HMS Marlborough raised nearly £5,000 for the ship’s charity KIDS through two major events as she returned from the Far East and her Naval Task Group 03 deployment – but neither fund-raiser went according to plan.

The first event the Type 23’s crew had planned was a 24-hour sponsored drum marathon on the ship’s flight deck, but there was a false start to the event when a senior rate on board slipped on a ladder.

His injury turned out to be a broken arm, and was deemed sufficiently serious to warrant a casualty evacuation, or ‘casevac’.

The barbecue which had been lit on the flight deck was quickly extinguished and dismantled, and the drum kit cleared away as the Lynx helicopter was readied.

The frigate was at that stage lying 60 miles off the coast of India, and with the Duty Fleet Controller at Northwood informed and diplomatic clearance organised through the same office and Defence Attache Grp Capt Spiller, the Lynx flew the injured man to Trivandrum, to be met by an Indian Air Force officer and an ambulance.

The time elapsed between the accident and the ambulance ashore was just one hour 45 minutes – a slick performance by both Northwood and Grp Capt Spiller.

With the helicopter recovered and stowed away, the Executive Officer’s drumkit was again broken out, and despite the late hour (10pm), POC Neil ‘Moggie’ Mogeridge set off.

Moggie’s skills were tested to the full as the fine evening gave way to 45 knots of wind and lashing rain, but the intrepid senior rate battled away through the night just outside the hangar door, watched by his ‘roadies’ and adjudicators.

And as he continued into the following day he continued to work though his repertoire – a good rock ‘n’ roll session, rather than just banging away at a single drum.

Moggie was supported throughout his marathon by a selection of the ship’s guitarists playing a wide range of music, from middle-of-the-road to indie and heavy rock.

As the weather worsened the adjudicators relented slightly and allowed him to move into the hangar itself to ensure Moggie didn’t drown – the kit was moved while he continued with just a single drum, to ensure the marathon continued.

Moggie completed his 24-hour stint with a massive final burst of energy, accompanied by Marlborough’s leading guitar hero PO John Mullarkey. He had gone through one set of drum sticks, and at no time did the drumming stop – during the five-minute pit-stops allowed by the rules a reserve drummer kept the skins in action.

The reward for Moggie’s effort in trying conditions was a total of £1,000 raised for the KIDS charity for children with special needs.

The injured sailor was given initial treatment for his injury – a bad break near the shoulder – and once stabilised he was repatriated to the UK for further treatment.

KIDS was once again the focus of fund-raising efforts with £3,255 netted from a day of entertainment that took place during their long transit of the Indian Ocean – and again the weather had a hand in the final programme.

Marlborough was by now crossing the Indian Ocean, and was battered by winds of up to 65 knots and a six-metre breaking swell, putting the upper deck out of bounds and a working environment more akin to the North Atlantic or North Sea than the tropics.

The calm waters of the Red Sea were a great relief to all, and a ‘weekend’ routine allowed all to relax and get on with the serious business of entertainment and fund-raising with the ‘Magnificent Birdman of Marlborough’ competition.

The rules were simple – design and build a aircraft, take it to the flight deck and launch it from the stern. There were marks available for design flair, innovation, flamboyance and pilot optimism, but ‘he who flies furthest wins’ was the simple rule of thumb.

There was much poring over blueprints in the time leading up to the contest, and aerodynamics were tweaked to gain maximum distance from already stressed airframes.

But the day of the contest dawned brown – a heavy sandstorm reduced visibility to as little as 200ft, and the ship took on an unusual khaki hue as the sand settled everywhere and the wind whipped up the sea.

An air tattoo looked decidedly unlikely, and despite a delay of several hours, air traffic control finally confirmed there would be no flying that day.

But the organisers quickly revised the rules and the event went ahead as a grand parade of flight, including a ground-run demonstration of each aircraft’s capabilities.

Among those taking part were Tumbling Tommo and the Miraculous Bee Man, but the top prize was won by the superb precision display team the Red Sparrows.

Once the excitement of the flying machines had died down it was over to the Petty Officers Mess for a barbecue and charity auction, compered by the ship’s king of the one-liners, PO Jim Smith (alias David Dickinson from TV’s Bargain Hunt).

With the weather clearing to leave a fine evening, Jim kept the event rolling along at a fine pace, and a grand total of £3,255 was raised.

Among the lots were a signed Wigan RFC poster and programme, which raised £10, a signed Spurs pennant (£200), a Celtic FC video (£40), a flight in the ship’s Lynx (£140), a dinner party for six in the Captain’s Cabin (£425) and a bath in the Captain’s bath – the only one on the ship (£130).

There was a huge amount of behind-the-scenes organisation for the event, with special mention due to WTR Adam Lappin, who expended much energy on a bid to secure a wide range of decent lots.

Marlborough sailed from the UK in January and had a major role in the Iraq conflict before she picked up the NTG 03 deployment and the major five-nation air defence Exercise Flying Fish off Singapore.

She returned to the UK with HMS Liverpool last month.