The Last Commission:

Athens & On Passage

27 October to 6 November 1978

Over night we continued our passage to Athens and by mid forenoon of the 27^th October we anchored in Phaleron Bay to the east of Piraeus to begin a six day visit to Athens. For the majority this was the first visit to Greece and they were eagerly looking forward to seeing some of the famous historical sights and ruins within the Athens area. Once again we were subjected to a boats routine but this did not deter those wanting to go ashore.

As usual there were quite a number of official functions and the small British Community in Athens helped to make our stay enjoyable. Many invitations were received by the ship for sightseeing tours and evenings at Tavernas, and all this hospitality was gratefully accepted. Detours also arranged worthwhile tours away from Athens and these to were popular. The tour to the ruins at Delphi and the one to the Temple at Sounion passed through the countryside of rural Greece which left a lot of us with the intention of returning to the country in the future. Some preferred a little more sea time and went on a cruise of some of the Greek Islands including visits to Poros, Hydra and Aegina. No matter which tour one did, on completion one knew more about Greek history and mythology than at the start.

Athens itself was a sightseeing paradise with much to see and to do for those interested in ruined and historical buildings, and one of the best ways of seeing them was by foot. The number one on most lists was the Acropolis and few were disappointed with what remains of this well known landmark. The ruined temples, gateways and theatres were a constant reminder of the former greatness of the city. Another popular, but not as old, area was the Monastirahi or Flea Market, where many “rabbits” were purchased after sessions of bartering. The small shops selling various articles from pottery to rugs and from brass wares to antiques were often crowded with ARK ROYALS and there must be a few people on board who did not barter for a Greek Urn.

Athens, the home of the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, provided the ship with a fairly busy sports programme. Besides many inter-part games, there was quite a lot of local opposition eager to test their skills against the ship’s teams in soccer, hockey, golf, basketball, rugby and sailing. However the highlight was  probably the Marathon Race on Wednesday 1^st November over part of the 1896 course. Eighteen runners from the ship set off from the Official Olympic starting line in the village of Marathon, ran half way towards Athens, turned round and returned to Marathon again. Nine runners successfully completed the 26 miles 385 yards course and as expected CPO Joe Clare came in first in a time of 2 hr 48 min 55 secs. The eighteen must be commended for their effort and the run raised £885 for various charities. All runners completed at least half the course and six of the finishers were from 4Ro, Chief Petty Officers Mess.

By the time it was ready to depart, our visitors, including FOCAS, had left and in their place we welcomed six members of the Committee of Lloyds led by their Ex Chairman, Sir Havelock Hudson. Over the years the Committee has presented the ship many gifts and this was their final farewell to ARK ROYAL with whom they have been associated since the beginning.

During the forenoon of Thursday 2^nd November, we weighed anchor and proceeded from Phaleron Bay and headed south with our trio of RFA’s. A fast passage found the group in our now familiar stomping grounds to the east and southeast of Sicily by the following morning. For the next three days the air group flew many sorties expending their weaponry, operating against the USS SARATOGA for half a day, and dropping Lepus Flares for the benefit of a visiting QAAT’s team, which monitored the flares’ performances as they descended within sight of the ship.

Before leaving Sicily our visitors from Lloyds, who had had a very full and active few days, departed for the UK and we prepared for the ship’s next and penultimate port of call in the Mediterranean

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