Communicators Nightmare Sunset and Colours

[Jack McHammocklashing]

Just how many communicators, got in the rattle due to Sunset and Colours

Ceremonial every day but at a different time, and the things that happend

Sat in messdeck all decked out in rig chatting, face aft colours OH sh"1 missed it
Arrived late for Colours = trooped
Arrived late for Sunset = trooped

Evening Sunset, dark grey day throwing it down with rain, chuck a burbs over half blues, and attend, Five minutes to Sunset Sir
Rain stops,
Off burberrys, out of the rig of the day full 2's = trooped

The best of them all, Colours Kobe Japan, all dusters pre hoisted ready to break, marine band , guests assembled
Colours Sir, break flag and the RED ENSIGN Fluters in the breeze barsteward buntings stiched me up = Super trooped

I reckon it was a scam to reduce comms wage bill

Jack McHammocklashing

[herakles]

Welcome to the Forum Jack. We hope you enjoy your stay here and continue making posts as interesting as this one!

[tonclass]

Missed 'Sunset' in Gib in '86, thanks to a gash relief !! (He didn't wake me up, as specifically requested to do so) Ended up with 7 days '10's as a result !!, and the 'Jimmy' knew it was my first time there......... So he made an example of me !!!!!!!!
Will never forget that, as I'd made plans to do allsorts there.
'Gutted'
Rik
(never a Communicator, but always a Scabby Ab (A/B MW)

[herakles]

My greatest fear was to ensure that the flag came down so that at the end of the bugle call it was in my hands. (Different service chaps!)

7 Days CB? How many of them did I receive?

[Robert McDougall]

HMNZS Inverell alongside on morning watch, piped colour party to muster. As the Quartermaster did the Jack. Got bollocked for being out of rig of day, still had my sub jersey and jacket on should have been no 2s. Then the OOD carpeted me to the Jimmy, for not informing him 15 mins before colours. Since it was the Jimmy who was OOD got told off as, I pleaded ignorance to the need to tell him personally, not in the standing orders. The Jimmy was a good bloke anyway. Not bad for a stoker.

[fearless_rs]

Christmas Day 1977, HMS Mohawk, Adelaide, South Australia. ICW Rhyl.
Duty Sparker with Bunting Oppo on XMas Eve.

Took advantage of two returning drunks into doing a sub.

Went ashore. Big blank until getting ones act together in Taxi and realising that we are responsible for opening the Navy. Arrive back at ship 0750, clean into No10s with Sandels. Steam up to Signal Deck with seconds to spare.

Hoisted PREP at 0755 and made it a suitably moving ceremony with BM on Jack and Bunts on Ensign.

Retired to mess to get ready for Grippo to pick up at 0900. Was greeted with large bottle of ice cold Aussie beer on arrival. Great day.

I could put it away in those days !!

[siggy63]

G'Day All

Colours - HMS Boxer - Guzz Dockyard - Dress Ship Overall.

Yeoman takes position on the flight deck along with colour party
1 Bunting on the Jack Staff - all going great.

Clear mess of Communicators to assist on signaldeck in hoisting dressing lines and use baby Sparkers to climb around upper deck to clear snags.

All going fine

Five minutes to colours
1 minute to colours
Colours Sir
Up goes the Ensign, up goes the Jack
Finally up go the dressing lines................. HEAVE, HEAVE

Enter loud cracking sound! "What the F**k is that?"

Of course its the sound of the Ensign Staff snapping in the middle
Down comes the Ensign, down comes the aft dressing line

"LRO Flight Deck at the rush"..............

Opps

[Mr Woo]

Elsinore, Denmark – Late 60’s.
Tied up alongside the town centre at sunset, a large crowd gathers on the shore, sunset is piped, I begin to pull down the ensign and it won’t move, I pull harder but it is stuck solid – What do I do – I shinned up the Ensign Staff, cleared the halyard slid down and lowered the ensign in double quick time. A loud cheer from the crowd followed by rapturous applause. I thought, Well you are really in the rattle now old son.
Red faced I made my way back to the mess waiting for the pipe to report to the OOD at the double, it never came and no one ever mentioned the incident. I think everyone was watching the crowd on shore and did not notice my mishap.

