Final Chapter

We were not, however, quite as carefree as we could have wished, for yet another inspection was looming and that an operational one on the day before we were due at Portsmouth.. Still, in the glorious weather of that weeks passage it was difficult to be downhearted and we beavered away at painting and polishing and action drills with a firm resolve to give a good account of ourselves.

22nd May Arrived at Gibraltar for just the weekend, to spend the traditional run ashore to buy the last few rabbits. This done, the ships gunnels now bulging with exotica from our year away, we finally departed Gibraltar on Monday 23rd May, the fifth anniversary of our launching.

Most of the passage was through fog which would have delayed our passage in days gone by, but now in the age of Radar we were not hindered. Our first sight of England, like our last, was Portland in the gathering dusk. We spent the night at anchor in Weymouth Bay and next morning embarked the Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) and, it seemed, his full staff. They gave us a gruelling day of it-I think they were a little envious of our bronzed bodies-but we did our party piece by shooting down a drogue on its first run. We shot this out of the sky before it had been fully discharged by the towing aircraft, the pilot was heard to mutter a few choice words; he didn't do another run! Then there came a moment of light relief when one staff officer handed a lighted thunderflash to another in who's hand it promptly went off, snigger, snigger. The wounded "staffie" was the shown to the Sick Bay, where the doctor refused to believe this wasn't just another exercise and was barely disuaded from sending him away with a good ear-bashing.

By 1700hrs it was all over, and that night we anchored at Spithead.

Friday 27th May on a fine fair morning we weighed anchor and proceeded up-harbour at Portsmouth to berth at South Slip Jetty at 1000hrs, having steamed 49,536 miles in 366 days, paid 50 visits to 36 different places.

Here, with our families flooding on board and the first leave party packing their bags, we must end this tale. Though six months of the commission are still to come, half that time is to be spent refitting and the other half would not yield anything to compare with the rich and varied experiences in out-of-the-way places that been recorded here. By the time we go to sea again -for those last couple of months of the commission-many old stalwarts will have left. So this must be the end of Leopard's First Commission.

CAPTAIN’S MESSAGE
During the commission you have been called upon to carry out many and varied tasks, from saving life at sea to helping to save the lives of natives living in the dense jungle of the Amazon 1,130 miles from the sea, and also in providing Aid to Civil Power.
You have cruised in the jungle of West Africa, round the Cape of Good Hope to within sight of Cape Horn, and carried out sea passages in waters visited by Darwin in the Beagle. Your visits to coral and desert islands in the Indian Ocean have enabled medical aid to be brought to the islanders, and your surveys of these islands will help to improve the lines of communications in these waters. The ship has fulfilled her duty as part of the Operational Fleet in this nuclear age by being ready for immediate action.
In all the countries you have visited you have made many friends and been good ambassadors; above all you have gained a reputation For your understanding of other peoples’ problems, your sense of humour, politeness, your bearing, and for working and playing together as a team, and I have been most honoured and proud to have been your Captain. I hope that you will look back on your time and achievements in Leopard with pride for whatever you have been called upon to do you have always given your best.
In bidding you farewell may I thank you for the support you have always given me and may I wish you and your families good fortune in the future.

R G Gaunt DSC. RN
COMMANDER,
ROYAL NAVY.

                 

                            In Memory

           Commander 'Bob' Gaunt..DSC, RN
       Leopards First CO. Died 20th April 2005 

                               RIP

Cdr "Bob" Gaunt. 2003






These are a few statistics of her 12 months away.

Food consumed...
Bacon...2913lb (1 ton 6cwt 1lb)
Beef....9207lb (well over 4tons)
Cabbage.198cwt (nearly 10tons)
Spuds...1,131 bags (56ton 1cwt)
Bread baked on board..12,996lb (nearly 6tons)
Eggs....3696dz (or 44352)
Sausages.3642 (or 43,352)

Sick Bay Pills...
Codeines...12000
Asprins....7500
Salt Tablets.15000
Paludrines.2000
Total of 36500 tablets issued.
Number of cases treated (excluding minor cuts etc)239
Jabs administered...1420.ouch!

Explosives Statistics...
4.5-inch cordite...2509
4.5-inch shell.....2146
40-mm Bofors.......1715
3-pounder saluting guns..283
Small arms.........4514
2-inch rocket flares..124
Grenades...........120
Thunderflashes.....80
Squid Bombs........83
Total..............11574 Bangs!

Miscellaneous statistics...
Dear Johns received (known)..25
Brown paper to cover main passages..11760yds
or 6miles 5furlongs 4chains 2rods,poles or perches!
Paint expended (all colours)..1,100 gallons
Rum consumed......1013 gallons 5 1/2 pints
Fresh water expended..9,836 tons
Lubricating oil consumed..35,668 gallons
Diesel fuel consumed 3,397 tons
Distance steamed 56,048 miles

Ship was under way for..4,145 hours, in other words we spent nearly 6 months sea time out of the 12 we were away.

HMS Leopard's Distinguished Visitors 1958-1960

10 Oct 1958. C-in-C Portsmouth, Admiral Sir Guy Grantham, GCB,CBE,DSO
17 Oct 1958. Third Sea Lord, Admiral Sir J. Peter L. Reid KCB, VCO
18 Oct 1958. NATO Shipping Commission, Prince Axel of Denmark
 4 Nov 1958. C-in-C Plymouth, Admiral Richard G. Onslow, KCB, DSO
27 Nov 1958. CSO(A) to C-in-C Portsmouth, Rear Admiral R.W Paffard, CBE
 2 Dec 1958. Permanent Secretary, Sir John G. Lang, GCB and Parliamentary Secretary of the Admiralty, Mr Robert Allan, MP
19 Dec 1958. First Sea Lord, Admiral of the Fleet Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, PC, GCB, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, LLD, DCL, DSC
16 Jan 1959. Engineering and Electrical Specialisation Committee, Vice Admiral Sir Stephen H. Carlill, KBE, CB, DSO, and Sir Ewart Smith, FRS, MA.
31 Mar, & 7 May 1959. Flag Officer Sea Training, Rear Admiral W G Crawford, CB, DSC.
26 May 1959. C-in-C Portsmouth, Admiral Sir Manley L. Power, KCB, CBE, DSO.
 3 Jun 1959. FO Gibraltar, Rear Admiral P F Powlett, DSO, DSC.
 5 Aug & 10 Dec 1959 & 6 Feb 1960 C-in-C SASA, Vice Admiral Sir R Dymock Watson, KCB, CBE.
........................................And Junior Seaman Nobby Guyatt ?????? mine host....................................... 

HMS Leopard has worn the flags of the following personages
Commander-in Chief, Portsmouth
Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic and South America
His Excellency The Governor of the Seychelles
His Excellency The Governor of Mauritius
Her British Majesties Ambassador to the Argentine Republic

HMS Leopard First Commission paid off 18th December 1960

On July 27th 1963 Leopard collided with the South African minesweeper Pieter Maritzburg, killing one person. In 1973 and 1975 she undertook a ‘Cod War’ Fishery Protection duties.
She finally paid off in December 1975 and in 1977 was sold for scrapping. After being cut into two pieces in order to get up the creek, Leopard was broken up at Dartford.