipmate.

In our wake.

October 2009.

The Trafalga Parade was held on the 18th. The weather stayed fine throughout the afternoon which was a relief considering the poor conditions that York had experienced on the days leading up to the Parade.
A relatively low turnout from York members may be attributed to the inclement conditions; however, thankfully our ranks were swelled by members from Scarborough,Selby and Driffield along with members of the Parachute Regiment.
On completion of the service at 'All Saints' the Parade was applauded by the (always appreciative)
crowds as it made its way along Coney Street.
All participants were welcomed to the 'Comus Lounge' for a post parade buffet and the obligatory tot. In a busy schedule for that day, the Lord Mayor managed a brief appearance, and passed on his thanks and best wishes to all in the Branch.

At the commencement of the Branch Meeting held on the 20th we remembered our comrade S/M George Ledger as S/M Alan Reeson said the exhortation.
S/M Lol Chipchase brought along his son and grandson as guests for the evening,they must have enjoyed the evening as his son came along to the November meeting as well.
Several questions were raised concerning RNA National Conferance to be held at Ouistreham, Normandy in 2010. S/M Terry Halder informed the meeting that details concerning travel and accommodation costs would be clearer in the forthcoming RNA HQ circular.
Secretary S/M Mike Farrington read out a letter from Branch President; S/M Paul Porter who informed us that he had been promoted to Captain, and is currently serving aboard HMS Illustrious. Our congratulations go out to our very popular 'Prez'.- BZ Shipmate.
S/M John Lynch showed us all the Bletchley Park award and certificate (signed by the (Prime Minister) he recently received for his services during the war. This story is covered in greater detail later on in this edition.

This years Trafalgar Night Dinner was held at the Elm Bank Hotel on the 21st. The room and layout for the meal was excellant, and the food was met with universal approval, with diners having a selection on all courses rather than a set meal.
VIP guest for the evening was; Commodore Adrian Nance OBE--Deputy President of the RNA. He was given the honour of a drummed entrance by WO Meeks and PO Brown from the York Sea Cadets.(Very impressive it was too).
Commodore Nance gave an excellant after - dinner speech, in somewhat difficult conditions but coped admirably with the situation; a very popular choice of guest.

S/M Madge Watson's brother Vic who was taken ill at the event was allowed home from the hospital following an overnight stay. Madge thanks everyone for their concern and reports that Vic has been OK since.

November 2009.

York 'Remembrance Day Parade' was held on the 8th. A magnificent turnout from both participants
and crowd ensured a memorable occasion. The streets of York were filled with cheering people who showed their pride and appreciation for those on parade currently serving in the Armed Forces, and those of us who have previously served. Photo can be veiwed in the Album.
On completion of the parade liquid refreshments were taken in the upstairs bar of the 'Yorkshire Terrier'.
There was much lamp swinging and dit spinning to accompany the free flowing Yorkshire Terrier Bitter, and I got a superb hangover thrown in gratis.

November's Branch Meeting was held on the 17th.
Much of the meeting was taken up with discussion on next years National Conferance at Ouistreham. HQ had provided information on accommodation costs for various hotels in the region. The cost of sending our Delegate; S/M Bill Sunderland would have to include travel to/from Portsmouth, accommodation in Portsmouth the night before and after plus the Ferry crossing,on top of travel and accommodation costs in France.
We have always sent a Delegate to Conferance, but there was a general feeling that even though the Branch could meet the costs, they would be a major drain on our funds. Bill was in total agreement, and confirmed that (to date) area had no motions to put forward at conferance. The next area meeting is on 12th December (Mexborough
) where Bill will liaise with other branch delegates to find out what their intentions are for National Conferance 2010.

Branch Treasurer; S/M Terry Halder informed members that £290 had been paid out for the Trafalgar Parade buffet,and that replacement tassels and a new banner for outside events had also been purchased. As always, accounts were available for inspection.
Branch Secretary S/M Mike Farrington told us of a change to Alexandra Rose Day for us, it will now fall on 10th July 2010.

December 2009.

At the December meeting held on the 15th the Chairman informed everyone that at the AGM to be held in February 2010 there were three Committee positions up for selection, closing date for nominees will be January 19TH (Branch meeting).
The three posts are;
Chairman-Currant post holder.....S/M Pete Shepherd.
Vice Chairman-Currant post holder.....S/M Dave Cox.
Secretary-Currant post holder.....S/M Mike Farrington.
All currant post holders have been put forward for re-election. Nomination forms for challengers were available on the night or can be obtained from the Branch Secretary.

Chairman S/M Pete Shepherd welcomed our guest from Selby RNA; S/M John Rogers and also passed on Seasons Greetings from Hartlepool's John Sykes who was attending The Clarence Club on other business.

S/M Bill Sunderland submitted a proposal to committee 'to not send a delegate to the 2010 RNA National Conferance' (due to the high cost of travel and accommodation). S/M Terry Halder said that RNA HQ representatives were still investigating various ways of reducing the cost of the package. It was decided that the proposal would be put on hold untill the AGM in February in order to review any cost reduction actions achieved by HQ.

S/M Bill Sunderland gave a de-brief on the recently held 11 area meeting at Mexborough.The main topic covered was the proposals of Newcastle and Bridlington to host the 2012 RNA National Conferance. After a re-vote 11 area narrowly decided to back the Bridlington bid, however, this does not mean that Newcastle cannot submit an individual bid to host National Conferance 2012.

On the Horizon.