[Scratcher]

Whilst on Submarine Artful alongside in HMS Dolphin, we had been loading Torpedo's all night in the middle of winter,we left the Stokers to do Colours whilst all the Seamen went to breakfast and a warm.As we walked back along the Jetty from the dining hall we saw, to our dismay that the Ensign was on the Jack Staff,and yes you've guessed, the Jack was up the Ensign Staff.They were changed round with great haste,nobody even noticed.We never asked the Stokers to do Colours again.Maybe that was their intention.

[CYLLA]

H.m.s Arlingham, along side coaling island .
DUTY WATCH .......2 of us ..scabby A/Bs
Sun Set .....we had to follow H.M.S ROOKE who followed the tower in the dockyard,...... ...it was some thing we didnt get dressed up for , being half blues...out of the mess deck in our No 8,s only.
It was only at time,s when the captain was on board you , that you had the correct gear on ........
I had the odd time i had my fishing line over the side , and the bell on the rod started to ring like hell, and there was nowt you could do , .....

cylla

[siggy63]

Here's another one, just to show that whatever the RN can do the RFA can follow along smartly.

1984 - HMS Active, West Indies Guardship.
RO1(T) Siggers part of Ceremonial Sunset Party in front of local bigwigs from various Government Offices etc.. Sunset Party looking V.Smart in best tropical rig and bulled Boots.

A few hundred yards from us is a RFA

Sunset, Pipes whistle, orders barked and Ensign smartly comes down, no snags or hic-cups excellent. I turn round to report Sunset complete and Yeoman is turning a deep shade of red!

Why? well on the flight deck of the RFA the duty RO is hauling down the Blue Ensign dressed only in a very short towel and flip flops and waving at us!! he then lit a fag, scratched himself and wandered off to complete his duty! we smartly marched off trying to hold back very loud giggles.

[Scurs]

You couldn't beat CinC's Yacht for ceremonial.....every damn place we went was "full ceremonial" for colours & sunset, complete with Guard & Band!
As sunset (for example) commenced, the band duly played the National Anthem, followed by the National Anthem of whatever country we was in, followed by that national Anthem(s) of other warships in port..............this could take some considerable time, in fact there were times when I thought that if they don't hurry up it will be time for colours tomorrow! :D

Could never understand, why, at Whale Island, it fell to the Duty GOW to act as Bunting and lower the flag at sunset............but fall it did!:confused:

[fearless_rs]

Our RFA Signalman friends, a lot of whom are ex RN get an hours overtime for turning up at sunset. I remember being parked behind the Aircraft Carrier ARGUS as she is sometimes less affectionly known in Pompey.
At 5 minutes to sunset, a figure emerged from the superstructure got on his bike and cycled down the flight deck where he stayed on the bike while
he pulled the ensign down. He then turned the bike round and cycled back.

[whomesir]

HMS Mercury sometime in the 60's when the Nigerian Navy communicators were there undergoing instruction. One of their shining lights - and a great footballer - was a killick bunting named Otihotio - so, in true Pussers fashion was known as LTO Otihotio (try saying that after a pair of wets)
Anyway - he was duty watch and sunset party to boot. OOD was Banjo Best - any Guzz communicator of the period could tell you stories !!!
Five minutes to Sunset - Ottie and his band of brothers standing outside the OOW gaff - out comes Banjo - bellows "What are you idle bunch of %$£"& doing ?" Ottie keeping a dead straight face replies " Colour party Sir"
Banjo was about to troop him for due extraction of urine when duty RPO explained................Banjo muttering "Don't know what this mob is coming too, etc etc etc. Retired shortly afterwards and the last I heard was a Postman somewhere near Tiverton.

[harry.gibbon]

Mick Whomesir.. re Nigerians at Mercs ... wasn't one of them a tribal chief back home or had a 'royal' connection; and would occasionally get a stropp on and refuse to carry out commands/instructions. (wearing gloves of course).

Little h

[fearless_rs]

The Killick Bunting on the Abdiel must have had a rush of something to the
head or thought he was back on the Invincible

Colours Prep at the dip......

"Attention on Flight and Weather decks. Face aft and salute. Colours"

[Jackaroo]

PMSL at these Bunting Tossers Dits:D:D

Cheers
Jack :cool: