RN Volunteer Band HMS Illustrious

BdCSgt A Cuttler RM

As the joys and delights of yet another hectic summer term were coming to their conclusion, it was time for the Senior Rates’ Messes to let their collective hair down (although obviously for myself this proves to be a tiny bit more demanding due to the lack of said hair, but nonetheless always willing to give it a go), and have a joint summer ball. It was the usual case of decorating the hangar with lots of shiny and sparkly things in order to make the guests go “ooh” and “ahh” (plus it helps to keep the more senior Warrant Officers, with wandering attention spans, entertained, a bit like a budgie’s cage or children’s activity centre), and stocking the bar until it was bursting at the seams (which as it happens was my responsibility, hurrah). The next job was persuading the chefs to sort out the culinary aspects of the event. All the respective wives and girlfriends (and in some cases boyfriends, seeing as now we are in an equal and diverse Navy), dusted off their summer frocks and ball gowns. This was obviously accompanied by the usual rounds of guys in the Mess complaining bitterly about having to fork out for yet another dress. not for themselves, I hasten to add, although in some cases this was almost and could have been the case. The evening went off in spectacular style and as all the revellers departed, there was the prospect that one or two people would regret imbibing so voraciously and would be expecting an impromptu visit from the hangover fairy. On a brighter note, it has to be said that there is a distinct advantage to holding these functions in the hangar as, when it comes to the cleaning up, there is no hoovering of the carpet required. You can just hose down the deck and then start up our mini pavement-sweeping machine and job done, brilliant.

From here we proceeded on to a spot of well-earned summer leave and were due to return with the prospect of a trip to Liverpool in order to venture inland to Leeds (which is our affiliated city), where it was the intention to exercise our right to the Freedom of the City. It has always struck me as a bit odd to have a land locked metropolis as an affiliation but, as I discovered, it was due to the fact that the people of Leeds paid for the Ark Royal to be built during World War II. All the preparations for the Freedom of the City march, rehearsals and parade had been organised and practised. Transport from Liverpool to Leeds and accommodation was booked and then, at the eleventh hour, we were informed that the brand new berth, which the ship was supposed to moor at, wasn’t actually going to be finished in time. Not good. A few frantic phone calls and apologies later, we were left with no choice but to postpone this highly prestigious event. We are now rescheduled to visit Leeds in early February next year and the advance party has been to check that the berth is there so fingers crossed.

With the obvious disappointment of not marching through our home city now behind us, we had a stroke of good fortune and had our spirits lifted in the shape of a phone call from my colleague at Northwood, asking if the Band would like to take part in a massed bands gig up at RAF Brize Norton. Outstanding, another great chance to get a few of the Bands together on an engagement (and one that will hopefully be repeated). I won’t bore you with the details of the gig as I am sure Northwood will feature it in their article. Suffice to say it was an excellent day out and a tremendous event to take part in.

After this small interlude of morale it was back to Portsmouth as we settled into the usual run of things whilst being in our base port. Maintenance, ship’s husbandry, cleaning, (as ever taking a high priority), painting, the list goes on. Most of this was done in preparation for a trip down the south coast to Plymouth where we were taking part in and hosting the VIPs for what is known as Staff College Sea Days. This is where all the future Chiefs of Staff, Generals and Air Marshals spend a few days out from the joint services staff college at Shrivenham and visit the Navy to see what our capabilities are, where we go and what we can achieve in our many and varied roles. They all had a very enlightening and steep learning curve over the time they spent with us and all went away suitably impressed with everything they had seen, from flying to search and rescue, maritime security operations to Naval gun fire support. (I had forgotten how loud that actually was until I was rudely awakened one morning whilst recovering from various serials and activities the previous evening).

With our return to Portsmouth we were greeted by another group of visitors, although this group were slightly more auspicious and aged. It was Lt Cdr John Moffat and some of the other pilots and crew from 824 Squadron who were the embarked Swordfish squadron onboard HMS Ark Royal during World War II. In fact it was Lt Cdr Moffat whose plane launched the torpedo which is credited with striking the Bismarck’s rudder and disabling her. This in turn then forced her to slow and thereby allowed the Navy warships that had been shadowing her to close and destroy her. They were giving a talk/lecture on the events leading up to and surrounding this incredible moment in history. The entire Chiefs’ Mess stampeded in to listen to these veterans, and we were all held spellbound by their genuine modesty and humility as they regaled us with stories and tales of supreme heroism, self-sacrifice and ultimate victory. It was a truly fantastic experience to be in their company and an honour to shake their hands.

After this great insight into flying on the edge, it was time to get back to sea and embark one of the training squadrons in order to qualify some new pilots. This is when you witness the other end of the aviation spectrum as the young thrusters bounced around the deck as they got used to the flexible and manoeuvrable floating runway.

Rather appropriately, after watching some of these landings, we mustered the entire ship’s company in the hangar for Armistice Day and our Remembrance Service. The Band were under pressure here due to the fact that from our glorious and mighty number of five instrumentalists, we had been decimated by a couple of people proceeding on draft (nightmare, must speak to First Sea Lord again about cancelling people's drafts), also somebody much further up the food chain than me on the ship granting leave to my only cornet player (not impressed). Undeterred and demonstrating cheerfulness in the face of adversity we soldiered on regardless, we improvised, overcame, adapted and led the hymns in the finest traditions of the Volunteer Band Association.

