The Second
HMS Manchester Association
Welcome to the website of the Second HMS Manchester Association.  This site is administered by former members of HMS Manchester's Ships Company, D95,  for the benefit of all those who have served onboard the "Mighty Manch" from the first commission through to the last.

The Association was formed in 2001 - after much deliberation over copious amounts of alcohol, selflessly consumed at various locations, and the first Re-union was held in the Spring of 2002 in the WO SR and SNCOs Mess at HMS Nelson. Details of our next Re-union can be found on the Latest News page of this website.


This website is not an official MOD website; the views represented here do not necessarily reflect the view of the MOD however MOD images / logos / badges / crests are reproduced under licence from the Secretary of State for Defence.
WELCOME!
The title of  "The Second HMS Manchester Association" was chosen to differentiate between ourselves and the original "HMS Manchester Association" formed by those who fought and served onboard the Second World War cruiser of the same name.  Initially, it was hoped that there would be an all encompassing association for those who had served on either ship, similar to those enjoyed by other Type 42's that share their names with WWII cruisers, but this did not come about.  This is understandable, the old HMS Manchester was lost in very tragic circumstances in 1942, and it is only natural that her survivors and their relatives, mostly all octogenarians, should wish to keep to themselves after so many years.  So our association was formed, and here we are nearly nineteen years later still going strong, and hoping we enjoy the Cruiser boys longevity.

Surprisingly, and despite the above explanation, we still receive emails etc., pointing out that the D95 was in fact the 3rd ship to bear the name and that our title is somewhat misleading.  Consequently, we have to point out that the "Second" purely relates to the number of Associations in existence, and not the number of HMS Manchester's there have been.... and we just hope that the first HMS Manchester - a stores ship circa 1814 - didn't have an Association as well!!!

The Association has it's own magazine " The Buzz" which is published annually, normally in the Autumn, and an edited version of the last edition appears on this site.  An unabridged copy is emailed to all our members.

"The Second HMS Manchester Association" is open to anyone who has served onboard, be they still serving or retired Officer, Rating or Royal Marine, whilst Partners are also very welcome to attend our Re-unions…..if only to take their dearly beloved home on completion!!  If you wish to join the Association, please go to the Joining Routine located on this site.  We try to run the Association as informally as we can, it costs nothing to join and all we ask is that when the Calling Notice goes out for the next re-union - in the spring - that you reply to say whether or not you will be attending.  As stated previously, Partners are very welcome to attend, and if our next re-union is as good as the last it will be well worth attending.

Based on the assumption that you obviously possess a good sense of humour, otherwise you would not have joined the Pusser in the first place, what have you got to lose by joining the 2nd HMS Manchester Association?...apart from your street cred!!!

Yardarm Clearing Statement

Hopefully, nothing that appears on this site will cause offence, it has been produced with a particular breed of matelot in mind.  If we have infringed anyone's "image rights", breached any copyright, or inadvertently posted something that a fair minded person could consider offensive, please contact the Organisers without delay and we will review the situation accordingly.  Please also see our more detailed Terms and Conditions with our Disclaimer on the Contacts and Links page of this site.

Confidentiality

All contact details of members of the "Second HMS Manchester Association" are and will remain confidential, and will not under any circumstances be divulged to a third party.  So don't ask!!  The Organisers are more than happy to act as point of contact and forward directly to our members any messages from the outside world.

Acknowledgements

The Second HMS Manchester Association would not have evolved into its current successful position without the guidance and assistance of many non Association members who have actively supported us and helped us on our way.  In particular we would like to acknowledge the contributions made by:-  Lt Cdr Antrobus (Fleet Photographic Unit), Mr Chris Heyes (Tip Top Computer Boffin), Navy News, Allan Henderson (Graphic Designer), WO1 Julie Halford, Royal Navy and WO1 Chris Lawrence, Royal Marines (Past Presidents of the WO SR and SNCOs Mess, HMS Nelson), former WO1 Flo Flood, Royal Navy, Sgt Bugler Mark 'Deli' Snell, Royal Marines, MAA John Caddle, The Manchester Evening News and Alyson Tidbury (Acting Local Web Mistress, Typist, Tea Wetter and locator of the TV Remote Control!!!) in the production of this website.