Club event reports
if you have a report or comments about an event or rally that you have attended it can be published here. let Rob Gibbons know,
CLUB NIGHT 21st OCTOBER 2025 – ‘THE EXPERIENCES OF AN RAF PILOT IN THE COLD WAR YEARS’
This Talk was I originally titled ‘THE RAF IN THE COLD WAR YEARS’ was presented by Andy Bray, a retired RAF officer and test pilot who joined the RAF in 1991. Bearing in mind that the international tension observed after the second world war in 1945 ( before Andy was born) was thought to be at an end after the collapse of the former Soviet Union. This event was marked when the the Berlin Wall was dismantled in 1989, followed by a withdrawal of Russian influence from the Eastern Bloc countries. Those former Soviet Bloc countries took on new identities and governmental systems, but have never been far from upheaval and civil war up to the present day. Bordering countries like Finland, Poland and Ukraine have remained prepared for conflict with Russia since the Soviet collapse as they strive to retain association with Europe. So did the ‘Cold War’ really end in 1989?
Andy started his talk based on his personal experiences that led to his RAF career. Many young people born during the post WW2 years yearned for a brighter future, shaking off the old traditions and adopting the new social freedom that was actually born out of wartime upheaval. Post WW2 Britain also had a healthy aircraft industry, largely built on wartime development, despite post war austerity. Air travel was the new adventure, so Andy joined the Air Training Corps (ATC) where he gained proficiency in gliding. He then joined the Cambridge Gliding club to continue in his love of flying. Gliding in those days was down to basic ‘stick and rudder’ control systems and little more than a barograph instrument trace to record the flight altitude and duration over a 5 hour flight. Instrumentation and computer technology have come on a long way since Andy joined the RAF in 1991.
As a Test Pilot, Andy considered himself a part of the engineering development team, but never considered himself as an engineer. The data he gathered testing new or revised variants of aircraft was crucial to the future deployment of those aircraft, and had to be accurately passed on to the team on the ground. With lessons learned from the Falklands war less than a decade earlier, it was quite clear to the young Test Pilot that staying ahead of the potential enemy was becoming a technology challenge. Andy’s training in jet aircraft at 18 years of age started with the Provost, with tutor and student seated side by side. Quite an experience when you are just a teenager. He soon advanced on to the BAe Hawk, which he considered his favourite aircraft to fly as the positioning and operation of the controls showed the ergonomic development of aircraft design at that point. It is interesting to note that the RAF display team the Red Arrows also use the Hawk as aircraft of choice to perform the finest team aerobatics. Andy showed us a short video film taken from the pilots view in a Hawk on a training flight over Anglesey.
Since the early experiments of inflight refueling during the 1920’s, the development for military needs has become necessary. Andy transferred to the inflight refueling squadrons flying BAe VC10 and Lockheed Tristar aircraft in a support role for long range surveillance and supply work. He showed pictures taken at 30,000 feet over the North Sea of Russian Tupolev Tu95(Bear) being intercepted in the ‘Cat and Mouse’ game of probing air defence systems. Each crew were content to photograph and observe each other. A calm veil over a more serious and sinister intent. The ‘Cold War’ may have relaxed since 1989, but the Gulf wars moved the action on to the middle east, and the Bosnian war from 1992 to 1995. Andy left the RAF in 1999 and went into civilian flying with British Mediterranean Airways (BMED), a franchised service to British Airways (BA), which serviced the lesser busy destinations in former Soviet counties and the middle east.
There were many technical question asked by the MSRVS audience, mainly about in flight refueling, which Andy answered in his unassuming way. In fact Andy’s quiet demeanour does not give away the active, and often dangerous career he chose, and survived.
On reflection, the ‘Cold War’ started at the Potsdam conference in 1945, with British, American and Russian leaders meeting in Cecilienhof, in Russian held (East Germany), with the intention of settling the post WW2 order, solving issues of peace treaty and countering the effects of war. The world has seen many smaller wars since but the current situation in Ukraine is closer to the the conflict that the Potsdam conference was meant to prevent.
Derek England.
CLUB NIGHT 16th SEPTEMBER 2025 – ‘NAVIGATION ? – AN UPDATE ON SCAPA FLOW’
On an autumn cloud covered evening with the wind blowing, MSRVS members and friends gathered in the hall to catch up on recent events and chat about steam related issues, over a cuppa. Paul Barnett arrived to give the talk on ‘Latitude and Longitude – The Story of Navigation at Sea’. He was pleased to see the new roll down projector screen located high on the blue wall so that it maximises the floor space for the audience and gives good visibility for all. Thank you Longford Village Hall for the provision of this new installation, which saves us borrowing Ted Tedaldi’s tripod mounted projector screen we had used, since storage cupboards were built against the white wall (our previous projector screen), back in May.
The bombshell came when Paul announced that the new planned talk material (on navigation) was extensive and complicated, and that further work to refine this talk into a well tailored presentation would need to be done, before he was prepared to air it. Paul’s plan ‘B’ was a talk based on new revelations made on a recent trip through Scapa Flow, and an update on the remaining scuttled vessels and museum exhibition featuring the material and events of post WW1 there. First, Paul gave us a preamble through some of the material gathered for his ‘Navigation’ talks to come. A rich and complex history of people, events and relevant equipment was shown, which on the face of it, looked too big for a one hour overview of the subject.
Onto the plan ‘B’ talk which overlaps Paul’s previous talk ‘Jutland to Junkyard – Scuttling the Grand Fleet at Scapa Flow’ (which he gave us three years ago in October 2022) and a new talk still in development, ‘Scapa – A Flawed Orcadian Fortress’. Paul referred to new material that he discovered on a recent trip to Scapa where he travelled south from mainland Orkney south through Scapa Flow to the Visitor Centre at Lyness on Hoy. The Centre, originally opened in 1990, became part of the Orkney Islands Councils Museums Service in 2000, was closed in 2017 for a £4.4M refurbishment, then reopened to the public in July 2022.
Going back over the basic details of how the German High Seas fleet were interned in Gutter Sound at Scapa Flow, pending a decision on their future in the Peace Treaty of Versailles, where the Germans under Rear Admiral Werner von Reuter took action. The major British fleet, under sir Sydney Freemantle, took leave on exercises, believing the unarmed German fleet would remain intact. Von Reuter took the decision to scuttle the fleet so they would not be taken in reparation. The signal, known as ‘Paragraph 11’ was issued. Not understood by the allies, the Germans knew this as a message to ‘Keep Drinking’. The interpretation is that the vessels would ‘keep drinking’ or take on sea water when the sea cocks in the bilges were opened in order to scuttle them. As it would take hours to flood the ships, desperate action was taken by the British to push the stricken sinking vessels onto the shoreline in an attempt to salvage and re-float them.
