Royal Navy: "Unique" Falklands War ship “in a class of her own” HMS Bristol leaves Portsmouth for scrapyard

HMS Bristol was towed past The Round Tower in Old Portsmouth this morning (June 11) and is bound for Turkey to be scrapped. Dozens of veterans, former sea cadets, and their families, gathered just after 7am to see her.

Shouts of “God bless you Bristol” and “hip hip hooray” rang round The Hot Walls while a standard bearer raised his flag as a mark of respect. Former Leading Radio Operator Peter Featherstone-Williams, who served on the Type 82 destroyer during the 1982 conflict with Argentina, said people of all ages linked to the ship will have mixed emotions.

He told The News: “She had a fantastic reputation as being one of the best ships to serve on in the Royal Navy. It was a common comment throughout. I’ve had this ship in my life since 1981. I dare say there will be a few moist eyes on the Tower or in the toasts in the pubs later on.”

A career all of her own

HMS Bristol was commissioned on March 31, 1973, and was the only Type 82 destroyer to enter the Royal Navy fleet. She was originally designed to escort the CVA-01 aircraft carriers due to be introduced in the 1970s. Plans to build these were axed, alongside projects to construct the other destroyers. Before her heroics in the Falklands War, HMS Bristol served as the UK flagship during exercise Ocean Safari.

After being refitted again to fight the Argentinian junta, she led the Bristol group of reinforcement ships and joined Task Group 317.8. She once again served as the flagship for part of the war, before being relieved by HMS Illustrious.

The destroyer was decommissioned in Portsmouth on October 28. 2020. after nearly 48 years of active service. Post-service life saw her be used as a Harbour Training Ship, adjacent to Navy Command Headquarters on Whale Island.

“One of the best”

Mick Willis, a former Royal Navy Weapons Engineer who served on board during the Falklands, said it was very sad to see her go. “A lot of people think highly of her, and she served well for many years,” the Gosport resident said. “Unfortunately, the age of the vessel and the state of her hull means she needs to be replaced. We all understand that iron doesn’t do very well in the sea. It’s great sadness for everybody here.”

The 61-year-old added that fear, worry, and joy, were the prevailing emotions from serving with his brilliant comrades aboard ship. Pete Brash, 66, travelled from York to pay his respects to HMS Bristol. He served on her between 1979 and 1981 as a Petty Officer Stoker.

He said: “It’s sad that an inanimate object can cause such emotions among people. Serving on HMS Bristol were the golden years. It was the making of us as men. I’m sure if you asked other people, they would feel exactly the same as we do.”

Bob Perks, former Leading Marine Engineer, was aboard the destroyer during the same period. The 64-year-old said: “It was the first ship I served on and I have fond memories of her. Great times, great ship’s company. It’s a historic occasion, a sad one though.

“We had a pretty well established Royal Navy at the time and we were lucky enough to do a couple of tours, saw lots of places in the world.” The Isle of Wight resident said it was a shame another use couldn’t be found for her.

“I’d like to have seen her restored,” he said. “It would have obviously cost a lot of money to do that, but it would have been nice to end up in Bristol and make her into a museum.”

Neil Padley, a former Chief Petty Officer who served in the Royal Navy for 44 years, said: “It’s great to see so many faces here. It’ll be sad to see her go, but it gets to that point in everybody’s life that we aren’t required anymore. There were moves at one point to try and keep her, but that never came to fruition.”

The 63-year-old, of Gosport, served on the destroyer between 1989 and 1991. He was part of a ship’s company which completed a circumnavigation of the globe - heading through the Mediterranean, spending time ashore in Hong Kong, and sailing to America and the Panama Canal. “That always sticks in my mind. That is the longest trip I ever did, and one of the best in my 23 years of active service,” he added.

Mr Padley worked as a recruiter and gave young adults tours of the destroyer to give them an insight into what life was like aboard ship. He said as he watched the ship deteriorate over the years, it became obvious that her life would be finished.

Mr Featherstone-Williams, chairman of the HMS Bristol Association, reminisced about life aboard ship as he looked back on the destroyer’s career. “It was a very close knit group of guys because we had to pull together, use the training, and operate as one,” he added. “We’re all little cogs in a big wheel, and all those cogs have to turn for the wheel to continue.

“The outcome of the Falklands was positive for us. HMS Bristol thankfully remained unscathed and brought us home safe. She was unique and her motto is ‘in a class of her own’, and she was. She had a lot of top-notch equipment that all the lads appreciated.

“She backed up the flagship on many exercises, we had dignitaries on board and sailed around the world on her. It was a great atmosphere all the time with the lads. There are not many Falklands War ships left afloat these days. This is probably going to be the last one to leave these waters. The ship served the country with distinction.

“Trying to save her was a dead-end. It’s an incredibly difficult task to save an old warship. She wasn’t maintained sufficiently to consider saving her as a museum ship. She was the biggest destroyer in the fleet at the time, and it was problematic to find a home for her. She could only go as far as Avonmouth in Bristol. There were some brave efforts, but it was futile.”