#royalnavy – In 1953, the Royal Navy's helicopter search and rescue service was founded, making 2013 its 60th anniversary of saving lives at sea and on land.
And it's looking for help from people around the UK and Ireland.
To celebrate this significant diamond milestone, an appeal is being made to both former Royal Navy search and rescue crew members, as well as those who have been rescued by one of the Senior Service helicopters, to come forward with their stories.
These tales will help form the back bone of an on-going project to bring together all aspects of the service within a comprehensive archive – preserving the history for years to come.
Over the six decades, Royal Navy search and rescue has, at some time, operated out of a total of 11 bases, eight of them now either decommissioned or no longer in RN hands. They are:
• RNAS Eglinton/HMS Gannet near Londonderry, Northern Ireland
• RNAS Ford/HMS Peregrine near Littlehampton in Sussex
• RNAS Brawdy/HMS Goldcrest in SW Wales near Haverfordwest
• RNAS Gosport/HMS Siskin in Hampshire
• RNAS Lee-on-Solent/HMS Daedalus in Hampshire
• RNAS Portland/HMS Osprey in Portland Harbour, Dorset
• RNAS Culdrose/HMS Seahawk in Helston, Cornwall
• RNAS Yeovilton/HMS Heron in Somerset
• RNAS Lossiemouth/HMS Fulmar near Elgin in north east Scotland
• RNAS Anthorn/HMS Nuthatch on the Solway Coast in Cumbria
• RNAS Prestwick/HMS Gannet in Ayrshire
Of the above, Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose and HMS Gannet in Prestwick continue to operate this lifesaving service – together carrying out well over 500 sorties a year to people in distress.
HMS Seahawk has operated the full range of naval search and rescue helicopters – the Westland Dragonfly, Whirlwind, Wessex and Sea King – during a period from 1953 to the present day. The base's range extends up into Devon, throughout Cornwall, down to the Isles of Scilly and 200 nautical miles out to sea across the Western Approaches.
Personnel from the unit have been involved across the West Country and far out to sea in some of the UK's most difficult and memorable rescues, including the 1979 Fastnet Race disaster, the 1989 rescue of the crew of the MV Muree, the Boscastle Floods of 2004 and the grounding of MSC Napoli in 2007. In all these cases, and many others besides, members of 771 Naval Air Squadron were decorated for their life-saving efforts.
HMS Gannet, as first 819 Naval Air Squadron and later Gannet SAR Flight have both used variations of the familiar Sea King, which still patrols our skies today. HMS Gannet is the only unit to have operated search and rescue from two locations – HMS Gannet was previously based at RNAS Eglinton in Northern Ireland until the base closed in 1959.
As with Culdrose, rescuers from HMS Gannet have been decorated with operational honours for their part in some notable rescues, including that of three climbers in a blizzard from the notorious Tower Ridge on Ben Nevis in 2007, six crew from the stricken MV Riverdance ferry in Blackpool in 2008, a climber from an avalanche in Glencoe in 2009 and, most recently, a climber with an ankle injury from Argyll's Beinn Sgulaird in 2011. Three of these were carried out under cover of darkness and all were in the grip of horrendous weather.
Were you rescued in the last 60 years by one of the Royal Navy's helicopters? Do you know someone who was and who may like to tell their story? Or, alternatively, are you a former crew member of one of the RN search and rescue squadrons with tales to tell?
The Royal Navy would love to hear all about your memories.
If you would like to share your experiences, please email your story to [email protected] including your name and contact details, as well as when you served or were rescued. Please do not send pictures, though letting us know if you have any available would be much appreciated. Alternatively send your memories to RN SAR 60, 771 NAS, RNAS Culdrose, Helston, Cornwall, TR12 7RH.
See www.royalnavy.mod.uk/News-and-Events/Special-Events/SAR-60 for more information and to download the form.
