Branch Noticeboard

Town Hall Events Meeting 25th February

Main thrust for the Association was to get a date for the 125th anniversary of both the submarine service and submarine building in Barrow. From our point of view to have a re run of the ‘ Freedom of the Town’ would be the objective. Having looked at the town events calendar and the I guess the mass of logistics being involved, a date of the 3rd/4th October was suggested and the Town Hall has been booked. ( There is a high demand to stage events now the Forum is defunct ) Before I got involved with any nitty gritty or minutiae, I deferred more questions except that it would be up to the council to do the invitation perhaps via FOSM? In the interim I suggested a sub committee be set up to get the ball rolling asap. Main thing for the Town Hall will be financing anything.

Also mentioned my proposal of improving the AE1/AE2 memorial with the front bare earth area to be kerbed with black granite edging enclosing white quartz clippings, and two hi spec 5m flagpoles the , one either side and slightly behind the memorial. These have been costed and application for funds will be made ( Council and BAE), also thinking a couple of benches made by BAE to commemorate the 125th, Holland to Agamemnon ( H& A ) sounds familiar.

Of course , parades/events throughout broadly throughout the year, April St George’s Day, June AFD, July Civic Sunday, Sept Battle of Britain Day, October 125th and Trafalgar Day, November Remembrance Services, plus all the 125th commemorations at various location’s throughout the country ( non programmed for Barrow) !

Posted: Tue 3rd March, 2026

Submarine Association AGM 21-22 March, Liverpool.

It was mentioned by National Secretary there are currently about 106 people attending, and he said there is a good turnout from Barrow. Steve May is attending. If anyone else is attending from our branch, give their names to Steve please.

Posted: Mon 2nd March, 2026

Charity begins at home :)

Steve May asked the question you requested I put to the SAC from Dave Smith, and the response is:

"Branches will NOT be a Charity and therefore will not come under the restrictions of the Charities Commission and will remain to operate as we currently do independently."

Personally, I am not convinced as yet that would be the case; however, at the AGM Craig Fulton (ex-commander and skipper of Sceptre, I think Mark Lister said) will be coming along to brief about becoming a charity, as he is apparently an expert, having done a degree in it after leaving the Mob and has assisted and advised other groups to become charities, so we will see what he has to tell us at the AGM next month.

In addition to the above, the following was mentioned/discussed, and in no particular order:

1. Website hopefully up and running by the AGM but still not as yet.

2. Previous Webmaster has finally passed across the previous website files which includes the membership list but apparently it is all coded so can't be viewed in current form, and currently the company building the new website is decoding all of the files but there is over half a million of them.

3. It was mentioned that it is highly likely subscriptions will have to be reintroduced as it looks like the SA are not going to be receiving funding to cover the memberships in the future. Someone asked how much the SAC believe the new subscriptions should be considering what we used to pay and the length of time we have not paid it for and inflation etc. Andy Knox thought it should be about £30 per year but that was a figure he plucked from the air.

4. Currently only about 450-500 people are registered as "members" and there are 9 Branches that have not responded at all the National Secretary. The difference between database and the website and what is included where and whilst we were on the call Andy Knox looked at Barrow's website and at my details in particular and quoted all of my details which I have requested not to be on the National database so maybe we need to look at our own website as well which I must admit I rarely use and can't remember the last time I logged in and not even sure if I know my password.

5. I mentioned membership application forms, as the National Secretary is clearly having issues getting details of members and whilst he said there are "Branch Members" who can not be "National Members" as National do not hold their details, and said that if fees are to be reintroduced then National will have a better record of who is a member but it has always been the case that we can not be a full member at a Branch without being a member of National as we are collectively the SA. I suggested that maybe the old application form be revised by the SAC and sent out for use by all branches for use and to cover GDPR should have a statement stating details will be included on the National Membership Database and what details will be held on there purely for "membership" uses and a separate section asking individuals if they would like to have their details included on the website. There should be no Full Members of any Branch operating as part of the Submariners Association who are not properly members of the National SA.

6. Chairman mentioned that the company building the website and membership database have been instructed to provide a facility so that those of us who already have membership numbers can continue to use them if we are able to advise what that number is.

The SAC are still very keen to go down the Charity route and Andy Knox in particular is pushing for it stating things like they could claim Gift Aid on Membership Fees which would be classed as a "donation" and also as a Charity they could try to obtain sponsorship from large companies.

Personally, I am still going to take a lot of persuading that Charity Status is the right way to go and I am not convinced the answer given to Dave Smith's question is correct.

