MESSAGE FROM CASSANDRA OF THE DAILY MIRROR.

This is to send my greetings to one and all who sail in H.M.S.Cassandra.

1 used to think that 1 was named after a Greek Prophetess of Woebut I have decided now that 1 am named after Two Thousand Tonsof steel floating

on salt water and manned by a goodly company offighting men who know all the business from Gun-Barrels to Spray,from Rum to High-Water.

1 hope the Ship's Magazine is the great success that it deserves to be.I raise my pen and my glass to you. I wish you safe journeys and

secure anchorages.

1 have told - no, I have ordered -- Father Neptune to give youhis blessing.

William "Cassandra" Connor.

CASSANDRA

In

Greek tradition daughter of Priam and Hecuba. In legendwas beloved of Apollo, who promised to bestow on her the spirit ofprophecy if she would comply with his desires.

Cassandra acceptedthe proposal, and then refused her favours.

by ordaining that her prophecy should never be believed.

On theApollo revenged himself

capture of Troy she was ravished by Ajax, the son of Oileus, in thetemple of Athena. In the distribution of the booty, Cassandra fellto the lot of Agamemnon and was murdered in a fit of jealousy by

his wife.

Singapore to Portsmouth - 50,000 miles

Commissioning Ceremony, Singapore Dockyard

The commission started living, notin sin, not in fear and trembling, butin Terror, probably the most attractiveshore establishment in the Navy. Thereis not very much terrible about it, justswimming pools, playing fields, tenniscourts, gardens and the Straits ofJohore to the north, keeping it frombeing in Malaya. The "old" commis-sion left for Britain and an EnglishSummer, we settled in onboard afterthe refit and began the eighteen months'sentence expected to finish in October,1 963.

The old boys returning home aftertheir eighteen months were cheerful,the new ones keen and in no time atall in control of the situation andkeeping any nostalgic lapses at bay.The trade of the bars in Sembawang,Nee Soon and Singapore increased,many places of touristic and otherattraction were visited and remainingboredom was dissipated by sport onthe playing fields. Cassandra nevershone at sport, but formal sport wasnot the pastime of ladies of doubtfulrepute, even in Greek Mythology!Whoever heard of Cassandra throwingthe discus? Johore, that foreign townin the land of Amy, was discovered byMethusalah and Daisy on a run ashore.They put enough money into the placeto buy it, but caused it to thrive tosuch an extent that it was no longertenable on pay weeks.

To continue in a mythological vein,let us move the mountains to Moham-met. Australia came first, and when itfinally moved away there were nothingbut sighs from the inmates of both shipand Australia. Sydney came alongsidewith her bridge in the background, butit was only after many weeks at sea and

a very stormy replenishment from theTuckerbox en route. Cassandra wel-comed Sydney, work became second-ary, and the two spent ten days inmutual admiration and adoration.The Buffer became the only servingmember of the Returned Serviceman'sLeague, Jimmy's hair turned blondethrough over exertion ashore, twolesser mortals went on an expeditionto Townsville to get an extra week inSydney, and "Pay" left his umbrellain a night club to enable a further visitwhen Newcastle came over the horizon!

Someone approached the AustralianGovernment and suggested that New-castle be removed to a position at leasttwo days' steaming away from Sydney.Nought came of it and the stalwartmembers of the Ship's Company werefaced with a five-day visit, to com-mence with exhaustion. The fact thatthey completed the task with coloursflying higher than ever before, andwith a bowling championship in handsays much for their stamina. New-castle was voted the best run ashore

because the natives understood therequirements of a sailor ashore, whenout of his natural element. All needswere apparently met. Our public rela-tions were good from the start for wemarched through the streets on arrivalto a reception given by the Mayor.Later in the visit there was an oppor-tunity of returning some of the hospi-tality in kind, when a posse of dutymenand volunteers went to assist at a largefire which broke out near the ship. Theguests at the Cocktail Party onboardcould stand and nearly warm theirhands from the heat of the fire, andwonder if it was not their own houseor office acting as fuel!

It was a remarkable feat when Mag-netic Island and Townsville hove intoview after the East Coast of Australiaand its Great Barrier Reef had re-mained so close to port and starboardrespectively for so long. The shipsecured to a Sugar Wharf (which hassince burnt down) and it was pleasantto feel once more tropical warmthdescending from the Equator, modi-fied only by the Australian Spring.The temperature allowed comfortableswimming again but one had to com-pete with the sharks for water space.The seas abounded with them. Towns-ville will be remembered for peace,wide open uncrowded spaces, realQueensland Australia and "old boothill." It is a town where the outbackmeets the sea and where a seaman canglimpse the interior without travelling.

