Embarkation On Battleship For South Africa

Chronicle (Levin), 3 February 1947, Page 5

Embarkation On Battleship For South Africa

BIC CROWDS WAVE AND CHEER Received Sunday, 7 p.m. . LONDON, Feb. 1. The Royal "Family embai'ked on the Vanguard at 4.40 p.m. today. As darkness fell the Royal' Standard at the masth'ead was fioodlit, and stood .out against the low snowclouds. The Royal party left Buckingliani Palace at 2.20 p.m; and their. train departed from- Waterloo at 2.40 p.m. and arrived at Portsmouth at 4.25 p.m. The Iving, two hours bef ore the " train was due to leave Waterloo Station, was still at his desk busy with State papers. . , - A big.erowd waved-and cheered as the cars i>assed throngli the Palace gat'es. The King saiuted and the qmeen and Princesses, who were smiling, vvaved to ^he crowd. Along tht route of the drive the windows were tiung open. " There was a great 'crowd at the station, people standing six deep ' along the barricades. Good-byes on the platt'orm occupied under iive minutes. Tiieii Majesties and the Princesses stood in the saloon car waving to the people, who gave. tremendons clieers as the train pulied out. D'eparture From Portsmouth,. The Vanguard left 'Portsmouth . at' 7.21 a.m. touay for Sbuth Africa. Snow'' was tailing wiien the ship sailed. Tlu last" mooring cable was cast off at 7.1o a.m. The battleship was drawn by three tugs and slowiy moved out of harbour anui, in the grey light of a dismal dawn, she" faded from the sight of shore ■ watchers. A snowfall of alniost blizzard dimensions swept over Portsmouth and doekyard an liour bef ore the Vanguard sailed. It Jasted, 15 minutes and mantied the ship ii w.hite. The'sliip's crew was early astir completing- the last preparations for the journey. The great ship was alive with the activity of hundreds of men. Admiral Layton, Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth, and Vice-Admirai L. V. Morgan, Admiral Supermtendent of the Docltyard, were on tlie quayside to sttlute thc King as he started his journey. As the ship moved slowiy ,t(Vwards""Spithead and the open sea, the lving, in the uniform of an Admiral of the Fleet, accoinpanied by the yueen and Princesses, went to the top of the upper 15-inch gun turret forward of the bridge, where tlie Royai Family was protected by a canvas awning, his Majesty repeatedly acknowiedged the clieers of omeers and ratings of H.M.S. N'ernon, tlie shore torpedo trnining sehool. All the ships in harbour were d'ressed overall and guns at sea and ashore iiji'ed salutes.- An .unbroken rovv of ratings maniied the Vanguard and, the docks- were brilliantly' righted. The Trinity House yacht Patncia, with elder byethren aboard, preeeded the Vanguaa'djin accordanee with 'the ancient privilegie, of Trinity House Corporation, to escqrt the sovereign in pilotage waters. ,At Spithead five de strovers of the Portsmouth Flotilla were waiting to escort tiie Vanguard into the Channel where the Honie Fleet and Inittleships of +he training squadron joiired lier. > The King made. the following signal to the Home Fleet and Portsmouth Coinmand: "Bplice the main brace. " Gathering of Naval Might. An Evening Btandard reporter, dt1scribing- from an aircraft the Van guard's rendezvpus with the Ho.me I'leet, 30 miles southwest of the Isle of Wight, said the grdat gathering of

naval might made a glorious pieture. Heventeen ships assembled to escort the Vanguard dowrn the Channe', inciuding the battleships Duke of. York, Nelson, Anson and Howe, and the carrier Implacable. Bnowclouds, as the Vanguard majestically stoamed lietween the twro lines of escorting ships, parted and sun light broke through so that the Royal Btandard stood out like a jev;el. One small ■ Norwegian merchantman gatecrashed the oceasioft. It appeared betiv'een the Vanguard and waiting Home Fleet as destroyers were speeding at 20 knots to take station ahead of the Vanguard- which was bearing down at 18 knots. The destroyer Offa, as soon as the merchantman was sightt ed directly in the Vanguard 's path, increased speed and warned the steamer which changed eourse and, erawled out of the way. Reuter, describing the Home Fleet 's ceremonial farewell to the Vanguard, says the fleet fired a 21-gun salute as the Vanguard came abrea'.t of the

leaders. The ships' eompanies, ivhile the Vanguard slowiy passed between the lines, cheered .and cheered again until the sound of 10,000 voices echoed across the water. The Nelson, Ahson and Ilovve, with the training,, ships, drew away when the review ended and set a new CoUtse and the Home" Fleet began its spring cruise to Gibraltar. The French battleship Richelieu, writh two escorting destroyers, kejbt rendezvons with the Vanguard 40 miles off the starting pqint" and sent greetings which the King ackhowledge'd. A high priofity operational rnessage was radioel to all ships in the Royal convoy at 11.14 a.m., that a floating rnine was drifting' towards the Vanguard's course, says the Ex channe

Telegraph. The Vanguard^ and Acort passed the mine just bef'ore noon when it was less than two miles from tlie battleships. Excited Princesses. Reuter 's special cbrrespondent aboard the Vanguard, by radio telephone, said tlie Princesses were excited and eager to see all which- went on. They watehed groups of people waving goodbye along the waterfront and nearer at hand the men of the little ships lining the decks and eheering as the Vanguard passed closely by. Not nntil the Vanguard was clear of land and had dropped the pilot and the eoastline faded into the greyness of the sea, did their Majesties and the Princesses leave the platform and go into early breakfast. The sea was perfectly -cairn. Their Majesties and the Princesses soon settled . into the special r'outine which had been Iaid down„ to g'. e th.6m every comfort . and respect for their privaey. The i ■sterboard side of the qharterdeck is re- i

served for the Royal party and only the port side is used by the officers. During the morning their Majesties and the Princesses strolled on deek. There was general disappointmefit when weather conditions and poor visibility caused the escort of jet planes to be caneelled but Coastal Commahd Sunderlands, Beaufighters and MosqnitOeS elrcle'd ronnd the ship. Helicopter Amazes. Everyone, ineluding their Majesties and tfie Princesses, was anxious to sec the promised landing of a helicopter on the quarterdeck to take off photographs and Royal mail — last links 'With England and the first time this " ha.--ever been atteftipted by the' Royal Navy. The helicopter amazed and de lighted the Royal party when it suecceded ifi landing on the quarterdeck The Vanguard Was 2| hours out When three.. Fleet Air Arm helicopters Which were flowfi through some snOwstorms, came out" of the cloud and circled the ship. The Queefi took moving pietufes as one pilot brought his machine and set it down with rotors just cleap of the 15-inch gun mnzzles, the wheels neatly avoiding the ventilator Cowls.