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''Warship'' is a British television drama series produced by the

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and broadcast between 1973 and 1977. The series was set contemporaneously and depicted life on board the fictitious

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...

frigate HMS ''Hero''. Four series were produced with 45 episodes made in total. It was also subtitled into Dutch and broadcast in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

as ''Alle hens aan dek'' (All hands on deck) and it enjoyed popularity in Britain, Ireland, Australia,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

Plot

The episodes were written and filmed to reflect the reality of life in the

and the Royal Marines in the 1970s. The primary focus for most stories was on the Captain and his fellow

officers An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

, but the series also featured life on the lower decks to portray episodes heavily featuring ratings. Episodes featured a variety of events at sea (the Cold War, smuggling, the evacuation of civilians from crisis-hit places, etc.), as well as the personal lives of officers and ratings and the impact their personal lives had on their professional lives and duties.

Cast

Over the course of the series HMS ''Hero'''s crew changes periodically. Only two officers, Kiley and Wakelin, remain with the ship for the whole series. The main characters in most episodes were the captain and his first lieutenant.

''Hero'''s crew

Captains

* Donald Burton as Commander Mark Nialls, (series 1–2) * Bryan Marshall as Commander Alan Douglas Glenn, (series 3) *

Derek Godfrey Derek Godfrey (3 June 1924 – 18 June 1983) was an English actor, associated with the Royal Shakespeare Company from 1960, who also appeared in several films and BBC television dramatisations during the 1960s and 1970s. Born in London, he perfo ...

as Captain Edward Kelvin Holt (series 4)

First Lieutenants

* David Savile as Lieutenant Commander Derek "Porky" Beaumont (series 1–3) * Robert Morris as Lieutenant Commander James Napier, (series 4) Other officers *

John Lee John Lee may refer to: Academia * John Lee (astronomer) (1783–1866), president of the Royal Astronomical Society * John Lee (university principal) (1779–1859), University of Edinburgh principal * John Lee (pathologist) (born 1961), English ...

as Lieutenant Commander Bill Kiley, weapons and electrics officer *

Graeme Eton Graham and Graeme may refer to: People * Graham (given name), an English-language given name * Graham (surname), an English-language surname * Graeme (surname), an English-language surname * Graham (musician) (born 1979), Burmese singer * Clan ...

as Lieutenant Montgomery Charles "Monty" Wakelin, supply officer *

Norman Eshley Norman Eshley (born 30 May 1945) is an English actor best known for his television roles. Biography Eshley attended Bristol Grammar School and worked in a bank, before training as an actor at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. He played many ...

as Lieutenant Bob Last, navigating officer (series 1–2) *

Andrew Burt Andrew Thomas Hutchison Burt (23 May 1945 – 16 November 2018) was a British actor, voiceover artist, and counsellor. Early life and education Andrew Burt was born on 23 May 1945 in Wakefield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Hutchison Bu ...

as Lieutenant Paul Peek, navigating officer (series 3–4) * Christopher Coll as Lieutenant Peter Boswall, flight commander (series 1) * James Leith as Lieutenant Roy Tagg, flight commander (series 3) *

Richard Warwick Richard Warwick (29 April 1945 – 16 December 1997) was an English actor. He was born Richard Carey Winter, the third of four sons, at Meopham, Kent, and made his film debut in Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in the r ...

as Lieutenant Parry (series 1) *

Rex Robinson Rex Robinson (born March 17, 1959) is a placekicker that played for the Marietta Blue Devils, University of Georgia Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference and the New England Patriots of the National Football League (NFL). Originally from ...

as Lieutenant Commander Jack Junnion, engineer officer (series 1)

Ratings

Don Henderson Donald Francis Henderson (10 November 1931 – 22 June 1997)Ancestry/Find My Past (his birth was registered in the December 1931 quarter) was an English actor. He was known for playing both "tough guy" roles and authority figures, and is remem ...

as Master-at-Arms Frank Heron (series 1–3) * Frank Jarvis as Master-at-Arms Harry Burnett (series 3–4) *

James Cosmo James Ronald Gordon Copeland , known professionally as James Cosmo (b. 1947), is a Scottish film and television actor known for his appearances in films including ''Highlander'', ''Braveheart'', '' Trainspotting'', ''Jagame Thandhiram'', ''Tro ...

