This section contains photos of people and events that have been part of the lives of the Ship's Companies of LO3 and D57

Return from Stonecutters Island for a rest onboard following Annual Musketry course plus Assault course - 1948

Don Whittick

Ernie Hornby & Jake Pennington going home on Troopship Dilwara- 1949

Russ Jolley, Chief Quartermaster - 1948

K S Robinson

J V Horsford, Engineer's Office Writer

Geoff Lane & Hank

EM 'Corky', EM 'Buster' Brown,? , REM Tom Brown & Scouse (?) taken by EM Roy Harris

W H McCarten

A Christening onboard - note upturned Ship's Bell

Christmas Rounds on the Messdeck. Cox'ns are certainly younger than my day!

Christmas cheer

Captain visits messes informally

Unknown group

Norman Drakes - pre LO3

Peter Marchant, D57.

Petty Officer's Mess
LO3

Banyan* Party
Malta
1938/9
LO3
*Picnic ashore

B Guns crew and Pluto.

AB Dusty Miller looking up - he had just been 'bombed'by a seagull. 1938.

LO3

L/Sea C.Scott in front row with Pluto. Leith Docks 1940.

LO3

B Guns crew and Pluto.

Before or after the above?

LO3

Pluto, postumously awarded the Dickin Medal. The photo is in it's original frame.

LO3

Seaman's Mess, Canteen Flat, 1948, D57
L to R-L/Sea Ballantyne, O/Seamen Campbell,Wakeley,Hadlow,Aston,Hornby,Wood. Wong-Mess Boy

Boy Seamans XI Football Team
between 1948 and 1950
D57

Xmas Day, 1947,D57

L to R-Sto Mcnamara, Ck O'Clee,The Mad Chef, SBA Toomey-'Doc' for the day, Ah Lin and? in front

It is a tradition in the Royal Navy that on Xmas day youngest on board is Captain and others change uniforms

Captain's retinue, Xmas Day, 1947,D57
L to R-Surg.Lt.Mathieson,Lt.Sutton, SBA Toomey, Boy Sea Hall, Boy Sea Frampton, Capt J Jefferies

Keelung, Formosa, 1948, D57
L to R-?, Toomey, Cahill, ?, Ball, Howson, Brown. Hill, Randell, White in front

Electrical Division, Christmas, 1955

1st XI Football Team, 1953/54, D57
L to R-Tel Elps,L/Sig Blows, L/Sea Shower, LEM George, AB Newson, LSM Enifer, ?, PO Tel Hinks, L/Sea Price. In front AB Snowden, ?, AB Dowge, ?, ? .

Quarterdeck Football Team, 1952, D57
L to R-AB Batchelor, ?, L/Sea Shower, AB Lane, AB Arthur, L/Sea Headcoat, L/Sea Price. In front AB Geordie, AB Robinson, AB Harris, AB Newton, AB Martin

D57 in company with RAF Sunderland

D57 Ships Company Xmas 1951 Hong Kong

Another D57 Ships Company 1951

D57 Delivers despatches to HMS LONDON

Communications Division 1958 - 59

Ships Company 1958 - 59

LO3 on her Norwegian Patrol, 1940

The only photo that we have showing Bismarck under fire

This photo is signed by all the crew involved in the Altmark rescue

LO3 Pay Office

Photo of LO3 in Narvik Museum

HMS COSSACK Plaque in Narvik Museum

Torpedo firing, D57, 1948

Lowering the whaler to pick up the torpedo

Coxswain (L/Sea Salmon) manouvering the whaler to tow the torpedo which was fitted with a flotation head

Clear Lower Deck to hoist whaler after recovering the torpedo

D57 Looking aft down the starboard side from the bridge

8th Destroyer Flotilla at speed preparing to bombard disused Japanese lighthouse. Note Depth Charge rails at the stern

X Gun, D57, during a shoot,1948. Loader moving loading tray, with shell, across to the breech

View of D57's starboard propeller and rudder while in the floating dry dock. Bottom being scraped

All dhobeying (laundry) had to be done in a bucket. Also used for washing and bathing. A very valuable item, jealously guarded

D57, the Emergency Conning Position, for use when the bridge was out of action. L/Sea(PTI) Pat Hayes and Oppo (close friend)

'Up Spirits' following the annual General Meeting, 1999. Rear Admiral Davies (LO3's Gunnery Officer when she was sunk), the supervising officer

Ric O'Clee washing down his tot of rum!