History shows how entrepreneurs can take advantage of a situation. Wars have sped up the development of weapons and industry can produce so much more in wartime than in peacetime. Post WW1 financially strapped Britain now had hundreds of thousands of tons of salvageable warships at Scapa Flow, waiting for someone to find a way of recovering all that material. The technology and equipment was not available to economically salvage that much from such depths, until the Royal Navy invited tenders to salvage the vessels from up to 45 metres depth. Ernest Cox won the tender and formed a company based on his existing Cox and Danks ltd, to perform what is still today the greatest salvage operation of all time. Vessels, mainly inverted on the seabed, were plugged by divers to make them airtight, then floatation bags tied across the decks were inflated to raise the vessels. In order to get compressed air down to the hulls, recovered boiler shells were welded end on end to form ‘chimneys’ from submerged hull to the surface. In 1926 with the minors strike on and coal was at a premium, one of the sunken upturned vessels had its hull cut open by divers so that the coal still in its bunkers could be retrieved to fire the steam powered pumping equipment. Needless to say these operations were not plain sailing with storm interruptions causing partly recovered vessels to again sink to the bottom. Never the less, Ernest Cox made good profit by performing a valuable service clearing the water and recovering valuable materials. Such is the ingenuity that comes forward when the need arises.
CLUB NIGHT 15th JULY 2025 – ‘MEMBERS CHOICE’.
They say that variety is the spice of life. The world of steam engines has many fields, where the application of this power seems to provide a renewed source of interest in the subject. And so on Club Nights, we try to vary our activities. Members always have the opportunity to meet and discuss their subjects at will, so the July meeting group subject was set for ‘Members Choice’. On this particular occasion, I brought along the club projector and a series of DVD’s on a variety of subjects. Numbers in the hall were low, however, it was not long before the members picked out which film to watch. The chosen film was a documentary on the American transcontinental railway system, that has developed into an efficient industrial tool to transport fresh produce from Oregon on the west coast to New York on the east coast. A journey of over 3000 miles through 3 time zones that would take 5 days. This general interest film gave sufficient information for the viewer to appreciate the scale of the commercially driven industry. Everything in America is promoted on ‘bigger is better’. Attention to detail and efficiency in high bulk transportation of perishable goods helps to keep the cost down, and provide for a huge market, at an affordable price. The early days of this rail system relied entirely upon steam locomotion, but diesel remains the most efficient power source available to move the mile long rolling stock train, as it has done for the last 50 years. That mile long train consisted of 55 refrigerated freight cars, each weighing 100 tons. To haul this load were 4 huge diesel locomotives, which were inexplicably all at the front instead of spread out along the train to balance the tow and brake forces.
This was a general information film that gave an insight into the human and commercial implications of a major transport system. Perhaps next time a selection of technical films showing the machining and casting techniques?
Derek England.
THERE IS NO CLUB NIGHT IN AUGUST 2025 – PLEASE BE AWARE.
The Longford Village Hall Summer Fayre – Saturday 5th July 2025
MSRVS is always considering new venues for our members to steam up and operate their engines. Working engines benefit from regular operation and maintenance to keep them in the condition they were designed for. Owners enjoy the experiences of operating their time and money investments, and from what I have seen, are happy to share their experiences with an enquiring public who show a genuine interest in seeing these engines steaming around. So it makes sense to show our steam engines at fayres and fetes to add to the occasion and help raise funds for the good cause.
The Longford Village Hall Summer Fayre is an annual event to raise funds for, and advertise, the venue facilities. Not many ‘village’ halls have such a modern building with around 4 acres of flat grounds devoted to sports and recreational facilities. The grounds are open for walkers and locals to bring their dogs for walks, and bring their children to the tidy play park areas. On the face of it, the Fayre could be a bigger event than it turns out to be. One restriction is the car park that is suitable for users of the sports facility, or users of the hall facility, and only both at the same time when they allow some grassed areas as overspill car parks. Understandably it makes sense to keep vehicles off the grassed sports pitches, so vehicles loaded and unloaded only on the grass. The usual ‘Fayre’ events were pitched on the grass in view of the hall windows. There were plant stalls, a herbal medicine stall, a coconut shy and various bric-a brac stalls. A football penalty shoot was popular with the youngsters, keen to practice their spot kicks. A skittles pitch was set up but not used. Other regular users of the hall, the Women’s Institute, had a stall alongside a gentleman who was demonstrating how the Defibrillating machines work. He gave precise instruction on how easy it is to use the machine, which is comforting if ever you were in a situation and had never stopped to read the instructions. A folk group sang English country folk songs accompanied by musical back up. All in all, just what you would expect at an English Summer Fayre, likely to be visited by local people only.
Graham and I were allotted a some space in the car park to set up and run his Marshall engine. As the only other cars belonged to those bringing equipment for the fayre, the car park was never more than half full. Even so, Graham and I decided to utilise the ‘dead’ corner that cars could not access so we made the most of what was available. As the engine was slowly raising steam, we received a slow but steady stream of interested people who were not as familiar with our engines as those we usually meet at out steam ups. Some of the young children were less cautious than ones we normally meet, so a polite reminder that ‘the engine is hot and not to stand too close please’ was issued a few times. There were no safety issues to report to Dan Cutting. Talking about Dan, there were many ladies in the kitchen serving the people seated at tables in the hall, so Graham and I did not miss out on a cuppa and a cake.
The Summer Fayre was only open to the public from 10 am to 2 pm, so how should MSRVS see ourselves at future Summer Fayres at Longford? It’s hard to see just how we could benefit the organisers, with so few attendees and only 4 hours of show. Graham did make a couple of laps around the stalls on the grass, and some people stopped and made comments as he passed them by. It’s probably worth talking to the organisers about how we could approach next year’s Summer Fayre, to be of mutual benefit.
Derek England.
