Members and guests of Almuñecar Branch of the Royal Naval Association recently had the opportunity to visit a Royal Navy vessel, HMS Ledbury, while she was alongside in Málaga. The ship, which is also the oldest in the RN at 31, also has the dubious honour of being the first RN ship to deploy during 2012, having left Portsmouth in early January.

She is a Hunt Class mine-hunter and is spending six months attached to a NATO mine-hunting force, Standing Mine Countermeasures Group 2, which is exercising over the length and breadth of the Mediterranean. The Task Force has been practising the art of hunting mines and other underwater explosive devices in various locations and the exercising will continue for another three months.

The Members were made very welcome onboard  and were given a comprehensive tour of the ship, including several equipment demonstrations, which all found very interesting and informative.

One of the Members’ grandchildren has a school project, whereby a photocopied cartoon man, known as ‘Flat Stan’ has to be photographed in interesting or unusual situations. The photos are then displayed at the school. Well, ‘Flat Stan’ had about 150 interesting photos taken onboard Ledbury! From the Captain’s bunk (sorry Sir!) to the various guns, Stan saw, and was photographed, at them all. Almost as interested in things onboard was the token ex RAF chappie that came along to see how the Senior Service operates!

The Branch Chairman, Dave Toms, presented a Branch crest to the ship. All that attended the visit wish to thank the crew for their time and hospitality on the day.

(News/Events: Port, Malaga, Costa del Sol, Andalucia)

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