Thanks (?) for the trip down memory lane. Served 24 years in the Mob. Broke my leg 2 days before Battleaxe was due to leave Guzz for Portland in 87 😀. Did Portland on Bristol in '88 and the infamous Glasgow BOST in '93 - the state of the ship meant we shouldn't have even left Rosyth in the first place. When FOST moved to Guzz I went through the training on Grafton (97) and Newcastle (02), as well as numerous Thursday Wars when on ships just "passing through the area". Oh and not forgetting the FOST staff appearing in the Med, the Gulf and Caribbean, just to keep us on our toes. The FOST instructors were hard, but by hell the constructive criticism and training stayed with you. The best teamwork building experiences a person can go through.
I was onboard for this ship for 5 years and for this documentary. Best Captain, Rob Davies, and happiest ships Company in the Royal Navy. The ship was never going to get anything other than a "satisfactory" outcome to this sea training as the usual 6 weeks of training was compressed to a shorter time period for TV purposes. The ships Company would have died for the Captain.
Thanks Kevin - what a great video, taking me down memory lane - I was serving on HMS Newcastle for this documentary, and can well remember the filming taking place, the long stressful days and lack of sleep! Character building stuff!! 🤣
Many many years ago now but it seems like yesterday. I completed BOST and COST in 5 ships both before and after the Falklands war. Having survived the sinking of Ardent in 82 to come back to COST in Penelope a year or so later I found it very difficult to ‘play the game’ having done it for real. Nothing can fully prepare you for the real thing but the ships work up always helps to get the team working together. Like many things in the RN it was mostly fun and games most of the time. 😊
My late dad would have loved to see this. We went to Weymouth on holiday every year and my dad who was ex RAF & intelligence was fascinated by all the goings on around the Port and in Weymouth bay.
I joined RFA Gold Rover in Portland March 1985, she was Portland Tanker at the time, we went to Amsterdam for Easter 85 as guests of the Royal Dutch Navy, I then jumped ship to the RFA Bayleaf in Gosport end of May where we then did 5 days off Portland on FOST before leaving on the Amilla Patrol with HMS Exeter and Charybdis spending my 17th birthday transiting the Bay of Biscay, oh the memories
I left in 76 after 12years during which I had the 'honour' of 5 6 week workups. This video brings back the misery and the tiredness of those days. Mind you the runs ashore in Portland, when we got time to go, were good we certainly let off steam!!!
Did OST twice on the 'Geordie Gunboat' - once as a WEM circa '84 and then again as a POWEA (post it's Rosyth refit) circa '96. Became a 'Fostie' myself later on and retired as a WO1ET in 2020, after 37.5 yrs of service ... 👴
I loved going to Portland, the actual work up to Portland was far worse with Wardroom warriors regularly disappearing up their own rectum, especially Jimmy the One.. From the Staff Sea Check, the Sea weeks, Harbour weeks, The Distex, the occasional safeguard pipe, the Final exercise, the Green Shutters, trips across to Weymouth and its delights, so much so I bought a house in Wyke Regis. All the ships I served on either did a COST or BOST even snook in the 2 week SOST my first ship was Portland training with a red 2 on the funnel, Thursday was war day.
In general, in any military force, the harder and more realistic the training, the better you do when it is real. People who have never been in combat may think this is excessive. It is not - really tough training saves lives in combat.
Brought back memories. Lt Cdr Adair was the Jimmy on Minerva, so this must be later than 85, I was on her in 86/87. A bog awful man compensated by a cracking skipper Cdr Chris Hunt. Seeing him again after nearly 30 years come next month, made me remember what an objectionable and curt man he really was.
I used to have to flash the Rover on my own everytime I turned too drunk. It was most days alongside in Scotland. I used to be sick over the arse end after flashing it. It was bad enough doing it with two people!
Great documentary. It is definitely 1988 rather than 1985 though. HMS Newcastle's training would have been in 1988 and the documentary was broadcast on 10 March 1989. Produced by Trident Films and BBC South.
God yes securing for action was a ball ache and then some. Tie up your towel so it doesn't get sucked into pump suctions. Bed bags zipped. Mess furniture tied down. Don't miss any of that crap.
Conventional submariners hated it more than anyone at endex all the Frigates and Destroyers would flash up 20-30 knots and steam back in, we were lucky if we got back before the pubs shut.
