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First Park Gate Sea Scouts Become First Youth Group Ever To Have Sleepover On WWII Gosport Submarine
| Published: 9th July 2013 11:36 |
If you think things can be a little cramped in a patrol tent, how about squeezing twenty-four cubs and four cub leaders in a WWII-era submarine for the night? That's what the First Park Gate Sea Scouts did when they became the first youth group ever to have a sleepover on a British WWII submarine. Located at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, HMS Alliance is the last remaining British WWII-era submarine in the world. After a twenty-eight year operational career, she became the centrepiece of the museum in Gosport, Hampshire and the official memorial to the 5,300 submariners who have given their lives in service.
Currently undergoing a £7million refurbishment project, HMS Alliance normally held a crew of sixty-five. However, given the limited space on board, each crewmember ‘shared' his bunk, with the submariners swapping over between shifts. Fortunately the cubs didn't need to do this, but it was still pretty cosy nonetheless.
"We wanted to do something different with the pack," explained Roger Marsh, Cub Scout Leader for First Park Gate Sea Scouts. "So we approached the Museum and asked if we could stay on board. Apart from a group of apprentices, they had never done anything like this before, but could see that it offered a great learning opportunity and a way to bring history alive."
After Pack Alert and a safety briefing on the jetty, the cubs were shown to their bunks and then settled down amongst the torpedoes to watch a film, projected onto a white bed sheet - just like the submariners used to do for entertainment. Proceedings were interrupted however, when the cubs were asked to go and help two ‘injured' sailors - ably performed by two Park Gate Sea Scouts. The cubs learnt that getting someone into a recovery position in a confined space isn't quite as easy as doing it in a scout hall.
The cubs also found out what life was like on board from JJ Molloy, an ex-submariner who is now Operations Manager for the Museum. They found out about ‘Silent Running', or stealth mode as it would be called today, when even talking or a dropped spanner could give their position away to the enemy. They also learnt to talk like a submariner - well the clean bits anyway, and the strange names given to everyday meals. ‘Chicken on a raft' anyone?
And then there was the sleeping. Many of the bunks were triple-deckers with very limited headroom. Cat swinging was definitely not an option. But the cubs did brilliantly, despite the strange noises and smells on board - and not just those emanating from the leader's room.
Talking about what it must be like for the crew, Daniel Rohn, aged ten, said, "It was amazing. It must have been quite tiring and boring being on board for a long time, as they had to do the same things every day, but they were very brave."
Amelie Wallace, aged nine, agreed, "It was incredible, the people who worked on there were really brave. I found sleeping on there was quite scary, but to sleep on there for six months!"
Hopefully this experience will be with the cubs for years to come, but most importantly, when they are attending the service on Remembrance Sunday next November, they will have a little more of a connection to those 5,300 submariners who gave their lives on board submarines such as HMS Alliance.
The Royal Navy Museum offers a range of services to youth groups and is open everyday. For more information, visit www.submarine-museum.co.uk
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