View of bridge while RASing.

LO3 coming alongside to RAS

Oiling, with good view of forecastle.

D57 approaching Oiler

The distance line running from D57's forecastle to the oiler

Hose and communication lines connected

Oiling plus a wahdown

*Click on small image to view full size picture

PLUTO as a pup 1938/9 (LO3)

PLUTO later in life

HERR OSCAR

Oscar the tabby must have been one of the luckiest cats of all time - or unluckiest, depending on how you look at it. He started his naval career aged one year old on board the German battleship BISMARCK.

When the BISMARCK was sunk, Oscar was plucked from the waves by the Royal Navy and joined up with the Allies as official ship's cat on the destroyer HMS COSSACK. This posting lasted six months. When the COSSACK was torpedoed and sunk, once again Oscar found himself struggling to survive. The crew of the aircraft carrier HMS ARK ROYAL pulled him out of the sea and adopted him. His stay as ship's cat on the ARK ROYAL was even shorter. Just three days later, the carrier was torpedoed in the Mediterranean.

A born survivor, Oscar scrambled on to a piece of wood and was rescued for a third time. That was the end of his seafaring career and, after a spot of survivors leave in Gibraltar, he was posted to an Old Sailors' Home in Belfast. After a visit to a local vet he claimed political asylum and lived out the rest of his days there in peace.

[This story has been passed down through the years since Cossack was sunk but how true is it? At the time BISMARCK sank COSSACK had withdrawn leaving RODNEY, KGV and DORSETSHIRE to use their big guns and then left to escort the battleships back to the UK. DORSETSHIRE and MAORI remained for a while to pick up survivors. There is no evidence to suggest that COSSACK picked up any survivors, not even a cat! In October 1941 when COSSACK was sunk in the Atlantic, off Cape St. Vincent, ARK ROYAL was in the Mediterranean. COSSACK's survivors were picked up by HM Ships LEGION and CARNATION and FS ARIGUANI and no survivor has mentioned the ship's cat having been picked up. However, as one of our past Association Presidents, the late Rear Admiral Anthony Davies, said "Never let the facts get in the way of a good story", so the story goes on!]

HERR OSCAR Ex-Bismarck, Ex-Cossack (LO3), Ex-Ark Royal

BUSTER/STUMPY

He had his own hammock like all sailors had in those days - 1948, and was very good at nipping into it. He spent more time sleeping in it than we did in ours.

One Saturday morning the Captain was carrying out his usual Rounds, inspecting the ship for cleanliness and tidyness. As he stepped into the Forward Messdeck he saw a small hammock swinging from the hammock bars. Intrigued, he investigated and saw a note hanging from the hammock. He read it , chuckled and tiptoed past it. The note read 'Stumpy. Ratcatcher off Watch. Do not Disturb'.

To fully appreciate this snippet you need to know that Watchkeepers who have had the Middle Watch (0000 -0400) were entitled to what is known as 'Guard and Steerage'. This meant that they were permitted to lay in their hammocks for an extra half hour in the morning when the rest of the ships company had to get up, lash their hammocks up and stow them away in the hammock netting.

BUSTER, otherwise known as STUMPY (D57), relaxing in his own hammock

SHEENA

Sheena was known to be D57's mascot from 1951 to 1954. She is pictured here tied up to the depth charge rails, while her photo was taken.

SHEENA

Sheena in the arms of PO Electrician 'Tug' Wilson.

SHEENA and 'TUG'

A Ceremonial Occasion

Ship open to visitors

Enthusiastic crowds waiting to board

Overwhelming interest

ALL THE DUTY WATCH ! REPEL BOARDERS !

Shark slung on torpedo hoist, looking aft on starboard side

Delight of Chinese Mess Boy at prospect of fresh shark's fin soup

Many hands get in the way

The penalty of snapping at anything

L/Sea 'Amy' Amis, my best oppo, and me in Hong Kong

My Christmas dinner on board

The Quarterdeck Football Team Goalkeeper L/Sea Robinson, middle row 2nd me, then L/Sea Amis & A.B. Ferris. L/Sea Goslin in front row.

Me with an escort girl named Peggy in Kure