HMS Pembroke
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RMAS and the Royal Navy say a final farewell...end of an 164 year partnership

Commanding Officer posted 11.12.07

Lieutenant Commander Simon J Wallace Royal Navy
Lieutenant Commander Simon Wallace was born and educated in the North East of England, before joining the Royal Navy as a Midshipman in September 1989.

Having successfully completed Officer Training at Britannia Royal Naval College he completed specialist Fleet time in HMS Manchester which encompassed Operation Desert Storm (1991). On completion of navigation and Officer of the Watch training, he was appointed to HMS Inverness as the Navigating Officer in 1992. Having qualified as a Fighter Controller (FC) in 1994, he completed a brief appointment in HMS Newcastle prior to joining HMS Exeter in 1995, during which he deployed to the Far East. This was followed by an appointment as the Squadron FC to 801 NAS, during which he returned to the Gulf of Arabia and Far East. A brief appointment as a Naval Recruiting Officer in the West Midlands was conducted between 1999 and 2000 prior to attendance on the Initial Staff Course at Bracknell.

Having qualified as a Principal Warfare Officer (Above Water) in August 2001 he joined HMS Sheffield as the PWO(A) and deployed as the Flagship to the Commander Standing Naval Force Mediterranean. Further specialisation as an Air Warfare Officer in 2003 led him to serve as the Operations Officer in HMS Nottingham, during which he deployed to the Gulf of Oman as carrier guard to HMS Invincible and to the Eastern coast of the USA in company with the FS Charles De Gaulle Carrier Battle Group.

Appointed initially as the Staff Warfare Officer (Above Water Weapons) and latterly as SO2 (Phase 2) to Flag Officer Sea Training in 2006, he spent a rewarding period training RN, NATO and other partnership nation units. Selected for Command he joined HMS Pembroke in November 2007.

HMS Pembroke Returns to Faslane 29.10.07

After a busy month spent checking the safety of the UK’s shipping routes, HMS Pembroke has returned to Faslane to prepare for further training.

Early in October saw HMS Pembroke was in the Devonport naval base, Plymouth, to lend her support to the Staff College Sea Days, alongside other mine-hunters of the squadron. The college sea days are a chance for the wider defence community to gain an understanding of marine warfare; in this case that focussed on the importance of the UK’s sea-lanes, and the effort required to ensure their safety. In particular, HMS Pembroke was proud to host Rear Admiral Neil Morrisetti, the Commandant of Staff College Sea Days.

From Devonport it was straight into the affiliated port of Pembroke for the ship’s company of Pembroke. The town of Pembroke is always a favourite for the ship, and as always the crew were grateful for the chance to reacquaint with the picturesque south Wales coast.

From then on in it was hard work for HMS Pembroke. The rest of the month was spent at sea, searching the sea-bed in great detail to check for mines or unexploded ordnance. Thanks to kinder weather than expected, a great deal of coverage was attained.

During this time several of the ship’s company changed, and a fond farewell was bid to Lt Moss-Ward, AB Hammond and AB Cooke, all off to serve in other RN units from the South Atlantic to Edinburgh.

HMS Pembroke is now looking forward to a Remembrance Day parade in Douglas, Isle of Man, followed by a period as a training ship for other groups within the Royal Navy.

HMS Pembroke to visit Affiliated Port September 2007

HMS Pembroke will pay a visit to her affiliated port of Pembroke Dock in early October, a little over a year since the Ship’s last visit.

The Ship was granted the freedom of the towns of both Pembroke Dock and Pembroke in September of 2006 affording her and her Ship’s Company, ‘The title, privilege, honour and distinction of marching through the streets … on all ceremonial occasions with flags flying, bayonets fixed and drums beating’

Whilst the flags, bayonets and drums will remain firmly onboard, the visit will allow the Ship’s Company to strengthen their affiliation with both towns through a series of functions planned onboard and ashore.

