HOME | DD
County1006 — Still the original, still the best
#ark #carrier #devonport #harbor #harbour #hms #navy #plymouth #port #redundant #royal #sailor #ship #uk #warship
Published: 2016-06-17 15:28:44 +0000 UTC; Views: 774; Favourites: 21; Downloads: 0
Redirect to original
Description
I'm referring of course to the well-known BBC TV series 'Sailor', filmed on board HMS Ark Royal in 1976. There may have been some 'fly on the wall' documentaries before this, but to me 'Sailor' will always be the first and foremost, complete with the classic theme made famous by (now Sir) Rod Stewart. Certainly, a number of RN vessels and shore establishments have welcomed the TV cameras since but none in my view are recalled so fondly as this one.Being a TV star, of course, was not enough to save the old girl and this is yet another of my views of her at Devonport in 1980, surrounded by small craft and awaiting the call to the breakers. This duly came a few months later and, by the end of the year, this fine old ship was being cut to pieces.
A couple of fishermen dig for bait in the foreground.
Related content
Comments: 13
Great picture! my father was one of the HongKongese Laundrymen onboard th Ark.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks and I appreciate the fave! Great to hear from someone with a family connection to the Ark. I got on her once at Navy days when I was a youngster.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Still cannot see the value in the way "our" fleet is constructed nowadays - still at least IT has not been contracted out yet....
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Yet! Thanks for faving, nuch appreciated
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Rod must have made a lot of money out of that series, every where you went it was being played. I think it must have been around this time that that the Invincible class were designated as aircraft carriers and not as a "Through deck cruisers".
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Reckon that's right Mick and cheers for faving. I watched the series on DVD again this week and I think the most poignant moment was in the '8 years on' episode when Tom Wilkinson, the Fleet MAA, looked upon the remains of Ark in the scrapyard. He was just about in tears.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
I must admit i cannot remember the scrapyard bit, but i can understand his feelings.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
There wasn't much left of her Mick.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
What a shame she met the scrapyard also... it seems like no ship is immune from it unless something truly amazing happens.
I really love how the fisherman are in the foreground; it rather reminds me of something I'd see in an old magazine.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Thanks for faving and the kind comment. Yes it is sad and there was some pressure to preserve her. However, she was in a very poor state by then and the story was that the wear and tear had almost broken her back so that the two halves of the ship would move in a swell. Whether that is true or just a story to support the scrapping I don't know but she would have cost millions to preserve.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Preservation for a warship costs thousands of dollars. You have to take care of the deck, the guns, and the hull every 2 years or so.
It's still sad for a ship this iconic to go to waste..
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Very true. Thanks for faving
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
