Cock of the Fleet

25 Nov 66    Fleet Sports Day – HMNZS BLACKPOOL won the “Cock of the Fleet” trophy however there were several attempts to steal the trophy which RFA TIDEREACH eventually was successful for a short time.  Webmaster Note – The term ‘Cock of the Fleet’ has now been replaced by ‘Champion of the Navy’ for reasons of political correctness – another tradition down the tubes.
Attacks to steal the cock came from many ships. I remember the clandestine effort that went into trying to recover the Cock from TIDEREACH. Leading Seaman’s Guy Kidd and Jim Senton made the attempt. Guy Kidd went up the mast to get the cock and Jim Senton went to the bridge to take the ships wheel. Unfortunately this time they both got caught.  Image below shows the cock hoisted in Blackpool.