Our constant companion of the FarEast, and later Mediterranean, wasH.M.S. Caprice, and we kept companywith her on return to Singapore.Leading Mechanical Engineer Plugdecided not to come, however, so we

Commissioning Service

I

Snubbed by Caprice

landed him with due ceremony atThursday Island in the Torres Straits--on a stretcher. The story of hisreturn journey once the hospital hadclaimed his appendix reads like anovel. He even managed a few moredays in Sydney.

Singapore - self-maintenance -associated self-destruction - exercises.Hong Kong was the next point ofinterest, with the possibility of Christ-mas Dinner at the China Fleet Club.Pure wishful thinking as we soonfound out. Meantime, a bombardmentexercise was carried out and the Armywere assisted with the marking andphotographing by various sailors fromonboard. It was exciting seeing theother point of view. Cassandra thenbecame the major unit in a landingexercise on Lantao, the island famousfor its vegetarian monks in theirmonastery on the hill top. The soldiersenjoyed the lift we gave them, and ourdivers went in with the boats as partof the beach clearance team - excellentcombined operations.

On return to the brighter side ofHong Kong Island we were given justtwo days freedom before rushing southto Singapore, where after twenty-fourhours we steamed onwards, westwardsafter leaving the Malacca Straits andreached Gan, a minute coral atoll inthe Maldive Group, South of Indiaand just above the Equator. A news-paper cutting describes the need forour presence, and makes the three-week guardship duty sound difficult.In fact, regular swimming, football in

bare feet on sand and tennis werenicely broken up by Christmas and theNew Year Celebrations. The FirstLieutenant's beer consumption graphshowed the extent of the inroad onunreplaceable stocks. A quote fromQueen's Regulations and AdmiraltyInstructions sounds funny in retro-spect: "the provision of this amenity( beer) is governed by the followingoverriding considerations:--(a) Theremust be no encroachment on weightand space which would hamper theoperational efficiency of the ship.(b) Consequently there can be noregular expectation of this amenity.

Cassandra took over guardshipduties at Malé and Dunidu from the8th Destroyer Squadron Leader,H.M.S. Caesar, and relinquished it to

All good actors take a second bow

H.M.S. Blackpool in order to returnat maximum speed compatible withfuel consumption to Singapore. Steam-ing down the Malacca Straits at fullpower with land visible to port andstarboard and with many ships in viewwas exhilarating and added to theO.O.W.'s grey hairs. We steamed upthe Johore Strait to Singapore Dock-yard for the last time, to leave forGuam just one week later on 14thJanuary, 1963.

Saying farewell to a base involvedmuch activity- storerooms had to befull to overflowing in anticipation ofdollar ports to come and high prices,suitcases and trunks we expected tosend back to England by sea when weflew, had to come on board, many

were the friends whom we wanted tooblige with a final grand party, andabove all the loudest cry was "plan-ning." Planning for three months froma base, ports to be visited, local ordersen route, currencies, exercises with theUnited States Navy, supplies of fuel--all these things had to be thoughtabout before we could sit back andlook forward to pleasing results.

The fonder farewells were made thenight before and come Monday morn-ing, strategically scattered among theoffIcial goodbye bidders, were theship's unofficial Chinese, the dhobeyfirm, Sew Sew and Shoe Shoe. Theywere armed with fire crackers andthunder flashes and enjoyed scaringaway our devils. If' they were sorry tosee us sail, how much more we wereto lose them and their services. TheShip's Company gave up drinking"pop" in memory.

At last the undreamed of cruisehome, "backwards" around the world,had started. A drop of "roughers"made the future look ominous but werefuelled in Subic Bay and continuedto Guam with the Pacific Ocean start-ing to live up to its name. The sceneryof the most southerly island of theMarianas still bore the grim marks ofa typhoon with two hundred mile anhour winds, and when we left, theEnlisted Men's Club showed signs ofmore recent devastations at the handsof the ship's companies of Cavalier,Llandaff and Cassandra. A monthsbeer supply for the club disappearedin two nights.

Ten days of continuous steamingfollowed, and fortunately we foundWave Sovereign in the middle of thePacific for a quick replenishmentexercise. Three ships from Guam tookup their required stations six hundredmiles apart on a line joining Honoluluand Fiji, and slightly delayed by badweather in Canada, Her Majesty TheQueen flew invisibly overhead, on herway to New Zealand and Australia.This was the very reason for ourhomeward journey via Panama, andvery thankful we were.

Honolulu and Pearl Harbour onOahu provided an excellent trialground for the greater Anglo-Americanfraternisation spree to follow. Weenjoyed the Fiftieth State now calledthe Hawaiian Islands, and sampledeverything offered. We gorged our-selves on the dockyard facilities andstores, soaked up the scenery ingeneral and even more thoroughlyon Waikiki. Drank Mai Tai's with thebest and worst, played cricket and lost,yes, lost to Americans (admittedly theywere aided by the Commonwealthcountries) and then immediatelycracked on with a full day's exercisingon sailing.

