Staff reflect on their highlights of 2010

Looking towards the Portsmouth Historic Dockyard office at the start of December

As 2010 starts to draw to a close, the staff at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard office have been reflecting on their highlights of the year, both personally and professionally and we wanted to share them with you all!


As an ex- Royal Marine from before the days of GPS, I am a bit of a ‘maps anorak’ and so my personal highlight on site in the past year was when the Mary Rose Trust staged a temporary exhibition - Mapping Portsmouth's Tudor Past, which brought together, for the first time, several important maps from The British Library, UK Hydrographic Office and the Admiralty Library.

All but one of these maps were hand-drawn and works of art in their own right. They provided a unique and fascinating insight into Tudor Portsmouth and the view of their world 500 years ago. It was quite remarkable to be able to compare them to the Portsmouth of today, to note how different parts of the City have developed in different ways, but others not at all where the same buildings and activities are still there. I was also amazed how maps produced free-hand, so long ago and without the benefits of modern technology, could be so accurate and consistent.

To be able to show our visitors artefacts of this quality and rarity is always a real boost for the Historic Dockyard and demonstrates how effective careful partnership working behind the scenes can be. We hope to continue a series of similar, high quality and rare exhibitions in the future.
Robert Bruce - Managing Director

My highlight of the year has, of course, been starting my new position here at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. I have loved settling into the PHDL team and, in particular the Advanced Sales Office. I've had lots of little highlights over the last eight months but if I were to pick one in particular, it would have to be successfully welcoming over ninety coach groups to the Victorian Festival of Christmas last month. With planning and team work everything went smoothly.
Emma Abrook - Sales Team Leader

Navy Days 2010 was a personal highlight for me as I really got to stick my teeth into the event and help to organise the re-enactments and entertainment that took place on the Heritage part of the site as well as the large event footprint as a whole. It gave me goose bumps when I saw the visitors enter and it was great to have a walk around and see all what was going on and how it all came together. I got to work with such a wide variety of people from all sources and I learnt so much from it. The personal highlight was sitting on South Railway Jetty at the end of the day with a whole mismatch of people and colleagues and having a pint in the glorious sunshine! :o)
Amy Cosgrave - Events Assistant

A memorable event for me happened in November when Chris Winder dressed as The Tin Man from The Wizard of Oz climbed the mast of HMS Warrior in aid of charity; despite being terminally ill himself. The climb was arduous and took a long time; but the sheer joy on Chris’s face at reaching the top of the mast was very moving.
Elaine Arkell - PA to Managing Director

On a personal 'General Marketing' note it is seeing my outdoor campaign plan come to life with HMS Victory on buses (we are still on them 4 months on!), on large 48 sheets at the side of roads and throughout the 'Museum tunnel' that links the V&A Museum and the National History Museum in London. It was also great to see our 'Portsmouth' destination campaign on trains and on train station platforms throughout London.

But on a broader Portsmouth Historic Dockyard note, it has to be stood in the cold with colleagues at our Festival of Christmas weekend in November, with real snow starting to fall for the first time in the events' history. It was a great weekend and the snow made it extra special, my favourite Festival of Christmas so far. Bring on next year's!
Happy 2011 to all.
Holly Langridge - Marketing Executive

My highlight of the year has to be our one-off events with the Royal British Legion which have resulted in widespread press coverage across print, radio and TV, but have also been very moving and worthwhile. There was the Hampshire Poppy Launch in Victory Arena focusing on the Afghan generation but also the March for Honour, with a Navy team marching from HMS Victory to Wootton Bassett to collect a book of remembrance with the other services and then delivering to the Royal Albert Hall on Armistice Day. I was extremely proud to be a part of a very worthwhile cause.

Oh and I can’t forget Navy Days, hard work but immense fun and good to get to work with not only my Navy press colleagues but the outside broadcast team at BFBS Radio!
Melissa Gerbaldi - Press Officer

My highlight has been seeing the success of Navy Days and Festival of Christmas. The marketing plans for both events are quite extensive; involving a lot of hard work so to see the site so busy with lots of people here enjoying themselves was great. (And it is always good to meet and exceed targets!)
Kelly Haswell - Marketing Executive

My highlight of 2010 was the introduction of our exclusive Loyalty Club members events.

In April this year, we introduced our first Loyalty Club event, which was a huge success with great feedback received from our members.

The event took place on board HMS Warrior 1860 where Roger Paine, author of Call the Hands: A Collection of Naval Yarns gave a fascinating and amusing account of life in the Navy and Rum tots were enjoyed by all! The afternoon came to an end with an exclusive tour of the ship and refreshments.

The success of this event was repeated at the Mary Rose Museum in September with a talk by Chief Executive of the Mary Rose Trust, focusing on their Tudor Maps exhibition. Guests were fascinated by the talk and were treated to a tour of the museum and again the feedback was so positive.