as Leading Regulator Pat Fuller *

Nigel Humphreys Nigel Humphreys (born 1951 in Bognor Regis, Sussex) is a British actor who is best known for his television work. His most prominent roles include Dickie Fleming in '' Coronation Street'' and PC Pete Dodds in '' Softly, Softly: Taskforce''. Ot ...

as Leading Seaman Anderson * Steve Gardner as Able Seaman Billy Grogan * Colin Rix as Leading Medical Assistant Milner

Recurring characters

Donald Hewlett Donald Marland Hewlett (30 August 1920 – 4 June 2011) was a British actor who was best known for his sitcom roles as Colonel Charles Reynolds in ''It Ain't Half Hot Mum'' and Lord Meldrum in '' You Rang, M'Lord?'', both written by Jimmy Perry ...

as Rear Admiral Mulliner/Staunton *

Peter Cellier Peter Cellier (born 12 July 1928) is an English actor who has appeared in film, stage and television. He is known for his role as Sir Frank Gordon in ''Yes Minister'' and then ''Yes, Prime Minister'' in the 1980s. Early life Cellier was born i ...

as Captain Reginald St Vincent Calder, Squadron Commander *

Marian Diamond Marian Cleeves Diamond (November 11, 1926 – July 25, 2017) was an American scientist and educator who is considered one of the founders of modern neuroscience. She and her team were the first to publish evidence that the brain can change with ...

as Sue Herrick, Glenn's girlfriend (series 3) * Prunella Ransome as Zoe Carter, Holt's girlfriend (series 4)

Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy co-operation

The series enjoyed close collaboration between the Royal Navy and the BBC, and—unusually for a TV drama of the 1970s—looked like a documentary. Seven s played the role of HMS ''Hero'' and for continuity, all were repainted with the pennant number F42 of , the main warship used for filming. The others were , , , , and . , a of the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (CN) Vice Admiral Mark Hammond AM, RAN. CN is also jointly responsible to the Minister of ...

, was also used as ''Hero'' for some scenes filmed in 1976 in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

and

. This Australian link and Australian broadcasts of ''Warship'' influenced the production of the later and similar

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

series ''Patrol Boat''. The crews of these frigates - and ''Derwent'' - were given ''Hero'' cap tallies for filming purposes, and their ships were given HMS ''Hero'' ships' badges, name plates and lifebuoys. Similarly, their

Westland Wasp The Westland Wasp is a small 1960s British turbine powered, shipboard anti-submarine helicopter. Produced by Westland Helicopters, it came from the same P.531 programme as the British Army Westland Scout, and is based on the earlier piston-e ...

helicopters from the

Fleet Air Arm The Fleet Air Arm (FAA) is one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy and is responsible for the delivery of naval air power both from land and at sea. The Fleet Air Arm operates the F-35 Lightning II for maritime strike, the AW159 Wil ...

829 Naval Air Squadron 829 Naval Air Squadron was a squadron of the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. Before it was decommissioned in March 2018, it operated the AgustaWestland Merlin HM2 helicopter. History 1940–1942 829 Naval Air Squadron first formed on 15 June 1940 as ...

were all repainted with the identification HMS ''Hero'', the code 471, and the nickname "The Fighting Forty-Two". Among the Wasps used for the fictional ''Hero Flight'' were

serial numbers A serial number is a unique identifier assigned incrementally or sequentially to an item, to ''uniquely'' identify it. Serial numbers need not be strictly numerical. They may contain letters and other typographical symbols, or may consist enti ...

XT419 from HMS ''Phoebe''s Flight, XV625, and XV626. (One of these Wasps, XV625 still painted with the 471 code, is preserved at in the Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival School.) These measures, along with the use by all the frigates of the pennant number F42, had the unintended side effect of confusing Soviet

spy ship A spy ship or reconnaissance vessel is a dedicated ship intended to gather intelligence, usually by means of sophisticated electronic eavesdropping. In a wider sense, any ship intended to gather information could be considered a spy ship. Spy ...

s. Other Royal Navy warships used for the series included the aircraft carrier , the

helicopter cruiser The aircraft cruiser (also known as aviation cruiser or cruiser-carrier) is a warship that combines the features of the aircraft carrier and a surface warship such as a cruiser or battleship. Early types The first aircraft cruiser was origina ...