Crossing the Line - King Neptune's first visitors

Rum Bosun Cassandra and Sydney

3

DESTROYER SENTTO MALDIVES

Five Britons evacuatedas dispute flares

BY A COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT

A TENSE situation exists at Malé, capital of the MaldiveIslands, in the Indian Ocean, owing to a flare-up

in the three-year-old dispute between the British andMaldivian Governments. The dispute arose out of thelease to Britain of Gan Island, an atoll in the group, 300 miles from Male,

where a £5 million R.A.F. staging basewas completed three years ago.

The destroyer Cassandra, 2,020 tons,has been anchored in the lagoon offMale for the past fortnight "for the pro-tection of British lives and property."

The only Britons remaining are Mr. Hum-phrey Artington-Davy, the British Repre-sentative, and Mr. Saunders, a naval architectemployed by the Maldivian Government.

The five other Britons in the area have nowbeen evacuated to Colombo. They are Mrs.Saunders, two women school teachers sentout under the British aid programme, andtwo engineers.

Self GoverningMr. Artington-Davy and Mr. Saunders

have their homes and offices on DuneduIsland, just opposite Malé, but spend mostof their time in the Cassandra. The Maldivesare a self-governing British Protectorate.

The serious turn in the chronically strainedrelations began at the end of November,when Sir Arthur Snelling, Deputy Under-secretary, Commonwealth Relations Office,visited Malé for talks with Mr. Nasir, Mal-divian Prime Minister.

A few days after his arrival islanders stageda hostile demonstration against the handfulof Britons on Dunedu.

Mr. Nasir warned Sir Arthur that he andthe other Britons had better leave, as hecould no longer be responsible for theirsafety. Sir Arthur sent out a radio call forhelp, and the frigate Fada, 1,575 tons, wassent.

When it became clear that the crisis wouldbe long drawn out the Fada was replaced bythe Cassandra and eventually the evacuationof Britons was decided.

Sunday Telegraph,6th January, 1963.

Watchdog at Malé

Cats Chorus by the Back End Petty Officers

and they all lived happily ever after

Queer Street Curios

First Lieutenant's Harem South China Seas in a bad mood

San Francisco was the climax of thetour. The red painted Golden Gate tothe Orient was shrouded in mist onarrival and again as a farewell gesture.Alcatraz passed by quietly and shortlyafterwards the prison closed down andthe island became a holiday camp!The five days in port provided manymemorable occasions and friendships.Cassandra berthed alongside the re-mains of a wooden jetty havingremoved a fair chunk in the processand from that moment, events tumbleddown on us like pennies from heaven.Sport was attempted in the more soberpauses, but this invariably led tofurther celebrations. Work ceased onboard at 1000 and occasionally startedat 0800. The Edinburgh Castle wasstill talking about the Cassandra visitafter the ship reached England. Thenight life was second to none.

Onwards, south to Manzanillo inMexico where the ship was not exactlyexpected. Amends were soon madeand the afternoon's privileged leaveproduced much excitement. A diplo-

matic incident was nearly caused bythe Supply Officer going ashire in longwhites with sword to buy some fruitand vegetables in the local streetmarket. The friendliness of the natives,however, averted a major disaster, anda bag of mail was produced to provegood intent. The sailing of the shipwas delayed slightly by the EngineerOfficer dipping fuel tanks ashore,doing rapid calculations on his sliderule and then not being able to runany faster back to the waiting ship!

Further southwards, hurrying nowin order not to be late for the Mediter-ranean stop, through the PanamaCanal by day and night, out into theAtlantic and feeling in the right hemi-sphere once more, but then, an urgentsignal rapidly altered our next destina-tion from Bermuda to the north coastof Cuba and into Key West.

Some poor unfortunate people inthe strictly controlled island of Cubafound life so restricted and unbearablethat in sheer desperation they found itnecessary to flee their own country for

freedom and a chance to fight backagainst oppression for the sake of theirfellow countrymen. Fourteen suchpeople sailed in boats from Cuba,northwards and ended up on LobosCay about thirty miles away. Theywere molested en route and two oftheir number were killed, but we pickedup the remainder from the BritishTerritory and handed them over toAmerican authorities in Key Westwho have a large organisation for theirreception. The ship was also requiredto search several other Cays on CaySal Bank to ensure that they were notbeing used by anti-Castro rebels asstarting points for raids on Cuba. Thelanding party was kept very busy oneSaturday and Sunday.

