Chris "Happy" DAY
84 - 87
"Happy" was a killick Greenie - LWEM 84 - 87 in the Close Range Weapons team and another of the lucky few who cracked Global 86. Among the highlights of his time onboard was playing New Zealand at Rugby in Perth - the antipodean one - and getting well and truly stuffed by the Kiwis on the pitch, and proving in the bar afterwards that there is more to Rugby than passing an odd-shaped ball!!! Chris lives in Hull, and works for Pusser (UK) Limited as a recruiter.
Jonathan "Happy" DAY
94 - 95
"Happy" was a Pinky faggot and mattress tester onboard 94 -95 which included a Gulf Patrol. Highlights of his time onboard included a beach party in Rhodes, and he was another witness to the torpedo trials in Singers. Left the mob in 95 and is now residing in Bedfordshire (pinkies cannot get away from Beds!) with wife Samantha and son Thomas.
Alan DENHAM
(Valerie)
Jim DENNESS
Joined 7th January 2011 (234)
Stephen "Paddy" DERWIN
86 - 88
Paddy Derwin joined "Ships R Us" at Ganges in 74 as a young sender of signals and in a 14 year career with the Pusser he drank coffee in the MCOs of Rhyl, Brighton and ye olde Rusty B, where he particularly enjoyed being detailed for Stores Party as the Stores Chief, was without doubt, an extremely fine fellow! Drafts to Hubberston and Napoli followed before he hit the jackpot with a draft to the Mighty Manch....and Global 86!! (Editorial note:- The b@stards are everywhere!) He fondly recalls a pacific island where he danced the hula hula in a grass skirt, whilst displaying his coconuts to an enthralled audience!, the delights of Singapore, and the sods opera in the Med. Outside since 88, he subsequently joined Avon and Somerset Police, where in a longer career, he managed to get and keep three stripes on his uniform, which is three more than he managed in the mob! Now working as a civvy with the Old Bill - ironically at a location known for it's world wide communicators - Portishead - Paddy learned about the 2nd HMS Manchester Association from surfing the web, and all about crime from visiting Scousers! He promises to bring a host of global dits to the next re-union! Joined 13th November 2009 (209).
Archie DICKIE
89 - 91
Archie Dickie was the Master at Arms onboard the Mighty Manch (1989 - 91) where he also enjoyed the printable sobriquets of Joss, Jossman and Jaunty to name but a few and a whole host of other less complimentary titles that is the lot of any ships "Chief of Police"!! A dour Scot - his words not mine - (I'm not that brave!) he swooped and trooped onboard Victorious, Fearless, Niaid, Achilles, Jupiter and Fife before joining the law abiding boys on D95! Another who enjoyed Penang - evidently it sounds similar to the noise a cell door makes when closing - Archie is a big Glasgow Rangers supporter and is looking towards attending our next re-union - if only to conclude a few cold case files!! Archie, who retired from Pusser UK Limited at the turn of the century, now works for an infamous electrical supplier and lives with his partner Mavis, within shore patrolling distance of the J. Edgar Dyson building (i.e. the old Reg School) in HMS Excellent! (This statement consists of just one page, honest Guv! Ed). Joined 15th November 2007.
John DIXON
(Janine)
Gary "Duds" DUDLEY
Craig "Crash" EVANS
90 - 92
"Crash" Evans joined Pusser UK Limited for a nocturnal lifestyle in the gloom room and dormitories of Dark Royal, York and Invincibubble before Drafty saw the light and rewarded our hero with a draft to a real warship - the Mighty Manch, before Crash concluded his nine year wave topping career. A member of that infamous messdeck which included Joe Cocker, Tom Petty, Steve Mourby and Skid Wroe to name but a few, Crash was quick to nominate Singapore as his best run ashore, but could not remember why!! Fortunately, informed sources were able to shed light on a run ashore featuring Crash, two anonymous oppos, and a tri-shaw plus driver at said location. After a leisurely preamble from bar to bar in true colonial style, our ocean going ambassadors decided on a visit to a certain very famous hotel synonymous with fund raising tickets. Unfortunately, and this is the sad part of the dit, the word hotel was lost in translation and our trio found themselves at a somewhere less salubrious establishment featuring a red light and ladies wearing a smile and not a lot else! Not wanting to disappoint the local population or damage their own reputations, cock tales were soon the order of the day...allegedly! Now fully recovered from the various rides our hero embarked on that night, Crash is a Civil Engineer with interests in martial arts, and reminiscent of his exploits in the far flung - fly fishing too! Crash heard about the 2nd HMS Manchester Association from a guy he met in a pub. We heard all about Crash from.....that would be telling! Joined 20th June 2009 (203).
Jon "Jonny E" EVANS
Joined 25th February 2011 (240)
Mick FARROW
March 86 - April 87
Mick was another holiday maker who travelled 3Q (Stoker) class as an LMEA on Global 86 (pause for yawn!) until such time as his social and professional skills had developed and he made it into the PO's Mess!! During the fourteen months he was onboard, he particularly recalls sitting at a beach bar in Tonga surrounded by wild boars - the four legged variety - watching the 'Mighty Manch' sail out to sea due to an incoming storm (you really know your worth when the ship pxsses off without you!!). He also remembers meeting up with a street fighter called Fijian Joe (you'll never guess where!), who was offering appendage operations which involved the insertion of pearls!!, and Yorkie Frain swimming back to the ship in an area known to be frequented by Australian salt water crocodiles!!! (Yorkie was of course perfectly safe, no self respecting "salty" was going to gobble up a dit spinning Global 86 sailor...that would be just too much to stomach!!). Mick also informs us that he got married one week before Global 86 and nearly divorced one week after!!! It was a good trip then?! Joined 23rd June 2007.