As the squadron disembarked we continued to head south and are now heading for a swift three-day visit to Lisbon. It was clear, bearing in mind my previous comment reference a distinct lack of cornet player, that performing at the obligatory cocktail party (including Ceremonial Sunset), on the first night alongside was going to prove just a little bit beyond the capabilities of what a French horn, euphonium and a tuba could offer (though an interesting prospect of a trio, I am sure you will agree). Yet again undaunted, cap in hand the ship approached the Portuguese Navy to see if they had any musicians who could help out. They were delighted to be asked and jumped at the opportunity. And so I asked the Defence Attaché if he would be kind enough to ask them if they knew Sunset and if they were happy to combine forces. This he kindly did and the Portuguese (although not actually knowing the piece) were more than helpful. So now, with the possibility of extra musicians, I again asked the Attaché what instrumentation they would be sending so I could arrange Sunset accordingly. He furnished me with the details of instrumentalists attending and I set to work scribbling out Sunset for quite a novel array of instruments. Unfortunately, I have to leave it there as this article has to be with the Ed before we get to Lisbon so watch this space to discover how the massed bands gig went.

ADGE (CMAF)

RN Volunteer Band HMS Illustrious

BdCSgt DJ Powell GBSM LRSM ABSM AMusTCL RM

Welcome to another instalment from the high seas in what turned out to be a very busy period for the ship. The summer deployment was designed as a fixed wing work up, using assets from the US Marine Corps (USMC) who were temporarily based onboard for the exercise period, off the coast of the United States. In all some two hundred personnel plus fourteen jets embarked on a very successful joint venture. Along with these, we also had members of 849 and 771 Squadron which proved particularly useful to the Band as they included several additional players.

HMS Illustrious entering harbour Band New York

The trip started with a visit to New York and the chance for the Band to participate in the Procedure Alpha as we entered harbour. This was a great opportunity, especially for me, as I would normally be in the depths of the ship during this evolution, but primarily it enabled us to provide musical entertainment (including the obligatory New York, New York as we came alongside) to the troops as they lined the flight deck. The Band came up on the lift and began to play just as we approached the Statue of Liberty, which will be a moment that I will always remember. During our stay we also played for the official cocktail party on what turned out to be the only day of inclement weather. After a few subtle hints and a rendition of Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head it was finally decided that it might be better to relocate to the hangar for the sunset ceremony. I must add a big thank you at this point to CPO Mark Rooke of 771 Squadron for his faultless performance of Sunset. Several rig runs later, having soaked up the sights and sounds of the city that never sleeps, it was time to move on to the exercise serials of the deployment.

HMS Illustrious during the Cocktail Party in New York

Unfortunately the US Marines didn’t contribute any personnel to the Band but they were very keen to participate in all the ship’s activities, including daily circuits and a flight deck challenge that saw Lusty’s ship’s company comfortably defeat the two USMC teams. A USMC Chaplain also joined us for Sunday Service from one of their aircraft carriers and, to our surprise, he even had Desert DPM robes, a factor that our own Chaplain is now consulting Stores over. A very busy term drew to a close with a well-supported horse racing night in the hangar, and the departure of our guests into a period of well-earned leave.

The autumn term began where the last left off and within a matter of days we were into families and affiliates days, where the Band provided a small recital for our friends and relatives on the day excursions. At this point I must add that I had not actually seen the Band for around six weeks due to leave, courses and other varying factors. The Monday morning before we sailed was spent hurriedly searching the ship in the vain hope of assembling enough players to perform, which was managed, but only just. The bulk of this term would be spent exercising the ship’s fixed wing capabilities. The flexibility of the ship was tested again as we played host to foreign forces, this time in the form of Spanish AV8Bs and at very short notice some Italian counterparts. It was certainly an experience, especially when every pipe on board had to be delivered in three languages just to execute a minor procedure.

We had a short stop in Croatia where, along with the Chaplain, I was asked to go to the beautiful outlying island of Vis to conduct a Royal Naval Memorial Service. We were joined by the cricket team from HMS Chatham who had played the local team and doubled as representatives for the Service. We were brilliantly hosted by the Defence Attaché Lt. Colonel Mark Wentworth RA and Sgt Stuart Olle RAF who made sure we were treated to a fantastic weekend away from the day-to-day routine of being on the ship. The Band has been busy supporting the weekly Sunday services throughout the deployment and also took part in the official cocktail party in Newcastle, including the Ceremonial Sunset.

Having spoken rather hastily in my previous article about how kind and considerate drafty had been in providing the ship with an abundance of players, he accordingly swung his axe of fate and reduced the numbers by nearly half. So here’s hoping that a jar of coffee and a few packets of biscuits may help sway a few new joiners in the coming months. The Band should be in line for a slightly quieter end to the year, with just a few engagements before leave, and then the preparations begin for a longer spell at sea during Orion 08.

DP

Last updated May 2008