Michael Heath-Caldwell M.Arch
Brisbane, Queensland
ph: 0412-78-70-74
alt: m_heath_caldwell@hotmail.com
Constance M.H. Heath-Caldwell aged 77/78
Capt. the Rev. Cuthert H. Heath-Caldwell DSO aged 56/57
Violet Heath-Caldwell (ne Palmer) - aged 60/61
Patricia C.M. Heath-Caldwell - aged 25/26
Diana Heath-Caldwell - aged 22/23
Rosamond Heath-Caldwell - aged 20/21
James A. Heath-Caldwell aged 15/16
Memoirs of Lt.J.A. Heath-Caldwell R.N.
Having left Dartmouth as a cadet I went to sea with our term and the term of above in the training cruiser. Here we joined one training cruiser in Portsmouth and crewed it to Devonport where we were then, HMS Frobisher, that was.
We then joined another ship HMS Devonshire this time, which was the cadet training cruiser. And I was bridge messenger and luckily I did not have to run any messages as I knew absolutely nothing about the ship’s layout but I did make a very good brew of Kai, or Cocoa as the navy calls it, Kai, and I was congratulated by the Captain for the Kai I brewed for the officers on the bridge.
And I remember we were just south of Portland when I did that and the total voyage can’t have been much more than 6 hours through the English Channel and then off West Bay and on past Torquay to starboard. And when we got to Devonport we tied up alongside HMS Devonshire which baldy needed a coat of paint. And we were going to visit Copenhagen after visiting Oslo but like the Irish the Danes had long memories and Copenhagen had been bombarded by Admiral Lord Nelson’s ship with red hot cannon balls which caused havoc in Copenhagen and many civilians got burned to death.
And I think it was on that occasion that Nelson raised his telescope to his blind eye and ignored his senior officer’s (Admiral Hyde-Parker - see Anne Marsh-Caldwell's memoirs) orders and he signaled to his ships, “England expects every man will do his duty!”
And we “painted ship” in the middle of the North Sea on our way to Oslo, for the ship needed it. And when we got to the Oslo Fjord I was a lucky one and I and about five others in one whaler, a clinker built boat were lowered into the water and we sailed up the Oslo Fjord to Oslo while HMS Devonshire entered Oslo Harbour in the normal way. And of course we saw the tree covered shores as we sailed by and it was altogether good and I wondered how many other people had done that other than yachties.
And I am afraid I was a bit blasé about children’s parties on board for I’d been to one or two of those in Portsmouth Dockyard when my father was Captain of the Dockyard there and I was very small. So instead of staying onboard and helping with a children’s party I went ashore for a bit of “Liberty.”
And I and a couple of other cadets got into the main square and we bought delicious raw fish and I purchased a sheath knife in a leather scabbard. And so I enjoyed our visit to Oslo.
And then I think we returned to England going down the East Coast and along the English Channel passing Dover and Folkstone and only a few years earlier the Scharnhorst and Griesnaw passed through the Straits of Dover after their daring escape from Brest breaking the British Blockade. And of course they were crippled by mines when they got to the North Sea and a whole squadron of Swordfish Torpedo Planes were shot out of the sky as they tried to intercept these two German blockade runners.
It was not a very good advert for RN Naval Efficiency and the Germans were very lucky till they detonated a mine, such a simple weapon which though not dramatic, sunk more ships than any other weapon did.
As usual we lined the ships sides as we passed Plymouth Hoe, where once Drake had played bowls before intercepting the Spanish Armada in 1688.
The term above me lost one of it members, Cadet Braggins, in a sailing tragedy about six months before our lot got to the training cruiser. The unfortunate young man was in a sailing whaler which capsized from a gust of wind and he got caught under the sail and was drowned. That was the first sort of drowning that I first, in a round about way, heard about.
We spent two terms at sea in the training cruiser, where we mainly moved around the United Kingdom, and we did pay a visit to Gibraltar and Malta, which was quite fun. And just out of Gib a signal was intercepted about a Merchant Ship on fire. So as we were the nearest ship we diverted a bit and the sea boats were manned and boarding parties detailed to give aid to this stricken ship.