The MSRVS Tewkesbury Steam Up – 21st and 22nd June 2025
After nearly 20 continuous years on the Tewkesbury RFC grounds, the MSRVS annual steam up took place this year at what has become a spiritual home, where members and guests can bring their families and friends to enjoy a relaxed weekend indulging in the hobby of operating and talking about steam engines. Over 40 engines were booked in for the weekend, and without counting, there were at least that number there. The TRFC people provided some bins and black bin bags for us to dispose of waste, as well as water piped from the ground supply at the main pitch players entrance. We know that the areas we occupy are their second pitch and training areas that have to be prepared for the pre season trials in July and match season starting in September, so extra vigilance to keeping the site clean was needed. Having played local amateur rugby as a youngster, I can appreciate the work put in by the groundsmen in preparing a pitch before each game, and throughout the season. I am pleased that the site remained tidy and respectable throughout the two days I was there. Unfortunately the dry weather and our activity has not helped the grass condition, so we hope the grass can recover before trials and training start.
As last year, we found that the clubhouse had been double booked. The Tewkesbury ladies rugby side ran a charity match on Saturday against Cheltenham North Ladies rugby side in support of a team member who died recently through unfortunate circumstances. The teams were warming up on the main pitch using a marked area within the first half, using the side touch lines as ‘try’ lines. After their match, some of the Tewkesbury ladies came around our camp selling raffle tickets for their cause. They also cordially invited us to join them in a skittles match arranged for 6 pm. That would have been our skittles match if the club had not been double booked! I know some of the steam boys went to the club Saturday night but without raising a team to face the ladies.
Talking to individuals about their own engines is an interesting experience. Two new engines I saw appeared so fresh that I had to enquire if this was their first outing. In fact, after 5 years of operation, they were kept in clean operating show condition by proud (and hard working) people. A Burrell tractor with a working crane up front was liveried in normal everyday working appearance, and good working order, just as the full size engine would have been when earning it’s keep, back in the day. Engines are modelled on the full size, with individual features and designs usually taken from one particular example. Since full size engines are usually bespoke, then individual models have an almost unlimited scope for the detail conscious builder. Dave Smith brought his Electric powered steam roller of around 3 inch scale, which he was continuing to improve, in order to create the illusion of an authentic steam model. Steve Orchard had been so inspired by Dave’s engine last year, that he brought along his electric powered model steam tractor, which although unfinished, could drive around the ground. Engine projects are never really complete as improvement to performance and appearance are all part of the study of the full size engines. Nigel Graham brought his part built model based on an early steam lorry from 1907. Since little information is available on this example, Nigel continues to search though internet and other sources for the missing details. after 25 years, he is quietly determined to reach a working conclusion. Even the man who was selling water melon slices was a keen classic vehicle collector who had a passion for steam engines he knew from his youth. Realising his own time limitation, he was focusing on purchasing an electric powered version, or even building one himself. Food for thought?
Engines are usually named after a close female relative, for social (and sometimes political) reasons. However, I saw one named after the owner’s father, who had started the build before the current owner then finished the build, naming the engine in his fathers memory. Another engine I saw had a name derived from his two grandsons’ first names. I wonder if they will eventually inherit that engine?
Something I have noticed about a Steam up, as opposed to Steam Shows, is the relaxed atmosphere in which operators go at their own pace without the constrictions of timetables or programmes. The Tewkesbury Steam up has a simple unwritten programme : steam up from 9 am, break for lunch around midday, and a 4 pm run around the caravan park next door, which has always been welcomed by the campers there. An afternoon run around town or run to the Gupshill pub as and when enough decide to go in convoy. Sunday 2 pm there will be a gathering for the club raffle. Otherwise the day is shared by steam families sharing the collective experience of steaming around together. There are those who prefer a definite timetable, but as long as the word gets round, there will always be a gathering.
A few pictures from Highnam Court.
THE HIGHNAM CLASSIC CAR SHOW 8th June 2025
The Highnam Classic Car Show has become a regular event and good supporter of the Pied Piper Appeal charity that supports young people in Gloucestershire. This is also the fourth consecutive year that MSRVS has participated in this popular family day out event, which gives us the opportunity to run steam engines and interact with the public. A good opportunity for our people to steam up and willingly give free rides in exchange for voluntary donations to the Pied Piper Charity Appeal.
We were down to just four engines with drivers this year (from 10 last year) However the 4 crews made up for that by enthusiasm and cheerfully engaging with the public. The public numbers seemed low before lunchtime, but cars kept arriving in the car park throughout the day, and queues of expectant passengers kept the steam rides going throughout lunchtime to about 3 pm when it tailed off, but passengers were still arriving after 4 pm. The ‘Fun of the Fair’ can be expensive for parents with children, especially when most children’s rides were £4 a go. Those same parents were probably relieved that a steam engine ride was free, so a voluntary donation of a pound or so for a family trip around the grounds should leave happier memories for them.
The format for this event is based on a Classic Car Show, with a supplementary range of activities for the public to make a day of it. There were hundreds of classic cars of all descriptions, complete with their owners close by, always eager to engage with an enquiring public that showed interest in a particular vehicle. The car show alone would not raise a lot of money for charity so the organisers have worked on a wide range of support displays and entertainment to captivate the public throughout the day. The food and drinks stands, children’s rides, EV and commercial services were there as usual with the addition of children’s go carts, a small animal sanctuary and a stall with traditional woven basket based picnic products. The biggest draw this year was undoubtably the activity in and around the central bandstand. Around midday, a 75 person group, the Rockchoir, sang popular songs to an attentive crowd of 250 or so gathered in front of them. Behind that crowd were others seated at the tables and chairs provided by the food and drinks people, who were behind them. The steam rides gently chuffing between the two groups would occasionally toot their whistles, to the amusement of both the singers and the audiences. After the Rockchoir, a rendition of songs by a lady kept the crowds applauding until a third group, CCS Taiko, a Gloucestershire based Taiko group for both typical and special needs children and adults, gave a spectacular display of the traditional Japanese style cultural drumming. The 9 strong team of men and women used synchronised drum beats in performing music adapted by Peter Hewitt, who formed the Gloucester group in 2010. The entertainment continued with families being invited forward in the style of the British holiday camps of the 1950’s and 1960’s. The crowds had increased to around 300 and only drifted away just after 4 pm. The stalls and shows started packing away, but there were still a few people turning up for steam engine rides. As late as 5.30 pm, the steam engines were slowly being closed down ready for the journey home.
One thing I would like to say about our experiences at this, and similar events, is that despite large crowds of people consuming throughout the day, there was little rubbish or waste left on the well maintained grounds. The few litter baskets I saw were well filled and I did not see people circulating with the usual bin bags at the close of play. The steam traction engines were shut down and packed away leaving little discernable trace that they had even been there. No oil or ash deposits, only slightly damp ground where excess water from tanks was drained out onto the dry grass. Steam engine operators know the importance of keeping engines and equipment tidy. It’s hard work maintaining and operating this pre ‘push button’ technology. I can only deduce that the service providers and the public in attendance were more caring and responsible than might be expected in today’s world.
