The 1805 Dispatches #21.DofE April 2021 10 From John Wills Some 35 years ago I was fortunate to be appointed as the Senior Engineer of HM Yacht Britannia. I undertook three voyages: Portsmouth to Shanghai and back (1986); a west-about circumnavigation via the Galapagos Islands in mid-Paci�ic, and Australia, followed by Portsmouth to Aberdeen and back (1988). 1987 was spent undergoing one of the RN’s �irst contract re�its at Devonport. HM the Queen and HRH Prince Philip, as well as other members of the Royal Family, would useBritannia as a �loating palace, to promote “UK Limited”. Most port visits involved the promotion of British goods and trade. In advance, the local Embassies would have arranged Business Days usually focussed on speci�ic needs of the host country. For example, in Shanghai in 1986, it was the promotion of British heavy electrical products and Insurance. It was due to the foresight of HRH Prince Philip that Britanniawas used in this productive way. The stopover in the uninhabited Galapagos Islands in 1988 enabled HRH not only to visit this unique and remote colony of penguins, but to enable world-class naturalists and selected members of the media to accompany him to one of our planet’s most remote group of islands. This is an example of the “reach” he had at his disposal, and the productive use that he made of it. My baptism of �ire inBritanniaoccurred when Her Majesty and HRH disembarked for their �irst engagement ashore in Shanghai. I was summoned by my Admiral and told that there was a smell of cigar smoke in the Duke’s cabin, which was to be removed by the time they re-embarked! I soon got to understand the ventilation system for the Royal cabins, which all seemed intact, so concluded that the irritation was caused by the Royal Marine Band Drum Major’s ceremonial bearskin hanging inside the fan chamber! I heard no more from HRH. I’d passed his initiation test, although I don’t think that the Royal Marine Director of Music was very impressed! From Anthony Wozencroft Past Club Projects Of�icer My memories: The Day He Got Married. I was eleven years old, and my father was a railwayman at Waterloo Station. He had noticed that the Princess Elizabeth and Philip would be leaving on their honeymoon from the station. I was on the approach ramp as her Majesty and Philip smiled and waved at me as they came by. What a thrill that day was for me, the couple were in the prime of life and even to a young boy looked a special and lovely couple. His Birthday Dinner. After nearly �ifty years working, I retired from structural engineering. Having a love and interest in naval history, I was fortunate to secure a position as a "Yeoman Guide” at the Old Royal Naval College Greenwich. In 1947 the Duke of Edinburgh was made Baron Greenwich; in his honour Greenwich Foundation provided a celebration dinner for his 80th birthday in the Painted Hall, I was delighted to be invited to this special occasion. The Lewin Gates. Admiral of the Fleet Lord Terence Lewin, was commemorated by the Duke of Edinburgh, by him dedicating the “Lewin Gates” at the Old Royal Naval College. It was my privilege to escort the Duke to the “King’s House” on his attendance. The Nelson Dispatch. Who could forget the very special evening at Windsor Castle when The 1805 Club presented the Nelson Dispatch to the Duke of Edinburgh? Sermon for the Sunday after the Announcement of the Death of HRH Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Second Sunday of Easter. Given by Rev Pat Mann, Chaplain of ORNC Chapel. “As we gather together today, in the season of Easter, we �ind ourselves in a period of national mourning following the death of His Royal Highness, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at the age of 99, on Friday 9 April. One of his lesser known titles, given to him as he prepared to marry the then Princess Elizabeth, was Baron Greenwich. So here in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and at the Old Royal Naval College, which as the Royal Naval College he attended in 1948, we pause to remember and give thanks for this extraordinary man. For Prince Philip was an extraordinary man, who lived an extraordinary life. A life intimately connected with the sweeping changes of our turbulent twentieth century, a life of fascinating contrast and contradiction, and of long and faithful service. A complex and clever man. Here, in the spiritual home of the Royal Navy, we remember not just that he attended here but that the Navy and the sea were one of the enduring passions of his life. Prince Philip visited the Royal Naval College many times, notably at the ending of an era as Naval training moved to other establishments and the Royal Naval College closed, and as the last white ensign to �ly here was taken down and handed to His Royal Highness it found its way to the College Chaplain and has hung here in the Ante-Chapel ever since. His Royal Highness was also variously President of the Cutty Sark Trust, a Trustee of the National Maritime Museum and played a central role in the Borough of Greenwich becoming “Royal” and was granted Freedom of the Royal Borough in2012. As a naval of�icer, Prince Philip served with distinction in the Second World War, with a Mention in Despatches whilst serving as a Midshipman. He was a man of many interests. One of his enduring legacies is the Duke of Edinburgh’s award scheme,
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