SPONSORED         BY

PO Box 118, Leeds, Yorkshire, LS25 2XT

 
WELCOME TO THE ROYAL NAVY SAFETY EQUIPMENT & SURVIVAL  ASSOCIATION

We are an Association, established in 2003 by ex and serving members of the Royal Navy Safety Equipment & Survival  Branch. The aim is to foster relationships and share fond memories between our members. The committee will strive hard on your behalf under a dynamic constitution to:  Co-ordinate an annual re-union, trace old friends and comrades, pay tribute to and remember our deceased comrades. We shall produce a newsletter both online and in hard copy for non web based members.  We shall support, promote and advertise the Association activities, establish links to corporate related organisations and establish links to related military organisations, foreign militaries and other military associations.      

This website is focused at and designed for members of the Association.   However, if your background prevents you from becoming a member of the 'Clan' we will be pleased to offer affiliate membership at a reduced annual fee. This allows you access to the website but excludes full membership benefits. For details of corporate membership and it's  benefits please contact any one of the committee members direct.  

Wet dinghy drills in the pool

Practical 'wet' survival training, live winching practice

Most of the site is now password protected, if you are a fully paid up member and have not received your log in details or have forgotten your password, please contact the Secretary and he will ensure that you get them a.s.a.p. From time to time  the password may change for security reasons. If and when that happens you will be notified in advance. 

Anyone wishing to join the Association contact the secretary Gordon (Pixie) Parkes. E Mail : gordon.parkes@ntlworld.com  or telephone: 01483 823181. It only costs £10 subscription for full membership per year or £5 as an affiliate member for non SE personnel.  

Will visitors to the site please sign the visitors book, even if you aren't members we would still like your feedback , all are welcome as visitors.

FEEDBACK : We try and put something into the website to suit everybody, however we need feedback, whether it is complimentary or criticsm. This will enable us to determine that what we are doing is what you want.  Currently there are 40 pages and nearly 420 photographs on the site, the intention is to date the course photographs and try with your help to name as many as we can?  

GORDON PARKES(PIXIE)  gordon.parkes@ntlworld.com  01483823181

DEREK (SCRUMPY)CRUMP  awaiting new E mail address  01736361617

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WEBSITE NEWS............                                             UPDATED 08/07/07

MINUTES of the INAUGURAL MEETING of the proposed 'FLEET AIR ARM FEDERATION' have now been published in ASSOCIATION NEWS.

A computer impression of how the carriers will look                                                                                        £4bn carriers 'will be jewel in Navy's crown' By Thomas Harding, Defence Correspondent Last Updated: 2:27am BST 26/07/2007 A major defence spending programme that will secure the Royal Navy's future was announced by the Government yesterday.    Two large aircraft carriers that will become the "jewel in the crown" for the Navy will cost the taxpayer almost £4 billion, Des Browne, the Defence Secretary, told the Commons. Military chiefs were informed that the defence budget would rise by almost £8 billion over the next four years, a 1.5 per cent increase in real terms. The appalling state of some Service housing is also to be remedied with an injection of £550 million. However, the Tories warned that not enough is being spent to fight present campaigns. The 65,000-ton carriers, the Queen Elizabeth and the Prince of Wales, will give Britain a highly potent platform far from home.advertisement More than 10,000 jobs will be secured around the country when work begins on what will be the biggest warship ever built for the Navy. In a unique joint venture, four sections of the carriers will each be built in Portsmouth, Rosyth in Fife, Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria and the Clyde before being floated on huge barges to be assembled. The ships will carry 40 of the advanced F35 Joint Strike Fighters or 25 Chinook helicopters and will be crewed by 1,500 sailors. The carriers will be built by rival companies, including BAE Systems and VT Group, forming business alliances. However, there was early controversy as the initial date on which the Queen Elizabeth was to come into service slipped by two years to 2014. The Prince of Wales will follow two years later. Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, the First Sea Lord, said the decision meant that Britain remained "big boys in the navy league". "We can provide influence, show determination and if required go on operations. This is a very powerful statement and a very significant signal that shows Britain intends to have a balanced affordable Navy with a real punch well into the future." The carriers will have a service life of 40 years. The announcement was made as the Government decided to bring forward the comprehensive spending review that determines the defence budget from 2008 to 2011. While conscious that "a lot" was being asked of the Armed Forces, Mr Browne said the "significant additional investment" showed that the Government "does all it can to support troops and their families". It was also confirmed that £1 billion will continue to be spent on the replacement to the Trident nuclear deterrent. There had been a possibility of the Navy losing one of its three major bases following a review. But Faslane on Gare Loch off the Clyde, Plymouth and Portsmouth will remain, although the latter could suffer job cuts. It also appeared that the Navy will receive all eight of the advanced anti-air Type 45 destroyers that will be vital in protecting the carriers, defence sources said. But they did not give full backing to the third tranche of 88 RAF Eurofighter Typhoons, suggesting that the £60 million aircraft might be sacrificed. The budgets announcement was questioned by the Tories who suggested that, with defence spending dropping marginally to 2.1 per cent of GDP, not enough was being spent while the Forces were involved in two major conflicts. Liam Fox, the shadow defence secretary, said there was "a strong suspicion that we are not being told the full story today". More money would have to be built on creating a dock big enough for the carriers, he said. With the loss of large amounts of equipment in Iraq and Afghanistan, the defence budget needed to "rise faster than predicted just for us to stand still". The news came as a soldier from the Royal Anglians was killed in Afghanistan yesterday.

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The above is a painting by David J Lawrence of a Sea Vixen 1 from 890 sqdn. on finals. The painting was based on a photograph taken from a Wessex 1 helicoptor of 815 sqdn. while embarked on  HMS Ark Royal about 1965. Picture submitted by Andrew George 3/1/07

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                                                   DONATION TO THE ASSOCIATION                                                                                                                                                                                 A colleague of Pixie's asked if she could donate a sum of money to our Association and as she  was not sure what to do about it he sang “All the nice girls love a sailor” in her right ear and that clinched it. As a result she has donated £50 .
The young lady wishes to remain anonymous after making this generous donation and on behalf of the Association, Pixie and the committee would like to offer their sincere thanks for her generosity. And Pixie.....well, he could be up for an encore if you've got the dosh..........

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NOW HEAR THIS! A medal award for all those veterans that served in operations in Malaya/Malaysia between August 1957 and August 1966. The new medal, known as the PINGAT JASA MALASIA, is to be awarded retrospectively to all those eligible for it by the Malaysian Government. Approval has been granted by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). Unfortunately, this information is only available on the internet. However, there is a National Malaya and Borneo Veterans Association which is encouraging veterans to apply for this on the itnernet.                                               www.nmbva.co.uk  So come on all you junglies, claim your gong. Do a search for NMBVA and see what they have to say.

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NOW HEAR THIS! To apply for an RN Veterans  Lapel badge - for those serving pre 1954 contact the MOD free on 0800 169 2277 31/01/07

The Ministry of Defence has extended the eligibility criteria for people to claim the Veterans Badge. Anyone who enlisted in the UK armed forces on or before the 31st December 1969 can now claim. This includes those who did national service and war widows receiving a pension on behalf of their husband. To make a claim, you should ring the Veterans Agency on the above telephone number where you will need to provide your sevice number and dates of service.  Badges are currently taking about three to four weeks to come through.