Somewhere below the busy waters of Spithead in the depths of mud and slime lies a once highly , bluebell-polished ships nameplate on varnished oak bearing the words HMS JUPITER. It was 'mysteriously' lost overboard during the times of her early trials in the Summer of 1969. whilst running our of Pompey. The perpetrator of this crime, as far as I know, is to this day unidentified. Most suspect at the time were a number of Portsmouth RA's reluctant to leave their home port when talk of a Guzz weekend was the buzz. What happened, predictably, was the ship was moored in Spithead and the Tannoy resounded to the sound of First Lt's . voice saying ' All leave is cancelled until the offender comes forward'. Sound familiar? Further warnings followed over the next few hours and we spent a very tense 24 hours waiting.
Sadly I cannot remember the outcome to finalise this tale but if you were that sailor or you know what finally happened please step forward now.
I was a Pompey RA at that time. It was not me.