From Key West, the extremity ofthe Miami Pensular and island chain,we steamed to Bermuda for a longawaited run ashore. Coach trips anda visit by three Russian vessels pro-vided some entertainment, and theFleet Canteen the rest! But the journeyhad to continue and we crossed the

Tasmen catch another fish The hardest working men on board

5

Enjoying a paddle at the seaside

Atlantic feeling much colder thanbefore. With a fairly hefty stormastern of us we rolled our way intoPonta Del Gada in the Azores, andfilled the ship up once more. Reactionsto this port were mixed, but the verdictwould probably have been favourablehad the stay lasted for more than justa few hours. A sailor, after all, doesneed some time to re-acclimatize him-self to dry land.

With our programme rather un-certain, Gibraltar was almost ravished(unmythologically) in the few hoursCassandra spent alongside, but despitethis we still sailed on Sunday morningto keep a date for a casex off Malta.The exercise was cancelled by a stronggregale which allowed the weary crewashore earlier than expected, but it didseem a long way to steam at highspeed, all the way from Honolulu, tomiss the planned exercise!

Malta, we found a changed place.

Awnings spread in Pearl Harbour

Aloka (Hello, I love you, Goodbye--literal translation)

Many of us had visited before, but thistime Bailey's were running the Dock-yard, Flag Officer Malta was justabout to disappear, and there was adistinct air of "run down." This didnot detract from the more mundanepleasures, however, as dghaisas stillplied back and forth, Marsovin wasstill sold where it always has been sold,bars still opened, shops still soldrabbits and the Barraca lift had lostnone of its hell-ride charm. Cassandraturned to her recent experiences inthe New World and made a good jobof hosting two United States NavalDestroyers visiting Malta on a restand recreation jolly.

A spell in dry dock gave the impres-sion that the ship belonged in Malta,but the illusion was soon shattered aswe went to sea from 9th to 11th April,and joined the 21st Escort Squadron.The Library opened again, too, as theL.R.O. Librarian had not gone com--

pletely native and he did manage tofind the ship again before it sailed.Easter passed quietly and on GoodFriday Cassandra drew with Capricein an excellent final game of Hockey.

The sight of H.M.S. Devonshiresteaming stern first for four hours,made us wonder if we would everreach Barcelona! In the end we led thethe way into the lovely yacht harbouralongside the main road, and there foronly the second time Cassandra,despite all her training, sat back andwatched Devonshire take the brunt ofthe foreign invasion, inevitable onarrival at a foreign port. Cassandrafelt her age and helped as necessary ingiving the advice which only elders andbetters can give, and then had a whaleof a time exploring the clean andlovely town with something for all.Those who went to Madrid missedBarcelona, but came back with suchtales of hospitality, that we could not

Golden Gate, to the East San Francisco

It was broken before we arrived, Sir !

Lobos Cay Lighthouse, Grand Bahamas

Toy Soldiers - Ship's Landing Party

Some of our Cuban Refugeess

Guard mustered and correct - American Admiral calls at Key West

7

help but feel envious. The Children'sParty in Devonshire was provided byboth ships and was a great success. Suchparties receive more publicity and seemto do more good than all other activitieson a visit - and the participants derivemore fun from them than the guests.

Home was now but two thousandmiles steaming, and two weeks awayso no wonder excitement increased onboard and the Gibraltar shop sale,records were broken. Some "oldhands" saved their money for Casa-blanca where it is said one can buy thebest presents in that part of the world.Casablanca is not in the Mediterra-nean, but on the Atlantic seaboard ofAfrica, just a few hundred miles southof Gibraltar, but the Arabic shopswere good and bargaining, a sailor'sfavourite pastime, freely indulged in.It is so much more satisfying to thinkyou have bought something cheaperthan was intended. We met many localBritish residents, the Moroccan Navy,visited Rabat and Marrakesh, swamin the cold Atlantic swells, saw theAtlas Mountains dimly in the distance,and thoroughly enjoyed the last foreigntrip. Certain inhibitions were felt, andno one was inclined to remain foreign,

so on Thursday at 1100 Cassandrasailed for England with a full crew.

Sunday, 5th May-anchored Spit-head.

Monday, 6th May -- cleared Customsand went alongside H.M.S. Rhyl inPortsmouth Dockyard.

And now you have your friends andrelations to remind you of what hashappened since, so I leave it all toyour imagination. Thanks for yourliterary company round the world, andI hope all the memories are pleasantones in retrospect.

Home at last.

