LOCHINVAR MEMORIAL RENOVATED

Thanks are due to Colin Hendry  for voluntarily undertaking renovation of the Minesweeping Memorial at the site of the former HMS Lochinvar at Granton, near Edinburgh.

Colin writes " The memorial was dedicated  by the Algerines Association in 1988 to commemorate the Minesweeper and Fishery Protection crews who served at Port Edgar and Granton. In addition to restoring the monument to make the inscription legible again, I have tied up the site and placed two silhouettes of MCMVs ; one off an Algerine and the other of a TON.

I intend to keep regular watch on the monument, and maintain it when necessary.  My connection with Port Edgar began in 1978, three years after the Navy departed.  The harbour and buildings area had been turned over to Lothian Regional Council, however the barracks and wardroom (West Camp) were retained by the government.  I was a curator with the National Museums of Scotland, and we took over the barracks as a museum store.  It was here that I initiated and oversaw the Scottish Naval Collection, which was born out of interest from visiting veterans, and amongst them the chief assistance came from associations including the TCA and Algerines who donated or loaned exhibits. 

I was also serving with the RNXS at HMS CLAVERHOUSE, Granton, and regularly trained at Rosyth.  Connections were therefore built with Capt. MCM, Lochinvar Block, and they arranged further exhibits - the FOSNI Clearance Divers donated acoustic and magnetic mines in addition to other ordnance and information. 

The Algerines involvement brought about their intention to establish a permanent memorial at Port Edgar, and in 1988, the monument was dedicated.  The Scottish Naval Collection became very popular with groups and visitors, but was forced to close in 1992 when an official inspection found it lacking in public facilities and new health & safety standards.  Exhibits were then either returned to donors or retained in other museum departments.  After this, I transferred as Assistant Curator to the Museum of Flight, East Fortune."

The wardroom and barracks at Port Edgar are currently being renovated for use as residential flats and Queensferry Heritage Trust intends to establish a museum at Port Edgar."

BRAVO ZULU  to Colin.

GOOD NEWS ABOUT A SURVIVING TON

We have learned from Richard Barrett, TCA‘s Resident Correspondent in Cyprus, that the extensive project to convert the former Research Vessel TEAL into a Maritime Museum has recently been completed and that the ship is now open to the public, based in Girne (formerly known as Kyrenia).

The vessel started life in 1956 as HMS JACKTON, was re-named HMAS TEAL in 1961 after an extensive refit and transfer to the Royal Australian Navy, under which flag she served for 15 years, before being paid off and converted to a prawn fishing boat. After some years she was refitted again to join the tourist industry as a diving and cruise ship, before languishing in Greece for some years before being acquired by the University of the Near East, based in Northern Cyprus. In this role she became a Research Vessel for the various marine ecology and archaeological courses provided by the university and also undertook training of officers for the Merchant Service of Cyprus - See details and photos in her Ship History.

As age took its toll of the wooden hull, the university retired the ship to a specially constructed wet dock and under the leadership of Captain Cagri Deliceirmak, who commanded the ship in her last sea-going role, she underwent a further extensive refit for her new role as a Maritime Museum dedicated to the maritime heritage of the Mediterranean and Cyprus.

The museum holds several thousand exhibits including historical artifacts recovered from the sea, ship models, charts and navigational instruments. Her history as a minesweeper is also illustrated. The displays are housed in the re-decorated former cabins from her earlier roles.

We wish TEAL and the University of the Near East well with this new enterprise and offer them our thanks for this dignified extension to the life of a TON.

Meanwhile the two other surviving examples of the Class, which have retained their appearance as MCM vessels, lay derelict and semi-submerged; BRONINGTON in Birkenhead and DURBAN in Kwa-Zulu, Natal.