J J FIAHLO
81 - 87
J.J. Fiahlo - Jervis to his intimate friends - joined Pusser UK Limited in the late 70's, and not wanting to be bothered with the rigours of working his way up to killick and beyond, he joined as a Direct Entry Tiff, and had to endure a whole 3 months as a killick before achieving automatic senior rate status! It was during this time that he quickly grasped that a Direct Entry Tiff is in fact the lowest form of life on the planet - standfast those creatures at the bottom of the Marianas Trench - However, in an act of kindness, Drafty then sent him to the Mighty Manch in build, a draft he enjoyed so much that he stayed till 1987, which makes him yet another Global 86 dit spinning specialist!! (Pause for yawn!) Furthermore, by this time, J.J. was an accomplished wearer of fancy dress and was often seen masquerading as a proper Chief Petty Officer! (Any doubts readers may have that the author of this dit may in fact be a retired B Thirteeneeny should now have evaporated!!) In a pensionable career J.J. played games on Achilles, Southampton, Chatham (4 years), Somerset (3 years) and Albion (another 3), proving, if nothing else, that he wasn't exactly ship shy! Among his nautical memories were Fiji, Tonga and Sydney (1986 naturally!) and also the realisation that he didn't like the sight of blood - particularly his own! Outside since 2006, and wanting a total career change, J.J. trained to be a paramedic, so if any 2nd HMS Manchester Association member cops an unfortunate one in the West Country your trauma could be further enhanced by the arrival of J.J....!! If proof be needed that he hasn't fully grasped all the rudiments of first aid, guess who was scrambling around bumming paracetamol the morning after the last Re-union? Yep J.J!! J.J. heard about the 2nd HMS Manchester Association from Whisky Haigh, and brain pains from Stella Artois! Joined 20th June 2009 (204).
Steve "Fletch" FLETCHER
86 - 88
Steve "Fletch" Fletcher was a gallivanting gourmet and cruising cuisine consultant onboard the Mighty Manch during the period of the world cruise (1986 in case you have forgotten!) and beyond! Not surprisingly, Fletch's most memorable run ashore was far flung Sydney, Australia, where he managed to get himself an invite to a chicken farm!! The experience greatly enhanced his social skills and he is now able to detect a firm breasted bird ready for plucking by touch and smell alone! Having been a galley slave onboard Intrepid, Invincible, Southampton, Exeter, Brazen and Jupiter, Fletch was pensioned off from Pusser UK Ltd., in 2001, and sidestepping KFC, found employment at his favourite football club - West Ham United - catering for those who insist on feasting on small edible marine decapod crustaceans! Yep, he feeds the prawn sandwich brigade! Promotion was swift for Fletch if not West Ham United, and he was subsequently drafted to Tottenham Hotspur - bigger prawns there by all accounts! - before accepting a position at a large unnamed sporting venue adjacent to Wembley Park tube station! Fletch heard about the Association from Pete Burnett, and about Prawns from Iceland!! Joined 19th February 2008.
Colin FORTUNE
82 - 85
Colin Fortune was the CWEM(O) on the Mighty Manch for the first commish, having maintained the cannons etc., onboard Hermes - where he admits to being a first class OD - Antrim, Insipid, Maidstone, the Gay Chi (HMS Chichester - it wasn't legal then!) Torquack and Phoebe to name but a few!! Among Colin's claims to fame on the Mighty Manch was his vast collection of really corny jokes - worse than this website by all accounts - and talking of accounts - (he was the Armament Accountant) - he once famously had one more seadart on charge in his ledger than in the seadart magazine!! - oops where did that one go?!! Long retired from Pusser UK Ltd - Colin lives in the West Country and is a Technical Services Officer at BRNC. He is naturally very proud that one of his daughters - Miss Fortune - (sorry mate) is off to join a university. He learned about the Association from browsing the web. Joined 1st July 2008
Barny FOSTER
Steve FOUND
82 - 85
Steve Found joined the Pusser in October 74 as a greenie and auxiliary counterpane consultant, and soon found himself a member of the famous Fountain Lake Air Defence Squadron - the exclusive role of the County Class GMD - which he enjoyed whilst on Glamorgan, Antrim and Norfolk before the Mighty Manch called for him in '82. A First Commissioner (Aft 909 and RMO) he considers his most notable achievement during the Falklands deployment was to hang on to his rate while being beer bosun in the greenies mess. He attributes this to good management, good fortune and a good set of duplicate fridge keys! Interestingly, Steve's most memorable run ashore as a matelot was Shanghai... except when pressed for more detail he couldn't actually remember which ship he was on at the time!!! (anyone remembering Steve in Shanghai please contact the Association soonest!) Leaving the Pusser in '96 in a superb cost saving redundancy initiative - having just cracked his Tiffy's course - he remains entranced by red green and yellow indicator lights and is now a Traffic Signals Engineer for West Sussex CC. Steve heard about the Association from Martyn Banner. Joined 15th June 2008.
Alan "Connie" FRANCIS
(Sue)
