Occasionally, when surfing the web, one happens upon a photograph of an ex-Castle class corvette in the role of an Ocean Weather Ship (OWS) - Rushen Castle was one such, being commissioned at Greenock as OWS Weather Surveyor in 1961.

These photos are inevitably accompanied by such questions as where in the Atlantic were these vessels stationed, who ran them, and who were the men who crewed them.

In an excellently concise and readable article (attached hereto in Adobe pdf format - click on the link below), Mik Cass supplies the answers to these questions (and more) from his own direct experience.

Not only are the important issues discussed, such as who was (and who was not) considered sufficiently responsible to drink spirits on an OWS, but also the layman is treated to a thorough explanation of the work that was undertaken on these ships.

Many thanks to Mik Cass for supplying this article for us to publish here, and to Norman Goodwin of the Castle Class Corvette (Frigate) Association for putting us in touch.

Definitely a recommended read!