The only information we have about this photograph is the title, ‘Onyx Bobsleigh Team’. Were these submariners part of the Great British Bobsleigh Team?. Roz Prichard was a teacher at Tilery Primary School, could it have been taken in the school hall? The date on the photograph is 17th July 1973.
Photograph courtesy of Carole Prichard, in memory of Roz Prichard.
I think thats me front centre, I remember I won a competition, I created a bobsleigh using my action mans skis and a toilet roll tube, kinda blue peter styley 🙂 I know I won a WH Smith book voucher and bought Jaws, this book was released Feb 1974 so I’d have been 7 and was in Roz Pritchard’s class 2p.
I served in Onyx 2nd Commission 1973 -76 and the image shows the GB Bobsleigh which we in Onyx helped fund, none of us were involved in the team.
Recognise most faces here with our 2 leading cooks ‘Johnny’ M standing extreme left with ‘Pony’ M kneeling. In the centre looking straight into camera is the Commanding Officer of Onyx Lieutenant PN ‘Nigel’ Goodwin, later Lt Cdr.
This is almost certainly 1973 when Onyx was in refit but we also had 2 fantastic visits to our semi adopted town Stockton in 1974 and 1975 but moored at Middlesbrough.
I was a pupil at Tilery School in 1973 and remember visiting HMS Onyx on a school trip. The submarine was berthed in Middlesbrough, and I really enjoyed the visit.
My name is Michael Taylor I am the boy on the left hand side sitting in the Bob sleigh. I lived at 17 St Ann’s Terrace, the boy next to me is Andrew Bell who lived at I think in Gooseport Road I do not know the name of the little girl. Andrew and me where just playing around the entrance of the school when we where asked to come in to have our photograph taken. I visited HMS Onyx and later on when I was in the Norton school I also went on board the submarine HMS Oracle which was also an Oberon class boat like HMS Onyx.
I remember going on the onyx submarine, moored at the Tees when I was at Tilery juniors, the sailors told us the boat had been submerged under the Tees while we were on it and I believed them lol. Think more schools should have partnerships with the forces like this.
HMS Onyx, a Royal Navy submarine, had links with Stockton and with Tilery School in the 1970s and visits to the town took place by crew members. The bobsleigh is probably to do with the Royal Navy team in the annual inter-services bob sleigh competition which is keenly contested by the three armed services.