And there was much discussion amongst us cadets about Prize Money. We came to the conclusion we’d be able to claim something but it all fizzled out when another ship beat us to it. Nothing very much happened other than just training.
One afternoon, off South Sicily we spent the whole afternoon firing our four inch twin guns to get us used to the noise of gun fire and to show us what gun drill was like and to give every cadet a turn at all the various gun positions, and the paint on the guns got so hot it burned off, and we just fired at the puff of smoke where the previous shells had exploded. And I had a go at handling the 4” rounds before they were placed in the breach and they were quite heavy.
I can remember quite clearly hearing the noise from our gun room, a sort of compartment in the ship, which was our recreation room, and actually reading the Auckland weekly there because we had one or two New Zealand cadets along with us.
Now what happened was we spent two terms in the training cruiser and then we were sent to various ships in the fleet for training as Midshipmen. We were promoted from cadet, or sea going cadet to mid shipmen. And on to Malta. And there a cousin commanded the Royal Marines and one afternoon I was invited by this cousin to go out sailing in the harbour in a sailing Pinnace. And that was marvelous as we went outside the harbour to Valetta. And there was a fair wind and all went well and when we returned to the harbour where we were secured stern first into the jetty below the hollowed rock sides of the harbour. And they had stopped the bombs the Germans had dropped a few years earlier when Malta was besieged.
And there was a celebration at night in the port and it was just like Nov.5th at home, with fireworks going off in all directions. And there was a fleet regatta which Devonshire took part in. And then we did parade training on the parade ground ashore when the C-in-C hoisted his flag. And there were polo grounds where my father in his days at Malta had played Polo.
And one interesting visit we did in a bus which took us to the centre of Malta and we saw the huge Cathedral, then surrounded by small houses with flat roofs to catch any rain water. And further into the island we visited some cave graves. And these had been discovered by the local farmers together with lots of bones. And the farmers ground the bones up and top dressed their paddocks with the bone dust and they found this gave them exceptionally good crops.
Of course it was NPK, the K being, if I remember Potash lacking in a lot of the farmer’s soils. And there was a big cave and a smaller one adjacent to it with a hole between the two. And in the small cave there was small seating around the cave and low tables carved out of the rock. And it was surmised that once upon a time children had sat there and listened to the tribe elders telling them stories about their forebears and no doubt fairy tales too to keep the children interested.
Belfast New-Letter
Friday 22 February 1946
London Wedding
Lord Claud David Hamilton and Mrs Genesta Long.
The marraige took place in London quietly on February 21 of Lord Claud David Hamilton, second son of the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn, and Gensta Mary, daughter of the late Mr and Mrs Cuthbert Heath, of Anstie Grange, Holmwood, Surrey.
Present at the ceremony were the Duke and Duchess of Abercorn, Lady Mary Gilmour, Countess Spencer, Lady Katherine Seymour, the Marquis of Hamilton, Lord and Lady Claud Hamilton, the Earl and Countess of Lucan, Captain and Mrs Leopold Heath, Group Captain and Mrs Bullen, Captain G. Heath, Miss Mary Heath and Mrs Sarll.
Crewe Chronicle
Saturday 20 July 1946
Alsager - Girl Guide Rally
The residence of Sir Francis and Lady Joseph was used on Saturday for a garden party and rally in connection with the Lawton District Girl Guides' Assocation, of which Mrs Peter Birley, daughter of Sir Francis and Lady Joseph is the District Commissioner. The weather was delightfully fine and visitors were present from all the surrounding areas. Sea Rangers, Guides and Brownies paraded with their colours for the opening ceremony, which was performed by Miss I.E. Barbour, the Divisional Commissioner. Sir Francis Joseph presided and was supported by Lady Joseph, Mrs James Joseph, Miss Barbour, Mrs Peter Birley, Mrs Heath-Caldwell (President of the local Guides Assocation). - - - -
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Heath-Caldwell All rights reserved.
Michael Heath-Caldwell M.Arch
Brisbane, Queensland
ph: 0412-78-70-74
alt: m_heath_caldwell@hotmail.com