Being realistic about pollution, all four engines were run on traditional coal, and not substitute coal replacement products. Throughout the day only a few bags of coal was used and strangely enough, the smell of smoke and steam seemed to attract people to the engines, and not repel them, like when cigarette smoke is detected. The trades people had generators running quietly, and only when several of the classic cars had engines running were you reminded that pre catalytic converter equipped cars just smelled that way. Zero emissions were not going to be achieved that day but the low level of pollution was quite acceptable. Another great day out at a well organised show.
Derek England.
Blue Lias 2025
MY FIRST VISIT TO THE BLUE LIAS CAMPING FACILITY FOR THE STEAM UP.
As a member of MSRVS, albeit without a steam traction engine of my own, I do not always have an excuse to go to all the steam ups and rallies. I took the opportunity to visit Blue Lias with Mary Pockett, who as a founding member of MSRVS, has made many visits there in the past. MSRVS have held a laid back steam up weekend there each year for over a decade, organised by Chris Stubbings, who is lucky enough to live in that beautiful part of the world. Having heard many reports from other club members about the delights, and occasional drawbacks of those weekends, I thought it about time I went to see for myself.
The Blue Lias Inn is a well presented public house with dining and entertaining facilities that hosts its own camping site and match fishing venue on adjoining fields with access to Stockton reservoir, and bordering onto the Grand Union Canal. The location in Southam, near Stockton in Warwickshire is about an hour and a half from Gloucester, whichever way you drive there. The Blue Lias Inn itself is a former 18th century farmhouse which served working boatmen travelling on the canal. Since 1984, the property has been a pub and restaurant, which by all accounts, serves quality food and drink at reasonable prices, pretty well all through the week. So the Blue Lias Inn is going strong after 40 years, just as MSRVS has seen 40 good years now in 2025. The name Blue Lias comes from the locally quarried blue grey limestone, used as durable walling and flooring in classical building works.
The venue for the steam up is an adjacent field, triangular in shape and approximately 2.7 acres (by my calculation from Google maps) that appears to be a former horse paddock, but is used for rallies and car boot sales. Due to a double booking, MSRVS were sharing this field with about a dozen caravaners and campers from the Morris Motors Caravan and Camping Club parked mainly at the road end of the field. There were nine traction engines in steam with some driving around the field when Mary and I turned into the entrance on Saturday morning. The Northern Traction Engine Trust had a tent pitched there and brought more than enough steam apprentices to accompany the engine drivers. The apprentices were able to drive morning and afternoon on more than one engine each. Talking to the Caravaners, they were laid back and friendly, not just enjoying a peaceful weekend, but welcoming the peaceful presence of traction engines quietly touring around the field. Six traction engines with passengers set forth around lunchtime, and headed out on to the Stockton road towards Southam where a well scouted pub was to be found. They returned several hours later, mission accomplished!
I spent an hour or two touring the ash paths that led to the 4 acre tree lined reservoir, where the fishermen were separated on their numbered spots between the trees. four islands in the reservoir, with trees and grass made the whole scene quite rustic and peaceful. The caravan park, which is designated for adults only, is well maintained and spacious, with several large ponds being fished by campers seated upon the provided benches. In fact, the few people I saw were either sat relaxing and reading in the sunshine, or just fishing peacefully without a care in the world. It occurred to me that these people probably lived only an hour or two away, but were a long way from busy lives and modern living so they could enjoy a relaxing weekend, probably before returning to their daily routines back home. This pace of life was the norm. when steam traction engines powered the world, although life would have been considerably physically harder then. Not a bad way to experience the technology of steam power, not only in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, but knowing that the young steam apprentices were there to help keep knowledge and experience alive for a bit longer. The gentleman at the NTET tent told me that in Devon, where he was from, there are around two thousand young steam apprentices registered with them. Most were working teenagers, but the young lady apprentice with John Kidley was not yet a teenager, but she was keen to continue confidently diving his traction engine around, under John’s capable supervision of course.
Mary and I left just before six, hoping the traffic would be as light as it was on the way down, and thereby missing Saturday night in the Blue Lias Inn, when it traditionally comes to life. Well, how much relaxing can you put up with? All in all, a very enjoyable day out and preview for a return visit sometime in the future.
Derek England.
CLUB NIGHT 20th MAY 2025 – ‘STEAM ON THE MOVE’
We were gathered together for our May club meeting without John and Liz Kidley, who were away in deepest Dorset, so Dan Cutting, as a previous club chairman, opened the meeting with announcements and details of arrangements for our forthcoming steam ups, as discussed recently at our May committee meeting. Rob Gibbons updated the meeting with his enquiries for MSRVS showing at the Gloucester Retro festival, with the disappointing news that we are not allowed to steam engines up at the festival. Mary Pockett ran the raffle and Ted Tedaldi brought his projector screen along, as we no longer have the white wall in the hall to project film onto.
Our speaker for the evening, who we have not seen on club night for a number of years, was Michael Morris. Michael’s titled subject ‘Steam on the Move’ consisted of a number of films that he had put together over a number of years. These collages consisted of his own cine film work, in both colour and monochrome, along with short sequences of professionally filmed event reports, made for news items. There was also a pre war cartoon made in the early Disney style, with its traditional moral and educational story line. A mixture of heritage railway films, along with Carnival and and fairground events featuring road going steam traction and steam roller vehicles were shown, dating from the early days of steam restoration in the 1960’s right up to the present day. Also the Gloucester Retro festival from recent years featuring the cast of the television series ‘Allo, Allo’, who were dressed in their show outfits and mixing happily with the public for the occasion. Other sequences showed footage of steam events at Hullavington, Hereford, Welland, and even an MSRVS Tewkesbury past event showing a line up of dozens of engines with their drivers blowing their steam whistles, and in the background, the distinctive silhouette of Tewkesbury Abbey! Along with sequences from the great Dorset steam rally, Michael included footage of an event at Stapleford Park in Leicestershire, a grade 1 listed country house now used as an hotel. The seven and a quarter inch railway around the grounds available for public rides and a lake with large scaled versions of commercial sea going vessels, was well attended by an adorning public.
Another sequence showed the manufacture and testing of famous railway locomotives in the 1930’s. In one scene, an A4 Pacific, later to be named as the record holding ‘Mallard’, was shown on large version of a rolling road and put though its paces. The script confirmed this was part of the testing for this class of locomotive rated for up to 130 miles per hour. As the world later learned, Mallard achieved 126 mph pulling a train of carriages on a regular London to Edinburgh run.