I'm glad it changed a little over the years and FOST did have to move on and become a team that was there to not only test and shout at you, but also to help you.
personally i hated BOST. BUT Having gone through the first Gulf War in 91, it REALLY played its part with the knowledge it gave us. Reaction times were fast and it made us better men at sea
I never forget the first time I did Portland. I remember laughing my tits off when the uper deck crews started shouting "bang bang and dagga dagga dagga" over the tanoy. I was quickly slapped down by Fost staff for not taking it seriously enough.
Old ships, did FOST in Cardiff & Illustrious, did the Falklands 82 and watching this reminds me why I made the right decision to leave in 95. Rob, the captain in this video was the most modern thinking naval officer I ever came across...way ahead of his time and the navy lost him prematurely because of the nonsensical and unjustified appraisal FOST gave him.
Never did an OST in Portland because I'm a sprog. They'd all moved to Plymouth. My first draft, albeit it temporarily, was to HMS Newcastle. The EWO was WO1 John Snodden if anyone remembers him. What a character. After her I moved to the Liverpool and did my first OST. Oh the fun. Now I've lost count of the number of times I've been down there.
Really interesting documentary, watched a lot of Cold War docs focusing on the Army but not from the Navy's perspective. I didn't know this was done at Portland, but I remember seeing FRA jets at Bournemouth with ECM pods on wing pylons (!!) I believe they played the role of strike aircraft on these exercises, though I think the serials had moved to Plymouth by then.
Roy Newman was still skipper of Cleopatra in 1985 and single handedly managed to turn a well knit crew who'd got Very Good in COST under gentlemanly Capt Guy Liardet into a brow beaten one that scraped a Sat in 1985. He was bad tempered and failed to inspire. That he then went on to be come FOST in 1988 was somewhat ironic.
I remember whilst on Hampshire the ship had to do a towing exercise. However at the beginning of the exercise they had to tow a trawler for real that had broken down into harbour. They then had to do the actual exercise ?
8:00 except it's not a tanker, it's the dry stores/ ammunition ship RFA Regent. Just about right for any piece of BBC reporting when it comes to ship identification.
Did one or two (million) Thursday Wars. Ginger Forces! Transit the minefield. Get blown up for the day. Then have to put the ship back together ready for rounds. Joyous.
Could a serving or veteran Royal Navy guy or gal explain to this land lubber what “dead time” is in relation to the submarine contact and emergency breakaway from the RFA supply vessel????, when they said it was 10 minutes it sounded like that was a long time, especially as the submarine contact was supposedly in a firing position, but obviously it wasn’t a long time as the crew got a well done from that particular scenario.
27:14 still watching but transfer 100 personnel aboard a 600’ ship before assessing explosion/sinking risk? I’m starting to see the skipper in a new, not wholly positive, light.
Good decision by FOST, the priority of the MEO is to assess risk by gathering information about the distressed ship, actioning those elements directly associated with engineering damage, the freight carried in conjunction with military factors. Ideally pausing to offer to the prostrate casualty that help is being called for. Perhaps the exception would be if the casualty was in ‘ABC’ distress? All good solid learning stuff!
No one likes the sight of a green jacket ..... and Thursday wars ...... what a bore...... i remember being closed up on the starboard GPMG for hours on end and actually falling asleep standing up in the wind and rain . Action mess yummy!!
If two RN ships meet at sea, that would be a concentration of around 5-9% of total surface warfare ships. We only have 20 warships in service at the moment - not counting patrol and survey craft and such like
@@Trek001 . . this is choreographed professionalism; th-cam.com/video/X9ixXCvYN1c/w-d-xo.html Now, Watch this; th-cam.com/video/QFolduYa-vY/w-d-xo.html It will bring you to tears... (It should be titled the Feminist Navy.)
@@Trek001 ,. You're a funny man! That's choreographed Magic. Watch the second one. Please dont cry.... Esp when the cook does her weapons training. (As an ex grunt, I wanted to smack her and take that weapon away before she hurt herself.) You might get excited when the 3 sailors go on their wet t-shirt run thru the sprinklers. Are you over 18? Lol And by all means, dont miss the propaganda TV show.. We won't talk about the propellor falling off....
I thought it was a bit later, I saw an Oppo and I don't think he'd joined by then. They would have been slaughtered for goffering the helo spinning up on deck.
