_____________________________________________________________________________ \\\\\___H.M.S. FIJI ASSOCIATION___\"-._ /////~~~ we will remember them ~~~/.-' _____________________________________________________________________________ MAY 2005 UPDATE *Please scroll down for information about an interesting HMS fIJI item will be on Summer display at the Portsmouth D-Day Museum _____________________________________________________________________________ TO: HMSFA Visitors: I have recently discovered that a Memorial Book is being compiled for all of the Servicemen from Portsmouth who died in the second world war. When I enquired I was surprised to find that my father's name was not included. This omission is about to be rectified. However, I am sure that there are many more Portsmouth men whose names are missing from this memorial book. A memorial fund has also been started in an effort to raise £250,000 required for the building of a memorial. I shall be glad to deal with any enquiries regarding this matter. Ronald Bennett, General Secretary, H.M.S. Fiji Association email: ronald.bennett4@ntlworld.com _____________________________________________________________________________ City plans memorial book for World War Two servicemen _____________________________________________________________________________ Portsmouth council is to set up a memorial book in a bid to name every service man and woman who lived in the city and who died in World War Two. The book will provide information which may appear one day on a permanent stone memorial. The Cenotaph, off the Guildhall Square, at the moment records the names of all the Portsmouth servicemen who died in World War One. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has already given council officers the names and some details of 2,212 Portsmouth service personnel who died. But they accept there must be many more. From today (Fri Feb 14), printed copies of the list of names will go in seven Portsmouth libraries - Central (Guildhall Square), Cosham, Paulsgrove, North End, Carnegie, Beddow and Elm Grove. Visitors can check names, the accuracy of the information and fill in an amendment/addition form if they find details they want to change. People with a registered disability are invited to call the council on (023) 9284 1036 for their suggestions to be researched. Civic management staff will compile an up-to-date list at the end of August will be put into a memorial book which will eventually go on public display, possibly in the Anglican Cathedral in the High Street, Old Portsmouth. Civic Manager Val van der Hoven said: The commission has been tremendously helpful, but by their own admission they know there are gaps in the list of names, and we want to do everything we can to fill them. Council Leader Frank Worley said: In an ideal world, we fully recognise that it would be fitting and desirable to have a permanent memorial to our fallen from 1939-45 just as we do from 1914-18. more follows... _____________________________________________________________________________ Civic Offices Guildhall Square Portsmouth PO1 2AL _____________________________________________________________________________ Page 2 But the last thing we would want to do is to have names engraved in alphabetical order in stone only for there to be some missing which turn up later - something which could cause a lot of distress for families. The fact is that we could still have relatives or survivors coming forward for years once word gets around about what we are doing. We want to avoid a position where we have what amounts to little more than an appendix, and I am sure families would feel the same way. The book may well be present at the Cenotaph on Armistice Day and will be available for people to add names for some time. After a while, we can assess the situation and get a clearer picture of the best and most appropriate way forward. Issued 14/2/03 Mark Wingham Media Unit (023) 9283 4142 _____________________________________________________________________________ Submitted by Ronald Bennett, General Secretary, H.M.S. Fiji Association _____________________________________________________________________________ * NOTE: HMS FIJI CROWN CAP display at the Portsmouth D-Day Museum _____________________________________________________________________________ May 14th, 2005 Dear Mr Myles, I am Military History Officer for Portsmouth Museums & Records Service, and my responsibilities include being curator of the D-Day Museum, Portsmouth. I came across the HMS Fiji Association's website while researching an object that was given to us recently. It is one of Fiji's crown caps (i.e. a crown shaped object from the very top one of of the ship's masts). It was rescued by one of the crew, Edwin Trowbridge, who swam out and recovered it after Fiji had sunk off Crete with her masts still showing above the water. His son gave it to us last year (it was of interest to us because Fiji was a Portsmouth-based ship, and as the city's Museums & Records Service we collect things related to the city). Anyway, it will be on display at the D-Day Museum over the summer, if any of the members of your association want to come and see it. More information about the D-Day Museum can be found at: www.ddaymuseum.co.uk Yours sincerely, Andrew Whitmarsh Military History Officer Portsmouth Museums & Records Service email: andrew.whitmarsh@portsmouthcc.gov.uk websites: www.portsmouthmuseums.co.uk www.ddaymuseum.co.uk - www.southseacastle.co.uk Tel: 023 9282 7261. Fax: 023 9287 5276 City Museum and Records Office, Museum Road, Portsmouth PO1 2LJ, UK. See our website on Europe at War 1914-1945: www.pathsofmemory.net _____________________________________________________________________________ Submitted by Gerry Myles, President, HMSFA _____________________________________________________________________________ UPDATE : MAY 20TH - CROWN CAP FROM HMS FIJI _____________________________________________________________________________ Dear Mr Myles and Mr Bennett, Thank you for your emails. I have attached a *photograph of this object. I think you must be right about it being a truck. The person who gave it to us called it a crown cap, and I assumed that this was what his father had called it. I am glad to have found the naval terminology for it. It is made of metal, and is partly painted but is mostly just bare metal. I'm not sure about the weight, but it is fairly heavy given that the metal is maybe half an inch thick (it is hollow inside, presumably so that it could fit round the top of the mast). It is about six and a half inches in diameter at the base. The story told me by Edwin Trowbridge's son is that after the ship had sunk (I can't remember how long after he said, but my recollection is that it was within the next few days) his father swam out to the ship and removed the truck. He said that the ship's masts were protruding out of the water for some time after she sank, and that allowed his father time to retrieve it. Does that fit with other veterans' memories of the sinking? I would be interested in any other comments that you have. Best wishes, Andrew Whitmarsh Military History Officer Portsmouth Museums & Records Service _____________________________________________________________________________ * Note: To view photograph of CROWN CAP/TRUCK referred to above, please copy and paste the following URL into your browser's Location Box: http://www.angelfire.com/ri/georgev/crowncap.jpg _____________________________________________________________________________ Reprinted under the Fair Use http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.html Doctrine of International Copyright Law ____________________________________________________________________________