, the

commando carrier An amphibious assault ship is a type of amphibious warfare ship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory by an amphibious assault. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (and, as ...

and the submarine . The

Royal Marine Commandos The Corps of Royal Marines (RM), also known as the Royal Marines Commandos, are the UK's special operations capable commando force, amphibious light infantry and also one of the five fighting arms of the Royal Navy. The Corps of Royal Marines ...

took part in the series, as also did the

, the

Royal Naval Reserve The Royal Naval Reserve (RNR) is one of the two volunteer reserve forces of the Royal Navy in the United Kingdom. Together with the Royal Marines Reserve, they form the Maritime Reserve. The present RNR was formed by merging the original Ro ...

in the shape of the , the

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RFA ensures the Royal Navy is supplied and supported by ...

in the shape of and other ships, and the

Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service The Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service (RMAS) was a British Government agency which ran a variety of auxiliary vessels for His Majesty's Naval Service (incl. Royal Navy, Royal Marines) and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. The service from 2009 has be ...

. Fleet Air Arm squadrons embarked on HMS ''Ark Royal'' used for filming included the Buccaneer S 2s of 809 Naval Air Squadron and the Phantom FG 1s of

892 Naval Air Squadron 892 Naval Air Squadron (892 NAS) was a carrier-based fighter squadron of the British Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm. It was formed in 1943, flying Grumman Martlets, and was the only operational Fleet Air Arm squadron to fly the McDonnell Douglas P ...

. The Westland Wessex HU 5s of 845 Naval Air Squadron embarked on HMS ''Bulwark'' also featured in some episodes. The series was also filmed ashore in, among other places,

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

, north-east of Isfjellet in

Loppa Loppa ( sme, Láhppi and fkv, Lappea) is a municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Øksfjord. Other villages in Loppa include Andsnes, Bergsfjord, Langfjordhamn, Lop ...

and Larvik in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...

, the Admiralty Experiment Works in

Haslar Haslar is on the south coast of England, at the southern tip of Alverstoke, on the Gosport peninsula, Hampshire. It takes its name from the Old English , meaning " hazel-landing place". It may have been named after a bank of hazel strewn on ma ...

, RNAS Predannack, Portland Harbour,

Plymouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Devonport (HMNB Devonport) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Portsmouth) and is the sole nuclear repair and refuelling facility for the Ro ...

Portsmouth Dockyard His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is l ...

and

South Uist South Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Deas, ; sco, Sooth Uist) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the ...

Theme music

The opening and closing music of the series were taken from a march called ''Warship'', composed for the series by Anthony Isaac. The theme was played by the Band of the Royal Marines, Deal, conducted by Lieutenant Colonel Paul Neville, MVO, FRAM, RM. ''(See links to files of opening and closing music below.)'' The march is still played by Royal Marine bands and the Royal Australian Navy Band. The theme influenced the opening bars of a 2010

march March is the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is the second of seven months to have a length of 31 days. In the Northern Hemisphere, the meteorological beginning of spring occurs on the first day of March ...

, '' Scrap Iron Flotilla'', composed by

Leading Seaman Leading seaman is a junior non-commissioned rank or rate in navies, particularly those of the Commonwealth. When it is used by NATO nations, leading seaman has the rank code of OR-4. It is often equivalent to the army and air force rank of c ...

Martyn Hancock of the Royal Australian Navy Band. ''Warship'' was chosen as one of the pieces performed to mark the 75th and 100th anniversaries of the founding of the Royal Australian Navy Band. Writing in the Centenary Concert Music Program in 2013, the

's then-Director of Music, Lieutenant Commander Paul Cottier, said that: : "''Warship'' is a fine example of the influence television and film were having on the repertoire of military bands at that time, which were beginning to see a change in direction from military music and orchestral transcriptions to more popular and contemporary music."'

Series creators

The originator of the idea for the series and main script editor was a serving Royal Navy officer, Ian Mackintosh, who worked with BBC producer

Anthony Coburn James Anthony Coburn (10 December 1927 – 28 April 1977) was an Australian television writer and producer, who spent much of his professional career living and working in the United Kingdom. He is best remembered for writing the first ''Doctor ...

after Mackintosh originally approached the BBC in May 1971. Coburn had for some years wanted to produce a series "that would do for the Navy what ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by the BBC, it debut ...

'' had done for the Police". Apart from Mackintosh, other scriptwriters included Michael J. Bird, and the series was directed by

Michael E. Briant Michael Edwin Briant (born 14 February 1942) is a retired English television director and author, best known for his work as a director for BBC television drama in the 1970s and 1980s. Career At the age of 21 Briant joined the BBC as an assistan ...

among others. Mackintosh was seconded to the BBC for the series, and was awarded the MBE for his work on ''Warship'' in 1976.