How come British keep talking like they're on a meeting room talking calmly even if there are like 3 missiles coming towards the ship. "Captain, we have incoming fire, 3 enemy planes 5 miles away" "sigh... how inconvenient. Engage with small arms fire when they come in range" [sips a hot steaming cup of tea]
P. I.-( Sion ) member of united nation mission Ed C. God Missioner Gen.35:11 G.C.G. From: Taguig Global City, Elders Building, N. S. Village. 🇺🇸🏴🇹🇨🇹🇴🇻🇳🇼🇫🇪🇭🇸🇰🇿🇦🇧🇱🇰🇷🇨🇭🇵🇲🇸🇽🇸🇽🇸🇽🇸🇽🇸🇽
Thanks (?) for the trip down memory lane. Served 24 years in the Mob. Broke my leg 2 days before Battleaxe was due to leave Guzz for Portland in 87 😀. Did Portland on Bristol in '88 and the infamous Glasgow BOST in '93 - the state of the ship meant we shouldn't have even left Rosyth in the first place. When FOST moved to Guzz I went through the training on Grafton (97) and Newcastle (02), as well as numerous Thursday Wars when on ships just "passing through the area". Oh and not forgetting the FOST staff appearing in the Med, the Gulf and Caribbean, just to keep us on our toes. The FOST instructors were hard, but by hell the constructive criticism and training stayed with you. The best teamwork building experiences a person can go through.
I was onboard for this ship for 5 years and for this documentary. Best Captain, Rob Davies, and happiest ships Company in the Royal Navy. The ship was never going to get anything other than a "satisfactory" outcome to this sea training as the usual 6 weeks of training was compressed to a shorter time period for TV purposes. The ships Company would have died for the Captain.
Thanks Kevin - what a great video, taking me down memory lane - I was serving on HMS Newcastle for this documentary, and can well remember the filming taking place, the long stressful days and lack of sleep! Character building stuff!! 🤣
Many many years ago now but it seems like yesterday. I completed BOST and COST in 5 ships both before and after the Falklands war. Having survived the sinking of Ardent in 82 to come back to COST in Penelope a year or so later I found it very difficult to ‘play the game’ having done it for real.
Nothing can fully prepare you for the real thing but the ships work up always helps to get the team working together.
Like many things in the RN it was mostly fun and games most of the time. 😊
BZ buddy ..
My late dad would have loved to see this.
We went to Weymouth on holiday every year and my dad who was ex RAF & intelligence was fascinated by all the goings on around the Port and in Weymouth bay.
I joined RFA Gold Rover in Portland March 1985, she was Portland Tanker at the time, we went to Amsterdam for Easter 85 as guests of the Royal Dutch Navy, I then jumped ship to the RFA Bayleaf in Gosport end of May where we then did 5 days off Portland on FOST before leaving on the Amilla Patrol with HMS Exeter and Charybdis spending my 17th birthday transiting the Bay of Biscay, oh the memories
I left in 76 after 12years during which I had the 'honour' of 5 6 week workups. This video brings back the misery and the tiredness of those days. Mind you the runs ashore in Portland, when we got time to go, were good we certainly let off steam!!!
Did the Portland workup back in 1972 on HMNZS Canterbury - This brings back memories.
Do they still do Fost. Imagine these standards applied to today's crews.
I done 5 in 14 years.But the summer ones were best.Down Weymouth in the blackdog and Somerset.
Did OST twice on the 'Geordie Gunboat' - once as a WEM circa '84 and then again as a POWEA (post it's Rosyth refit) circa '96. Became a 'Fostie' myself later on and retired as a WO1ET in 2020, after 37.5 yrs of service ... 👴
I loved going to Portland, the actual work up to Portland was far worse with Wardroom warriors regularly disappearing up their own rectum, especially Jimmy the One.. From the Staff Sea Check, the Sea weeks, Harbour weeks, The Distex, the occasional safeguard pipe, the Final exercise, the Green Shutters, trips across to Weymouth and its delights, so much so I bought a house in Wyke Regis. All the ships I served on either did a COST or BOST even snook in the 2 week SOST my first ship was Portland training with a red 2 on the funnel, Thursday was war day.
In general, in any military force, the harder and more realistic the training, the better you do when it is real. People who have never been in combat may think this is excessive. It is not - really tough training saves lives in combat.
Brought back memories. Lt Cdr Adair was the Jimmy on Minerva, so this must be later than 85, I was on her in 86/87. A bog awful man compensated by a cracking skipper Cdr Chris Hunt. Seeing him again after nearly 30 years come next month, made me remember what an objectionable and curt man he really was.
This was filmed when i was onboard, must have been about April 88, because I’d only been onboard a few weeks.
I did 18 months as a FC(WE) Sea Rider in the late 70's. Loved it. Best job I had as a WO1.
Served on Edinburgh, Exeter and Iron Duke. Bloody hated Thursday war!
