Benham (DD 796) - Naval Cruise Book

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LONDONDERRY, NORTHERN IRELAND STREET SCENE FANTAIL SCUTTLEBUTT With the background of the beautiful Irish countryside, the Mighty B steamed up the River Foyle to the fair city of Londonderry, better known as Derry . Derry was a plain Irish town which the British Navy has chosen for one of its main ports. The city is noted for having with- stood a siege from King James in 1688. It has a walled City within and has many of the battlements still intact. On one battlement stands Roaring Meg a cannon which is supposed to have played the most important part in sav- ing the city. Places of amusement and interest were the Capitol Dance Hall, The Wood Pile, Trips to the Free State, and the tiny pubs with their warm beer. And who was it that came back one morning dressed in his skivies? HISTORICAL WALL

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EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND BEACH ACTIVITIES On TLicsday, July 2, 19 ' 2, the BENHAM arrived at Easthoiirne, England, a popular sum- mer resort on the southeastern coast of Eng- land, for a six day courtesy visit. The visit was enjoyed particularly by approximately fifty members of the crew who had the misfortune of being stranded on the beach. Due to rough weather it was impossible to run boats out to the ship anchored a half mile off shore. The city of Eastbourne provided a score of entertainments for the BENHAM under the excellent supervision of Mr. E. W. Lee, the city ' s publicity director. We were invited to attend several stage shows, went on a tour of the surrounding countryside, discovered the secrets of brewing beer at the Star Brewery, and to top it all off there was a special Independence Day dance on the Eastbourne Pier. The few stranded men who were able to attend the affair had some difficulty trying to accept the hundreds of invitations to dance extended by the four hundred girls who had turned up in the hope of welcoming the majority of the crew. The weather did abate during the latter part of our stay though, and all hands had a chance to enjoy the hospitality of Eastbourne. Many of us managed to take the 60 mile trip to London where we viewed the ancient castles and other historic spots for which London is famous. A large number o( white hats were seen in famed Piccadilly Circus also. On the last day of our stay we received a message which sent us flashing through the sea in a mad race against time to rendezvous with the record-breaking S.S. United States which we were to escort into the harbor at Southampton. We were a few minutes late however and arrived there only to see the huge liner disappearing into a fog bank at the harbor entrance. Left: CROWN JEWELS, LONDON. ENGLAND Below: Ya ' 1st Goot!

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GIBRALTAR, BRITISH CROWN COLONY After being tailed, by the Coii iiian(Jing Officer of our relief in Plymouth, a beautiful destroyer , wc left Plymouth for Gibraltar on July 30 arriving there three days later on the morning of August 2. About minutes after we tied up and secured the special sea detail, the boatswain ' s mate piped All hands quarters for Captain ' s Inspection and Change of Command Ceremonies . So all hands shifted into inspection whites and layed topside for inspection by the new and old captains. The crew gathered on the fantail for the relieving ceremony. Here Commander Allen P. Cook said fare- well as our Commanding Officer and accepted our first commission pennant. Commander J. T. Hodgson accepted command of the U.S.S. BENHAM. We were in Gibraltar for three days of liberty and those who were inter- ested took taxis and visited many of the historic parts of Gibraltar. Some went even so far as to climb the Rock itself. Swimming was quite popular too, although the water was surprisingly icy, but was nevertheless welcome because of the heat. The possession of Gibraltar, guard of the entrance to the Mediterranean, FAMOUS ROCK was held by Arabs and Berbers (Moors), Spain and finally after bitter fighting, England in 1704. Since 1713 when Gibraltar was made a British Colony, Eng- land has made it a valuable naval base and has made it almost impregnable with its fortifications and thousands of tunnels. The Rock is inhabited mostly by Italian-Genoese descent with a number of Maltese and Jews. Our second visit on September 5 was for about ten hours. The main purpose for returning was to refuel on our waj- back to the States. Half the crew was given the first four hours and the other half the remaining four hours to have a last shopping spree. And the stores were wide open waiting for us. Around 2200 all was in readiness for getting underway when water was found in the fuel. It was thought we wouldn ' t get underway after all, but the engineers (what would we do without them) fixed it and the BENHAM was on its way home to good old U.S.A. HIGH VIEW — GOOD SHOT