It was excellent to be able to offer exclusive opportunities for our Loyalty Club members, to repay their commitment to the site and to get the know them. It also meant that members could meet the people behind the scenes and for them to meet other members too.The next one is already being planned for early 2011!
Zoe Gill - Public Relations Executive

My first highlight of 2010 is returning to work for PHD!

My second highlight was at 5:30pm on Monday 29th November after the A Victorian Festival of Christmas de-rig was complete. The site was so spick and span you wouldn't have known that there had been 25,000 people in over 3 days playing in the snow, starting their Christmas shopping, being entertained by all sorts of Victorian characters and visiting all of our wonderful attractions. It was such a huge feeling of achievement and relief for me to know that all that work happened safely and successfully. So on Tuesday 30th November I had a celebratory duvet day!
Terri Hall - Events Executive

My highlight of 2010 from a personal point of view had to be the introduction of a new online ticketing system. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard has always sold tickets online, but our customers had to exchange them in our Visitor Centre for one of our standard tickets, meaning there was no real advantage to buying online. Now you can buy tickets from our website, print them at home and get them scanned at each of our attractions, meaning you jump the queues in our Visitor Centre and can get straight on with your visit.
Phil George - IT Controller

A highlight in the account’s team’s year, was when we managed to stump the Auditors by receiving no queries or comments relating to our year end accounts!! Something I have been striving 5 years for!

My own personal highlight was being outside at the Festival of Christmas when it actually snowed!! It certainly brought a touch of magic to the event when all the children around me were gasping with delight.
Chantelle Millington - Finance Manager

It's been a really full year with lots going on and really no one day is the same. My personal highlight though is the way that we have reached out to the local community and our partners in the region to ensure that we play a significant role in 1) the cultural everyday life of our visitors 2) a wider economic role. We've run Dockyard on your Doorstep and the current library card offer to make it even easier for local residents to visit. We've strengthened really good partnerships with the City Council/County Council and other attractions/businesses in ensuring that Portsmouth is a must-see destination. And the team have worked tirelessly in supporting other initiatives through additional project work; secondments and trusteeships to share the vast knowledge and expertise we've built over the years in tourism; customer service; marketing and PR and to challenge them to achieve even more!
Jacquie Shaw - Head of Communications


Well they were our highlights, but what were yours....? We look forward to hearing from you and sharing even more from behind the scenes of Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in 2011!

Latest Blog from HMS Daring

Good Morning Campers,

Sorry but it’s been a little while since I have been able to get on here and tell you about what I’ve been up to. Well, it’s been hectic as usual and right now I’m sat in the Chart House but the ship isn’t moving , in fact DARING is sat in dry dock having a little bit of engineering work done to her. It’s the first time she’s been out of the water since she was launched in 2006. What a sight she is too – have a look at the photo of some of my shipmates ranging her anchor cable into the dock bottom. HUGE!

A brief visit to Den Helder in Holland at the end of June gave us the opportunity to present Daring to the Royal Netherlands Navy and have a Ship’s Company photograph taken in the glorious sunshine. We returned to take our affiliates and families to sea for a Day out in the English Channel. It’s the one opportunity in the year that we get to say thanks to all those who have supported us in some way or another. The day was enjoyed by all, with the Ship’s helicopter even making an appearance. The day wasn’t all fun and games for the Ship’s Fighter controllers were conducting a radar trial with Royal Navy Hawk jets who, after the trial, came in low and fast to wow those watching on the upper deck.

You might have noticed some service personnel on your TV screens whilst the Wimbledon competition was running this year. Daring also sent a couple of her Ship’s Company to help steward the event. One of our guys gave the father of Serena and Venus Williams (Richard) a Daring Baseball cap and he’s photographed here wearing it at the final between Serena and her opponent Vera Zvonareva. Serena went on to win.

So there’s a lot to be done now to get DARING ship shape in time for Navy Days but I’d say we’re on track and I’m looking forward to refloating DARING in the dock as I wasn’t here when she went in!

Navy Days takes place from Friday 30th July - Sunday 1st August. For more information or to buy tickets visit: www.navydaysuk.co.uk

Week 5 of the 'Weekly Wednesday' blog from Able Seaman Rob Foster, HMS Daring

Boys are Back in Town


We left Portsmouth in April for the inclement shores of Cornwall and the South Coast Exercise Areas. Since then we’ve spent 19 days alongside in other ports (mainly Devonport) and 59 days at sea. Last Friday, 19th July we sailed into our home town of Portsmouth where the familiar sights of Southsea, Gunwharf and well wishers on top of Round Tower greeted us. It certainly feels good to be back in Sunny Pompey. We weren’t in long before leave was granted and we finally got a full weekend to go home. Being a Derby lad I hadn’t had the opportunity to go home for quite some time as it’s just too far away from Plymouth. It was good to get back in the tractor on the farm and get some of mother’s home cooking down my neck – beats those chips and beans I’ve been eating for so long.