Families board Cassandra from H.M.S. Rhyl

Back in England - queue for everything

8

GREY FUNNEL

R.M.S. CASSANDRA

FIRST CLASS

Apply now to our agents: SYMONDS, STOCK & KIRBY

SHIP'S OFFICE - AND MAKE SURE OF YOUR BOOKING

AT SPECIAL

"THRIFT"

RATES

It pays

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You will enjoy the smoothest ridewith our Patent Non-fitted Stabilizers

SUNSHINELEISUREPUREPLEASURE

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GREY FUNNEL LINES ANNOUNCENEXT SEASONS SAILINGSFOR ALL PORTS EAST OF PORTSMOUTH

JOIN

R.M.S. Cassandra on October 17thFor the most Exotic Time of' Your Life

Total mileage 53,807Ports visited 25Throughout 5 Continents

Number of 4.5' shells fired 1,110Number of Bofors shells fired 2,180Cans of Beer consumed 140,400 in 12 months

Total cost to Government -- Enormous!

10 11

Communicators Banyan off SingaporeIn mid-November the pressure of

work around the department was suchthat only one solution to our problempresented itself - the communicatorsdeparted en masse (except, of course,the devoted dutymen) for a four-dayM.F.V. expedition up the JohoreRiver.

The party consisted of the Navigator(who claims his ulcers have not yetrecovered from the Yeoman's cook-ing), Midshipman Pearson (lookingafter the Navigator), Potts (whothought a holiday might do himgood?), Yeo (self-appointed PhilipHarben), P.O.M.E. Lofty Cole (autho-rity on ice-boxes), together withL.R.O.(S) Everitt, R.O.(T)'s Rush andFrobisher, R.O.(G)'s Geddes andLancaster, and J.R.O.'s Murray andMartin (all experienced in the use offishing rod and can spanner).

In view of the unreliable weather, itwas decided to remain in the JohoreRiver area. As it turned out, this wasjust as well, as we had some nastysqualls during the cruise; on morethan one occasion the sun and starworshippers were forced to seek refugei n the hold, of course, soaking every-one else in their efforts to reach shelter(this is hardly the place to describe thelanguage).

After the first night off Pulau Ubin,where the swimming was good, weproceeded up river, a most interestingtrip, and anchored at lunchtime off theNam Hong rubber estate where themore energetic disappeared to studylocal talent. The latter proved limited,but the village shop, which sold every-thing from flip flops to kippers (and a

"Bridge, this is Ops. Room" -- a veryfamiliar cry often heard at sea bymany, understood by few and appre-ciated by fewer.

It is not the mating call of theyellow-beaked, black-winged, square-headed gull, as suggested by a certainleading stoker in the for'ard bathroom,nor is it the cry of a tormented soulseeking entry into the Astral Plain,this being the suggestion from aDennis Wheatley fan in the after Zoo.It is the music which should lull allgood matelots to sleep knowing fullwell that they are safe for the night

little beer), must have showed ahealthy profit that day. Our fibre glassdinghy and outboard motor (when itworked) were a godsend in the strongstream.

The following day we moved up toKota Tinggi (25 miles inland) andberthed at the oiling jetty there for24 hours; this was a good chance toreplenish our stocks of food and getsome more ice blocks from the fishmarket. The Yeo, clearly brought upin the best traditions of Mercury, andthe N.O., who can't stand beards, dis-appeared ashore to sample the cutthroat razor technique of Malayanladies in the local barber's shop; both,although refreshed, swear they willnever try the experiment again!

That evening was spent at a planters'club nearby, graduating to an hotel inthe village later - actually the latterwas closed but a little charm and per-suasion opened their doors and wewere even allowed (?) to cook our-

Communicators at play

The Radar Plottersand from dangers of the seas. "NobisTutus Ibis" ("With Us You GoSafely") - our Motto, for those of youwho did not know.

Our gear in the Ops. Room hasbehaved well (on the whole) thanks tothe painstaking efforts of Chief Page,Chief Langdon and Daisy Adams andtheir Gang of slaves. At one stage thepaint sprayer motor was fitted up themast to drive the 974 - despite theBuffer's complaints.

Now, about us, the R.P.s, the harddone by operators. In our number wehave three R.P.2s, four R.P.3s and six

12

selves some eggs in the kitchen. Wewere in fact so much at home therethat Potts eventually decided to spenda peaceful night in residence - that'shis story and he's sticking to it!

The following day we returned toour original haunts round Pulau Ubinto enjoy more fishing and good ban-yaning ashore. That night was spentsecured to a convenient buoy, at leastwe think it was a buoy, while the raincame down in torrents and the windwhistled around.

The final morning we tried aqua-planing behind the twisting and turn-ing M.F.V. going flat out, this wasmost successful - so successful in factthat up spirits was delayed slightly,much to the dismay of the less athletic.

That afternoon we returned to theNaval Base, all sorry that our holidayhad ended; true, the weather wasn'tperfect but all said that, given thechance they would certainly have goneagain.....

