The Last Commission

The Silver Jubilee Preparations

20-28June 1977

The ship finally arrived alongside Middle Slip Jetty on the afternoon of Monday 20^th June much to the delight of the Portsmouth natives. The following few days saw final preparations taking place for the Review. The BBC TV brought their equipment on board for live coverage of the Review, and the ship’s company continued to clean and paint.

On Thursday afternoon 23^rd June, Commander-in-Chief Fleet, Admiral Sir Henry Leach, GCB embarked by helicopter from his Headquarters at Northwood. We slipped from our berth as the Flag Ship of the Fleet, and sailed to our position at Spithead. By means of specially produced souvenir charts, the navigating officer found the spot marked HMS ARK Royal and we dropped our anchor. Here we were to remain, swinging with the tides during the next few days.

As the Fleet Flag Ship, the ship became involved with ceremonials duties on a grand scale. During the build up to the review there were gun salutes, bugle alerts, parading of the Guard and Band, National Anthems as ships of the Royal Navy, Commonwealth and Foreign Navies arrived to take up their positions in the Review lines.

Between all the ceremonial duties the ship managed to rehearse the “Man and Cheer Ship” procedure, especially the “Hooray”, as well as the continual process of cleaning ship so that it would be fit for a Queen. Sunday 26^th was a little more relaxed. During the morning a Jubilee Thanksgiving Service was held in the after end of the Upper Hangar. The service was conducted by The Chaplain of the Fleet and Archdeacon for the Royal Navy, The Venerable B.A. O’Ferrall, assisted by the Principal Chaplain, Church of Scotland and Free Church, The Reverend J. C. Creber and the Principal Roman Catholic Chaplain, The Right Reverend Monsignor F. J. Walmsley.

In the afternoon official receptions took place as well as visits from our own families. They had the opportunity of viewing the lines of ships from the vantage positions of the flight deck. Throughout the weekend hundreds of pleasure craft, fishing vessels and even canoes came to see the ships at anchor. It was a picturesque scene with all the grey hulks of the warships towering above the sightseers.

Monday 27^th was final rehearsal day. We “Manned and cheered ship” again, first by ourselves, and then in the afternoon there was a full Review rehearsal with RFA Engadine acting as HMY Britannia. On completion of the review of the ships, the fly pass by rotary and fixed wing aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm was rehearsed. As it turned out, this was the only occasion that we witnessed the full flypast with the symbolic E+R by the fixed wing aircraft.

From the time we arrived at Spithead and throughout the period we remained, we were inundated with visitors.

Generally they were official calls on C-in-C Fleet, but the press came too with their note books and cameras at the ready, and the radio and local TV boys arrived with their equipment of various shapes and sizes.

Two live television events took place from ARK ROYAL’s flight deck. On the 27^th, Peter Purves of BBC’s Blue Peter programme introduced a special feature and later in the evening, Sunset and the illumination of the Fleet were televised for a BBC programme ‘Silver Jubilee’ introduced by Richard Baker.

Everything was now ready for the big day and we all hoped for good weather.

Ex Ark Captain, Rear Admiral Graham

Ark's first CO, Rear Admiral DRF Cambell, CB, DSC

Update: The two figures, on the edge of the photo above, are Rear Admiral Cambell's  grandsons:   Barnaby then 8, is on the left and , Mark, then 12, is on the right.

[For more on the life & career of the Ark's first CO, Captain Cambell, click here]

Fly Past

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