I regret to inform you that Shipmate John Puckering 01.01.55
Crossed the bar in the early hours of Sunday morning 25th June 2006.
John was a founder member of the Devonport Division and held the post of treasurer until giving up the position due to poor health.
He will be sadly missed by his shipmates.
May he find safe anchorage.
I wonder if I could ask you to forward the following Gunnery (Social) Serial information to your fellow Senior Ratings and any Killicks that you think might be interested?
14th July - Annual Bar-B-Q - Trevol Range (Cost Adults £5 - Teenagers £4 - Under 12's FREE)
11th January 07 - 200th Meeting - St Levan Inn
12th January 07 - Annual Stag Dinner - HMS Raleigh
17th March 07 - 4th Annual Reunion Dinner - HMS Drake
The West Country Gunnery and Missile Instructors Association continues to grow in size and we always offer a warm reception to new Members. Leading Hands are welcome as long as they are Sponsored. You will appreciate this as we use Senior Rates Messes for our Dinners. Our last batch are all PO's now and are still with us but we continue to look for new blood!! Some of us have maintained our ties with Portsmouth travelling down to enjoy the 60th Annual Dinner Celebrations down there a couple of weeks ago. It was good to see so many old faces too - Dickie Henderson, Bill Bilby and Dave Thompson.
We hold monthly Raffles to support the President's chosen Charity which is normally a local Children's Wards at Derriford Hospital. Each year we try to raise £1000 to provide much needed equipment (that the NHS should be providing) / games consoles / TV's / DVD's, etc. Our current Charity is the Woodcock Ward that looks after children aged 10 days - 10 years with Cystic Fibrosis, Skin and Burn Trauma, ENT Surgery Recovery.
Most of you will know that HMS Cambridge has been returned the National Trust - whence it came in 1940. The NMT and B+S Schools and Leach Building are in their final phases of demolition at this time. That will leave the Radar Station as the only surviving building of that particular Defence Cut. I was able to gain access, thanks to the Demolition Foreman, last month and took some final pictures from inside these buildings that will hopefully appear on our website shortly.
The Association has approached the National Trust to seek permission for a Commemorative Marble Piece and a Bench to be Commissioned on the Site, in Honour of the Naval Gunnery School's 50th Anniversary this year. This is currently with the Management Planning Team and the outcome will be Disted to the website when known. If any of you, or your Teams, have any thoughts on this matter, please forward, or get them to forward, an email to me at <chopsm1@btopenworld.com> and I will add them to those already Rx'd for when I meet their representative shortly. If any of you have any Dits about Cambridge, forward those as well and we'll try to get them on the website.
We meet every 2nd Thursday, of each monthly, at the St Levan Inn - Devonport. If you are a visiting ship, and you have the time, please feel free to come along for a chat and a drink and meet up with your Devonport Oppo's. We would love to see you there.
It would be greatly appreciated if you could acknowledge receipt of this mail so that I know I haven't missed anyone out.
I look forward to hearing from you.
SEMPER STRENUISSIMA
Steve (Lewis) <chopsm1@btinternet.com>
West Country GI's Assn.
<www.westcountrygunners.co.uk> (please note that our Webmaster, Ralph Bladen, states that the website will be BOL shortly after some much needed maintainance.
HMS Droxford - Signal Letter Callsign
Dear Members,
Back in the mid 50's I served for a time on HMS Droxford (P3113) re-named HMS Dee attached to the Mersey Division RNVR.
My Service No. C/K973432 leaving the navy as an Ex. P.O.M.E.
I am building a working model of HMS Maxton and on completion would like to build the Droxford, my question is can anyone help me with her callsign as I would like to have the flags on her mast.
My email address is <bill.slater@zoom.co.uk>
Kindest regards
Bill
Class 198/9 Hawke Div. January 1953
I am trying to obtain the names of former clasmates from the above classes.
I have some photos I wish to send to Dick Lloyd but he has requested some information along with the photos.
I can remember one or two of them and I know that a few are members of the Association.
Can anyone help me out on this one please?
Roy Crooks <crooksroy@yahoo.co.uk>
Membership no.6234
15 Neptune Court
Stocker Place
Gosport
Hants
PO13 0NA
