Horsham

HMS CHIDDINGFOLD - Unit Affiliated Ship

The 'Cheery Chid' as she is known throughout the small ship fleet was built by Vosper Thornycroft and was launched by the Ship's Sponsor Lady Anne Kennon in October 1983, formally entering service with the Royal Navy in October 1984.

HMS Chiddingfold's role within the RN
Over a quarter of a million Sea Mines have yet to be accounted for from the Second World War alone. Today mines remain a cheap and plentiful means of denying the use of the Sea; they can be tethered to the seabed or be laid upon it; they can be activate by impact or a variety of other influences. In short, mines continue to present a very real threat to all who use the sea.

The United Kingdom relies on shipments of cargo, food and other resources via the sea. HMS Chiddingfold's primary role as a mine hunter is to keep our sea-lanes open not only for military vessels but also civil vessels. This is accomplished in peacetime by surveying the various sea-lanes and harbours and plotting a detailed map of the seabed, so if the worst should happen we could quickly check that nothing new has appeared within these lanes, and thus quickly allow normal operations to resume. During times of war or conflict we are called on to clear channels for our larger sister units but also allow humanitarian aid into harbours that have been mined.

The process of clearing areas that have been mined is quite a slow process, but with the highly trained team of specialists onboard, areas are cleared as quickly and efficiently as possible. We are able to enter mined areas due to the construction of the ship and also the equipment fitted. The ship is constructed from Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP), with fixtures and fitting made from non-ferrous materials, this keeps our magnetic signature to the bare minimum. Other equipment onboard that produces magnetic fields have degaussing to lower or remove their magnetic field.

Chiddingfold can hunt for mines using its sonar and computer system, if mine like contacts are found then a remote controlled submersible vehicle, called Seafox, is deployed to enable us to view what the contact is. If the contact is a mine an explosive version of Seafox can be used to detonate remotely of the mine. If the mine is required for research then the diving team onboard can be sent away to disarm the mine and recover it onboard.

The other role HMS Chiddingfold can play during peacetime is as a member of the fishery protection squadron. During the time on Fishery protection duties the ship patrols areas around the UK and the Ship's company board vessels fishing within UK waters. During the boarding operation the vessels logs are checked along with its net size and size of fish held within the hold. This ensures that our fish stocks are not depleted due to undersize fish being caught, it also ensures that the vessel and crew are legally allowed to fish within UK waters.

HMS CHIDDINGFOLD

Commanding Officer HMS CHIDDINGFOLD

Charles Maynard was born and educated in Guildford, Surrey and is a Graduate of the University College Wales, Aberystwyth gaining a Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in English Literature in 1993 and of Kingston University gaining a Masters of Science Degree in Technology (Maritime Operations) in 2011.

He joined Britannia Royal Naval College in September 1993, specialising as a Warfare Officer and following Fleet Training was appointed as Gunnery Officer of the Mine Countermeasures Vessel HMS Berkeley in 1996. Subsequent appointments included Officer of the Watch of the Type 23 Frigate HMS Montrose deployed to the South Atlantic in 1998 and Navigating Officer of the Type 42 Destroyer HMS Edinburgh that deployed to the Mediterranean in 1999 as escort to the UK Amphibious Task Group during the Kosovo Crisis.

Maynard took Command of the Patrol Boat HMS Smiter and the Glasgow University Royal Naval Unit in 2001. His time in the West of Scotland included deployments around the UK and Ireland and the award of the First Patrol Boat Squadron Vosper Thorneycroft Efficiency Trophy. In 2003 Maynard deployed to Cyprus for Operation TELIC to take Command of a Royal Navy Patrol Boat conducting Force Protection duties around the UK Sovereign Base Area. At the end of formal hostilities, he returned to UK and commenced Principal Warfare Officer (PWO) Training, graduating from HMS DRYAD in 2004.Thereafter Maynard served as PWO (Above Water) and Operations Officer of Type 23 Frigate HMS Argyll. During a very busy 2 years, he deployed to the Gulf on Operation TELIC and conducted extended Anti-Submarine Operations in the North Atlantic. He joined Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) in 2006 as a Staff Warfare Officer responsible for training Ship’s Warfare teams in operational tactics. In his second year at FOST, he took on the additional responsibility of planning and executing all Royal Navy Pre-Deployment Operational Sea Training.

Thereafter Maynard served as PWO (Above Water) and Operations Officer of Type 23 Frigate HMS Argyll. During a very busy 2 years, he deployed to the Gulf on Operation TELIC and conducted extended Anti-Submarine Operations in the North Atlantic. He joined Flag Officer Sea Training (FOST) in 2006 as a Staff Warfare Officer responsible for training Ship’s Warfare teams in operational tactics. In his second year at FOST, he took on the additional responsibility of planning and executing all Royal Navy Pre-Deployment Operational Sea Training.

He joined the Coalition Naval Training Team in Umm Qasr, Iraq, in February 2008 as the Operations Officer and during a fascinating six months dealt with the military, socio-economic and political challenges of building a new Iraqi Navy. He was awarded the US Army Commendation Medal for his service in Iraq.

He assumed Command of the Mine-Hunter HMS Hurworth in December 2008 and brought the ship through sea trials and operational sea training before deploying with his crew to the Middle East and taking command of HMS Chiddingfold in July 2009. On return from the Gulf he commanded HMS Cattistock serving in UK waters during 2010 before a return to the Middle East in 2011, again in Command of HMS Chiddingfold.

Charles lives in Hampshire with his wife Melissa and children Lucy and Alastair. A keen golfer and cricketer, he can more usually be found walking with his young family in the Hampshire countryside.