"Narvodditiks"

H.M.S NARVIK

FOREIGN SERVICE COMMISION

JANUARY 1958 - APRIL 1959

The Ship steamed 44,444 miles - far enough to take her 20 times around the British Isles.

161 whole days and 90 part days have been spent at sea.

19 different places have been visited - excluding Chatham.

The ship crossed the Equator 14 times, the International Date Line twice and the clocks have been altered 60 times!

If all the money that has been received in pay by the crew had gone to one man, he could have done a luxury world tour, bought 3 Rolls Royce cars, a private yacht, a house in the South of France, and still lived comfortably off the interest of the remainder.

This original document was loaned to us by the family of a sailor on H.M.S Narvik, from his private collection. It is an amazing artifact. Detailing the ship's movements from Jan 1958 until April 1959. A foreword by The Captain - Commander E G Stearns.

Some fantastic comments:

• January 28th 1958 - Gooseberry Jam for tea

• January 29th 1958 - Fishpaste for tea

• March 16th 1958 - Arrived Chrismas Island: Relieved H.M.S Messina of her duties and our feelings with about a ton of potatoes

• March 17th 1958 - 100th tin of fishpaste for tea

• April 16th - 20th 1958 - Medical mission to Washington Island (jabs for the natives)

• April 28th 1958 - 1st nuclear test. Embarked 360 Gilbertese

• May 24th 1958 - "Narvik Holiday Camp" opened at Poland Village

• July 5th 1958 - 250th tin of Gooseberry Jam for tea

• August 5th 1958 - Sighted ship at sea - Jap. fishing boat

• August 22nd 1958 - 2nd nuclear test

• August 30th 1958 - Cray fishing (Catch of 84)

• September 2nd 1958 - 3rd bomb

• September 4th 1958 - Cray fishing (Catch of 56)

• September 11th 1958 - 4th bang

• September 23rd 1958 - Cray fishing (Catch of 53)

It is interesting how much fishing was done after each test.

Beautiful artwork shows 'The Meanderings of an LST from January 27th, 1958 - April 6th, 1959'

The Mission continues:

• October 13th - 15th 1958 - Mercy mission to Jarvis Island to aid I.G.Y operator at request of American Yacht Fiesta.

• October 24th 1958 - Rakahanga and Manihik to embark passengers. Supply Officer sold his trousers for 3 pearls.

• October 31st 1958 - Rarotonga withdrawals - under protest!

• November 2nd 1958 - Crossed International Date Line. (2 days' pay: 1 day's work)

• November 8th 1958 - Commenced New Zealand Action: Arrive Napier: "Nightclub Narvik" opened

• December 8th 1958 - Blood doning. Ratings appear on T.V. fashion parade.

• December 19th 1958 - Ship's Company Dance

• December 22nd 1958 - Winifred Atwell gave recital onboard.

• January 10th - 12th 1959 - Suva-Fiji ... concluded invasion. "Nightclub Narvik" closed

• January 12th 1959 - Recrossed International Date Line. (2 days' pay: 1 day's work)

• January 17th 1959 - 1,000th tin of fishpaste opened. (Chief Pusser spliced Gooseberry Jam to celebrate)

• January 20th 1959 - Arrived Christmas Island

• January 22nd - 27th 1959 - Malden, 5th and final trip. Withdrawal operation - swimming practice for L.C.M.s crews

• February 12th 1959 - Sailed for the UK

• March 4th 1959 - Arrived Port Rodman one day earlier: boiler burst with the effort

• March 11th 1959 - Transit Panama Canal

• March 31st 1959 - Supply of fishpaste expires - Jam still going strong

• April 6th 1959 - Arrived Chatham

This image shows their journey:

Some fascinating facts about the trip:

• Enough money has been repaid in Income Tax to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for him to throw 3 or 4 decent sized banquets - or feed the Narvik's ships company for over 6 months.

• If the amount repaid to Her Majesty for being adrift or inebriated had been used on a 'run' ashore, we could have had 1,500 pints of beer, 1,000 rum and cokes, a tip-top meal, had a taxi both ways and given the driver the tip of his life.

• On the average, £4 per week per man has been allotted home.

• If all the cigarettes that have been smoked onboard were laid end to end they would reach from Chatham to London and back to London again. If all the ice creams were laid beside the cigarettes ... it would be a waste of ice cream.

• We have seen 188 main feature films at 564 performances with no extra charge for upside-down-scope, back-to-front scope, or even the ever-popular breakdown-halfway-through-scope.

• 94 beards, 3 chin straps, 2 tufts and 834 whiskers have been grown. 9 beards remain.

• 393,000 cups of tea and 56,000 cups of coffee have been drunk.

• Enough paint has been used on the ship to paint 7 houses, 2 blocks of flats (inside and out), 14 greenhouses, 3 dogs kennels and a wheelbarrow.

• The average member of the crew has eaten about 8 times his own weight in potatoes, over twice his own weight in bread, drunk over 500 cans of beer (onboard) and 14 gallons of grog.

• If all the letters written onboard had been the work of one man, he would have been employed non-stop for 3 years, used 375 bottles of ink - and had no time to read the replies.

• If there is a worse football team than Arsenal then it must be Brighton

• Will the person who has the missing 350 forks, 600 knives, 750 spoons, 560 soup bowls, and 960 cups, please report to the Supply officer, who will then let him have the balance to make up the set.

Conclusion

After 161 whole days and 90 part days, 44,444 miles and 19 different places visited. Commander Eric G Stearns sums it up:

"Each quarter I have written a Report of the Proceedings which is sent to the Admiralty and I concluded my first report with the words, "This commission is an adventure to the majority," without fully realising just how prophetic those words were.

The experience of hauling a shark inboard is as unique as that of witnessing three Nuclear Explosions, or visiting Rarotonga, or drinking fresh coconut milk, or flying to Hawaii, or Christmas morning in the Blue Dolphin, or swinging from the end of an L.C.M steadying line, or the many friendships we have made in the many places we have visited, or being inspected by an Air Vice Marshal, or working with the Royal Air Force, the Army, the Royal Marines, the Scientific Services and Civilians, the Merchant Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliaries - all at one and the same time.

So when we are feeling bored in the future or think we are being overworked, take out this "Report of Meanderings" and remember our adventure!

Good Luck.

Thank you to Alison Walker for this unique piece of history, and for entrusting LABRATS to ensure that this artifact is shown to the world. Further images from Alison's father, Gordon Lowe will soon follow, which give a very personal insight into the journey of the Narvik.

Even after 161 full days, 90 part days, four nuclear explosions, the British still had a sense of humour.