HMS CHIDDINGFOLD - Unit Affiliated Ship

The 'Cheery Chid' as she is known throughout the small ship fleet was built by Vosper Thornycroft and was launched by the Ship's Sponsor Lady Anne Kennon in October 1983, formally entering service with the Royal Navy in October 1984.

HMS Chiddingfold's role within the RN

Over a quarter of a million Sea Mines have yet to be accounted for from the Second World War alone. Today mines remain a cheap and plentiful means of denying the use of the Sea; they can be tethered to the seabed or be laid upon it; they can be activate by impact or a variety of other influences. In short, mines continue to present a very real threat to all who use the sea.

The United Kingdom relies on shipments of cargo, food and other resources via the sea. HMS Chiddingfold's primary role as a mine hunter is to keep our sea-lanes open not only for military vessels but also civil vessels. This is accomplished in peacetime by surveying the various sea-lanes and harbours and plotting a detailed map of the seabed, so if the worst should happen we could quickly check that nothing new has appeared within these lanes, and thus quickly allow normal operations to resume. During times of war or conflict we are called on to clear channels for our larger sister units but also allow humanitarian aid into harbours that have been mined.

The process of clearing areas that have been mined is quite a slow process, but with the highly trained team of specialists onboard, areas are cleared as quickly and efficiently as possible. We are able to enter mined areas due to the construction of the ship and also the equipment fitted. The ship is constructed from Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP), with fixtures and fitting made from non-ferrous materials, this keeps our magnetic signature to the bare minimum. Other equipment onboard that produces magnetic fields have degaussing to lower or remove their magnetic field.

Chiddingfold can hunt for mines using its sonar and computer system, if mine like contacts are found then a remote controlled submersible vehicle, called Seafox, is deployed to enable us to view what the contact is. If the contact is a mine an explosive version of Seafox can be used to detonate remotely of the mine. If the mine is required for research then the diving team onboard can be sent away to disarm the mine and recover it onboard.

The other role HMS Chiddingfold can play during peacetime is as a member of the fishery protection squadron. During the time on Fishery protection duties the ship patrols areas around the UK and the Ship's company board vessels fishing within UK waters. During the boarding operation the vessels logs are checked along with its net size and size of fish held within the hold. This ensures that our fish stocks are not depleted due to undersize fish being caught, it also ensures that the vessel and crew are legally allowed to fish within UK waters.

Commanding Officer HMS CHIDDINGFOLD

Lieutenant Commander M G Thompson BA(Hons) PGDip(AN) Royal Navy

HMS GLORY

COLOSSUS Class Light Fleet Aircraft Carrier ordered on 14th March 1942 from Harland and Wolff at Belfast and laid down on 28th August that year. The ship was launched on 27th November 1943 as the13th RN ship to carry the name, introduced in 1747 for a French Prize (GLOIRE) and last used for the Russian cruiser ASKOLD seized in 1918 and returned in 1920.Build was completed on 27 November 1944. The record of 'adoptions' held in the Naval Historical Branch, Ministry of Defence shows the ship to have been associated with the Employees War Appeals Fund, but no other details of date are given.

B a t t l e H o n o u r s

GLORIOUS FIRST OF JUNE 1794 - CALDER'S ACTION 1805 - GUADELOUPE 1810 - MARTINIQUE 1809 - CHINA 1900 - DARDANELLES 1915 - KOREA 1950-53*

(*Awarded for service with UN).

H e r a l d i c D a t a

Badge : On a Field Blue, a demi-lion erased Gold

holding between the paws a sun in splendour

also gold.

M o t t o

Per concordiam Glory : 'Glory through unity'.

D e t a i l s o f W a r Service

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