Navy missile crew
really hit the target
 Last week, the seafarers exceeded expectations again when they handed over a cheque for
£30,000, raised during the Faslane Fair in Helensburgh, which smashed the original target of £17,000.
Salvo
And the sustained salvo didn’t end there as the Royal Navy Armaments Depot at Coulport brought another boost by donating a further £1550.
Situated eight miles from Faslane, the base is best known for storing the Trident weapon system, but it was a weapon of a different kind which provided the inspiration. The Tigerfish Mk24 torpedo was introduced in 1967 during the Cold War and, after 37 years service, the Navy has recently stopped using it.
Ironically, despite the base servicing hundreds of the missiles and extensively developing its thruster and guidance systems, none was ever fired in anger.
Dougie Wylie, the Mk24 manager at Coulport, explained how the end of the Tigerfish proved to be the end of an era — and provided the drive for his staff to help our appeal.
“Coulport is like a family in many respects. When you’re working on one weapon for that amount of time it also becomes part of that family.
“Over the years, the Tigerfish has also ensured that many staff have gone all around the world to oversee its use in exercises.
“When something like that goes out of service after so long, it really is like the end of a long chapter — it’s a lifetime’s work.
“Life goes on and we move on to other projects, but we couldn’t let the Tigerfish retire without making a fuss and raising some cash for a worthy cause at the same time.”
Donations were raised by selling specially-made Mk24 badges to everyone who had worked on the project, a sponsored walk and a special farewell dance.
Dougie added, “The effort to build a second children’s hospice is something a lot of people in the country feel passionately about, and that is certainly the case here as we’re quite close to the site of Robin House.
Harrowing
“Most of us are parents or grandparents and reading about the children of Rachel House in The Sunday Post is desperately sad and often harrowing.
“What startled me was the generosity of our staff and their willingness to contribute. Overall there is a great feeling of pride to be involved in a campaign as vital as The Sunday Post Hospice Challenge.”
Roslyn Neely of Chas enthused, “We’d like to express our sincere thanks to The Royal Navy for their continued and much valued support. Commander Bill Jones, the Faslane Fair Committee and Helensburgh Friends of CHAS have all been brilliant in their efforts and we’re extremely grateful for their hard work.”
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Top, Helen Caldwell of CHAS congratulates 
