Thread: Hey bob10

Are you suggesting that Bob was there?

Originally Posted by V8Ian

Are you suggesting that Bob was there?

Yangtze River played by the Rivers Orwell & Stour in Suffolk.


Richard Todd played himself, on loan from the RAF, 617 Sqn.


Chinese attitude even in 1957 was the same as today ie. Blame everybody else for disrespect etc. Always 100% right. Every other person 100% wrong.

Yes, of course I know about . It was during the Chinese civil war, the Communists were fighting to control the country. The Official Chinese government had moved to Canton, and issued a warning for all foreign ships on the Yangste river that rebel forces were likely to act agressively. The Foreign ships were there primarily to ensure the safety of their citizens, in the event of a government collapse. Not sure what you are getting at. If you are trying to compare that incident with the current trade war., you are wrong. Anyway, this may enlighten you. The First Sea Lord of the Admiralty, Viscount Lord, and his speech in the House Of Lords is interesting.

HMS Amethyst Incident, Yangtze River, China, 1949 (naval-history.net)

Originally Posted by 4bee

Yangtze River played by the Rivers Orwell & Stour in Suffolk.


Richard Todd played himself on loan from the RAF, 615 Sqn.


Chinese attitude even in 1957 was the same as today ie. Blame everybody else for disrespect etc. Always 100% right. Every other person 100% wrong.

Of interest at the time China was politically CCP and Nats.. CCP took Chinese main land and Nats took treasures to Taiwan. Taiwan was the Republic of China and CCP was the Peoples Republic of China. The Cold war on that one is ongoing at some levels despite massive investment in China by Taiwan and a significant number of Taiwanese working in China. The history of goes back a bit more to the Poms forcing opium from India on China as payment for Tea.The bully style beating and poms taking 100 year occupation of Hong Kong must still **** more than a few off?

Suspect the movie portray the poms sentiment very well. Great warry story. More than a bit one eyed and one sided really of course.

Hats off to the senior ERA not wounded , or killed, who kept the engine room running, with help from the PO Stokers. Back in the day we were ERA's, until everything changed. Somehow Marine Technical Propulsion just doesn't cut it.

I take this item next as everything ultimately depended on damage control and refitting and maintenance of all machinery. Amongst the wounded who were evacuated were the Amethyst's engineer officer and chief E.R.A.; in addition the chief stoker was drowned and others were killed, wounded or evacuated. It was a depleted engine room staff that remained, but mercifully the majority were petty officer stoker mechanics backed up with sufficient hands to run machinery. Considerable credit is due to the senior E.R.A. who kept up the efficiency of his department, with the electrical officer in over-all command. It is interesting to note that this E.R.A. had been a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese for three and a half years in Sumatra


From Maritime quest, some good photo's. Good to scroll thru.

MaritimeQuest - HMS Amethyst U-16 / F-116 Page 1

Originally Posted by NavyDiver

Of interest at the time China was politically CCP and Nats.. CCP took Chinese main land and Nats took treasures to Taiwan. Taiwan was the Republic of China and CCP was the Peoples Republic of China. The Cold war on that one is ongoing at some levels despite massive investment in China by Taiwan and a significant number of Taiwanese working in China. The history of goes back a bit more to the Poms forcing opium from India on China as payment for Tea.The bully style beating and poms taking 100 year occupation of Hong Kong must still **** more than a few off?

Suspect the movie portray the poms sentiment very well. Great warry story. More than a bit one eyed and one sided really of course.

Open the link provided and you will have the full story.

Able Seaman Simon, RN ships cat.

Simon was found wandering the dockyards of Hong Kong in March 1948 by 17 year-old Ordinary Seaman George Hickinbottom, a member of the crew of the British frigate HMS Amethyst stationed in the city in the late 1940s. At this stage, it is thought Simon was approximately a year old, and was very undernourished and unwell. Hickinbottom smuggled the cat aboard ship, and Simon soon ingratiated himself with the crew and officers, particularly as he was adept at catching and killing the rats, which infested the lower decks. Simon rapidly gained a reputation for cheekiness, leaving presents of dead rats in sailors' beds and sleeping in the captain's cap.

The crew viewed Simon as a lucky mascot, and when the ship's commander changed later in 1948, the outgoing Ian Griffiths left the cat for his successor Bernard Skinner, who took an immediate liking to the friendly cat. However, Skinner's first mission in command of the Amethyst was to travel up the Yangtze River to Nanking to replace the duty ship there, HMS Consort . Halfway up the river the ship became embroiled in the "Yangtze incident", when Chinese communist gun batteries opened fire on the frigate. One of the first rounds tore through the Captain's cabin, killing Skinner and seriously wounding Simon.

The badly wounded cat crawled on deck, and was rushed to the medical bay, where the ship's surviving medical staff cleaned his burns and removed four pieces of shrapnel from Simon, who was not expected to last the night. He did manage to survive however and returned to his former duties in spite of the dislike he faced from the new captain. Whilst beached in the river the ship had become overrun with rats, and Simon took on the task of removing them with vigour, as well as being used in the sick bay to raise the morale of wounded teenage sailors.