Basics who all "starred" with varyingdegrees of success last Autumn. Dryadreally must have scraped the barrel toget us all together as we came fromplaces like Yeovilton, Reserve FleetChatham, Scotland, and even oneBasic from China (Lowery still insiststhat he is English?). The SquadronP.R.I. was driven to drink (evil tiger)by this shower, but after beating hishead against the Ops. Room door fora few months, he finally admitted thatthey were the best all-round team hehad seen for a long while; the Navi-gator, who refused to agree, bought

him a pair of glasses and he finallywent home to England for a rest cureand was certified blind.

We have been in all kinds of watch-keeping systems, from watch on stopon to one in seven (very quiet indeedbut not popular with the First Lieu-tenant). We have done three majorexercises, miscellaneous minor ones,

79 Casexes, 54 synthetic exercises andwe have even talked to an aircraft ortwo so far this Commission; finally,we all understand Relative Velocity(I only add this to keep the Navigatorhappy). In achieving these records,2,600 yards of tracing paper, 1,250assorted pencils, 450 yards of sello-tape, 180 square feet of perspex,36 yards of green beige, 53 lbs. of

coffee and 4 tins of Hep Aerosol InsectKiller have been used.

This has been a young, happy team,who have had to work hard (everynow and then) to produce the goodresults-ask in any Bar from HongKong to San Francisco and you willhave proof.

WALES FOR EVER.

Athletics

A most successful meeting was heldon the Terror Track on 6th June, 1962,with the majority of the Ship's Com-pany present. Unfortunately, we werebeaten by a thunderstorm when onlythree-quarters of the way through theprogramme, but the remaining eventswere held the following day.

Spastics Anonymous

Cassandra came second to Caesarin the Squadron Sports a few weekslater.

1 3

TEAM PLACINGS INDIVIDUAL RESULTSDiscus

Team Placings: 1. J/S Lancaster; 2. Lt. Pike.lst Top . . . . . . . . 59 Pts. High Jump:

2nd Comns. and S. & S. .. . . 54 Pts. 1. Ck. Splain; 2. L/S Ferns.880 yards:

3rd Quarterdeck . . . . . . 34 Pts. 1. C.Y. Galloway; 2. L/Ck. Taylor_4th Fo'c's'le . . . . . . 25 Pts. Long Jump:5th Engineroom . . . . . . 1 9 Pts. 1. J/S Wickens; 2. J/S Bawden.

6th Electrical . . . . . . 18 Pts. Weight:1. J/S Brough; 2. A.B. Firestone.

Mile:1. A.B. Rees; 2. A.B. Burrows.

220 yards:1. Lt. Pike; 2. L.E.M. Gracie.

Hop, Step and Jump:1. Lt. Pike; 2. J/S Wickens.

Javelin:l. J/S Brough; 2. A.B. Firestone.

100 yards:1. P.O. Friend and R.O.2 Sheppard

(Dead Heat).440 yards:

l. C.Y. Galloway; 2. A.B. Furness.4 x 110 yards Relay:

l . Comns. and S. & S.; 2. Electrical.

The BubbleBubbleMakers

One of the snags of having a Cassandramagazine is that some poor devil hasto write it. In nearly every departmentof the ship, heads are being scratchedand pencils bitten off short as the un-fortunate one detailed to put togetherthe departmental comic cuts, struggleson. The divers are no exception; fewof them can read, and it seems thatnone of them can write. Lookingthrough the Divers' Logs, this comesas no surprise.

Well, what about the diving inCassandra ? I don't know if we haveset up a record for a commission, butwith 15,000 minutes in twelve months,we must have come jolly near. Natur-ally a good deal of this has been"exped" and "banyan" diving (i.e.,fun), but nevertheless it is practice andexperience, the two things that help inany emergency.

The fact that we are fitted for SABAgear has been of enormous value infree-swimming operations. Indeed, hadwe been less fortunate and been sup-plied with UBA, then our total wouldnot be anything like the present figure.

Our team originally consisted of fiveShallow Water Divers and two FreeSwimmers. The SWD's converted earlyin the Commission, and earned com-mendation from the staff of the DivingSchool Staff. Two newcomers qualifiedsoon afterwards as SWD's and theresult was then a well-balanced team.

We set out to gain experience in allconditions and waters, and were amplyaided by Cassandra's programme whichgave variety in abundance. Each placehas its own value in the diving world:in Australia we made the acquaintanceof a variety of sharks. I think most ofus were apprehensive until we hadactually seen them under water, and atBroughton Island that was no problem!The sea snakes which abound inSingapore left us severely alone, and

Cassanndra's Diver on the Iron Deck

in Hong Kong the only casualties werethose resulting from last night's runashore. The Baracuda, about whichwe've heard such terrible tales, don'tseem to fancy the juicy flanks ofCassandra's Team, and the onlyOctopus seen was so frightened thathe lost no time in making like a rock.Looking at the assembled features ofthe Team, I can't say that I blame him!

