More than 10,000 people flock to Devonport “Navy Days”

By The Captain, maritime correspondent, The Beagle

Once upon a time (!) there were Navy Weeks. To paraphrase the Old Plymouth website (Thank you Brian Moseley): “Plymouth’s second Navy Week ran from Saturday August 17 th to 24th 1929. Amongst the attractions were a battleship, two battlecruisers, an aircraft carrier, a cruiser, eight destroyers and 4 submarines – all open to the public.

Visitors could enter the Floating Dock and walk beneath the battleship HMS Ramillies (no Health and Safety Act then) and there were numerous live displays (including a torpedo firing into the harbour) and ships’ bands playing.

It was reported that some twenty special trains were run. Attendance figures in 1929 totalled 87,073. Navy Week was held yearly up to 1935 and in 1938, the last one before the Second World War.  When the event recommenced in May 1948 it had been reduced to Navy Days.”

The last ‘Navy Day’ was in Portsmouth in 2010. Well done and many thanks to Babcock for resurrecting this chance for families to see where their members live and work (Thursday) and for lucky members of the public to see where some of their taxes are spent today.

The world has changed greatly since the 1930s and the Royal Navy is now a fraction (102,250 personnel in 1929 to 37,900 today – the number of ships has also decreased dramatically) of its former size – as those who were lucky enough to get into the Dockyard in the last couple od days will have seen, lots of people are needed on an open day to ensure safety and security for the visitors and all the Navy’s ships and equipment.

Added to this is the nuclear factor – Devonport is now a nuclear dockyard (of which more in the next edition of The Beagle) and so controlled by much stricter laws and rules. Hence, there were big queues at the security barriers – everyone had to prove their identity and nationality and have their bags searched – perhaps if visitors had been warned that their bags were going to have to be emptied and thoroughly searched, some might have come more lightly equipped for a day out.

Base commander Brigadier Mike Tanner said: “In Devonport right now, it's just so exciting. We've got new classes of ship coming in, new classes of submarine coming in, we're really embracing the autonomous marine technology, and we're bringing that into the neighbourhoods as well. So it’s really important that we bring our families in and show them exactly what we're doing, and let them be proud of what we're doing and understand that narrative, and then also to open up the doors to the public as well.”

Fortunately, the weather was kind on both days and, once through security, visitors were able to see onboard the frigate HMS Portland (from where I reported in The Beagle on 11 th April) and the patrol/training vessel HMS Smiter. HMS Portland had been under refit in the sheds then and returned recently from a visit to Rotterdam, including a sea day for families last Wednesday.

As well as the two ships open, there were innumerable displays on the playing fields by Western Mill gate and along the jetty where HMS Portland was berthed – varying from the Mount Edgcumbe model railway to the MoD Police force and including the RN Hydrographic Service with some of their autonomous vehicles in a large tank and varied cookery displays. As well as the Naval interest, there really was something for everyone and it is to be hoped that this event will be repeated often in the future.