Our history
Pioneering Poole - our part in MVS history
Since the formation of the MVS in 1994, the Poole unit has played an active part in harbour life.
Founding member, Peter Lockwood tells us more.
The MVS was founded in 1994 following the demise of the Royal Naval Auxiliary Service (RNXS) when the Government withdrew funding.
A small number of ex-RNXS members (perhaps a dozen) got together and determined to continue our fellowship and comradeship, joined together by a love of the sea.
We suffered an overnight shock when we suddenly went from a fully funded service where all vessels and maintenance costs were covered, together with training, travelling and subsistence allowances, to a fully volunteer funded set up!
About 12 of us set to under the leadership of Charles Kitching, with Richard Rees and myself as Deputies, and met regularly in church halls, schools or other public buildings to chat and train, (mainly the former) while a headquarters team was established and a formal service was born. Through Richard, who became Head of Unit and remained so for 11 years (and his employment as a Port Control officer) we eventually acquired the use of a portacacbin on the Port Estate. We were also fortunate enough to use a Fairey Marine Huntress, loaned by one of our members.
Although wet (fortunately from above not below) we had a lot of fun and soon started regular patrols for the Harbour Master.
Richard was also responsible for the acquisition of Avocet, a former HM Customs launch and this led to a small fleet being donated to the MVS nationally over the coming years.
Poole slowly grew in numbers acquiring and selling various vessels along the way but our core purpose was training for seamanship and assisting the Harbour Master with patrols and other small duties for which we had the use of the portacabin, an alongside berth and fuel for patrols.
Regular refits to our vessels also provided opportunities for members to learn about boat maintenance which was our own responsibility and for many years (and currently) was carried out at minimum cost by using skills of our members.
Our numbers gradually increased through word of mouth, stands at maritime events, advertising and establishing a website and at one time approached almost 100.
Recruiting and fund-raising were helped by a branded Gazebo (sadly latterly destroyed in a storm) at shows and events and manned by volunteer members.
Poole Unit also hosted the National AGM on three occasions using the North Lounge in the Port of Poole and local hotels.
Tom Sherrin, a launch originally built for Poole Pilots came our way (also through Richard) and for a time, together with Avocet, various RIBs, an open launch and small outboard tender we had quite a fleet. To this we added a couple of Jet Skis to complete the picture as one of the largest Units in the country.
The Unit, apart from our Poole duties, joined with other units for training and stewarding several events in Portsmouth and other ports (e.g. Trafalgar 200 and Olympics 2012). The largest such event we attended was the Bournemouth Air Festival where, for several years, we organised and ran the Patrol system for maintaining the exclusion zone to keep spectator vessels away from the flying area.
This was carried out in conjunction with the Coastguard and a contractor who laid the buoys. The Unit also benefited financially from this event.
Just before the pandemic restricted our actions so severely, we were honoured by a visit from His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent, GCVO KStJ who is the Royal Patron of the MVS.
During his visit, Prince Michael saw how members are taught navigation, enjoyed looking at a photographic display of some of the unit’s activities and received an update on the restoration work being carried out on the unit’s pilot launch, Tom Sherrin.
Head of Unit at the time, Gill Hale, said: “His Royal Highness was pleased with all that he saw and spent time talking to several of our members. It was an incredible honour for our unit to welcome him and show him the work that we do.”
Poole Unit has always been good at training, using members and outside instructors where appropriate to train up new members, some new to the sea, to RYA standards and ensure that our crews are always suitably qualified to man the vessels at our disposal.
In 2018 we introduced the Pathway as a guide to take members through to Harbour Coxswain. The Pathway, instigated by Poole Unit, has now been adopted by the MVS nationally.
Our version has recently been updated to reflect our current situation and requirements, with plans to increase digital resources in the near future.
The COVID-19 pandemic saw a big pull back of our activities (indeed, we were lucky to get Avocet afloat in the week before lockdown following her refit) and although some training and social meeting took place over Zoom it wasn’t the same and it took a long time to get up and running again.
However the current management team are doing wonders in promoting the Unit, updating the training (with the added facility of the PHC training room) and enthusing the many new members now joining and I feel sure the future of the Unit is bright and secure.
