Lt [C] Robin Franklin, Communications Officer
Later Director of Naval Signals

Our 45th Anniversary

There are many memories of Otago.

My first meeting of the ship was in fact the "keel laying ceremony" conducted at Thornycroft. There is some conjecture about the ship having been laid down as HMS Hastings but there was a ceremony for Otago none the less.

I can say that the commissioning of Otago was extremely exciting for me. I had spent much of my service time up till then with the RN but had served on HMNZS Tui. Part of my job was inspecting RN S class submarines but I had spent a lot of time around Otago while she was being built.

Going onboard Otago was wonderful. She was a clean and very modern state of the art vessel and I was very impressed.

I remember as I am sure the ships company do too the high standard of food onboard. This was the transition from broadside messing to cafeteria messing and an enormous jump in catering standards resulted.

Note: Due in no small part to the Chief Cook Pincher Martin, one of the finest chefs the RNZN [or RN for that matter] ever produced. Pincher founded the RNZN Cookery School and on leaving the RNZN went on to a distinguished career as a catering adviser to the British Ministry of Defence. Pincher passed away in Hamilton in 2002. Jim