Today is Tuesday and whilst we may not be at sea we’re back at it. Preparing the ship for the busy month that lies ahead in the run up to Navy Days 2010. Got to go now though, The Navigator’s looking for those charts I locked away last week...

Find our more about Navy Days at: www.navydaysuk.co.uk

Week 4 of the 'Weekly Wednesday' blog from Able Seaman Rob Foster, HMS Daring

In the lead up to Navy Days which is taking place from Friday 30th July – Sunday 1st August at Portsmouth Naval Base (www.navydaysuk.co.uk), we will bring you ‘weekly Wednesday’ updates from on board HMS DARING - one of the ships open to public during the event.

Week 6 and the final week of Operational Sea Training. The time is 1200 - Midday. Already we’ve sailed into Plymouth Sound, collected the FOST staff via boat transfer exited the sound in a coordinated departure with German Frigates Koeln and Luebeck, conducted a high speed pilotage of the training ‘Mine-Swept Channel’ (PILOTEX), had a man-overboard exercise (MOBEX) and conducted a replenishment at sea (RAS) with Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Wave Knight. Later today we’ve got another Flying Exercise (FLYEX) with our Lynx Mk 8 Helicopter. and somewhere in between all this I’ve had to pop down and write my quick update. Probably the most exciting was the man-overboard. FOST staff throwing the dummy overboard whilst doing 20 knots and within a mine swept channel! (See photos)

All we need to do now is prepare ourselves and the Ship for FOST’s final inspection tomorrow. We’ll be up against submarine, ship and air attacks. Falcon and Hawk aircraft will test this Destroyer’s ability to defend herself and others from air attack. But we’ll be ready! Tomorrow we’ve got a mission and that mission is to win. The last time Daring did Navy Days was July 2009 in Devonport. Back then she was more a trials ship than anything else. This year she’ll be front and centre in her home port as an extremely capable warship.

More information about Navy Days can be found at: www.navydaysuk.co.uk

Week 3 of the 'Weekly Wednesday' blog from Able Seaman Rob Foster, HMS Daring

In the lead up to Navy Days which is taking place from Friday 30th July – Sunday 1st August at Portsmouth Naval Base (www.navydaysuk.co.uk), we will bring you ‘weekly Wednesday’ updates from on board HMS DARING - one of the ships open to public during the event.

The Start of Week 5 at Operational Sea Training and our penultimate week in Devonport commenced Monday morning with the Disaster Relief Exercise (DISTEX). This is an evolution that involves the whole ship.

In the North of Devonport Naval Base is a mock-up village – Old Grimsby which, in our scenario was hit by a hurricane the night before. Daring, exercising in the area was sent by the UK Government to render immediate Humanitarian and Disaster Relief Operations (HDRO). Working from the amunitioning buoys in the north of the River over looked by the Tamar bridge we set to work; deploying medical, fire fighting, search and rescue, command, recce and survey, engineering and public relations teams using the ship’s helicopter and sea boats. My Job was to conduct a survey of the local Port with the Navigating Officer. Using the old fashioned technique of swinging a lead line (a length of rope with a weight on the end) I measured the depth of water in various places to make a rudimentary chart of the area and assess the suitability for bringing a larger ship such as Daring alongside. The whole thing was a huge logistical operation and required lots of planning and briefing in the days leading up to the exercise.

Arriving in the hurricane hit island of Tresco we were greeted with devastation and it was our job to “Save Life and Lessen Suffering”. We put out fires, rescued casualties, built shelters, repaired the water plant and cooked food. All just another day at OST for Royal Navy ships which history tells us have a good chance of having to do this kind of thing for real.

For more information on Navy Days, please visit: www.navydaysuk.co.uk

Week 2 of the blog from Able Seaman Rob Foster - HMS DARING

In the lead up to Navy Days which is taking place from Friday 30th July – Sunday 1st August at Portsmouth Naval Base (www.navydaysuk.co.uk), we will bring you ‘weekly Wednesday’ updates from on board HMS DARING - one of the ships open to public during the event.

Week 3 of Operational Sea Training – We’ve hit the wall, 3 weeks into the training, half way through and are now on the home straight. This week has been no less busy – already we’ve conducted Naval Gunfire Support practice using the Ship’s 4.5in gun. Firing against a sea target we used Royal Marines spotters to assess the accuracy of the gunfire from an airborne helicopter. One of our shipmates with an eye for photography managed to take a shot of the round leaving the barrel – Awesome!