Gronks

At the time of writing, we are tryingunsuccessfully so far to catch lobstersin sunny Bermuda. Stories of "the onethat got away" get taller and taller,but, well, there's always tomorrow andwho knows, some one might be forcedto believe us, yet.

Best of luck to all Cassandras intheir next jobs, service or civilian.

CHIEF GRONK.

1 4

Supply & Secretariat Division

1 5

Dear Miss Demeanor,

Two weeks ago my husbandwent out to buy a loaf of breadand he's not come back yet.

Do you think I should waitfor him a little longer, or goout and get the bread myself

Doubtful

The food on board was marvellous

Engineering Division at Casablanca

Weapons, and Radio

and Electrical Division

The Topmen in situ

1 6

Dog Watch MusingsI have just come away from a wedding

And I laughed till I very near cried,The people I met, I'll never forget

When I married my "Jenny Wren" bride.

Her old man worked in the dockyardHer mother in the old Marine's Store.

As for their habits, don't talk about rabbits,They'd got half the dockyard ashore.

Her wedding gown was held up with spunyarn,And made from an old whaler's sail.

While over her head a deck cloth was spread,With a spunnet, in front, for a veil.

Her petticoat was made of blue hessian,Her blackouts were made of green baize,

And as a suspender, a motor boat's fenderWith two Pusser's gaiters as stays.

The Axemen

Q.D. The editor decided that the Quarterdeck would prefer to remain silent owing to their superbphotogenic qualities and an innate sense of illiteracy. The above untouched picture speaks for itself.

I asked her old man for a dowryHe gave me a drum of soft soap,

A handful of waste, some cleaning paste,And 52 fathoms of rope.

Her mother a present she sent us,Was 44 yards of blue jean,

While her brother, a draper, he gave us notepaper,Six packets of Service Latrine.

Now I'm away on my honeymoon,I don't know what happens tonight,

But there's a few, who say that they do,And they say she's a bit of alright.

TAFF.

1 7

Communications DivisionFrom N.O. down to J.R.O.,

A staff of seventeen,Communicators one and all,

So confident and keen.

Jock Slater being Number One,Pots Morris he comes next,

With Yeoman tagging on behind,Considered oversexed.

The L.T.O. and L.R.O.'sCome next in line for power,

Mottershead and Everitt,With Wardle, what a shower.

Speedy Rush and Knocker White,Professional Buntings Two,

But both of them get most annoyedIf you call them R.O.2.

R.O. Shead is next in line,A Sparker of some spirit,

But ask the P.O. Tel or us,We'll tell you he's not with it.

Toothy Frederick Frobisher,And psycho Evans now,

They both passed out as Buntings,But Buntings wonder how.

Communications Division

Bert Lancaster and Sheppard,Two Sparkers of renown,

Sheppard for his ugly face,Lancaster-a clown.

Jim Geddes, yes, and Joe Ince, too,Both Sparkers so they say,

Both want to pass for Leading Rate,We fear that fatal day.

Glen Blythe and Ginger Porter,The last two of the Staff,

Both claim that they are Boffins,We consider this a laugh.

The above few words of slander,Could cause me certain pain,

So to prevent this happening,Anonymous I'll remain.

The Fo'c's'leThe forecastle is that neat, clean,

and tidy area at the sharp end whichis at all times a picture of efficiency.Consider then how very smart thisship would look with another fo'c's'leback aft in place of that blitzed site,where, in other ships, the quarterdeckis situated. Yes, I say let's have twofo'c's'les, and follow the example ofthe Hong Kong Ferry Boats!

The commission started with a bang,but Singapore Dockyard soon replacedthe area of fo'c's'le that Caprice hadremoved. The Division then consistedof the Divisional Officer and anAssistant Divisional Officer of evenmore doubtful origin, the DivisionalPetty Officer, and twenty-four otherassorted characters including sevenjuniors attached to the Division (quickprayer for their souls).

We had our fair share of jackstays,tows, and refuellings and everyonegrasped the general idea. In the sport-ing line we came very near to success.We proved that beer is not the besttraining medium.

During our Australian cruise, andon the way home via America, thefo'c's'le was the scene of eight officialcocktail parties. On these occasions noone can deny that we succeeded inturning the cable deck into a bright

shining cross between the Ritz Cock-tail Lounge and Kew Gardens. Muchhard work was done by everyone inthe Division and it was well worth thetrouble.

Our only real Divisional run ashore,if one could call it that, was the Banyanat Malé. After a quiet start the partysoon livened up and by the time wereturned on board it was obvious toall onlookers that the Fo'c's'le Banyanhad been a roaring success.

Quite a few of the lads have had"leave" at one place or another, andmost came back to take their punish--

ment with good heart, the remainderstayed onboard and cursed their luck,and others.

