HMS Andromeda Heritage and Ships Bell

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HMS Andromeda may no longer be afloat, but she hasn't disappeared. Pieces of her, the most meaningful pieces,  are still here, looked after by the people and places that were part of her story.

The Doncaster Connection

In the early 1980s, HMS Andromeda was formally adopted by Doncaster Council. It was part of a long Royal Navy tradition, towns and cities across Britain adopting serving warships, creating a bond between the ship's company and a community ashore. For Andromeda, that community was Doncaster.

It was a bond that would be tested almost immediately. Within months of the adoption, Andromeda was heading south to the Falklands.

The White Ensign

After the Argentine surrender on 14th June 1982, HMS Andromeda was the first Royal Navy ship to enter Port Stanley. Her white ensign was flown over the town to mark the recapture of the Falkland Islands.

In the days that followed, Andromeda led the victory sail past of Port Stanley, ahead of HMS Bristol, HMS Invincible, HMS Broadsword, and HMS Hermes. There is an aerial photograph of that moment: Andromeda out front, the Task Force stretched out behind her, the war over.

When the ship returned home, her Commanding Officer, Captain James Weatherall, visited Doncaster Mansion House and presented the white ensign to Doncaster Council. It was not just a flag. It was the flag,  the one associated with the moment the Falklands were recaptured. Weatherall understood what it meant, and he wanted it to be somewhere it would be looked after.

Captain Weatherall , later Vice-Admiral Sir James Weatherall KCVO KBE, went on to command the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal and eventually became Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic. He served as Her Majesty's Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps from 1992 until 2001. He died on 18th March 2018.

Those who served under him in the South Atlantic remember a captain who kept his nerve when it mattered most. When an Argentine Exocet missile bore down on Andromeda, the crew in the operations room counted it in. The tension was, by all accounts, considerable. Weatherall remained unmoved. The missile ran out of fuel and hit the sea just short of the ship. Andromeda came through the war without a scratch.

He was also, by all accounts, not without a sense of humour. During action stations, the entire ship's company wore anti-flash hoods and gloves, making everyone unrecognisable. Weatherall used this to tour the ship incognito. On overhearing one sailor complaining about the food, he tapped the man on the shoulder and said: "Eat it up or your mum will not be pleased." By the following day, the entire ship's company was using the phrase.

The Ship's Bell

When HMS Andromeda was decommissioned in 1993, Doncaster Council acquired the ship's bell. This is one of the most significant items a warship carries, and the tradition of what happens to it runs deep.

A ship's bell is not just a timepiece. For centuries, it marked the watches, sounded alarms in emergencies, and,  in one of the Navy's most enduring traditions, served as a baptismal font. Children born to the ship's company could be christened aboard, with the bell turned upside down and filled with water. The names of those christened were engraved on the inside of the bell, a record that stayed with the ship for the rest of her life.

When a warship is decommissioned, the bell is one of the last things to leave. It is removed with care and either retained by the Crown, loaned to a museum, or presented to the ship's affiliated town or city,  to be held in trust until another ship of the same name is commissioned. In Andromeda's case, the bell was entrusted to Doncaster.

It has been on display at Doncaster Mansion House ever since, alongside the white ensign.

Doncaster Mansion House

Both the ship's bell and the white ensign are on permanent display at Doncaster Mansion House, a Grade I listed Georgian civic building on High Street, designed by the architect James Paine in the 1740s. The Mansion House is still used for civic functions and is open to the public on selected days, looked after by the volunteers of the Friends of Doncaster Mansion House.

The Association has a warm relationship with Doncaster Council and the Mansion House. On past occasions, when the reunion has been held in Doncaster, the Council has kindly allowed the Association to borrow the bell and other memorabilia for the weekend,  bringing a piece of the ship back to the people who served on her. At one such reunion, the Lord Mayor of Doncaster attended alongside former Commanding Officers from the period of the Doncaster affiliation.

If you're ever in the area, the Mansion House is well worth a visit. The bell and ensign are displayed among the building's collection, and the Friends are always glad to welcome visitors with a connection to Andromeda.

Doncaster Mansion House High Street, Doncaster, DN1 1BN Open to the public on selected days,  check the website for dates. mansionhousedoncaster.com

Other Heritage Items

Over the years, various items of Andromeda memorabilia have found their way into private collections and public institutions.

At least one official ship's badge,  a 14-inch cast badge bearing the F57 designation, has been sold at auction through Bonhams. Other items, including photographs, pennants, and personal effects, are held by former members of the ship's company and their families.

The Imperial War Museums hold a collection of official Royal Navy photographs featuring Andromeda, spanning her career from the 1967 launch at Portsmouth Dockyard through to the Falklands and beyond. These are searchable through the IWM online collections.

Wikimedia Commons holds a gallery of publicly available images, including the well-known photograph of Andromeda alongside SS Canberra at the end of the Falklands War.

If you hold any Andromeda memorabilia,  photographs, documents, cap tallies, programme cards, anything at all, we would love to hear from you. These things matter, and recording them helps us preserve the ship's story for future generations.

What We'd Like to Find Out

There are some things we don't yet know, and we'd welcome help from anyone who can fill in the gaps:

The exact date of the Doncaster adoption ceremony, we know it was in the early 1980s, but we'd like to pin it down.

Whether any children were christened using the ship's bell during Andromeda's 25 years of service. If your child, or you, were christened aboard, we'd especially love to hear from you.

Whether the white ensign on display at Doncaster is the specific ensign flown over Port Stanley on 14th June 1982, or another of the ship's ensigns presented separately. The Mansion House records suggest it is the Port Stanley ensign, but confirmation from someone who was there would settle it.

What happened to the ship's battle honours board and any other official items when Andromeda was sold to the Indian Navy in 1995.

If you can help with any of these, please get in touch. Every detail matters.