Michael did ask us all at the beginning to call out if anyone saw someone in the films we may know. For myself, I spotted a railway locomotive in gleaming condition, and in steam on a heritage line. The Castle class loco was Clun Castle, which my brother Richard had once fired as an eighteen year old fireman on the GWR. The Gloucester Retro film dated 2017 showed the town crier, Alan Myett, still in good fettle after decades in the job. I first met Alan as a teenager, so I know he is well into his 70’s.
What stood out about Michael’s presentation is the quality of his filmwork. The scenes were well selected, illuminated and focused, using hand held equipment, steadily panned and sequenced as you would expect a professional cameraman to produce. The range of technology Michael had used over some 50 years or so was quite astounding too. From 8mm cine film projected onto the screen from his 50 year old Eumig to the DVD electronic images projected from his Epson projector via a DVD player, there was a consistent quality and flow in his production.
In all, an excellent evening of steam activity, carnivals, Fairs and engineering history, almost too much to take in during just under an hour of viewing.
CLUB NIGHT 15th APRIL 2025 – ‘NOT THE TALK WE WERE EXPECTING!
You never know what events may unfold in life. Having planned for a talk by Paul Barnett on the lessons learned from the RMS Carpathia in her frantic bid to reach the sinking RMS Titanic, it turned out that a very different evening was to be spent at Longford that night. Having Emailed Paul earlier in the day, I thought all would be ready for the evening. As 8 pm approached, with no sign of Paul, I phoned him to find that I had missed a second Email from him at 4 pm, where he explained he was suffering from a tummy bug, and would not be clear of it by the evening. So not the disaster we were expecting! The talk would have been appropriate as 15th April was the 113th anniversary of the Titanic sinking, but that talk will now be re-scheduled for a later date.
Having wished Paul a speedy recovery, there were several issues of importance that could be addressed to the members present. First of all, the subject of the recent official ban on the sale and use of certain solid fuel tablets for Mamod and Willesco model steam engines was raised. The traditional tablets contain Hexamine, a product of Formaldehyde and Ammonia, which is toxic if ingested. Hexamine, originally devised during 1936 in Germany, is the basis of RDX, an explosive used during the second world war. The official ban on public use of these tablets from October 2023 led to safer alternative materials being marketed in both tablet and gel form as suitable replacements. Although non toxic, they do not perform as well as the original products. Methylated spirit is still legal to use in the UK but is banned for steam engine use in the USA. Firelighter and camping stove fuels, such as FireDragon, seem to be suitable alternative fuels in these small steam engines.
Mamod and Willesco steam engines are very low pressure (22 PSI operating) and so comply to much less stringent regulations than the Boiler Test Code volume 1 (3 bar litres to 1100 bar litres) that MSRVS scaled model engines have to comply with. However, we need to keep an eye on changing rules and regulations that could easily come our way, especially as such regulations make ownership and operation so much more challenging. Non coal based fuels, such as WildFire are available for our scaled models, and appear quite acceptable to most who have used them, but changes lead to other challenges. For instance, I also fly radio controlled model aeroplanes, which is a constructive and safe hobby. Years ago, it was advisable to have third party insurance, just in case your model aeroplane damaged someone else’s property. Now, all unmanned Ariel Vehicles (UAV) are considered to be ‘Drones’ due to the modern technologies that they can use. On board camera’s can spy on, and military drones can carry bombs. Some drones can fly out of sight using a First Person View (FPV) headset allowing the grounded pilot to guide it using an on board camera. So a long way from the gentle constructive hobby that kept me off the streets as a youngster. Because of these developments, I now have to register with the Civil Airline Authority (CAA) for 2 licences. One is for an operator (and therefore owner) of UAV’s and another licence as a pilot, or Flyer’s licence. There are regular test’s for flyer compliance, and each year the requirements become more complicated. I understand the legal requirement as a law abiding person, but feel those with malicious intent will probably carry on regardless, leaving hundreds of thousands of hobbyists, like me, to carry the responsibility for the actions of those few.
The MSRVS is due to review the club’s Risk Assessment statement, created about 6 years ago for our own steam events where the public were in attendance. These statements are still appropriate for all occasions where mainly members only are present at a steam up, but are seen as heavily industrial, particularly as NTET use a much simpler statement. John Kidley has been studying our statement with a view to bringing in line with the NTET document. Attention to details that apply to our club use will be discussed at our next committee meeting in May. John Kidley, as a retired insurance official, continued the evening leading a discussion on insurance experiences from both a supplier and consumer’s points of view.
Although we postponed the planned talk for the evening, some important issues were aired and discussed in a relaxed manner that makes being a member of a club so rewarding.
CLUB NIGHT 18th MARCH 2025 – ‘MYSTERY REMAINS – LOSS OF THE ESTONIA’.
The March 2025 talk on the Loss of the Estonia serves as a reminder that having addressed the mistakes of the past, disasters at sea can still occur. The M.S. Estonia was a modern vessel of 15500 gross tonnage, built in 1980 and launched on the 26th April that year as the Viking Sally. Designated as a Cruiseferry, she was renamed three more times in a series of change of ownerships to become M.S Estonia in January 1993. Just 20 months later she sank in the biggest peacetime shipping disaster in European waters. So unexpected for a modern Cruiseferry just 14 years and 2 months since her first service voyage on 5th July 1980.
the original disaster report concluded that the Bow Visor, a 94 tonne upper section of the bow that hinged upward to allow the loading platform to lower onto the dock, had fallen away and allowed water to pass through the car deck and into the vessel. This explanation did not prevent three rumours being circulated at the time. First, a bomb on board was proposed when the voyage was delayed for ten minutes. A stream of military vehicles boarded and were awkwardly parked causing the ship to list 2 degrees to one side. Ballast tanks in the sides were flooded to correct the tilt, and one tank was reported as full. It was believed that the military vehicles carried weapons left behind from the Soviet era. No evidence for a bomb was reported in the original enquiry. A second rumour claimed she was hit by a torpedo, since a hole of appropriate size was discovered in the side of the hull, but no evidence of further damage was found. Thirdly, that she had collided with a submerged object of up to 1000 tonnes. This is supported by photographic evidence showing a deep cut in the hull was photographed by divers. Several eye witness on board that day reported seeing a large dark object in the water, possibly a submarine backing away after a collision.