The visit will also allow the Ship to entertain its other affiliates and associated charities, including three Sea Cadet Units; TS Warrior (Pembroke Dock), TS Skirmisher (Fishguard) and TS Harrier (Milford Haven); the Ship’s affiliated Army Regiment, The Welsh Transport Regiment, Royal Logistics Corps; the Royal Navy Benevolent Trust; the Pembroke branch of the Royal Naval Association and Pembroke College, Cambridge University. The Ship will also look forward to hosting her Lady Sponsor, Mrs Stephanie Gretton.

HMS Pembroke remains alongside in her base port of HMNB Clyde, Faslane, preparing to transit south and proceed alongside in HMNB Devonport, Plymouth. The time alongside will see the Ship involved in Staff College Sea Days; HMS Pembroke, along with the Hunt Class Mine Countermeasures Vessel (MCMV), HMS Hurworth, will offer an introduction to Mine Warfare and associated operations to personnel from all three Services undertaking courses at the Joint Staff College (JSC) Shrivenham.

JSC personnel will visit the two Mine Countermeasures vessels within the wider remit of Staff College Sea Days facilitating the students to experience the diversity of the Royal Navy’s capabilities and tasking.

HMS Pembroke will continue her operational tasking following her visit to Pembroke Dock, undertaking a week long period of training at sea alongside other MCMVs, including her sister Ships HMS Shoreham and HMS Bangor.

Final News from the Present Ships Company of HMS Pembroke 25.04.07

After leave and a two week maintenance period the crew has finally reached the end their time with Pembroke the ship. From this Sunday, 29th April, the entire crew of HMS Pembroke will be leaving behind Faslane in exchange for the Gulf where we shall be taking over as the new crew of HMS Ramsey. This is part of the Aintree deployment where all Sandown crew’s will deploy to the gulf region to conduct hot weather training so as to keep a level of knowledge within the squadron for working in such conditions. As part of this operation HMS Pembroke’s crew will be conducting a nine month deployment with the crew of HMS Penzance who will be taking over HMS Blyth. Although this operation has been in existence since October last year this will be the first change over of ships teams. A similar swap has just been completed between two destroyers and new and imaginative ways to employ our people will be common place in the years to come.

All further updates of the current HMS Pembroke’s crews activities will now be found on HMS Ramsey's website. This website link will be taken over

HMS Ramsey visits Malta

New Commanding Officer joins HMS Pembroke Posted 11th April 2007

Lieutenant Commander J D Holmes Royal Navy
Jon Holmes was born and educated in Warwickshire and joined the Navy as a Survey Recorder in 1985. Progressing to the rate of Petty Officer Surveyor, he attended Dartmouth Royal Naval College in 1993, followed by the Special Duties Officers’ Greenwich Course later that year.

Officer the Watch time on HMS Beagle was followed by a Local Foreign Service appointment in HMNLS Buyskes, a Dutch Coastal Survey Vessel. During 30 months, he learnt to speak Dutch, managed to fulfil 3 separate posts onboard the same ship and gained a great deal of navigation and hydrographic (H) experience surveying areas such as the busy approaches to Rotterdam.

Return to the UK allowed him to concentrate on H skills. On completion of the Long H Course, he took command of the Navy’s smallest commissioned vessel HMSML Gleaner. During this appointment he was able to trial and achieve approval for the RN’s first shallow water Multi Beam Echo Sounder System.

In 2001 he was appointed as the First Lieutenant in HMS Scott. Average depths of 20m were replaced by 2000m during 2 years that saw successive Indian Ocean deployments and luckily shorter Atlantic Ocean deployments.

A busy but rewarding job as Staff Operations Officer to the Captain Hydrography and Meteorology (HM) began in autumn 2003. Responsibility for HM ship programming in Devonport also allowed him one of those rare times when regular evenings at home were possible.

