DREAM VISIT FOR ALAN.Byline: By Wendy Horton South Wales Echo The South Wales Echo is a daily newspaper distributed in south Wales. It was founded in 1884 and is based in Thomson House, Cardiff city centre. It is published daily, in a tabloid form, by Media Wales Ltd (formerly Western Mail & Echo Ltd), part of the Trinity Mirror group. A naval officer has fulfilled his life's ambition of bringing his warship warship, any ship built or armed for naval combat. The forerunners of the modern warship were the men-of-war of the 18th and early 19th cent., such as the ship of the line, frigate, corvette, sloop of war (see sloop), brig, and cutter. home. HMS HMS abbr. Her (or His) Majesty's Ship HMS (Brit) abbr (= His (or Her) Majesty's Ship) → Namensteil von Schiffen der Kriegsmarine Ramsey, which is a Sandown Class minehunter The Sandown class is a class of minehunter originally built for the British Royal Navy (RN). Sandown-class vessels also serve with the Royal Saudi Navy and the Estonian Navy (Merevägi). , docked at Britannia Quay in Cardiff Bay yesterday, as reported in later editions of the Echo. The aim of the visit is to give the ship's company of 37 men and three women some well deserved shore leave during their three-day stay, during which members of the public will be able to get onboard. For Petty Officer Alan Williams, 36, from Heath, Cardiff, who joined the Royal Navy in 1990, it is the realisation of a 15-year dream. The former Cathays High School pupil, known as Bungy, said: 'I am three-quarters of my way through my time and it's just always something I have wanted to do. 'I have always wanted to sail into Cardiff on my own ship. I am normally in the control centre when we are coming in but on this occasion I went on deck to watch. 'It was hard to get my bearings at first but then as I got a lot closer everything came into perspective. 'It all seems surreal. I have visited places all over the world - it would be easier not to name the places I haven't been. But coming into my home town of Cardiff was special.' For PO Williams, the ship's stay will mean a trip to the Millennium Stadium on Saturday for Wales' game against South Africa. But for anyone not watching the match, HMS Ramsey will be open to visitors between 2pm and 4pm. KEEPING THE PEACE ON HIGH SEAS: As well as clearing mines HMS Ramsey conducts survey operations in harbours and open waters. It is the 10th Sandown Class Mine Hunter, launched on November 25, 1999. In 2003, the crew were involved in post conflict operations off Iraq. More recently she worked with Nato minehunters around the Baltic, UK and France. She celebrates her sixth birthday next week. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion