I am finally online, I unpacked the computer and modem last night so an entry for the Log was started at 0600 this morning.  At 1000 I had almost finished when the power was cut, lost the bloody lot!!!  Oh well, I am a retired grumpy old man now, so plenty of time to do it all again............

Boof and I have arrived in Queensland and, after a couple of weeks of frustration making do until our furniture arrived, and I am now in the process of unpacking. The furniture arrived during a storm that caused local flooding and road closures due to falling trees and the removalists delivered about 300 wet and muddy items, great fun.

In my last entry before setting off for Queensland I said Cyclone Norman was running out of puff.  I was a bit premature, we have just had a week of storms that lashed the coast and resulted in me being in darkness for a couple of days.  What I did not realise is that without power everything out here ceases to function, that includes water which requires power to operate a pump.  I realised why the 20 or so 2 litre drink bottles full of water that I found in a cupboard were for, it is a pity that I had taken them to the tip the day before the storm broke.  The realisation that having no water could be a problem resulted in a trip to Maryborough to buy a generator.

Tradesman have been been a problem, none want to come the 30 km from town and those that will turn up days late.  The plasterer that was due two weeks ago has not arrived, and has rescheduled three times.  The plumber arrived but was unable to do anything as he had no material and I have been unable to get an electrician to agree to come.

The one success was the television repair man that came the same day to repair the antenna that was hit by lightning.  It turns out that he was employed at Garden Island for nine years doing submarine refits.

However, despite all the bitching, I am really settling into the quiet life and Boof and I know we have made the right choice, as you can see by these photos taken from my 'office' the surroundings are peaceful and after the rain the lake is full, giving me water views.  The building is the CWA hall, tea and scones every Thursday and Bingo once a month.  I hope they have a 'grab a granny' dance occasionally. 

I have resumed my daily walks but have to sneak out without Boof, he can no longer handle the pace, his heart condition has slowed him down a lot. I walk to the local shop which is all uphill and buy the daily paper and check my mail (no postie on a bike out here).  The return trip is easier, all downhill.

I have lost the bubble a little over the last two weeks and I am sure that there is a lot happening that I am not aware of, now that I am back online I look forward to getting your emails so that I can let the submarine community know what the buzzes are.

One that missed his weekly dose of 'The Log" was Gordon (and Bella the poodle) Smith "Dearest Boof, Please look after the old fart Norm, the poor dear is now retired (always was a bit retarded) and although in doggy years you are much older, you still have to look after him. His eyesight will be dimming, he will have funny aches and pains more often but you must keep him well. The reason Boof, is that I am suffering acute withdrawal symptoms, have not had a decent LOG for weeks, so bite his bum and tell him to get with it."

Gordon went on to provide some good advice. "All the best for you in your retirement Norm, an old mate once told me when I retired (ticker problems) that if I wanted to survive, I was to do one positive thing each day, no matter how small it was, but do it for the achievement. it has kept me going for the last five years."

Around the Traps

On hearing of the death of Robin 'Lester' Piggott Paul Hartridge said "Such a shock to hear this, remembering the great times we had together on HMAS OXLEY 87-89. I saw him about 2 months ago at the Rocky shops, always a pleasure to see his cheeky grin and hear what he was up to, or about to do now that he was paying off. A great guy indeed and I for one will miss him."

Test your memory, how many of the following can you answer? Shane Pike asked "This has come from a mates Mum who is trying to read through her Dad's log, he was RAN WWII. She has asked me if I know what they are. Some of them are familiar to me but I was hoping, with your vast resources and immense knowledge, that you would be able to give me the absolute definite meanings so I can pass them on to her."  Answers next week.

• Duty watch B.M.N.

• What’s uniform No. 6

• Up before the O.C.N.E. who’s this

• Up before the Commander 5 days No. 11 what’s 11

• F.X.

• Jenkers

• N.E.S Gardens what is NES

• Tiddley Collar or could be Tiddby Collar also same name for suit

• ‘mick could this be short for Hammock

• Whats the Flat onboard a ship

• PV’s detonators & explosives whats PV’s

• No L.C.F. duty – whats L.C.F.

• H.A.C.P. (action station)

• S.P.P.

• O.D’s

Ian and Vicki Bray have moved into a new house in Narrabundah (Canberra) although Ian said he had to do it all himself as Vicki is still overseas playing in the 'sand pit'.

Victorian member Ken (Biff) and Helen Mills have reason to celebrate, daughter Catherine had another little Girl on Friday, Amelia Page. 7lbs both fine and Nana & Papa doing well. Biff said "just at Action Stations and at Damage Control State One Alpha, ready to repel boarders on both sides to attempt keeping damage to Money Tree to a minimum, but loving every bit of it."

WA member Bill Lee is on the Gold Coast until approximately September 3rd, he is visiting his son Adrian who has been transferred to Queensland in his employment I. Bill will be escorting his son's  partner Yvette and 18 month old daughter Ashton Lily.  Watch out for the meter maids Billy, not good for the heart!

Paul 'Diesel' Dann has a query that he hopes we can solve. "I am just writing to hopefully clear up something that's been stuck in the old brain box for ages! I remember that while I was at Plats in the 80's & 90's there was a LCDR who wore dolphins, yes I know that nearly all of them wore dolphins (!) but this one only wore one dolphin. It was basically a set of Aussie dolphins with one dolphin cut off (not sure which one?) so it had the crown over the navy blue then one dolphin! Why ?? I never had the balls to ask him then & never found out, also I have never seen it again, can anyone tell me why he only wore one dolphin? Got me buggered......"  I do recall some story, but the brain cells have deserted me, can you help?

Many of us recall the dry-dock at Scott's Shipyard in Greenock, Scotland.  Ziggy Hobson is currently visiting there and he sent this photo, a far cry from the days when our Oberon's were built there.  He also sent photos of Flynn’s Bar across the road from the Dockyard gates, a real Yuppy place now......

WA Branch VP Lloyd Blake advises that, despite generous sponsorship offered and enthusiastic committee support, the proposed WA Branch formal dinner in October will not proceed. Unknowingly, we chose a date in the same week as the FEG Ball and then the guest Speaker, MGEN Michael Jeffery sent notice of his inability to attend. Lloyd advises that the Branch will have an event in ANZAC House some time. Historic and something of a military museum it is most suitable for a military dinner.

Robert McGuigan has checked in after being AWOL and says "Haven’t accessed log for few weeks (more like 2 months I think) as I have been really busy at work and then for the last fortnight on leave and up to my armpits in really boring text books etc. I heard from the old wrecker “Taber” a few times since his move to Cootamundra and we had a really enjoyable get-together at a local pub in Wodonga, he was in Wodonga house sitting for relly for a week or so. Anybody passing through the Cootamundra area should call in and give Ian a “hoy” at his and his & son-in-laws’ pub, the Olympic hotel. I am sure the old Otway Wrecker would welcome them.

Trevor (Bam Bam) Babore has just come back on line (also) after he and his other half Raelene moved from NT to Newcastle this year. It must be a novel change for the Babore's to have seasons again, like most of the rest of us. Ah well you can’t enjoy yourself all of the time, Eh Norm?

Heard the Victorian government are putting down another “dive wreck” off the coast over here. So which ex-Aussie war ship is going to be consigned to that ignominious end now, as long as it’s not the old girl from Hastings, who cares? Although if the local councils and other stalling deadbeats get their way; that may well be where the old girl finishes up. It’s better to razor-blade them than finish up as a home for fish, I think. My days of wreck diving are probably past? It’s also a bit hard to do it when you are over 250 clicks from the nearest point of ocean, in any event. The last time I unwrapped my the wet suite it was severely cracked and full of insect life and I threw it in the Wheelie bin. The old tanks are also way out of certification and the regulator, well, that would be absolutely lethal if I used it, I think? Better get back to some real work. Regards, Bob"

A bloke's ex wife goes missing when holidaying on the Barrier Reef while she was scuba diving. He reports it to the police & spends the night wondering what could have happened to her. Next morning there's a knock at the door and he is confronted by a couple of policemen, an old Sarge and a younger Constable. The Sarge says, "Mate, wehave some news for you, unfortunately some really bad news, but some good news and maybe some really good news." "Well," says the bloke, "I guess I'd better have the bad news first". The Sarge says, "I'm really sorry pal, but your ex wife is dead. Young Bill here found her lying at  about five fathoms in a little cleft in the Reef. He got a line around her and we pulled her up, but she was dead. "The bloke is naturally pretty distressed
to hear of this and has a bit of a sob. After a few minutes he pulls  himself together and asks what the good news is. The Sarge says, "Well when we got your ex wife up there were quite a few really good sized crays and a swag of nice muddies attached to her wetsuit, so we've brought you your share. "He hands the bloke a sugar bag with a couple of nice crays and four or five mudcrabs in it. "Geez thanks. They're bloody beauties. I guess it's an ill wind and all that ... Now, what's the really good news?" "Well," the Sarge says, "me and young Bill here get off duty at around 11 o'clock and we're gonna shoot over there and pull her up again!....you fancy grabbin some stubbies and comin' with us ?" (Don't blame me, blame Fred Lawrence, he made me do it!).

Position Vacant
Neil Forbes is currently looking for a technical officer to support Remotely Operate Vehicle (ROV) operations. This is a local onshore position with good remuneration. He thought that someone in the submarine community may be interested. The position is with Technip Oceania and Subsea 7, a jointly operated company formed to work together on major subsea development projects in the Asia Pacific region and is the region’s leading subsea engineering and construction company offering key expertise and technologies in both shallow and deepwater subsea oil and gas field development. Their Marine Operations Team currently require the expertise of a Remote Systems Unit Technical Officer to be based in our West Perth office.

Ideally the successful applicant will have a trade/technical background with some supervisory skills along with extensive experience in the provision of maintenance services and planned maintenance. You must be computer literate, have good communication skills and be prepared to travel overseas and to offshore vessels on occasions. Neil can be contacted on 08 9269 5100 for more information.

Tasmanian Branch AGM
The time for the 2007 AGM is fast approaching and David Byrne has put out a call for agenda items. The meeting itself will be held on Sunday, 16 September in the downstairs meeting room at Nelson's Tavern, Nelson Road, Mt Nelson at 1130.

Partners and families are most welcome to attend the AGM although only financial members may vote. Lunch in the Bistro upstairs afterwards would make for a great day out for you and your loved ones in the winter weather. Come along and support your Branch.

Could you please send David any items for inclusion on the agenda prior to Sunday, 2 September and could you also let me know if you will be attending. He will send out Proxy Voting forms and last year's Minutes closer to the date.

40TH ANNIVERSARY OF HMAS PLATYPUS COMMISSIONING & THE ARRIVAL OF HMAS OXLEY TO FORM THE AUSTRALIAN SUBMARINE SQUADRON
On 18 August 2007 the Submarines Association Australia joined with a distinguished group of guests and associates to celebrate 40 years since the commissioning of HMAS Platypus and the arrival of HMAS Oxley to establish the Australian Submarine Squadron.

The High street gate opened for visitors at 1100 and the Guest of Honour, Vice Admiral Ian MacDougall AC AFSM RAN Rtd, former Chief of Naval Staff and Executive Officer of HMAS Oxley on arrival, delivered the Platypus Address.

Rear Admiral Ian McGeoch CB DSO DSC, Flag Officer  Submarines (RN) and Commander  W.L. Owen RAN, Commanding Officer, HMAS PLATYPUS - 18th August 1967

Other Official Guests invited to speak included Councillor Trent Zimmerman representing Mr Joe Hockey, Federal MP for North Sydney, Brigadier Kevin O’Brien (retired) representing Mr Kevin McCann, Chairman, Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, Ms Jillian Skinner MP, State Member for North Shore and Ms Genia McCaffery, Mayor of North Sydney

Apologies were received from Commodore Richard Shalders CSC RAN, Commander Australian Submarine Group based in HMAS Stirling, Western Australia, and Lieutenant Commander David Lorrimer RAN (retired), former Commanding Officer, HMAS Oxley

This ceremony was seen as an opportunity to reflect on the significant role that HMAS Platypus and the six Australian Oberon class submarines played in the history of the Royal Australian Navy over more than 30 years of service.

HMAS Platypus decommissioned and the site closed in 1999 by which time the Submarine Group of the RAN had been formed of the six Collins class submarines based in HMAS Stirling in Western Australia.

In 2005 the site was transferred to the management of the Sydney Harbour Federation Trust, which is developing a Management Plan for the site. Draft plans have been published for public review and comment and a further draft will be issued for public review later this year. The Department of Defence continues to provide the site security and caretaker services

The Submarines Association Australia hopes to erect a memorial on the site to the three RAN submariners who have lost their lives while serving at sea in submarines of the squadron. The SAA also hopes that the site planning will allow for the display of submarine memorabilia from the extensive submarine heritage collection, and for the site to become once more a meeting place for submariners. To this end the SAA is involved in community consultation and is also preparing a submission commenting on the revised draft management plan.

The support of the Australian Naval Cadets of Training Ship Sydney based at Spectacle Island and the generous sponsorship of the event by Thales Australia is acknowledged.

For further information on the future of HMAS Platypus contact:
Submarines Association Australia – Ken Williams 0400 500 604
Sydney Harbour Federation Trust – Jessica Sartor 02 8969 2177
Department of Defence – Phillip Joynes 02 9377 2646
Or for any other assistance - Chris Skinner 0414 990 834

Go to http://www.harbourtrust.gov.au/topics/draftcompplanplatypus.html to download the revised draft management plan for the site.

Obituary - Vice-Admiral Sir Ian McGeoch
Former Flag Officer Submarines, Vice-Admiral Sir Ian McGeoch, has died aged 93. He was a wartime submarine ace and a serial escaper after being captured by the Germans in the Mediterranean in 1943. McGeoch's most famous exploits in submarines came in the period between November 1942 and April 1943. On his first war patrol he was deployed off Naples to ambush any Italian battleship which might threaten the Allied landings in North Africa.

He hunted and missed a German U-boat, but when an anti-submarine schooner was sighted the same afternoon McGeoch surfaced and fired a few shots to persuade the crew to abandon ship; he then boarded and searched her before setting her on fire. He allowed an armed merchant cruiser to pass unmolested, but the next day another U-boat proved too tempting to resist - it was not an easy attack, however, and McGeoch's torpedoes missed their target.

A day later - determined not to waste his one remaining torpedo - McGeoch took HMS/M Splendid inshore, where he could see two merchant ships under the escort of two destroyers. Picking the larger and more modern of the destroyers, he scored a direct hit.  Returning to Malta, McGeoch saw an RAF Wellington attack a convoy and disable a merchantman; he surfaced and shelled the straggler until she sank.

What the official record described as an "exhilarating" patrol was further enlivened the following night, when Splendid was forced to turn and dive to avoid the tracks of two torpedoes.

On his second patrol McGeoch and HMS/M Splendid made a nuisance of themselves on the Axis convoy routes to North Africa, sinking another destroyer. On his third and fourth patrols he sank two anti-submarine vessels and another 19,000 tons of shipping. He was awarded a DSO.

Later McGeoch spotted a 10,000-ton tanker with a powerful escort off Sicily. The conditions were as unpromising as they could be (a flat calm and a bright sun), but he pressed home his attack to within 600 yards and "made a job of it" with three torpedoes. Two days later he sank a 3,000-ton tanker.

In April 1943 McGeoch was awarded a DSC for his bravery and skill in successive submarine patrols, but on April 21 his luck turned. He was in Splendid three miles off the south-east coast of Capri when he was puzzled to see through his periscope a British destroyer; it was in fact a British-built warship, formerly the Greek destroyer Vasilefs Georgios, but now under the German swastika as Hermes.

In good asdic conditions Hermes dropped three accurate patterns of depth charges and Splendid sank to the seabed, where the depth gauge stopped at 500ft. McGeoch blew all his air tanks to raise his submarine to the surface; the crew abandoned the boat through the gun and conning tower hatches while Hermes made direct hits with her main armament, killing 18 of HMS Splendid's 48-man crew.

McGeoch himself was wounded, in the right eye, but stayed in the boat until he was sure that there was no one left alive and that it would sink before the enemy could board it. The entire action was over in 12 minutes. As McGeoch was hauled from the water into a German motorboat he heard a guttural voice delivering the classic line "For you the war is over", and he thought to himself "No, it bloody well isn't". Thus began a year-long odyssey to reach Britain.

Although now blind in one eye, McGeoch made several escape attempts: he attempted to dig, during the siesta hours, a tunnel from an Italian hospital where he was being treated. He jumped from a train when he was being moved between camps, but was recaptured. After being taken to Rome for interrogation, he leapt from a moving car and made a vain attempt to enter the Vatican.

Later, after the Italian armistice, he was promised repatriation, but the train in which he was travelling was commandeered by the Germans; McGeoch was taken to a prison hospital, from which he simply walked away, eventually crossing the border into Switzerland after a 400-mile hike. He chose Switzerland - more distant than the Allied front line - because he wanted medical attention, and he was conscious while Professor Adolphe Franceschetti used an electromagnet to draw a jagged sliver of rusty steel from his blind eye.

He was also taken with what he called "the silken dalliance" of Geneva, but was impatient to get home and obtained false papers before walking into France in January 1944. Making contact with the Resistance, he travelled westwards by train and car, then skied across the Pyrenees and into temporary internment in Spain.

From Gibraltar he took passage in the dummy battleship Centurion, and his arrival in Britain was announced to the Resistance by the BBC with the cryptic words le tabac du Petit Pierre est dans la boîte. His reunion with his wife and the child he had not yet seen was delayed until two days later by a debriefing with MI9. He was mentioned in dispatches for his successful escape.

Ian Lachlan Mackay McGeoch was born on March 26 1914 at Helensburgh, where he was inspired to pursue a life at sea by messing about in boats on the Firth of Clyde. He was educated at Pangbourne, and entered the Royal Navy as a special entry cadet in 1931.  In 1933 he served as a midshipman in the battleship Royal Oak, the destroyer Boadicea and the cruiser Devonshire, but six years later began to specialise in submarines.

On the outbreak of war McGeoch was third hand in the submarine HMS Clyde. He passed the Perisher course in 1940 and was sent to Malta as spare commanding officer. He commanded HMS Splendid during the Allied landings in North Africa (Operation Torch) before embarking on the period in which he became a submarine ace.

After his escape McGeoch attended the naval staff course in 1944 and was staff officer operations in the 4th Cruiser Squadron of the British Pacific Fleet.

In 1946-47 he commanded the frigate HMS Fernie until being promoted commander and sent to work in the operations division of the Admiralty. In 1949 he commanded the 4th Submarine Division in Sydney.

He was naval liaison officer to RAF Coastal Command in 1955-56, Captain 3rd Submarine Squadron in 1957-58, and then spent two years as director of the Underwater Warfare Division in the Admiralty. After a year as a student at the Imperial Defence College, McGeoch commanded the cruiser HMS Lion from 1962 to 1964.

Promoted to admiral, he was successively Admiral President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, Flag Officer Submarines, and Flag Officer Scotland and Northern Ireland. He was appointed CB in 1966 and KCB in 1969.

After retiring in 1970 McGeoch went to Edinburgh University to study Social Sciences, and in 1975 was awarded an MPhil for his study of the origins, procurement and effect of the Polaris project.

From 1972 to 1980 he was editor of The Naval Review, and contributed to many other service journals. He collaborated with General Sir John Hackett and other senior NATO officers in producing two editions of The Third World War (1978 and 1982), which predicted how a future war might be fought.

McGeoch wrote a wartime memoir, An Affair of Chances: a Submariner's Odyssey, 1939-44 (1991), and The Princely Sailor: Mountbatten of Burma (1996), an assessment of the service career of a leader with whom McGeoch had several times served and whom he had always admired.

Interested in all maritime affairs, but especially in safety at sea, McGeoch took an active interest in all his many nautical associations, including the Royal Institute of Navigation, the Nautical Institute and the Honourable Company of Master Mariners.

He was a member of the Queen's Body Guard for Scotland, the Royal Company of Archers and of the Royal Yacht Squadron.

Ian McGeoch died on August 12. He married, in 1937, Eleanor Somers Farrie (whom he always called Somers); she survives him with their two sons and two daughters.

Now It Can Be Confirmed: There Was a USS Parche
The sail of the USS Parche, a giant block of black-painted steel, pokes up from the concrete where Pacific Avenue meets First Street. The rest of the most decorated submarine in Navy history, referred to as "she" and "her" by those who spent months at a time inside its belly, is gone. Only the sail remains, but it is now more visible than ever during its 30 years plying the depths of the ocean, conducting missions so secret former crew members and officers believe the details of its adventures will never be known -- even to those who were there.

And although the sail has stood at the site in front of the just-opened Puget Sound Navy Museum for about a year, those who spent lengthy chunks of their life inside the Sturgeon-class submarine turned out Saturday to officially dedicate its place in downtown Bremerton.

The submarine earned 13 Expeditionary Medals, 10 Navy Unit commendations and nine presidential unit citations, making it the most decorated submarine in U.S. Navy history.

"This was not just a record of successes achieved by those who wore the Navy uniform and went to sea on this truly unique boat," said Retired Rear Admiral Richard A. Buchanan, who commanded the Parche from 1984 to 1988. "The success of this submarine was truly a national commitment of organizations, people, teams and equipment that will probably never be completely understood, appreciated or recognized."

Named after a small butterfly fish, the Parche was commissioned in 1974 and didn't call Kitsap County its homeport until 1994. It was decommissioned after 30 years. While lurking in the briny deep, once staying under way for a 124-day stretch in 1982, the ship completed an undisclosed number of missions that officials say were vital to the country's national security.

Although the Parche is noted as the most decorated submarine, exactly what its crew did to earn those accolades isn't quite clear, and may never be. By Andrew Binion (Contact)

Hunt closes in on sunken World War II submarine
The USS Grunion submarine, sunk during World War II with 70 men on board, including one from Detroit, may have been found this week in the depths of the ocean off the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. But a search for the Detroit sailor's family is still going on in southeast Michigan.

Navy Seaman Second Class Byron A. Traviss of Detroit was serving aboard the Grunion when it sent its last transmission July 30, 1942. Mary Bentz, whose uncle Carmine Parziale also served on the Grunion with Traviss, is among those leading a search for surviving relatives of the crew.

Launched from Groton, Conn., in 1941, the Grunion set sail from Hawaii in June 1942 to patrol routes between the Aleutian Islands and Japan, according to the Department of the Navy. In July 1942, the submarine was reassigned to Kiska Island.

After the Grunion's final transmission on July 30, the ship was officially reported lost.

It was helmed by Lt. Cmdr. Mannert L. Abele, whose family began its search for the ship in August 2006.

Thursday morning, John Abele, aboard the search ship near the Aleutian Islands, said: "We found a submarine tonight. ... But we have now lost it, despite documenting location. Nevertheless we have photographic documentation showing prop guard of Grunion style. It imploded dramatically and is a tangle of pipes."

The Grunion search team, aboard the boat Aquila, has used sonar scans and a remote operated vehicle with broadcast-quality high-definition video, and low light cameras, targeting the area near the tip of the Aleutian chain. In the process, they located the ruins of three Japanese ships.

Come on Boof that's all for today, more boxes to unpack................

Sunday, 5^th AUGUST 2007