Publication:Navy Annual 2005/200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar
BY CAPTAIN RICHARD MENHINICK, CSC, RAN COMMANDING OFFICER HMAS ANZAC
For the last five and a half months, HMAS Anzac has been away from Australian waters and our region conducting a deployment known as NORTHERN TRIDENT 05. Thousands of people from different nations have stepped across the gangway and enjoyed this piece of Australia, all the while enriching us with their cultures and ways of life.
This article is predominantly about one of the key ceremonial events upon which the deployment was planned. That is, the 200th Anniversary celebrations of the Battle of Trafalgar, centring around an International Fleet Review (IFR) in the Solent, off Portsmouth, england in late June 2005. However, I feel it is important to set the context first and briefly outline other events, outcomes, achievements and benefits before describing the IFR itself.
It had been 15 years since a Royal Australian Navy ship had visited Northern europe, the last ship being HMAS Sydney during her 1990 world trip. During this deployment HMAS Anzac had been privileged to visit ports in India, the Mediterranean, europe and Africa, marking many firsts along the way. Needless to say highlights have been many, almost too numerous to list with the Ship's company able to call this the 'trip of a lifetime'. Importantly from a professional perspective, the feedback from countries, foreign military services and Australian overseas missions would also indicate that the advantages of such deployments to the Ship's company, the Navy and the Australian Defence Force (ADF) range across the full spectrum from the diplomatic, to the commercial and the operational. Significantly we have benefited operationally from close interaction with NATO .
Ceremonial commemorations have also featured strongly with two in particular standing out. One was the privilege for the Ship to be underway, close in-shore in ANZAC Cove on the 90th anniversary of the ANZAC landings and for about 95 of the Ship's company, to be ashore at the Dawn Service and following commemoration ceremony at the Lone Pine Memorial. When dawn broke on ANZAC Day, 25 April, those 95 members of HMAS Anzac's Ship's company who were ashore were among the crowd at ANZAC Cove, which gathered to remember the ANZACs who fought on those very shores 90 years ago. Those left onboard the ship sailed the frigate into the Cove at 0300, just 1200 yards from the beach, creating a breathtaking backdrop in the early morning quiet, with her entire silhouette, five-inch gun and two threemetre- high kangaroos all lit up, and had their own poignant Dawn Service aboard.
The Prime Minister, John Howard, said later in the day, "To be at ANZAC Cove on ANZAC Day with HMAS Anzac in the background - well there's nothing that makes you feel more proud to be an Australian."
The second occasion was the presence of Anzac as the Australian representative at the IFR to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and the subsequent International Festival of the Sea (IFOS), both at Portsmouth in the United Kingdom. This article is predominantly about our experiences in the IFR and IFOS celebrations, the link with Australian history being not as apparent as some other events.
In radio and TV interviews with the Australian media, I was asked a few times what was the connection with Australia and the Battle of Trafalgar? Well for most it is certainly not as obvious as, say, Gallipoli, the Battle of the Coral Sea or Kokoda, but in many ways it is just as crucial to Australia as any of these. The battle, of course, occurred in 1805, and in its simplest terms, the violence of it, and the resultant decisiveness of the British victory over the combined fleets of France and Spain, led to the century of sea power dominance by Britain. The 100 years after Trafalgar were the heyday of the British empire. With sea power and sea control came British world domination, not merely militarily, per se, but most importantly economically. Sea control meant control of the world economies and also world trade. In 1805, Australia was a fledgling colony, susceptible to attack from foreign powers, very sparsely populated and largely unexplored. A victory by the combined fleets at Trafalgar or even a stalemate, may have meant that Britain would not have dominated to the degree it subsequently did. The impact on Australia if that were the case makes interesting speculation. However, what is known is that the 100 years of British dominance that followed Trafalgar was the period in which Australia grew in peace and prosperity into the nation it is today. A close and personal historic link with Trafalgar? Perhaps a subject that we as Australians should consider more closely.
So having established a context, what confronted Anzac off Portsmouth in the last week of June and first week of July 2005?
While organised and controlled by the Royal Navy (RN), the review included ships from 37 different countries, as diverse as Russia, France, Spain, Korea, Nigeria, India, Japan, and Serbia. Aside from small craft, tenders, and the like, 176 ships participated in the review. They were all assigned anchorage positions in a 7.5 nautical miles by 1.2 nautical miles area of the Solent (an area of sheltered water between the Isle of Wight and the mainland of england). The breakdown of major ship types included five aircraft carriers, 10 large amphibious ships and 40 destroyers/frigates, not to mention tankers, auxiliaries, corvettes, mine warfare vessels, submarines and countless others. This meant that the Solent was a spectacular sight and you will quickly realise that the available space was fully occupied.
HMAS Anzac approached Portsmouth and the Solent on 23 June 2005, having sailed from a short port visit in Cork, Ireland. Before entering harbour we launched our helicopter to proceed to RAF Odiham in preparation for the helicopter flypast during the Fleet Review. On approaching Portsmouth we fired a 21 gun national salute to HMS Invincible, which was duly returned, and then proceeded alongside at the Naval Base. That first evening an official reception was held on board for 100 guests, at which the Ship's band and guard performed to rousing applause from all participants. Official onboard receptions have become a speciality in HMAS Anzac, the ship having conducted 13 on this deployment, all with the guard and band performing to critical acclaim, with the band's live rendition of national anthems being particularly well received. But, back to the IFR.
One of the highlights for the Ship was the fact that we had been selected as one of six ships to conduct the underway steampast of Her Majesty the Queen during the IFR. The steampast included four British ships, HMAS Anzac and the Canadian ship HMCS Montreal. HMAS Anzac was number two in column.
As part of the whole review we were keen to make the day itself as much of an Australian and family event as we could. We knew from the rehearsal that the spectacle of sailing through about 170 ships was one we would probably never again witness. Hence on 28 June, the day of the IFR, a large group of guests consisting of High Commission staff and families of Ship's company, were embarked by boat. Later that morning, at anchor off Cowes, several media personnel from the BBC, ABC, and Channel 9, were embarked. They were destined to get a unique perspective of the event, shot some excellent file footage and conducted many interviews.
The first stage of the Royal Review involved Her Majesty the Queen sailing in HMS Endurance through two lines of anchored warships. This took about two hours and finished with HMS Endurance anchoring at the head of the lines at the eastern extremity immediately past the aircraft carriers. Our squadron then weighed anchor for our easterly transit which was about seven nautical miles long. On doing so guide's speed was increased to 15, then 17 knots, and the distance between ships was reduced to 300 yards. even having had a look at it in the simulator, the real view, both on the practice day and during the review, was stunning. The squadron timings had been worked out to the second, and HMS Cumberland adjusted her speed over the ground to achieve them perfectly. The final result was the six ships passing HMS Endurance at 300 yard intervals, about 100 yards off at 17 knots, manning and cheering ship as we did so. Those inclined to mental maths will have worked out that at 17 knots, 300 yards takes only 31.5 seconds, so Her Majesty the Queen was presented with about 2 minutes and 40 seconds of nearly continuous cheering. The feat was made even more spectacular by the fact that the weather was not kind with winds over the deck gusting in excess of 45 knots.
In good Australian tradition that evening, at anchor again in St. Helen's Roads, a barbecue was held in the hangar for the Ship's company and guests. The weather conditions were not ideal, with squalls and choppy seas, but it cleared in time for the Son-et-Lumiere which took the form of a re-enactment of the Battle followed by a massive fireworks display. While only the fireworks could be seen from our anchorage, it was a very pleasant sight at the end of a remarkable day. Another significant event, in what was already a day to remember and savour, was the evening at the Royal Reception and Royal Dinner in HMS Invincible, attended also by the then Chief of Navy, VADM Chris Ritchie, AO, RAN and Mrs Ritchie and LEUT Arno Tielens, RAN, my senior officer of the watch. At a special ceremony, LEUT Tielens was presented with the Queen's Medal personally by Her Majesty the Queen in the presence of His Royal Highness the Duke of edinburgh, the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Alan West, KBe, RN, Chief of Navy, Mrs Ritchie, and myself. This was the first time in its 89 year history that this award has been presented by the reigning monarch. During the reception, Her Majesty the Queen commented very favourably on the appearance of the steampast squadron, HMAS Anzac herself and the spectacle the whole event presented.
The whole IFR and IFOS experience was remarkable for HMAS Anzac, even amongst the very full months of NORTHERN TRIDENT. The spectacle of the Fleet Review is difficult to describe; watching the anchorage from St. Helen's Roads at sunset, as the masts of 170 ships were silhouetted was stirring. The experience of steaming through the lines in close formation is one not likely to be repeated in the careers of those involved, nor rivalled for its imagery. Additionally, the successful completion of the Joint Maritime Course exercise was a sure sign of the inherent flexibility of the surface combatant. To leave Hamburg in late May after much industry engagement and many receptions, then spend 12 days in company training for war at sea, only to reset for naval diplomacy 72 hours later, was indicative of the broad spectrum of actions a surface combatant can perform as an element of sea power in support of Australia's maritime strategy.
Roll on the next one!