He took command of HMS Bangor in July 2005 which introduced him to the Mine Warfare world. An enjoyable 19 months included many aspects of mine warfare tasking including a NATO deployment.

Lieutenant Commander Jon Holmes assumed command of HMS Pembroke in Feb 2007.

He lives in Cornwall with his wife and three daughters. Interests include a 5 year cottage renovation project on year 7 and helping to bring up his daughters. Horse riding, running and exercising three energetic dogs fills any time left.

Posted 27th March 2007

Pembroke is currently undergoing a demanding, exciting and interesting training period called Operational Sea Training (OST) in preparation for the Gulf deployment at the end of April.

On returning to Faslane (our home base) the ship has spent two weeks alongside preparing materially and mentally for the coming four and a half weeks of OST. These preparations have included ensuring all equipment is accounted for and in a good working order, all administration is up to date and achieving its purpose. Combined with these checks the ship has been cleaned to the highest standard that has resulted in every member of the Ships Company working hard to ensure the ship is presented at her best. Pembroke then undertook a weeks shake down period, this prepares the ship for the training and ensures that all preparations are on track for the ship to succeed during training. The crew get the opportunity to practice some of the key skills which will be focused on during OST such as main machinery fires, floods, diving emergencies, extensive navigation and seamanship serials.

OST itself is broken down into two parts; Phase One, the general phase and Phase Two the Mine Counter Measures (MCM) phase. Phase one started with a day of basic operational assessments to gauge a starting point for the coming training. A transit out of Faslane within waters through an area of Exercise navigational hazards was conducted. This was followed by a propulsion check (known as a standard manoeuvre). The standard manoeuvre required the ship to increase to maximum speed and alter course to port then starboard at maximum wheel then coming hard astern (a bit like doing a handbrake turn in a car and just as much fun!), this check also ensures the crew have made the right precautions for securing equipment not to move at sea. On completion of the propulsion trial a Man Over Board exercise was undertaken where the crew have to quickly recover the very wet and cold dummy call Fred who had “fallen overboard” again!. Once Fred was recovered the ship returned alongside Faslane after negotiating the confined water of the exercise shoals. Throughout the whole day logs, records and paper work was checked by the OST staff onboard along with a security and cleanliness inspection.

The following two weeks of Phase One saw the ship undertake numerous exercises including helicopter operations, an intelligence gathering exercise, boarding exercise, anchoring the ship, more Man overboard exercises as well as a whole host of fire fighting and damage control serials. These exercises came to a head on the last two days when the ship sailed in company with HMS Penzance while conducting Officer of the Watch manoeuvres (co-ordinated close manoeuvring between ships) which were followed by a replenishment at sea and then a large damage control exercise. After these first two weeks the ships company had worked extremely hard from early in the morning to late at night (some mornings as early as 5am when the OST staff set fire to the ship for more un-alerted exercises). The following Monday a Force Protection Exercise (FPE) was executed where the ship returned alongside to a hostile jetty where the ship was attacked by mobs of protesters and local militant groups all whilst trying to consider many other factors such as local area and media.

The following day saw the start of Phase Two where the ship sailed from Faslane at action stations with the 30mm and GPMGs (the general-purpose machine guns) manned and ready to deal with any problems en-route. The focus now shifts from dealing with peace time emergencies to the war fighting role. The scenario was based on two disputing nations who over the coming weeks will progressively become more aggressive towards each over. Pembroke fitted into the game as part of a task force sent to the area to enforce a fictitious UN resolution and as such gets involved in the thick of the action. So far the ship has operated within Loch Fyne and the Campbeltown area undertaking MCM operations while once more dealing with floods and fires as well persistent attacks from aircraft and surface craft. Despite the intense nature of the training the crew remains enthusiastic determined to prove the abilities of the ship. All this training will prepare the Ships Company for her forthcoming operations and help them realise they will be capable of dealing with a whole manner of situations while deployed.

More to follow on the exercise war and Pembroke’s OST training soon.

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