Old Bases

Given that some old salts will access this site and wonder Pompey, Guzz, Faslane...................WTF!? where's Chatham?

 

Chatham is on the Medway in Kent and is the home of the old Naval Dockyards, Royal Shool of Military Engineering (Based in Brompton Bks and Kitchiner Bks) and the Royal Engineers Museum.

You could have asked that on ARRSE :wink:

 

Plant-Pilot............are you trying to wind up an old tar? or perhaps I didn't make myself plain. I meant that if we were going to have a thread on Bases [RN], then it should include all the old port bases as well. I paid off a Battle class destroyer at Chatham [HMS Pembroke] in 1959 and spent some time in barracks before my next draft chit [I probably had more 'NAAFI Club Shuffles' there than you've had proverbials :wink:

 

You'll have had to have had an awful lot of 'NAAFI Club Shuffles' in Chatham for that to be the case. Not really a wind up, but you did ask "Where's Chatham?". It answers a lot though. In the Navy the navigation is done by officers, in the Army we don't let them near a map (That's Chart to you) if we can at all help it. :wink:

 

Now Now Plant Pilot - we were asked to be kind to the 'now' junior service (website) or until they had at least established themselves. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

But it was so quiet and I thought I'd just make up the numbers :wink:

 

Remember the old saying - Gus has the ships, Pompey wants them, but Chats doesn't give a stuff.

Sailed the Cleopatra out of Chats in 1951 to the Med. Short stay in barracks on 54 before going to Osprey and then to Dolphin for sub training. Had to change to Pompey rating on completion. Still reckon Chatham was the best Div.

 

Sidon55. ex Nozzer? I will be down your way in May.

 

Where are you from. Contact me at sidon55@dodo.com.au

 

8) Surely then we must include, Harwich, Dover, Blythe, Invergordon, Scapa Flow, Loch Ewe, Tobamorry, Queenstown, Halifax NS, Gib, Malta, Alexandra etc, etc. etc. etc. :?: :idea:

Nutty

 

What was the old submarine base at Barrow called?

 

Barrow accomodation and base ships for crews of building boats
well ---------------take yer pick

Balinderry,Clio,Hazard--she was a s/m base ship-1914-18

Old sweepers Pluto ,Rifleman and Waterwitch were all used as offices/accomodation.

When I was there for Trafalgar the crew all lived in the purpose built S/m building.

 

I am surprised nobody has mentioned Rosyth, a damn fine baseport

 

Rosyth at the moment is a shadow of its former self.
The RN have retained the old HMS Caledonia and use it as accomodation for ships refitting .
The RNR have a training area there aswell.

The old sweeper base at South Queensferry -HMS Lochinvar is now a yacht
Marina----------however the Base accomodation is all mothballed at the moment .The old Naval Fleet Canteen still stands but its used as office buildings.

Happy Days and some good memories.

 

Port Edgar is due to be redeveloped shortly so most if not all of the old buildings will be going. Built as the destroyer base for the Grand Fleet it is a shadow of it's former self these days.

Peter

 

What about Portland? the dread that used to fill me going there with the 'Green Death' coming onboard and ahem 'training' us was awful. That said, the greasy spoon just outside the dockyard gate was a cracking place to avoid the Harbour FIREX!!

 

Was on Dundas in '65 on the Portland Squadron.. so was part of the green death

 

Chatham Basin was non-tidal, so shore side heads had to be used. Night buckets were placed in the fwd and after bathrooms, to be emptied at call the hands. The Greenie Morning Watchman had to drag a huge galvy bucket that came up past the knees down the Burma Way, up to the flight deck and over the brow without spilling a drop.

Aye, right!
It was down the shower with it, making sure to keep the jobbies in the bucket. Then you could take it ashore..

Anyone remember the night buckets?

 

HMS Daedulas down on Lee-on Solent. Spent many a good day down there. Turning the tech site into 300 married quarters and the rest into another businness park. The airfield has been sold to coastguard. Waste of a fine base.

 

Yes remember night buckets used them in the FRC Guz (the sheds) even when they were new in the seventies/eighties. Anyone remember the heads & bathrooms we had to use that were outside on the basin side