Posted: Mon 2nd March, 2026

Photography Project

Greetings from the Isle of Skye - I hope this email finds you well.
My name is Nicholas,

I'm a photographer based on the Western Isles. This year (2026) I've been awarded a Fellowship to develop a series of photographs documenting the landscape and community of Barrow in Furness. The project is intended to look at the relationship between Barrow and submarine manufacturing, and the immense web of people involved in supporting the nuclear deterrent at a time of global instability.

As part of this project, I'd like to include portraits of individuals who have been involved in this rich and important history. I'm particularly interested in how the shipyard penetrates the daily lives of those beyond the BAE walls, and meeting with people who have been involved in the manufacturing & operating of Barrow Built submarines over the years.

I’ve been enjoying the RNSUBS website, and looking through past newsletters for my research. It was here that I found your contact details, I do hope you don’t mind.

I wonder whether it would be possible to speak with you about my project, and see if any members of the BSA may be interested in speaking with me also?
Anyway, lovely to connect and hopefully we can speak more.
All the very best from a (currently) sunny Skye

Nicholas

Nicholas J.R. White
www.nicholasjrwhite.co.uk

Posted: Sun 8th February, 2026

HM SUBMARINES 125 YEARS OF SERVICE

All,

PSB and attached… some important info… a lot of info to digest and disseminate… please ensure it is transmitted far and wide.

The ISA will be great few days with lots planned and the SM 125th Anniversary will be celebrated at all events… reach out, pass on and go for GOLD… Dolphins, that is!

1. RNTM 09-007/25 - HM SUBMARINES 125 YEARS OF SERVICE
2. PPP Feb 2026 - Good reading.

Good Afternoon,

You may not be aware that the George Hotel in Inveraray has recently changed ownership. Following this change, the new owners disposed of every Submarine Crest that had been presented to the hotel over the years. Many of these crests had been on display in the hotel for decades.

All of the crests were consigned to auction in Carlisle. I was alerted at the very last minute and was fortunate to obtain eight of them, including HMS Alliance and HMS Dreadnought. There remain approximately thirty-five crests still to be sold.

The crests are hand-painted on cast metal and mounted on mahogany bases.

The next auction will take place at Thomson Roddick Auction House, Carlisle, on 16th February 2026. The remaining crests will be auctioned in groups of three and at a reduced estimate.

I wanted to pass this information on in case any individuals, associations, or organisations may be interested. I have also attached a list of boats whose crests are expected to be included in the auction.

Edinburgh Congress
Dear Members,

This is for your information:

I am pleased to report that we are doing very well with our preparations for the Congress in Edinburgh. The registration is going well and we are already well over 100 participants so far!! and payments coming
in to support the event.

This brings me to our own GB Association: We will extend the registration period for a bit longer for all the usual latecomers and give everybody a chance to join us in Edinburgh especially Members from our own GB Club!

For those that cannot attend the whole event:

I have attached our leaflet which will inform you of prices for individual days/events should you wish to do so.

You will be free to chose/pick maybe one particular day/event that you fancy. You can either travel from and back home or spent one or two nights in the recommended hotel or find your own accommodation nearby. It is all up to YOU!

You will find all the information on the registration page of our website.

As the ISA GB are the hosts this year we do hope that you will all show your support where you can! and go register for this very prestigious event!! Please do it now and show the rest of the world your support.

See you in Edinburgh!!
Ian 'Stickie' Leach

Secretary for SAC

Posted: Sat 31st January, 2026

Antiques Roadshow

Shipbuilding and Football, sport and industry forged our town's history. And still do today!

'Tell me how you play and I'll tell you who you are'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_h7zKfVqTOY

Come and pay us a visit in the Cross Bar on Saturday April 24th from 10am to 3pm. As well as introducing people to the project and getting feedback there's a whole range of artefacts and proposals to look through as well as the launch of the Barrow 125 website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AkjPQx5Qrw

Barrow 125 is a joint initiative for local schools, The Bluebirds Trust, Barrow AFC, Dock Museum, Barrow AFC Community and local writers and historians.

It aims to celebrate Barrow itself as well as Barrow AFC, and the link between work, leisure and lives 125 years ago, which is also the launch of the Holland- the Royal Navy's first submarine.

Tea and coffee are available and the 'Antiques Roadshow' event has Barrow AFC artefacts from over 100 years ago as well as proposals for a heritage trail which links our town's sport, industry and history.
We'd love to see you there!

Kind Regards,
Steve Herbert
Project Co-ordinator, Headteacher, etc

Posted: Tue 20th January, 2026

Have You Read?

Midget Submarines Canal Zone

The skipper cleared lower deck. 'Right men, this is the position we are in. We have got to get two X Craft plus the Depot Ship through the Canal, negotiating obstacles and hidden dangers to achieve our objective of flying the White Ensign in the centre of Janner Land.'

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