The voyage from Tallinn in Estonia, travelling west across the Baltic Sea to Stockholm in Sweden, started in stormy weather on the evening of 28th September 1994. The crew were used to sailing cruiseferries built for service in those waters, however, Estonia was rated as a coastal vessel, and not for open water duty. Many passenger reported feeling seasick due to the screwing motion of the vessel, twisting and rolling through the waves. The vessel had been retro fitted with horizontal stabilizers below the waterline to achieve stable passage through the rough seas. At 1 am, on the 29th September, captain Arvo Andersson heard a big bang so went out to investigate. He found nothing, although the Bow visor was damaged from waves and wind coming across the bow from the port side. Despite the damage, the warning indicators on the bridge remained green, suggesting no damage to the Bow Visor or the Loading Ramp, that acted as a water seal. However, later examination of the wreck showed that the broken supports had not triggered the signalling lights, so the crew remained unaware of the impending problem. The vessel was steered left into the oncoming swell to steady the motion. At 1.15 am, the Bow Visor was ripped off and the damaged Loading Ramp allowed water to flood into the vehicle decks resulting in a 15 degree list to the side. At 1.20 am, an irregular signal by an unidentified female was sent “Alarm,Alarm, there is alarm on the ship”. nearby vessels receiving this message were unaware how serious the situation was. 1.21 am and the lights failed. The engine room crew escaped through the escape hatches. 310 out of the 989 on board managed to scramble onto the side of the vessel, which was the highest horizontal surface out of the water. Due to the speed of events and lack of response from the crew, no life boats or rubber dinghies had been launched. Andrea Tammes on the side turned bridge struggled to signal for help and was not able to locate the GPS to report his location. The M.S. Mariella and M.S. Silja Europa were only 12 miles away, yet had little means to locate the Estonia. A Pan Pan (less than an S.O.S. emergency) was declared, and by 1.50 am the vessel had rolled onto her back with stern end above the water. within a minute, she disappeared below the waves. Some of the inflatable dinghies popped up and some survivors managed to get in them. It was not until 2.30 am that a full emergency was declared, and the M.S. Mariella arrived at 3.05 am lowering her own life raft to pick up 15 survivors.
The Baltic Sea is has around 2000 vessels at any time, day and night, sailing upon it. Eventually 29 vessels and 29 helicopters arrived to save 138 from the water. One later died from hypothermia, so 852 were lost from the 989 on board that night. No conclusive cause has been established but Paul’s own opinion is that the Bow Visor falling into the water had collided with the hull, creating the damage photographed by divers, and may even have damaged the horizontal stabilizers, allowing water quickly into the vessel. The vessel lying on her side where the horizontal stabilizers cannot be seen to verify any damage. The Bow Visor was recovered about a mile west of the vessel. In July 2023, the Loading Ramp was recovered. The vessel remains with hundreds of bodies and belongings as a legally non recoverable tomb.
Just seven years before this tragedy, on the 6th March 1987, the “Herald of Free Enterprise” sank just minutes after leaving harbour at Zeebrugge. How well are the lessons being learned?
Derek England.
CLUB NIGHT 18th FEBRUARY 2025 – METAL CASTING PRACTICE.
For our second Club Night meeting in 2025, and in the MSRVS 40th year, we went back to the roots of club history when founding members gave talks on their own engineering building practice and personal experiences involving steam engines. Dan Cutting, who served his apprenticeship in the Swindon Railway Works during the 1960’s and now in his retired years, still builds his own live steam engines at home, not far from where the Swindon Railway Works was a crucial part of British railway support for 143 years. Dan’s talk was centred on his own experience casting in metal to produce components he could machine into parts for his steam engines.
With a lifetimes experience in full size and model engines, it came as a surprise to learn that Dan had only taken up casting at home around ten or twelve years ago after talking to another MSRVS member, Graham Gardner. I remember Graham giving a talk on metal casting some 15 years ago not long after I had joined MSRVS. Dan, who is quite a gentle and unassuming person, was not phased by learning a new skill like metal casting. The Swindon Works originally produced everything onsite to build and maintain locomotives, even down to nuts and bolts. Nowadays, specialist companies make and market components so that even OEM’s only need to buy in as required for their own custom products. Perhaps seeing so much innovation and manufacturing gave Dan the aptitude to produce for himself instead of going the easier route of just buying in commercially produced water pumps or cylinder castings. When machining a smoke box door for a model locomotive, he discovered a blowhole in the casting, so looked into how this could be avoided by introducing additives to relieve air from the molten metal in the crucible prior to pouring.
Dan showed us his first casting attempt. It was a brass water pump body with a number of branches from a central cylindrical body. Part machined, it appeared quite useable, but Dan considered it short of the mark saying that the crucible of brass was not up to temperature at 900 deg.C. and discarded the piece before a second attempt at 1200 deg.C. gave a better flow from the crucible. He practiced the slow steady pouring technique of brass from the crucible that he learned from those days at the Swindon Works. For a pattern, candles were cut into suitable lengths and joined to produce a complex unit using a soldering iron. This method of casting known as ‘Lost Wax’ produces a clean finish on a gravity casting but is more suited to one offs as the wax pattern can only be used once. Dan makes his own two part casting boxes welded from sheet steel with lugs to bolt the ‘cope’ (upper section) to the ‘drag’ (lower section). Draught angles and shrinkage allowances were derived by practice. Other patterns made from wood were shown for some of his more regularly used cast components. There was a brass underlever from a Winchester rifle that Dan cast for his (display only) example at home. The gun’s original underlever broke in two, so Dan bonded it together and used it as a pattern to make a new one.
There was much interest in Dan’s talk such that the questions and comments made this occasion quite informal. Just how a club meeting should go with everyone involved. Even when it was time to put the chairs away for the evening, we were still talking about how Dan achieved good results by using the simple and straight forward methods he had acquired from a lifetime in engineering. His stories included casting in white metal bearings into locomotive connecting rods, as well as rebuilding the engine on his first car.
Although basic engineering relies upon many well established principles and practices, it still offers a lifetime worth of learning and interest, even in today’s push button automated world.
Derek England.
CLUB NIGHT 21st JANUARY 2025 – PORT TO PORT – AN HISTORICAL JOURNEY – THE GLOUCESTER AND SHARPNESS CANAL.
For the first Club Night meeting in 2025, and the MSRVS 40th year, Paul Barnett gave us a talk on the 200 year history that has helped to shape and develop the character and prosperity of the lands alongside the Severn estuary. Shipping trade was established by the late 18th century to the point where sea going vessels that could navigate passed the Arlingham bend could reach Gloucester, then transfer loads to smaller vessels to reach beyond Worcester. In order to bypass the Arlingham bend safely, it was conceived that a canal be constructed from Berkeley Port, travelling north past Arlingham, and entering the southern end of the established Gloucester Port, which was then currently accessed from the north end by the Severn.