Now we are back in the UnitedKingdom for refit and though the shipis in Dockyard hands what we mustnot forget is that the Commission con-tinues. The fo'c's'le has to be on topline again before we pay off. Keep upthe good work, and when the Com-mission does end, I hope we all getwhat we wish for-be it ClearanceDiving, Submarines or another WorldCruise. Good luck in the future, and"come round yesterday."

The Forecastlemen-view of faces

18

Royal Navy Has CocktailsWith The Local Community

By HOPE McLEODThe cocktail flag was flying from

6.30 to 8.30 p.m. Monday from theforecastle of H.M.S. Cassandra nowdocked at Pearl Harbor.

Cmdr. J. M. B. Walkey, Royal Navy. . . captain of the Cassandra and hisofficers greeted more than 70 guestsfrom both the military and Britishcivilian community as they steppedaboard.

The canopied bow of the ship . . .and luckily so, for it did rain a bit. . . was a-glitter with lights and signalflags hanging from the canopy pro-vided color as well as protection fromthe strong breezes.

H.M.S. Cassandra, which will be inHonolulu until Feb. 13, is one of fourships ... two British and two Canadian. . . stationed at strategic points in thePacific during Queen Elizabeth's recentflight to Fiji.

Guests included British ConsulWilfred H. M. Hindle and Mrs. Hindle,Mr. and Mrs. J. Finch, Mr. and Mrs.J. Patterson, Miss B. Evans, Dr. andMrs. J. R. Watson, Mr. and Mrs. D.Drummond and Mr. and Mrs. J.Pinchin.

Present from the military were RearAdm. and Mrs. C. A. Buchanan, RearAdm. and Mrs. A. J. Bourgeois, RearAdm. and Mrs. J. M. Farrin, Capt. andMrs. J. B. Gay, Capt. and Mrs. G. T.Ferguson and Capt. and Mrs. J. L.Lowentrout.

Cassandrais in PortBritish destroyer H.M.S.Cassandra came into her berthat San Francisco's Pier 18-N.Then the fun began.Said Commander MichaelWalkey, R.N., the Cassandra'sskipper: "It was just one ofthose things."

A Tot ofRum for aWeary Crew

H.M.S. Cassandra, a British des-troyer, hove into Pier 18N just beforenoon yesterday for a week-long re-habilitation stay here.

The 230 officers and men of thewarship have had nearly a year awayfrom home. They were based at Singa-pore. They were given their day's rumration yesterday before lunch, asAmerican sailors on the pier watchedcovetously.

The 2,000-ton vessel was used onconvoy duty in the Russian Arcticduring World War 11. A German tor-pedo once blew her bow off-but shehas been virtually rebuilt since then.

On Saturday and on Sunday, from2 to 5 p.m., the Cassandra will be opento the public. Tomorrow members ofthe crew will be host to blind and deafchildren, and Friday afternoon themen will hold a party for under-privileged children.

During the week, her crew will com-pete with Americans at soccer, rugby,water polo, pistol and rifle-shootingand squash.

The warship whose skipper is Com-mander Michael Walkey, will sail onMonday for Bermuda and England.

Cassandra (home today)showed flag in 25 ports

Twenty-five ports, five continents, and 57,779 steaming milesin a year . . . that was the record of the 2,020-ton destroyerCassandra, which arrived home at Portsmouth, today, writesour Naval Correspondent.

1 9

Le destroyer britannique H.M.S.Cassandra est attendu ce matin auport. 11 fern Line ascale amicale aCasablanca jusquau 2 mai. LeH.M.S. Cassandra un destroyer de2,600 tonnes de la classe CA quipeut filer 31 noeuds se trouve sousl e commandement du Capitaine deFregate Michael Walkey, R.N. ettransporte un equipage de 12 officers

et 280 hommes. Le batiment pouraetre visite par le public aujourd-huisamedi de 14 heures a 17 heuresainsi que lundi, mardi, et mercrediaux meme heures.

Others were Capt. and Mrs. C. R.Chandler, Cmdr. and Mrs. J. T. Doyle. . . he is commanding officer of thehost ship, U.S.S. RENSHAW, andCmdr. and Mrs. R. N. Sutton. Com-mande r Sutton is the 14th Naval Dis-trict liaison officer for the Cassandra.

Commander J. M. B. WALKEY, Royal Navy

It is an old saying that "the last Commission" wasalways the best. I hope CASSANDRA will be no excep-tion in your memories.

Best of luck to you all, and may you have even moresatisfying tasks in the future.

MICHAEL WALKEY

20

The production o f this magazine was

made possible by the kind assistance of

" Cassandra" of The Daily Mirror.

Printed byGale & Polden Ltd.

Edinburgh RoadPortsmouth