Following the ship's escape from the river, Simon became an instant celebrity, lauded in British and World news and presented with the "Animal VC ", the Dickin Medal as well as a Blue Cross medal, and Amethyst campaign medal and the fanciful rank of "Able Seacat". Thousands of letters were written to him, so much that one of Amethyst officers was detailed solely to answer Simon's post. At every port Amethyst stopped at on its route home, Simon was presented with honour, and a special welcome was made for him at Plymouth in November when the ship returned. Simon was however, like all animals entering the UK, subject to quarantine regulations and spent his time in an animal centre in Surrey.

There Simon contracted a virus and, despite the attentions of medical staff and thousands of well-wishers, passed away on November 28, 1949 from a complication of the viral infection caused by his war wounds. Hundreds, including the entire crew of HMS Amethyst attended his funeral in Ilford in East London, and his gravestone reads:

[

IN MEMORY OF"SIMON"
SERVED IN
H.M.S. AMETHYST
MAY 1948 - SEPTEMBER 1949
AWARDED DICKIN MEDAL
AUGUST 1949
DIED 28TH NOVEMBER 1949.
THROUGHOUT THE YANGTZE INCIDENT
HIS BEHAVIOUR WAS OF THE HIGHEST ORDER

MaritimeQuest - Able Seacat Simon, DM, RN (1947-1949) Page 1[TABLE]

Originally Posted by bob10

Able Seaman Simon, RN ships cat.

Simon was found wandering the dockyards of Hong Kong in March 1948 by 17 year-old Ordinary Seaman George Hickinbottom, a member of the crew of the British frigate HMS Amethyst stationed in the city in the late 1940s. At this stage, it is thought Simon was approximately a year old, and was very undernourished and unwell. Hickinbottom smuggled the cat aboard ship, and Simon soon ingratiated himself with the crew and officers, particularly as he was adept at catching and killing the rats, which infested the lower decks. Simon rapidly gained a reputation for cheekiness, leaving presents of dead rats in sailors' beds and sleeping in the captain's cap.

The crew viewed Simon as a lucky mascot, and when the ship's commander changed later in 1948, the outgoing Ian Griffiths left the cat for his successor Bernard Skinner, who took an immediate liking to the friendly cat. However, Skinner's first mission in command of the Amethyst was to travel up the Yangtze River to Nanking to replace the duty ship there, HMS Consort . Halfway up the river the ship became embroiled in the "Yangtze incident", when Chinese communist gun batteries opened fire on the frigate. One of the first rounds tore through the Captain's cabin, killing Skinner and seriously wounding Simon.

The badly wounded cat crawled on deck, and was rushed to the medical bay, where the ship's surviving medical staff cleaned his burns and removed four pieces of shrapnel from Simon, who was not expected to last the night. He did manage to survive however and returned to his former duties in spite of the dislike he faced from the new captain. Whilst beached in the river the ship had become overrun with rats, and Simon took on the task of removing them with vigour, as well as being used in the sick bay to raise the morale of wounded teenage sailors.

Following the ship's escape from the river, Simon became an instant celebrity, lauded in British and World news and presented with the "Animal VC ", the Dickin Medal as well as a Blue Cross medal, and Amethyst campaign medal and the fanciful rank of "Able Seacat". Thousands of letters were written to him, so much that one of Amethyst officers was detailed solely to answer Simon's post. At every port Amethyst stopped at on its route home, Simon was presented with honour, and a special welcome was made for him at Plymouth in November when the ship returned. Simon was however, like all animals entering the UK, subject to quarantine regulations and spent his time in an animal centre in Surrey.

There Simon contracted a virus and, despite the attentions of medical staff and thousands of well-wishers, passed away on November 28, 1949 from a complication of the viral infection caused by his war wounds. Hundreds, including the entire crew of HMS Amethyst attended his funeral in Ilford in East London, and his gravestone reads:

[

IN MEMORY OF"SIMON"
SERVED IN
H.M.S. AMETHYST
MAY 1948 - SEPTEMBER 1949
AWARDED DICKIN MEDAL
AUGUST 1949
DIED 28TH NOVEMBER 1949.
THROUGHOUT THE YANGTZE INCIDENT
HIS BEHAVIOUR WAS OF THE HIGHEST ORDER

MaritimeQuest - Able Seacat Simon, DM, RN (1947-1949) Page 1[TABLE]

A Super Moggy, that cat.

Watching a doco on the life of the queen tonight & said to 'er indoors "Wouldn't it be a different world today if the Chinese played Cricket & had a Queen the likes of "Lizzie" (I can call her that 'cos Ive known her a long time, not to mention her Dad & Mum & Gran come to that.) I doubt many here can say that.

The Chinese seem to still spout the same dialogue that they did in '57 about losing face, respect etc. Well, their thinking must have been the same as now for it to finish up in the script 63 years ago. "Nothing to see here, move along."