This book is dedicated to all crew members who served in H.M.S. Concord, a ship with a heart and was loved by all who served in her from Boy Seaman to Captain. The compilers of this book also dedicate it to the families of the crews who supported their husbands, sons, and boyfriends whilst they faced the rigours of the sea and in some cases the guns of an enemy. It has been produced as a memory of life aboard our ship, a humble member of the fleet in which we served. Peter Lee-Hale December 2011 Compilers Peter Lee-Hale 1955-56 Derek Hodgson 1948-50 Alan Ausden 1956-58 This book is published by, and for the Association January 2012. SHIPMATE NAME.................................... R ANK/RATE.................................. COMMISSION....................... B RANCH........................................ AGE ON JOINING HMS CONCOR D................................................... SIGNATURE............ ................................. NICK NAME............. ................................. Cover designed by Claire Aplin (BA Hons) Front cover: Leaving Malta on the way to the China Station. Back cover: Entering Portsmouth harbour, flying the paying off pennant 1 Contents Foreword ............................................................................................................................4 Ships Specifications..........................................................................................................5 Ships Launch .....................................................................................................................6 Lord Cottesloe Commander John Fremantle RN............................................................7 The Captains of H.M.S. Concord ......................................................................................8 Concord History – The Captains ......................................................................................9 Lt Cdr William Donald D.S.C ............................................................................................9 Lieutenant Cdr Nigel Rodney .........................................................................................12 Lieutenant Cdr Nigel Rodney - A Wonderful Feat of Seamanship ................................14 Rear Admiral Ian McLaughlan CB D.S.C .......................................................................15 Korean War Awards 1950-1953.......................................................................................16 Vice Admiral Sir Charles Piercy Mills KCB CBE DSC ....................................................17 Commander Christopher James ....................................................................................19 Captain Tony McCrum ...................................................................................................20 Commander John F. Marryat .........................................................................................23 Admiral Sir Jeremy Black GBE KCB DSO ADC.............................................................24 Innocents Abroad ............................................................................................................25 26 “C” Class .....................................................................................................................27 David Whitfield – The Singing Sailor..............................................................................28 “A Bit of a Blow”..............................................................................................................29 Postscript to “A Bit of a Blow” .......................................................................................31 A China Forty-Niner.........................................................................................................32 Foreword to the Yangtze Incident ..................................................................................36 The Story of an Unrecognised Brave Ship ....................................................................36 Red Shore Batteries on Lintin Island Exchange Gun Fire............................................39 Nanking, China Station – January 1949 .........................................................................40 Gunnery Branch...............................................................................................................40 River Yangtze Remembered ...........................................................................................41 Korea – The Forgotten War.............................................................................................42 H.M. Ships and Auxiliaries ..............................................................................................43 Memories of Concord – Korean War March 1952 .........................................................44 Burial at Sea – April 1952 ................................................................................................48 Was It A Russian Sub?....................................................................................................49 Remembrance ..................................................................................................................49 Story of ML 1323 ..............................................................................................................50 Running the Gauntlet ......................................................................................................52 Odd Abs Concord Recollections....................................................................................53 To Serve in a Destroyer...................................................................................................54 Memories – HMS Concord, 1951/53 – A Slow Boat To China ......................................56 Modernisation in Singapore – Winter 1952....................................................................57 The Saturated Signal Satire ............................................................................................59 The Battle of Manus Island – 1953-54 ............................................................................60 The Silver Pagoda Story..................................................................................................61 Night Raid.........................................................................................................................62 Those Damned Cockroaches..........................................................................................63 Hardships of serving on a destroyer..............................................................................64 Over the Mast to Canteen Mess Boys to Men ...............................................................65 Thrills and Spills in the Indian Ocean – Typhoon Wanda ............................................68 A Run Ashore in Hong Kong – 1955...............................................................................69 Oz – Land of Dreams .......................................................................................................70 2 A Concord Captain reflects on his Commission – AJ McCrum 54-56.........................72 Crossing the line..............................................................................................................73 Now You See It Now You Don’t! .....................................................................................74 The Final Commission 1956/1958...................................................................................76 My National Service in the Royal Navy ..........................................................................79 National Service...............................................................................................................81 Thoughts on ‘Time’..........................................................................................................82 Canteen Messing .............................................................................................................83 Jack Dusty’s Corner ........................................................................................................84 The Kuala Lumpur Caper and the Concord Casanova .................................................85 Jenny, Side Party.............................................................................................................86 H.M.S. Concord Association – Final Reunion ...............................................................88 China, The Time Was – Christmas 1948 ........................................................................93 Memory Lane – Thoughts of a Concord Christmas......................................................93 Exclusive ..........................................................................................................................94 The Tandridge Element ...................................................................................................94 Ships bell found...............................................................................................................96 The End of the Road........................................................................................................97 Love Story – The Hammock..........................................................................................103 Poets Corner ..................................................................................................................105 Away Seaboat ................................................................................................................108