Movie stars were out in force as Faslane and Coulport continued to enhance their reputation as generous supporters of local and national charities.

‘At the Movies with Clyde Naval Base’ was chosen as the theme for the Children in Need calendar for 2004.

A list of films was circulated, along with an invitation for individuals and groups to portray their favourite flick in the most appropriate way.

When the bids were in, it was down to the imagination and skill of the members of the Fleet Regional Photographic Unit, Clyde, to bring the scenes to life.

The Public Relations team was prominent in the initiative – Assistant Staff PRO Lt Lig Hill is chairman of the base’s Children in Need committee – and they led the way, opting to pose for the October picture as the Addams Family, using the disused St Andrews School building as a backdrop on a suitably sombre Autumn day.

The Captain of the base, Capt Steve Bramley, went for Top Gun, being photographed astride a Triumph motorbike for the April picture, while the padres of the Chaplaincy represented the Men in Black for December’s shot.

The calendar – sponsored by Babcock Naval Services – costs £3 and can be ordered from Lt Hill on 93255 ext 6101.

There is also a recipe book called Faslane Fare, containing “tried and tested” dishes contributed by staff at both Faslane and Coulport, which is also on sale for £3.

Lt Hill has raised more £1,500 on the sales of these two items alone already.

Other initiatives for Children in Need included the construction of a new submarine – a one-off design named HMS Pudsey, which featured live on BBC Scotland.

The boat was built by first-year engineering maintenance apprentices as part of their course work at Clydebank College – the students normally split their time between the college and working at Faslane.

Under the watchful eye of Joe Mitchell, the four-metre yellow submarine – a giant piggy-bank with a slot for coins in a port-hole – was built to attract attention and money for Children in Need, but will also prove useful for other Faslane events. The submarine alone raised almost £900.

It was wheeled around the base on a specially-build carriage, then featured on BBC Scotland’s Children in Need live broadcasts from Glasgow.

“It’s a real team thing – everyone joins in and you do it for fun on a volunteer basis,” said Lt Hill.

“The calendar has proved very popular. People came to the photographers with an idea for, say, Grease, and the photographers came up with the ideas and how to stage it.

“For Grease, they used the stand at Helensburgh Rugby Club, and the Yellow Brick Road for the Wizard of Oz was Red Square outside the Clyde Community Centre – turned from red to yellow on the computer!”

Other features of Children in Need were a PTIs’ Olympiad, featuring sports from mixed volleyball and sixes football to darts and Uckers – a Naval version of ludo.

Girl band Lemonescent presented prizes, and played a short set for the sailors, while Navy chefs baked heaps of Pudsey cookies, hoping to better last year’s total of £100.

Members of the Sick Bay did a bed push, while the Royal Marines ran a Commando Wire slide from 120ft up on the biggest crane in the base – raising more than £5,000 from 150 brave volunteers. FOSNNI was the first down, and Commodore John Borley, Director Naval Base Clyde, was the last.

Faslane raised a total of almost £13,800 for the telethon, with more to come – a typically generous response from workers at the base, but other causes are just as strongly supported.

Pink was very much in evidence during the Breast Cancer Campaign’s ‘Wear it Pink’ Day, when staff were urged to wear a pink item of clothing – Cdre Borley chose a pink tie – and £1,672 was raised.

Gangs of pink-clad staff roamed the base urging people to support the cause, and a pink car, decorated with balloons and ribbons, was parked at the base’s North Gate as a reminder to workers as they arrived in the morning.

Organiser Group Capt Jane Nottingham was perhaps not surprisingly reported to be ‘tickled pink’.