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The Royal Navy trip to HMS Northumberland
During the first week of the October half-term break, Six members of the Bedford School CCF Navy Section, accompanied by Major Migallo and Sub-Lieutenant Dale, were invited to spend one week on board the HMS Northumberland, a type 23 Duke class frigate. It had just come out of re-fit and was about to embark on its sea trials.
The cadets and staff travelled to Rosythe, Scotland, arriving there around five o'clock in the afternoon. After a brief introduction from the captain and the CISO, we were sent to our mess to settle in.
The following day the ship was scheduled to set sail. However, due to extremely rough waters, with waves up to eight metres high (can you imagine the sea sickness that would have entailed?!), our departure was delayed until midday.
After the ship set sail, most of the cadets watched from the bridge or the deck, while a few unfortunate cadets were stuck in the Ops' room. Despite the sea having calmed slightly, we were all disgustingly seasick, but still had to endure yet another tour of the ship!
Later that afternoon, we took part in 'split pipes' practice, which included a very personal yet very amusing incident involving our leading hand, Chris Chapman, (we won't say anymore about that!). Evening rounds which some of the cadets took part in also turned out to be a slightly embarrassing experience!
The rest of the trip turned out to involve lots of interesting activities. We watched 'RAS' (Replenishment At Sea) from the bridge on the boat. During RAS, our ship took fuel on board from Fort Victoria. Other activities included manoeuvring around the HMS Illustrious, which is an aircraft carrier, and taking part in fire drill practice.
A highlight of our week on board the HMS Northumberland was going up in a Merlin helicopter. These are aircrafts which are fairly new to the Royal Navy, and which, perhaps slightly worryingly, no one is quite sure how to use (mainly due to the sheer volume of the instruction manual, which no one actually wants to read)! Nevertheless, our flight was an amazing experience, which we thoroughly enjoyed.
Two cadets also had an interesting experience of 'piping', which they unluckily had to demonstrate to the Commodore when he arrived on board. Later, we also experienced the guns being fired as we came in to port in Newcastle. The ship trembled with each gunshot, but it was all the same a... different experience!
As a finale to our wonderful week on board the HMS Northumberland, we attended the Trafalgar Night Dinner for which we had to all help clean up the ship. I know this sounds tedious, but with the whole crew helping (captain included!), there was always someone making the task light-hearted. During the dinner itself, we helped out by serving and washing up dishes afterwards, again involving 'interesting' incidents at the expense of fellow cadets!
The following morning, the crew and staff finally took pity on our tired and dreary faces and allowed us to lie in. Yes, we were able to stay in bed until seven o'clock in the morning! After bidding goodbye to the crew of the HMS Northumberland, we took the train back from Newcastle to London, and then on to Bedford. Our week on board the HMS Northumberland was an extremely enjoyable one, and we all came away having learnt a lot. Our thanks go to the staff who took us and the crew onboard the ship for all their efforts.
Royal Navy recruit, Year 10