''Warship'' and ''Blue Peter''

In 1975 the BBC's children's television programme '' Blue Peter'' included a feature about the filming of ''Warship'' at Plymouth Dockyard aboard HMS ''Danae''; the item was presented by

Lesley Judd Lesley Judd (born 20 December 1946) is an English former television presenter and dancer, best known as a long-serving host of the BBC children's programme '' Blue Peter'' (1972–1979). Background Born in London, the daughter of Leslie T. Judd ...

. The next year, future ''Blue Peter'' presenter Peter Duncan played a major role in the episode "All of One Company". Six episodes of ''Warship'' were filmed aboard HMS ''Danae'' around that time.

''Warship'' assessed in retrospect

Writing in 2006, historian Professor S.P. MacKenzie judged that: : "''Warship'' had succeeded where '' Making Waves'' failed because those involved – the multi-talented Ian Mackintosh above all – managed to create varied and interesting characters and plots in which RN frigates and other vessels served as useful backdrops for the action. ''Warship'', in short, helped the Royal Navy through a combination of competent writing, acting and direction rather more than through using its equipment as a showcase. (...) Mackintosh and those around him knew how to draw in the viewer with stories that were both contemporary and interesting." ''(Broadcasting the New Navy: the BBC-TV Series Warship (1973–1977), p.119)'' " Making Waves" was a 2004 series made by ITV, and intended to be in the same vein as "Warship". It proved less successful, and only three episodes were shown out of the six that were made. In 2022 the British Forces Broadcasting Service noted that ''Warship'' was ''extremely popular ... and it is still fondly remembered to this day''.

Products based on ''Warship''

Books

Ian Mackintosh wrote three books based on the series, which were simultaneously published in hardback and paperback. The books were: * ''Warship'' (published in 1973) * ''HMS Hero'' (published in 1976) * ''Holt RN'' (published in 1977) – same story as episode 4.01 "Wind Song"

Board game

Series creator Ian Mackintosh also devised a version of the

board game Board games are tabletop games that typically use . These pieces are moved or placed on a pre-marked board (playing surface) and often include elements of table, card, role-playing, and miniatures games as well. Many board games feature a co ...

Battleships A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of large caliber guns. It dominated naval warfare in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The term ''battleship'' came into use in the late 1880s to describe a type o ...

, based on his experience of modern naval tactics and called ''Warship'' after the series. It was produced by Merit Toys in 1976, in association with the BBC.

Scale model kit

Airfix Airfix is a British brand and former manufacturing company which produced injection-moulded plastic scale model kits. In the U.K., the name 'Airfix' is synonymous with plastic models of this type, often simply referred to as "an airfix kit" even ...

sold its plastic 1/600 scale model kit of with the slogan "Featured as HMS Hero in the BBC TV series Warship".

Theme music single

Columbia Records released a 7-inch single (catalogue reference DB 8998) of the theme music (see above) in 1973. As in the TV series the theme was played by the Band of the Royal Marines, Deal, conducted by Lieutenant Colonel Paul Neville, MVO, FRAM, RM.

Availability on DVD

The first series of ''Warship'' was released on DVD in September 2014, with the second series being released 9 November 2015.

Episode list

Series 1

Series 2

Series 3

Series 4

References

External links

Royal Navy History

British Film Institute site on ''Warship''

Royal Navy leaflet on ''Warship'', from the HMS ''Phoebe'' Association website

Westland Wasp ''471'' at the Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival School, HMS ''Sultan''

Service records noting two of the several Westland Wasps painted as ''471'' for ''Warship''

Memories of HMAS ''Derwent'' as HMS ''Hero''

* ttp://www.memorabletv.com/articles/warshiplifeatsea.htm 1977 article from the Australian magazine TV Week about ''Warship''
Discussion board about ''Warship'' with much information on the series, including episode descriptions

Picture of Airfix ''Warship'' scale model kit box

Article about building Airfix ''Warship'' scale model kit

HMS ''Phoebe'' Association website

HMS ''Dido'' Association website

HMS ''Danae'' website

HMS ''Jupiter'' Association website

HMS ''Hermione'' Association website

* {{IMDb title, id=0139806, title=Warship 1970s British drama television series 1973 British television series debuts 1977 British television series endings BBC television dramas Leander-class frigates Royal Navy British drama television series British military television series Australian Broadcasting Corporation original programming Dutch drama television series English-language television shows