Vaughan

When the weather reports on the radio shipping forecast would say "precipitation within sight". And meteorologists would call it "anti-cyclonic gloom". It was said that if you could see Bristol from the Mendip Hills, then you knew that rain would be coming very soon. And if you couldn't see it - you knew it was raining.

I have been doing a bit of Googling on Andrew John Lees and there is a lot of info available. When I knew him, as a fellow "conspirator" in matters of great concern to Broadland, I never knew how qualified he was; nor anything about his other achievements as a global environmentalist. He never spoke of it, even on several occasions over supper in my own home, at Womack. His concern at that time was the Broads and that was what we spoke of. I find that the epitaph on his gravestone is actually his own words, from a press interview during his career : Someone has to stand and be counted. Who will speak for the butterflies? Now that those of my generation who fought for the future of the Broads (and I humbly include myself) have got well past their "best before date", what are we left with now? In the words of Sir John Betjeman, when addressing the House of Commons : We will be remembered by future generations for our monuments : and not for our blasted efforts to save money. So who will now speak for the Broads? Stop and think about that for a moment.

I did indeed know him well and he became a good friend of mine, in the late 70s. I have mentioned him before on other threads and was going to do so today on KPnut's thread after her lovely post about the Halvergate marshes. He was often known locally as the saviour of the marshes but I had not realised it was actually carved on his grave. Look again at those photos by KPnut and think what it could have looked like if it was all "deep dyke" drained and ploughed up into several square miles of oilseed rape. Andrew was the local "headman" for the Friends of the Earth, so you may think that he, and a boatyard owner such as me, would be strange bedfellows! In fact, he had a lot of the "Ted Ellis" in him and quickly absorbed the real and complex issues of Broadland. He came over "onto our side" and did a great deal to mediate the sensational press publicity of those days. In 1994 I was already in France but I heard that his life ended early in circumstances which were not quite certain. He was a very likeable but also serious man of intense purpose and I often wonder whether it had all got too much for him. There is no doubt however, that when we look at the beautiful expanse of the Halvergate Marshes today, we have Andrew to thank for it.

What breed of dog is that?

As well as ALL the residents and property owners of Yarmouth Southtown. My heartiest congratulations to Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal for once again putting their lives "up front" .

The EDP have just announced that the bomb has successfully been made safe. I invite members (especially Meantime) to read the comments from the public, on the website.

During which time, they are still alive and very well protected.

Ah. So here we see the price, for offering an "olive branch".

Yes, I think you are probably quite right. Please excuse me. It is perhaps because I have become accustomed in the last few years, to your dissection of what I say, in my experience, about the hire boat business.

Basically, yes! As in all things scientific; keep it simple!

Which in my days in Belfast in the 70s was called "wheelbarrow". I am sure they have modified it somewhat, since then! To the exclusive benefit of those who have property or businesses in this area. Could I perhaps remind us that our emergency services - whether Fire, Police, Ambulance or Royal Engineers Bomb Disposal - are there to protect LIFE : not property.

I think his actual quote was : I just mentioned the war : but I think I got away with it!

I don't think that answers my question.

Could I perhaps suggest, without any wish to provoke dispute, that giving your opinion on a forum, is not the same as trying to tell other members to shut up. My own posts on this subject have all been simply to make comparison with the situation now, and the 1940s when the bomb was dropped in the first place. Not even John Cleese can blame anyone for the discovery of an old German bomb. At least today, the incident is being dealt with in the best and most professional manner with no risk to anyone's life apart from the Army. Can't we be happy about that?