I used to have to flash the Rover on my own everytime I turned too drunk. It was most days alongside in Scotland. I used to be sick over the arse end after flashing it. It was bad enough doing it with two people!
Great documentary. It is definitely 1988 rather than 1985 though. HMS Newcastle's training would have been in 1988 and the documentary was broadcast on 10 March 1989. Produced by Trident Films and BBC South.
Did Portland on the Intrepid in 85. Securing for action everyday was the biggest pain. The sound of the action stations klaxon brought it all back.. 😂
I did it on Intrepid in ‘79 👍
God yes securing for action was a ball ache and then some. Tie up your towel so it doesn't get sucked into pump suctions. Bed bags zipped. Mess furniture tied down. Don't miss any of that crap.
This is 1987 not 85 as I was on INTREPID and we were doing a bost at that time.
Conventional submariners hated it more than anyone at endex all the Frigates and Destroyers would flash up 20-30 knots and steam back in, we were lucky if we got back before the pubs shut.
I'm glad it changed a little over the years and FOST did have to move on and become a team that was there to not only test and shout at you, but also to help you.
I know you're a small channel so thanks for the uploads!
personally i hated BOST.
BUT
Having gone through the first Gulf War in 91, it REALLY played its part with the knowledge it gave us. Reaction times were fast and it made us better men at sea
I never forget the first time I did Portland. I remember laughing my tits off when the uper deck crews started shouting "bang bang and dagga dagga dagga" over the tanoy. I was quickly slapped down by Fost staff for not taking it seriously enough.
HMS Newcastle ships company: skipper, XO, FOST staff and Nick Oldham. lol. love ya Nick
Old ships, did FOST in Cardiff & Illustrious, did the Falklands 82 and watching this reminds me why I made the right decision to leave in 95. Rob, the captain in this video was the most modern thinking naval officer I ever came across...way ahead of his time and the navy lost him prematurely because of the nonsensical and unjustified appraisal FOST gave him.
Never did an OST in Portland because I'm a sprog. They'd all moved to Plymouth. My first draft, albeit it temporarily, was to HMS Newcastle. The EWO was WO1 John Snodden if anyone remembers him. What a character. After her I moved to the Liverpool and did my first OST. Oh the fun. Now I've lost count of the number of times I've been down there.
In the 80s, in the RAN, this kind of exercise was called an ORE... operational readiness evaluation.
Really interesting documentary, watched a lot of Cold War docs focusing on the Army but not from the Navy's perspective. I didn't know this was done at Portland, but I remember seeing FRA jets at Bournemouth with ECM pods on wing pylons (!!) I believe they played the role of strike aircraft on these exercises, though I think the serials had moved to Plymouth by then.
Interesting. Did BOST on Newcastle 88. Wonder why it did it twice in 3 years?
I did the same work up trials on another ship 1984 HMS Beaver. Its never ending. The riot and the natural disaster scenario was great tho.
Brilliant. So enjoyed this. Thanks.
Roy Newman was still skipper of Cleopatra in 1985 and single handedly managed to turn a well knit crew who'd got Very Good in COST under gentlemanly Capt Guy Liardet into a brow beaten one that scraped a Sat in 1985. He was bad tempered and failed to inspire. That he then went on to be come FOST in 1988 was somewhat ironic.
Followed by Tom the Bomb (Le Marchand ) and Tony Roe, 2 brilliant skippers and sub hunters.
No irony there there. He was made for the job!
@@robertbarker6880 Towed Array Tom, top skipper was that AV Roe? All comes back now.
As the US Navy used to say when on exchange with RN, shit man you use real smoke !!!!😂
aaahhh it was all good fun when you look back on it. Only did 2 thankfully Argonaut and Mohawk. Good run ashore though.
ever work with a ls (r) brum mortiboys
I did. Cant remember which ship though I was on Leanders and 22's. Was Brum on the Brilliant?
I served with Brum on either Iron Duke or Jupiter...
Ex L/S(r) Snakey blake
Ill.shall tell him you said hello.
It would have been iron duke. He didnt serve on the jupiter.
Memories. I did this on HMS Beaver in 84 for her sea trials. Character building.
I remember you, Spud Murphy here 3HZ
@@buddyhell7100 Buggeration. How are you Spud? I live in the Spanish mountains now. Hope life is treating you well.
I remember whilst on Hampshire the ship had to do a towing exercise. However at the beginning of the exercise they had to tow a trawler for real that had broken down into harbour. They then had to do the actual exercise ?
8:00 except it's not a tanker, it's the dry stores/ ammunition ship RFA Regent. Just about right for any piece of BBC reporting when it comes to ship identification.
