In what has become a great tradition, Flag Officer Fleet, Rear Admiral B.K. Mhlana invited members of the Fleet, due to retire at the end of this month for the customary farewell ‘stand-easy’. The Naval Command Council was in sessions and with Chief of the Navy Vice Admiral M.S. Hlongwane and the rest of the NCC in attendance, the venue was Admiralty House. WO1 Croome will retire after 42 years of service in the military. He was the Warrant Officer-in-Charge of the Navy Museum since 2012. Harry has done magnificent work at the museum and in the bigger Simon’sTown hertage area with a practical hands-on do-it-yourself attitude to maintain and preserve the many historical treaures in our area. He was perhaps best known for his tireless physical work to revive the old RML cannon at Middle North Battery, spending many weekends there with shovel and wheelbarrow in hand. The regular firings that we all enjoy today are mainly due to his efforts.
Luckily Harry will not be lost to the museum (or ST) having already joined the ‘Friends of the Museum’ and bluntly admitting that he is “going nowhere slowly”.