This is just to explain where I "served my time", in order to get a job as HLO (helicopter landing officer) on the offshore platforms. This ship is one of the "Lancelot" class LSLs (landing ship logistic) of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. There were 6 of them, mostly based at the military port at Marchwood, where I was a member of 17 Port Regiment, Royal Corps of Transport. When the ships were on a military tasking, there was a team of about 30 of us, embarked to do all the cargo handling, crane operating, troop accommodation, etc., which included the manning of the flight decks. The ships could carry a battalion of infantry with all their vehicles, a regiment of 16 battle tanks, or a full Commando of Royal Marines. These photos are of very dull quality but they were taken in mid winter in northern Norway. Although it was midday, that was all the daylight you got in those latitudes! We were there on NATO exercise to try to prove that assault helicopters could be transported by sea and flown off an RFA in a battle zone. And sure enough, they could! The ship was RFA Sir Bedivere. This is a Wessex adapted for use by Royal Marine special forces ; known as a "Junglie", in arctic camouflage. Just behind and in front of the crane, you can see the sliding cargo hatch where we had lifted it out from the lower vehicle deck with rotors folded. With the hatch shut again, this formed the forward flight deck. You can also see the hose where it is being fuelled from the ship's AVCAT tanks and prepared by ground crew. Positioned "on the spot" with rotors spread. Lashed down on deck; engines started; rotors running. Release lashings! The moment of truth! The ship is moored up, so no forward motion and no "wind on deck". Extremely dangerous. There she goes! Without managing to carry away any of our VHF whip aerials, signal halyards or other protrusions! On that occasion, the Chief Officer was acting as FDO (flight deck officer) as we hardly ever used the forward flight deck. It would normally be full of nasty smelly army lorries. My job was the after flight deck, so I had the chance to do a bit of "goofing" and take some photos. Normally in the Armed Forces, you are too busy to stand around taking snapshots! It was my team, all the same, that craned it up through the hatch and manned the flight deck. We then flew off another two, that were stowed below. I could perhaps suggest that the training we did in those days, on amphibious landings, was what proved so successful in the Falklands, about 8 years later.

Scans from "Make a signal!" by Capt Jack Broome RN. My uncle, Vernon Jeffrey, was a captain of minesweepers, and won the DSC on the morning of the Normandy landings.

During the war, most UXBs in London were taken out to the Hackney Marshes to be blown up. Reminds me of the old music hall song, which I believe was Flanagan and Allen : Wiv a ladder an' some glasses, you could see the 'ackney marshes : If it wasn't for the 'ouses in between!

You are absolutely right! When I was working in Chateau - Thierry, on the Marne, in the 1990s, there were still 10 disposal experts at Soissons, employed full time on handling ordnance from WW1, discovered during building works or when constructing new motorways. They are probably still "in a job" today!

Maybe someone knows where the gas tap is?

If you were asking about terminology, David, a fixed fire main nozzle, which can rotate and elevate like a gun turret, is usually called a monitor. On almost all ships, the open deck on top of the bridge is known as the monkey island. On older ships this would be where the binnacle was fixed, for the magnetic compass.

That is an S76 by the look of it. The retractable undercarriage made them very fast. I think they were used a lot up in the Brent Field, where the journey is longer. On winter nights with very high pressure, we used to be able to work the Brent by VHF radio, from our platform off Humberside. There is a master platform up there for air traffic control, where we were told they handled more aircraft movements in a day than Heathrow Airport.

The Westland 30, which was the "bus" out to the Rough Field. This one in the photo is the first one delivered to British Airways, with the international call sign GO-GAS. The Sikorski S61. Civilian version of the Sea King. The flight deck crew had to be very careful around these things. The downwash on landing could blow you clean off the flight deck. That is what all that netting is for. In rough weather, you had to literally crawl to the aircraft door, across the net. The Bell 212. The workhorse of the rigs on the Leman Bank off Yarmouth. Straight out of the Vietnam War but a most reliable, sturdy and faithful machine. Laying down seawater on the flight deck to test the fire main pumps, which were huge Caterpillar diesels. We could also lay down A triple F (Aqueous Film Forming Foam) at the same rate. This was the cold buffet at the start of our New Year's Eve dinner on the platform. The hog's head was a real one. The catering crew were almost all ex RN or Army catering corps and were fiercely proud of the meals that they cooked for us. There may not have been a drop of alcohol but I am certain you could not have eaten in a restaurant anywhere in Norfolk, better than on those platforms. Spare a little thought in these difficult times, for the incredible technology and teamwork, which is keeping your gas supplies coming inshore.

So let's think a bit more about what "life" was like! Here are my flight deck crew. Fire fighters and lashing handlers. All of them ex Yarmouth or Lowestoft trawlermen who had come offshore to find a job after the death of the fishing industry. Excuse me sounding romantic but these were men I would trust with my life. Luckily we never had to put it to the test! My "back to back", Steve Scott, doing alternate two week shifts. He is wearing a "half wing" on his fleece as he was ex aircrew for British Airways Helicopters. Before that, he was a Lowestoft trawler skipper. Sorry, pressed the wrong button! This shows that fishing was free! The galley would freeze the fish, in chunks, and at the end of two weeks, you could take it home on the chopper to feed your family!

Coming up!

Here's another quote from the same article : I'd much rather be here (in a shelter), it's safer here. You can rebuild windows but you can't rebuild lives. Susie has just reminded me that my mother-in-law was actually bombed out of two houses in Gorleston, one after the other and no, they were not insured. The family lost everything, including all their possessions. For Goodness' sake, let's lighten up a bit.