And I was on the Newcastle at that time but it was 89!!!!!!
Did a few of these topsy turner
😂 What are the odds, I was onboard her when this was filmed too, 3F mess.
@@justwayne4785 bloody hard work but a great skipper and crew
Ha ha, remember this very well. Was serving in Apollo, then part of the training squadron, and we did this every week.
Pip Jones,great bloke
18:30 "I didn't sign on for this you know"
"Nah, none of us did"
Oh, how true LOL
what was the job of those two domes, above the bridge and hangar?
+Dj Mortiboys They're 909 target acquisition radar's for Seadart and the 4.5 gun.
Cheers mate. For years I wondered what they were for.
Saw CPO Fenn Yesterday :)
Did one or two (million) Thursday Wars. Ginger Forces! Transit the minefield. Get blown up for the day. Then have to put the ship back together ready for rounds. Joyous.
RFA Regent was not a tanker!
the words you do not want to hear round the buoy again rescrub fail
Remember the climb a couple of times for Fire fight team....
You really didn’t want to go there
Could a serving or veteran Royal Navy guy or gal explain to this land lubber what “dead time” is in relation to the submarine contact and emergency breakaway from the RFA supply vessel????, when they said it was 10 minutes it sounded like that was a long time, especially as the submarine contact was supposedly in a firing position, but obviously it wasn’t a long time as the crew got a well done from that particular scenario.
full support here
it was 1987 matey I was there.
27:14 still watching but transfer 100 personnel aboard a 600’ ship before assessing explosion/sinking risk? I’m starting to see the skipper in a new, not wholly positive, light.
as an ex-FOST Wrecker this is beautiful pornography!!!!
Good decision by FOST, the priority of the MEO is to assess risk by gathering information about the distressed ship, actioning those elements directly associated with engineering damage, the freight carried in conjunction with military factors. Ideally pausing to offer to the prostrate casualty that help is being called for. Perhaps the exception would be if the casualty was in ‘ABC’ distress? All good solid learning stuff!
My dad was yeoman on this
No one likes the sight of a green jacket ..... and Thursday wars ...... what a bore...... i remember being closed up on the starboard GPMG for hours on end and actually falling asleep standing up in the wind and rain . Action mess yummy!!
oh look at 6.45....two RN ships at sea together..now there's a rarity these days!!
If two RN ships meet at sea, that would be a concentration of around 5-9% of total surface warfare ships.
We only have 20 warships in service at the moment - not counting patrol and survey craft and such like
LMAO
@@Trek001 . . this is choreographed professionalism;
th-cam.com/video/X9ixXCvYN1c/w-d-xo.html
Now, Watch this;
th-cam.com/video/QFolduYa-vY/w-d-xo.html
It will bring you to tears...
(It should be titled the Feminist Navy.)
@@unitedwestand5100 Why in the first link is a video of the world's worst navy?
@@Trek001 ,. You're a funny man!
That's choreographed Magic.
Watch the second one.
Please dont cry....
Esp when the cook does her weapons training. (As an ex grunt, I wanted to smack her and take that weapon away before she hurt herself.)
You might get excited when the 3 sailors go on their wet t-shirt run thru the sprinklers. Are you over 18? Lol
And by all means, dont miss the propaganda TV show..
We won't talk about the propellor falling off....
I thought it was a bit later, I saw an Oppo and I don't think he'd joined by then. They would have been slaughtered for goffering the helo spinning up on deck.
It was about March ish 88, just a few weeks after i joined her.
13:52 Iran’s revolutionary guard. Same shit different day.
Great film, but 88/89 though.
Beckett was my MEO on the plymouth 1978....he was very unpleasant and not at all popular with the troops.
How come British keep talking like they're on a meeting room talking calmly even if there are like 3 missiles coming towards the ship.
"Captain, we have incoming fire, 3 enemy planes 5 miles away"
"sigh... how inconvenient. Engage with small arms fire when they come in range"
[sips a hot steaming cup of tea]
P. I.-( Sion ) member of united nation mission
Ed C. God Missioner Gen.35:11 G.C.G. From:
Taguig Global City, Elders Building, N. S. Village.
🇺🇸🏴🇹🇨🇹🇴🇻🇳🇼🇫🇪🇭🇸🇰🇿🇦🇧🇱🇰🇷🇨🇭🇵🇲🇸🇽🇸🇽🇸🇽🇸🇽🇸🇽
War is always bad new
Ah F.O.S.T the armchair Admirals and senior officers, Never done it but read the books
A