Glasgow And Ships Of The Clyde

Storms disrupt sailings of Burns & Laird' "Lion"

From: Ardrossan & Saltcoats Herald Dated Friday 6th February 1970

STORM HOLDS UP FUSILIERS

A party of 150 men and 25 vehicles of the 1st Battalion, the Royal Highland Fusiliers, were due to sail from Ardrossan to Belfast on Tuesday, but had to postpone their departure for 24 hours when the ferry ?LION? was unable to dock at Ardrossan due to rough seas.

The soldiers were the advance party of the regiment who will fly to Northern Ireland next month. They had driven down from Fort George, Inverness, and stayed overnight at Dundonald Camp, Troon, where they had to remain two nights instead of one.

The main party of 100 men and 35 vehicles will sail from Ardrossan tonight by special overnight ferry. This is the first time since wartime days that the transport element of an infantry battalion has embarked from a Scottish port for active service - and carries echoes of D-Day, which had to be postponed for similar reasons.

The ?LION? was unable to dock at Ardrossan due to gale-force winds and high seas which lasted over Monday and Tuesday, and only on Wednesday morning at 0515 hrs, 30 hours late, did the Burns & Laird vessel eventually tie up at Ardrossan.

She was due on Monday night at 2045 hrs, but despite repeated attempts to dock, she was forced to take shelter off Arran for that night. She had 50 passengers on board.

The following morning further unsuccessful attempts were made to dock at Ardrossan and the ferry eventually had to tie up at Greenock about 1700 hrs that afternoon and allow the passengers to disembark, but there are no facilities at Greenock for cars to be driven off so that operation had to be carried out at their correct destination.

Scribe Tango