Richard Broniman – HMS Devonshire

HMS Devonshire was in Malta in 1979. I went ashore and got talking to a couple of pensioners from the UK. The lady asked if I was off the “lovely ship in the harbour?” I replied in the affirmative. She then asked if it would be open to visitors as she would really LOVE to go aboard. Her disappointment was obvious when I said no.

I said instead they could come as my ‘guests’ and I could take them around, give them lunch and a drink in the mess. I said they should get one of the local boatmen to bring them out to the ship the next day, which was a Sunday. They duly arrived as did fifteen others from their tour group! I earned the name of Cosmos Tours.

Richard Broniman

(Photograph of HMS Devonshire is courtesy of the National Museum of the Royal Navy)