Here at Flag Officer Sea Training we’re constantly being assessed. Despite Daring’s magazine being able to hold twice as many rounds as any other ship in the fleet we still conduct ‘Emergency Re-supply Drills’ – moving 28 rounds (105Kg each) up two vertical decks to the Gun bay ready for firing. We ‘smashed’ the drill completing it in under 15 minutes.

Meanwhile I was in the charthouse conducting the altogether less ‘steely’ but equally important job of correcting the paper charts and Admiralty Publications. Using the charts I had recently updated from the international amendments received onboard – The Navigating Officer was able to plan his next serial of the week in complete confidence – A stern Replenishment at Sea driving the ship to within 200 yards (1 cable) from the stern of Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker – Wave Knight.


For information about Navy Days 2010, please visit: http://www.navydaysuk.co.uk/

For information on HMS DARING, please visit: http://www.hmsdaring.com/

Firsthand accounts of life on board HMS Daring, (open to the public during Navy Days 2010).

In the lead up to Navy Days which is taking place from Friday 30th July – Sunday 1st August at Portsmouth Naval Base, we will bring you ‘weekly Wednesday’ updates from those currently serving on board.

Hello Readers! My name is Rob Foster. I’m an Able Seaman in Her Majesty’s Ship Daring. This is my 3rd ship in the Navy which I’ve served in for 6 years now, I joined Daring in January 2009. The same month she entered her homeport of Portsmouth for the very first time.

Daring is different to the other ships I have had. She is modern for a start, and so much more capable. My branch is ‘warfare specialist’ which involves a lot of time in the Ops Room helping to fight the ship by analaysing radars, listening to communications, watching cameras, tracking air and surface contacts and reporting them to the command. At present however, I’m working for the Navigating Officer – Lieutenant Knott, as the Navigator’s Yeoman. It’s my job to make sure that all the charts are up to date for all the areas the ship may go into. Currently the ship is undergoing Operational Sea Training (OST) which is six weeks long. During this time we basically go through every part of our job until ‘the staff’ (the guys who inspect us) are happy that we can do the job to a good standard and asses we are safe to deploy anywhere in the world. This involves long days of hard work but it’s worth it in the end. We’ve just started week two of OST where up to now we have been doing a lot of flying serials – landing and launching the Ship’s helicopter, Officer or the Watch Manoeuvres – driving in close company with 2 other warships and a RAS (replenishment at sea) this is where we took on fuel from an auxiliary vessel whilst underway at sea.

For information about Navy Days 2010, please visit: www.navydaysuk.co.uk

James Daly: Navy Days then and now

After this week’s announcement about Navy Days 2010, I thought it might be interesting to take a look back at Navy Days over the years. It’s very much a Portsmouth institution, theres nowhere else where you can see so much of the Royal Navy’s past and present in one place all together. Not only is it a great day out but it’s also a great chance for the Royal Navy to showcase what it does.


Not only does Navy Days tell us about the History of the Royal Navy, it is a part of Naval History itself. They have been taking place for many years - I’ve seen posters advertising Navy Days dating back to the early 20^th Century, showing rows of battleships decked out in flags. My Granddad can remember going just after the war, and watching Fairey Swordfish Biplanes attacking ships with bags of flour. I can remember my Gran telling me about going on the US Warships, and the American sailors serving up hot dogs!

I first went to Navy Days in June 1994. It was the 50^th Anniversary of D-Day, and there were plenty of interesting Royal Navy and foreign warships in the Harbour, to take part in the International Fleet Review later that week. I can remember going on HMS Ilustrious, and plenty of Destroyers and Minesweepers. I can also remember seeing the US Cruiser USS Normandy, and the wartime liberty ship Jeremiah O’Brien. But what I remember most of all is my dad showing me round the Dockyard that he worked in, explaining how the Docks and caissons worked, and pointing out the parts of the ships that he worked on – ‘oh look, there’s number two weapons shop!’ and ‘that’s number three basin!’ sounds quite impressive when you’re 11!

The last time I went to Navy Days was in 2008. What I remember most from then is the foreign warships – Japanese, Chilean, Danish and French. It was interesting to have a look at HMS Ilustrious again 14 years later, and the Landing Ship RFA Largs Bay was a rare visitor to Portsmouth. And of course theres nothing quite like watching the Royal Marines Band close the day.

I’m looking forward to Navy Days already. I had a sneak peak of HMS Daring last year at the Royal Navy past and present event, and she really is something else. It’s a long time since RFA Argus has been in Portsmouth too. A former merchant vessel that served in the Falklands War before becoming and RFA ship, it will be a rare opportunity to visit a Falklands veteran. Hopefully we can expect to see some foreign warships too.

John Daly, Guest Blogger