Some pics for the matelots here.HMS Edinburgh(a type 42 destroyer I think) leaving Edinburgh's Ocean Terminal at Leith this morning.She leaves after a 5 day visit and sails off to be de-commissioned.The Royal Yacht Britannia can be seen in the background on some of the shots.
Alongside the hull of Britannia,on a platform you can just see the band of the Royal Marines who played to see her off.There was also a lone piper who played a lament.
She left at 11.00am and only an hour later most of that cloud had cleared which would have given more light.
EricT
Now at the age where I know I like girls but can't remember why!
She was down here [London] last week with the Mine Hunter Blyth and the Carrier HMS Illustrious for the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic,
Thanks for the Photo's,
Roger.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.
Nice photos those, Eric. I'm surprised there were so few people there and that you could get that close. Anyway, it certainly gave you some good opportunities for composing shots.
Perhaps everybody was down in Portsmouth to see Ark Royal leaving to go to the scrapyard in Turkey
Yes i thought that as well, because when i went up to Gravesend last week to watch HMS Illustrious go down the Thames i could not park as the car parks were full! so i had to walk a bit to get to the riverside,
I thought at the time that it showed that there are quite a lot of people interested in our Senior Service, mind you most of them were like us, Seniors
Cheers,
Roger.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt.
Hi Ian,Roger.There was more people on the balcony of Ocean terminal,just off picture to the right of Britannia(including SWMBO) but I got off the bus a stop earlier to try and get a bit closer.However after walking along the quayside for a while it seemed not be possible.Just then a very pleasant(and attractive) young lady who had brought her children in the car to see the ship,asked me if it was possible to get closer(to the ship before you ask!).I wasn't sure so she took pity on an old geezer and offered me a lift to check.Her eldest son boy who would be about 5 was 'warship mad'.Anyway very quickly we found that we could drive almost to the side of the ship.She and hubby had already brought their boys to see the ship on saturday but it was pouring with rain.
You can just see her and her son on the left in pic2.It was actually a delightful moment and a joy see the boys' excitement to be near the ship. I think that 'Edinburgh' is visiting Liverpool and Portsmouth before being de-commissioned. EricT
Edit.I don't think that the departure was well publicized.We only knew because I heard it briefly mentioned on the local radio news at 9.00 am
Now at the age where I know I like girls but can't remember why!
Nice shots Eric Unusual to see the fwd machine gun manned.. it's not as if they were visiting Liverpool
Edinburgh is a batch 3 Type 42 and the obvious difference (or not) between batch 3 and their predecessors is a stretched front end which gives them better 'sea keeping' characteristics. This tends to make them look a little 'rear heavy' when compared to say, Cardiff or Newcastle (to name but 2) but they're handsome ships nontheless There can't be too many more left these days
Nice to see the yacht in shot too.. another fine looking vessel
Hi Dave,yes I noticed the fwd m/g manned,also the armed marine standing at the blunt end(see,I know my nautical terms).I wondered if it was a precaution precisely because you could get so close to ship at that time.If so it's a sad reflection on our times as the few folks that were there were full of goodwill towards the ship,but of course there's always the possibility of a nutter turning up.I know that I'm inviting some retort to those last few words. EricT
Now at the age where I know I like girls but can't remember why!
TBH Eric, I've never known MG positions manned like that in the UK. It's possible that intel received suggested a specific threat but I find that unlikely. It's likely that the MG's were put there for show and more likely that they weren't loaded
Another thing that I found odd was the mixture of rigs on show (No.1's and No.8's). No.1's is (was) the norm for what's called 'Procedure Alpha' (the boys lined up on deck in best bib and tucker) but I can't recall the deckhands being in 8's (working rig) in my day. Times change though
EricT
Unusual to see the fwd machine gun manned.. it's not as if they were visiting Liverpool 
There can't be too many more left these days 