The Gloucester and Berkeley Canal company was formed, and this ship canal was authorised by the 1793 Parliament Act. The engineering work was started by architect and civil engineer Robert Mylne. £200,000 was obtained through the said Parliament Act and work started that year. The project quickly ran into financial difficulties and Mylne left the project in 1798. The following year, James Dadford took over from Mylne, but was released by the Gloucester and Berkeley canal company due to lack of funds in 1800. Ten unfruitful years of fund raising followed and work was stopped. The necessary improvements to Gloucester Port were made through provision of funds raised by local tolls and rents. Following the Public Works Loans Act of 1817, the company borrowed sufficient money to complete the canal, which opened in April 1827. Total cost up to that point was £440,000, but then after all the struggles to build it, this was the broadest and deepest canal in the world at that time. Dimensions were 86.5 feet wide and 18 feet deep. The Longest of the two Berkeley locks at 115 feet long could allow vessels of up to 610 tonnes to reach Gloucester Port, which was a massive achievement for it’s day. The loans were eventually paid off by 1871.
By 1874, a new larger basin and dock was built at Sharpness to replace the restrictive older entrance. During the same year, the Gloucester and Berkeley Canal Company acquired the owners of Sharpness Dock, the Worcester and Birmingham Canal Company, and a new company, The Sharpness New Docks and Gloucester and Birmingham Navigation Company was formed. The name later changed to The Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. Five years later, the Severn Railway bridge, completed in 1879, incorporated a swing section where it passed over the canal to allow sufficient headroom for large vessels using the canal. So from a shaky start, the vital improvement to shipping transport, and later rail transport, became established through determination and solid Victorian Engineering. These were the major freight carriers of the day before modern roads.
Pauls talk continued by a series of old and contemporary pictures of establishments along the canal and port systems. Some of those installations were changed and adapted to suit the requirements of their time. Both commercial and wartime events have seen installations come and go, or be converted to new use. Significantly, many buildings at Sharpness have now disappeared, making the dock appear run down, yet the Port is busier now than it has ever been in the past. Gloucester Dock and wharf system has lost its flour import facility and warehousing, but retains its ship repairs dry docks. Many former warehouses have been converted to modern dwellings alongside new built dwellings designed to fit alongside the existing, but with modern appearance. Where roads cross the 16.5 mile long canal, eight bridge keepers lodgings were built in neo-classical style because the the bridges needed to be manned at all time, due to the increase in road use where road and canal intersected. Today, most of the lodging houses have passed into private ownership and are Grade 2 listed.
Like all popular culture and establishments, the canal based businesses appear to flourish in a respectable way, yet there is always a sub culture that feeds off that success, without being totally unbeneficial to the system. Paul shared many stories of small time thieving of commercial goods by the users of the canal with our members at his talk. The term ‘Perks of the Job’ puts a pseudo respect on the petty siphoning off of goods that inevitably took place to supplement the income of the working classes.
All in all, another good talk by Paul that demonstrates human nature and endeavour in the face of Victorian engineering that survives today.
MSRVS – PARTY NIGHT AFTER THE AGM ON 7TH DECEMBER 2024 .
Our annual AGM and Party Night saw a great deal of activity. The meeting was well attended by those who managed to get there on such an inclement night. However, the 30 strong attendees were vocal and had much to say at the AGM, which took a good half hour longer than normal, mainly due to the agenda and the topics debated under ‘Any Other Business’. It is good to see how seriously our members feel about the issues that affect the running of the MSRVS.
As a member of several clubs, and past member of other activities, I have often heard of many reasons that attract members to clubs, apart from the principal activity. Those activities range from model aeroplanes to ballroom dancing, and from model steam engines to motorcycle sports. For many people I have associated with, it’s the social gathering and ‘banter’ that brings together like minded souls to chat and exchange their thoughts. That is certainly true in the more male oriented activities. In clubs that attract families, there is the broader picture where younger family members can safely grow into a hobby, surrounded by more experienced members. Quite a comforting thought for parents with energetic children. Then what ties families together are the ladies. MSRVS is blessed in having so many ladies who are active at our meetings. Some actually wear boiler suits and flat caps while driving engines around at the steam ups! Apart from that, Clubs always seem to be that much better when there are ladies involved in the activities. A happy club has the atmosphere of a big family.
The food was organised by Mary Pockett, the raffle was run by John and Liz Kidley, and the kitchen, normally manned by Dan Cutting on club nights, was run by the ladies! The party could easily have gone on beyond the 10 pm deadline but due to thoughts of getting home safely in the wet and windy conditions outside, that meant all was cleared away for our departure, then we locked up the front door just before 9 pm.
The MSRVS is in good shape to meet again on club nights and at steam ups during its 40th year in 2025.
Derek England.
CLUB NIGHT 19th NOVEMBER 2024 – HARD TACK ON THE TORRIDGE – THE LAST OF THE SAILOR MEN.
If last month gave us a cold wet evening for Club Night, then the November 2024 Club Night gave us the first snow to traverse, in order to get to Longford Lane. Never the less, a good crowd of core members braved it for a gathering in the warmth of the Longford Village Hall. Needless to say that other road users we came across on the journey were driving at excessive speeds under the dark and frosty conditions. Just glad we did not witness any ‘accidents’ on the way home.
There are of course people in life who suffer through the actions of others, despite trying to do the ‘right’ thing. Our talk concerned the lives of the seamen and associated business men who provided commercial transport in past centuries using the wooden sailing vessels of those days. Our speaker, local maritime historian, Paul Barnett, has spent decades researching maritime and local popular history of the Severn basin. A work he once thought could be comprehensively achieved within a few years, but 30 years later, he admits it is an ongoing work. This is mainly due to the difficulty in finding original eye witnesses, accurate written accounts and artifacts, and those people who, unbeknown to themselves, were actually creating that history.
Wooden vessels have been used for centuries, for commercial transport, personal travel and of course, military purposes. At the pinnacle of their service during the Victorian era, sailing vessels were a well perfected technology that was being caught up by emerging new technologies – like steam engines! Suitable engines, including internal combustion ones, were added to sailing vessels initially as auxilliary to the sails they were built with, so hardy seamen still had to rig the sails and maintain the wooden structure in order to stay operational. Paul showed many examples of vessels built, operated and finally settled into ‘retirement’ , all within the Severn basin area. Some had travelled the globe but through hard work and dedication, saw long and actives working lives. For many, that ‘retirement’ either meant being broken up for scrap, or being run aground to shore up a tidal embankment, as they slowly rotted away.
