Page 5 - Newsletter spring 2022

The Worshipful Company of Farmers
Recent engagement with our Military Affiliates
Since March 2020, Covid restrictions disrupted normal life for everyone, but brought additional challenges to the working lives of the armed forces. The ‘Territorial and cadet’ organisations, The WD’s and Middlesex Wing, had to suspend their usual activities with their civilian jobs and lives taking precedence.
The ‘Regulars’ in our armed forces affiliates, HMS Defender and RAF Waddington had to adopt the strict protocols necessary to remain
operational, but anxious to retain contact, ran a series of informative zoom calls with the Farmers Company. Much of their operational activity is necessarily subject to strict security but the recent atrocities in Ukraine, make an event during HMS Defender’s May – December 2021 deployment of current relevance.
Deployed with the Carrier Strike Group (CSG21), the mission that
was described as “challenging, but
a hugely successful and rewarding deployment demonstrating the value of collaboration”. The commanding officer, Commander Owen describes
Defender’s ethos of “train hard-
and fight easy” having paid off. Their mission was to provide and demonstrate what he termed “hard power” to adversaries, like Russia and protagonists, like China through her formal role of air and missile defence and “soft power” towards allies, partners and others through her hosting role organised by the Foreign Office as part of their Global Britain Strategy. In Mumbai, they had participated in a large business event attended by Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, the catering crew sporting Farmers Livery logos on their uniforms.
Away for 7 months, Defender travelled 56,000 miles (round the world is 26,000 miles). Covid impacted the deployment with two outbreaks
and reduced opportunities to run ashore at several planned places necessitating making their own entertainment on board. The band entertained, a memorable ‘crossing the line ceremony’ was held, as well as sport, concerts and barbeques.
HMS Defender sailed from Portsmouth via the Mediterranean where she and another ship broke away from the Strike Group via the Black Sea, before re-joining CSG21 to sail via Suez to India and Singapore towards China, stopping in Guam before returning via the Med, visiting Jordan and Barcelona on the way home. HMS Defender had been given the lead responsibility for the air and missile defence for the Strike Group, her role to defend the aircraft carriers in the exercises and trials.
Whilst in the Black Sea and after
taking a legal passage route near to the Crimea, the Russian forces reacted with a pre-planned propaganda campaign of “unprofessional and bad behaviour”, described by Commander Owen as “just another Day in the Royal Navy”. False reports declared they came under fire. Wrong - apparently, the last time the Russians shot at the British was 1919!
Out of range of external communications, it wasn’t until
HMS Defender re-joined the Strike Group that the ships company were aware of the furore in the media and false reports of being shot at. HMS Defender had embedded journalists from the BBC and Daily Mail on board for part of the deployment, who were able to contradict and declare the Russian propaganda of their military prowess as “false news”!
The Military Affiliations Programme has demonstrated first hand we can be justifiably proud of our armed forces professionalism and dedication to duty.
Rosie Carne
flocks, without paying the normal toll, over the Thames, to get to market. Clearly not something that is wholly practical these days, but a colourful and amusing piece of city history.
Annual Sheep Drive
One of the more arcane elements of Livery life is the annual Sheep Drive across the Thames. This is organised by the Worshipful Company of Woolmen and commemorates the ability of all Freemen of the City of London to be allowed to drive their
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