JANUARY....19...Branch Meeting; Comus Lounge; The Clarence Club.
FEBRUARY...16...Branch Meeting/AGM; Comus Lounge; The Clarence Club.
MARCH......16...Branch Meeting; Comus Lounge; The Clarence Club.
20...11 Area Meeting/AGM; The Clarence Club.

Bletchley Park Award for S/M John Lynch.

At the October Branch Meeting S/M John Lynch brought along the certificate he received in recognition (long overdue) for the work he and his colleagues did at Bletchly Park and on attachment duering WW11,signed by the Prime Minister; Gordon Brown.Along with his certificate he also brought along the commemorative badge he was awarded for his important role in the War effort

John informed me that he hadn't spent his time at Bletchly Park during the war, but was in 'Y' service, and gave me an article written by Lt Cdr NA Stott for 'The South African Military History Society' that told of some of the other work that was being done by 'Secret Squirrels' and its importance to the war effort. The article is; SOUTH AFRICA'S SECRET WAR--The war against enemy submarines, 1939--1945 and can be found on the website: samilitaryhistory.org/vol111ns.html I also have a printed copy that I'll bring along to Branch Meetings.

The threat to allied shipping by U-Boats during the war is well known, and the losses to these stealthy underwater predators were immense. Locating the U-Boats became a priority, and one of the methods used was to set up HF listening stations that monitored their High Frequency (HF) transmissions and allerted other listeing stations that they were radiating. Sites could then work together using direction-finding (DF)skills to locate the U-Boat. John Lynch served in one of these listening posts; Aberdeen W/T Station, Freetown, Sierra Leone. (John can be seen in a group photograph that is in the aforementioned article, but unfortunately the picture quality is not good enough to copy onto this newsletter).

The reason for setting up HF listening stations in Africa was that its geological location provided excellent coverage of both the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Another listening station was built on the Ascension Islands, which due to its Mid-Atlantic position provided a very important link in the direction-finding chain.

During the early years of the war U-Boats were reporting contact sightings to their command post in order for them to coordinate attacks and bring in additional support. Personnel monitoring U-Boat transmissions recognised the 'target sighted' start of the signal being sent, and immediately initiated a procedure that would attempt to get a bearing on the transmission rather than trying to decode the signal.(This would be attempted back at Bletchly Park in the UK who used the ENIGMA code that the Germans didn't realise had been compromised).

The DF controlling unit in South Africa was sited in the Admiral's Office, Simon's Town, who provided the other listening stations with the likely times and frequencies that the U-Boats would utilise. (U-Boats tended to clear signal traffic when they surfaced at night to recharge their batteries).
When a station heard a transmission they would contact the other stations in the chain and all listen in on the frequency. Received signal strength gave an indication of the likely bearing of the U-Boat, and by correlating this information the controlling unit could plot its likely area of operation. The information was then sent back to the Admiralty who would evaluate this, along with information from other sources and advise convoys as to the threat posed in their proximity.

GCHQ on behalf of Her Majesty's Government presented The Bletchley Park Commemorative Badge to those who served at Bletchley Park and in 'Y Services' (Interception of enemy communications0. BZ to John on achieving this award.

LONGCAST--- 2010.

JANUARY 19 YORK BRANCH MEETING.
FEBRUARY 16 YORK BRANCH MEETING/AGM.
MARCH 16 YORK BRANCH MEETING.
20 11 AREA MEETING/AGM (YORK)--(E).
APRIL 20 YORK BRANCH MEETING.
MAY 18 YORK BRANCH MEETING.
JUNE 4 ST.CRUX-FUNDRAISER (B).
4 RNA NATIONAL CONFERANCE 2010- OUISTREHAM (C).
12 11 AREA MEETING (SUNDERLAND) (E).
15 YORK BRANCH MEETING.
TBC FORENOON-ROYAL BRITISH LEGION SERVICE (A).
AFTERNOON-BOMBARDIER WILKINSON VC SERVICE (B).
JULY 10 ALEXANDRA ROSE DAY-FUNDRAISER (B).
20 YORK BRANCH MEETING.
AUGUST 17 YORK BRANCH MEETING.
25 ST,CRUX-FUNDRAISER (B).
SEPTEMBER 11 11 AREA MEETING (SPENNYMOOR)-(E).
21 YORK BRANCH MEETING.
OCTOBER TBC TRAFALGAR PARADE/SERVICE (B).
19 YORK BRANCH MEETING.
21 TRAFALGAR NIGHT DINNER-VENUE TO BE ARRANGED (B).
NOVEMBER TBC REMEMBRANCE DAY PARADE (A)/(B).
16 YORK BRANCH MEETING.
DECEMBER 5 DRIFFIELD CHRISTMAS BASH (D).
11 11 AREA MEETING(MEXBOROUGH)-(E).
12 BRANCH CHRISTMAS MEAL (C)-PROVISIONALLY BOOKED.
21 YORK BRANCH MEETING/SUPPER.

For further information regarding timings,cost,dress code,transport arrangements etc,etc, contact the relevant people below.
To promote events/visits pass on details and I'll include them in the appropriate newsletter.(Numbers required, money bto be in by etc).

(A) S/M Marie Taylor 01904 425751/Branch meetings/marie.taylor@york.gov.uk
(B) S/M Mike Farrington 01904 798306/Branch meetings/m.pfarrington@btinternet.com
(C) S/M Terry Halder 01904 421765/Branch meetings/terry@haldert.wanadoo.co.uk
(D) S/M Pat Ramsey 01377 255539/Branch meetings/ceden52@tiscali.co.uk
(E) S/M Bill Sunderland 01904 791867/Branch meetings.