The twentieth century saw two world wars where wooden vessels were used to maintain transport. Paul concentrated on the river Torridge area where some of those vessels saw a new usefulness as moorings for barrage balloons that could be secured in the estuary to block the flight path of incoming Nazi bombers aiming for Appledore and the other towns and facilities in that area. Not being anchored, the vessels were chained to posts in the estuary so they drifted with the ebb and flow currents. this meant they had to be winched back into position, since those engines, considered surplus to requirement, had been removed. The balloons were 5000 feet (1500 metres) above on their tie cables so that enemy aircraft would risk entanglement at low altitude or have to fly higher, making bombing or surveillance more difficult. There were rumours of booby trap devices being attached to the cables that might explode on impact, thus damaging enemy aircraft, but little evidence of that policy has come to light.
War requisitioning is usually a contracted agreement, with the promise that the equipment would be returned in suitable condition for continued post war service. However, after V.E. day, the barrage balloons were no longer required to defend the country, and it was found that the wooden vessels were then in pretty poor shape. Little damage was caused by enemy action to the vessels, but the necessary regular maintenance to tar and paint them had been neglected, meaning many had become unserviceable when returned to their owners. Overlooked by war operation, many were effectively lost, leaving their owners and crew looking for alternative occupation. A sad and unfitting end for many of those last sailing vessels and the men who operated them.
We were not able to hold the raffle, however, donated prizes were brought in. These will supplement our December Party in a few weeks time. Paul Barnett himself discretely donated some popular film DVD’s for the raffle that will also be there for the Party. It’s refreshing to see what a caring and sharing club the MSRVS is, and that we are more than just steam engine enthusiasts.
Derek England.
DONT FORGET – The 7th December 2024 meeting at Longford Village Hall is for our AGM and annual party. We still need to confirm your attendance so that you will be catered for, thus ensuring that we all have a productive and enjoyable evening to to finish off 2024 in preparation for the MSRVS 30th anniversary steam season in 2025.
CLUB NIGHT 15th OCTOBER 2024 – SUBMARINE ESCAPE.
On a dark wet night when nobody really wants to travel, there is at least our MSRVS club night at Longford Lane to look forward to. Our speaker for the evening, Graham Stubbs regularly makes the 50 mile trip up the M5, along with Dan Cutting, as they are staunch club members who thankfully don’t seem to mind the dark wet nights. Must be made of some stern stuff! This talk was the follow up to Graham’s talk from June last year, when he gave us an insight into his experience as a young man entering the Royal Navy. It’s a tough life in the Navy, as anyone who has ever served will let you know. Grahams chosen career was in submarines, which requires exacting training with regard to operations and safety. Long before setting foot aboard a submarine, there is some serious training to face, for instance, how to escape a stricken vessel that could be hundreds of feet below the surface of the sea!
Graham showed pictures of the Submarine Escape Tower, located in Fort Blockhouse, a former military training site in Gosport (opposite His Majesties Naval Base in Portsmouth). The tower, built between 1949 and 1953, was conceived after a report by Captain Phillip Ruck-Keene just after WW2, to revamp submarine escape procedures in the face of advancing technology and submarine design. War tends to rapidly advance technology, and many lessons had to be leaned, particularly from such accidents as HMS Thetis and HMS Truculent, in which both civilian and military personnel were lost needlessly. Paul Barnett is booked to give a talk on HMS Thetis in June 2026. Will have to wait for that one. The Submarine Escape Tower houses the Submarine Escape Training Tank (S.E.T.T.), which is 20 feet in diameter and holds 100 foot head of water. That’s 200,000 gallons of water, which incidentally, was kept at 34 degrees centigrade ( 94 degrees Fahrenheit ) possibly due to the fact that the instructors are in it throughout each day.
The tank mimics the two main methods of escape. First , the non preferred way , Compartmental, which utilises either the forward (Torpedo Room) or the aft (Engine Room) compartments, each of which is sealed from the main central cabin by watertight bulkheads. Secondly, the preferred method, Tower Escape, in which a tall cylindrical vessel ( built into the main cabin ) big enough for 2 men (at a time) to enter, is closed from the cabin, then flooded by outside water via a hatch in the top, where the 2 men can escape straight up to the surface. Each man would be wearing a bright orange escape suit, which was double skinned and inflated with air for breathing and sufficient buoyancy for a quick ascent to the surface. Facilities at the bottom of the tower allowed groups of trainees to practice these 2 methods. Even at 100 foot depth, the water pressure is around 50 PSI ( 3.5 barg) above atmospheric, so the escapee’s would start with a deep breath and release air all the way to the surface to relieve built up lung pressure from depth back to atmospheric when they reached the surface of the water. Failure to release the air gradually could result in exploded lungs, which would be fatal. The tank has a cable running up the centre to help guide each escapee and prevent them from colliding with the sides of the tank. The inflated escape suits are not particularly hydrodynamic, so may wander sideways on their way to the surface. In a real escape situation in the open sea, there is not likely to be any obstacles to collide with between the stricken submarine and the surface of the water.
Before trainees attempt the full 100 foot escape, there are 2 other platforms higher up the tank for 30 foot and 60 foot depth escapes. These escapes are performed by trainees who are wearing only swimming trunks, and used primarily to practice the slow release of air upon ascent to the surface. No breathing apparatus or air supply is used for this part of the training. The escape cylinder containing a trainee and an instructor, would be flooded. A curtain hanging from the top of the cylinder would trap enough air in the flooding cylinder for a deep breath before the trainee ducked under the curtain and into the main tank. The instructor would not release the trainee until he is blowing hard, such is the serious nature of ascent through water, even from a depth of 30 feet.
All trainees upon reaching the surface, would climb out onto the platform and rest for a few minutes so they could be assessed as fully recovered from the exercise. Apart from Graham having partaken in this training, in the audience was Nigel Graham, who had also experienced these escapes when he was a civilian contractor working in the Tower. Nigel shared his experiences with us and described some updates made in the facility since Graham’s training days.
The Tower was commissioned for use in July 1953 and tens of thousands have since trained in it before it was closed in 2020. Due to the advances in submarine design and updated escape procedures, the tower is no longer required as a training facility, but it remains as a listed building. Trainees completing the Tower training programme would then receive their ‘Submarine Pay’, but with more training to come, they were still a long way from actually boarding a submarine for active service.
Derek England.