THE CAYUGA WEEKLY


When the ship was in Korea 1954,  a newspaper known as the Cayuga Weekly was published aboard ship.
 

See the cover page

There are three known surviving editions of the newspaper. On many occassions crew members were featured as illustrated in the examples below:

OPERATIONS DEPARTMENT

I am going to start this week with a series of careers of different men in the Radar Plot Branch. This week, I will lead off with our navigator, Lt. Cdr Ley.

Lt. Cdr Ley hails from Victoria. He joined the RCN in Halifax on the 23rd of August, 1941; from there to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, England. After completing his cadet's training he went to sea in RN ships; HMS Eagle (aircraft carrier) sunk in 1942 while on Malta convoy duty. From Eagle to HMS Malaya ( Queen Elizabeth class battleship) and HMS Keppel (destroyer escort). He then went ashore and wrote off Sub/Lt courses in HMS Excellent.

After qualifying as Sub/Lt. , Lt Cdr Ley served in Canadian landing craft during the invasion of Normandy. Then to HMCS Algonquin. Started training for his wings in 1945 and qualified in 1946. He flew with the Fleet Air Arm until Aug 1950. During this time he served in Canadian ships HMCS Shearwater and Magnificent. He joined HMCS Crescent in 1951 and brought her around to the west coast arriving in Esquimalt Feb 2, 1953. He then came over to Cayuga to take over as navigator when she re-comissioned earlier this year.

Lt. Cdr Ley recalls one of the many exciting events that happened during his naval career. This was a convoy made up in England in Aug 1942 that consisted of twelve merchant ships, four aircraft carriers, two battleships, eight cruisers and twenty eight destroyers. When the convoy arrived in Malta, nine mechant ships were sunk were sunk, one damaged, one carrier sunk and one badly damaged; one cruiser sunk and three badly damaged. All damages were sustained to the convoy in what was known as bomb alley, the Straits between Italy and North Africa. During WWII he also served in North Atlantic and Murmansk convoys

The whole radar branch and myself wish Lt Cdr Ley all the best in the future years of his naval career.
 


PROFILE OF THE WEEK - Brian Inglis C1QI3  (Cox'n)

Chief Inglis' varied career began in l939 when he joined the R.C.N. as a boy seaman .After completing his training, he was drafted to YORK, serving on patrol duties in the West Indies squadron.  His next ship was the old Ottawa in the
western approaches. In 1941 he qualified as an S.D.S at Stadacona after which he qualified as a Leading Seaman. From 1941 until 1945, except for a Q.M. course in Stad, Chief Inglis sailed in various minesweepers: DRUMMDONVILLE,  PARRSBORO, NORANDA, KENORA and TRURO. In all but two of them he served as cox'n, and on leaving the TRURO in 1945 he held the rank of Chief Petty Officer.  The next year and a half  in the corvettes BRANTFORD, the supply ship PROVIDER and as skipper of Diving Tender #4 at Halifax.

From 1948 to 1949 he served in NADEN and CORNWALLIS. After seeing nine divisions of new entries pass out, he was put in charge of the WREN's divisions. One of his duties was shepherd 50 WRENS from Montreal to CORNWALLIS and back again once a month. (That's what the ads mean by opportunities for advancement.) His next draft brought him back to the west coast  and after a Q.I.'s course in NADEN, to Cayuga.
 


PROFILE OF THE WEEK -  Alexander (Buster) Brown, C2EM3

CHIEF BROWN has a very colourful career in this navy and the R.N. He joined the RCN in 1931 and he served 12 years before transferring to the RCN.

His first commission was on HMS Berwick to a China station for two years on which he nearly married the dohby girl
(Dohby Mary). This guy really had a love life. From the Berwick, Chief Brown went to HMS Dorsetshire to the same station. From there he went to HMS Cornwall (Boys training ship). His next commission was on the Royal Oak, and was drafted from her two weeks before she went down. He was drafted to the Defender in the Mediterranean and was aboard when a German Stuka broke her in half and sank her off Tobruk . It was around this time he picked up his P.O. rate.  From the Defender, he went to the Suez on a trawler for a year and a half then back to England. At this time he commissioned the Hunt class destroyer "Beauford" and did more time on the Med on her.  In 1942, he transferred to the RCN. He returned to Canada on the Gifford after running aground in Derry.

In Canada he joined HMCS Glace Bay and was the only RCN P.O. in the mess, the rest being reserves and college loggers. They couldn't drink the Bubs ( guess who did?). From Glace Bay he went to the Quinte; from there back to Naden then back to the east coast to commission HMCS Cayuga. On this commission he was rated CPO. He left the Cayuga for the Ontario then returned to the Cayuga where I think we are all glad to have him aboard.

Previously, I spoke of Chief Brown as being the great lover boy. I'll give you two examples: 1) He was engaged five times in England, but it took a Canadian girl to lasso him. 2) While in Capetown, he got mixed up in a Zulu camp and almost married the Zulu Princess. Well enough said, this paper may get home.

[Material provided by Don Bjorndahl]
 
 

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