09/05/2013 The One Show

Navy to remember the bravery and heroism of those who fought in the

Battle of the Atlantic. To do so we've come aboard this, the aircraft

carrier at the centre of the commemorations, so welcome to a very

Hello and welcome to The One Show with Matt Baker. And Alex Jones.

Tonight our sofa has landed on the flight deck of the Royal Navy's

largest warship, HMS Illustrious. Or, as her crew calll her, "Lusty".

She's sailed up the Thames to Greenwich as part of the

commemorations for the 70th anniversary of the Battle of the

Atlantic, and she's not the only warship visiting the capital for

this event. The destroyer HMS Edinburgh and the mine-sweeper, HMS

Blyth, have also made the journey and are berthed furthur up the

river. Last night there was a special service at St Paul's

Cathedral. Tonight there's royalty here and veterans, of course, and

we've got another special event, of a different kind. It's the first

British television interview in 30 years with Agnetha from Abba, which

will be fabulous. Yes, all these people are expectantly waitling for

a fly-past. We hear the pilot are on their way. Helping us join in with

the commemorations and the celebrations we've got Eddie Izzard

with us today. Dan Snow is also here and we've got veterans Eric

Winkle-Brown and Edwin Lande. Super to see you all. Isn't this exciting?

Dan, just before we start, we started over there with what we call

the moanial sun rise is taking place. Give us an idea of what that

is and the significance of that flag. That flag is the white ensign,

which Des ignites it is a Navy ship. The Royal Marines band from Plymouth

are playing the Sun set. It has been going for 500 years. At the end of

the day you close everything down, call in your patrols and settle in

for the day. That ensign is lowered. At sea it is always up. , this is

something your dad wouldis something your dad would have experience

times, because he was in the Navy? He was on HMS Formidable, just after

the war. It was still wartime arrangements, October '45 he joined

up. He is watching right now. Another aircraft carrier. Yes, I

know and I am wearing this the charity of the Royal Navy and the

Royal Marines for dad. And we are all here to commemorate the 70th

anniversary of the Battle of the Atlantic. It was very long and

drawn-out battle wasn't it? Battle of the Atlantic, as these

gentlemen are about to tell us, it went from the first day of the war

to the very last day, an attempt by Germany to starve Britain, to

destroy industry and they used submarines to sink ships bringing in

supplies from Canada, North America. They were in large convoys, in large

groups to evade these. From Derry and Liverpool, bringing in those

vital supplies, without which Britain wouldn't have been able to

continue in World War II. Edwin, if you can hear me over the band, you

were on those ships as part of the Merchant Navy. Give us an idea how

many times you were sunk? I was sunk three times, but when we were sunk

we weren't in convoy, we were independent. So be sunk the first

time was enough, but to keep going, because obviously you were bringing

in vital supplies. Those days you kept going. When you're young you do

what you have to do. Yes, and you are here to tell the tale tonight.

I'm still alive. , you were one of the first to land a plane on the

carrier. How did HMS H audacity compare to Illustrious? It was the

very first operational escort carrier in the world. This was one

of Churchill's brain Childs. It was highly successful. We did three trip

trips in the convoy protection before we were sunk, but in those

three ships we kill five four-engined aircraft and five

U-boats, so we proved this was a way to protect convoys. This was a

turning point in the Battle of the Atlantic. Eric, everybody here is

wait waiting for the arrival of the fly-past. It is just coming over the

top of HMS Illustrious. You will know exactly how those pilots are

feeling. We've got a Swordfish starting us off. It is very

exciting. Very windy, good north Atlantic conditions Eric? Here we

are on an aircraft carrier flat and level. But in the Atlantic it was up

and down like a matchbox in the bath. And these Swordfish landed on

in spite of these dreadful conditions. And killed U-boats at

such a rate that the Admiral commanding the German U-boats

literally said the aircraft carrier will be the death of us. And the

Swordfish is leading in this fly-past. It was famously the

aircraft that dropped the torpedo that hit the Bismarck in the rudder,

so it played a big role against the U-boats and surface ships. It is

followed by two Lynx and a Merlin. They are the modern equivalent, they

are anti-submarine aircraft, but they do other things, drop troop

troops and commandos on to pirates in Africa. And the one in the middle

in orange and grey is a search and rescue aircraft. Prince William

flies one of those off the coast of Wales. These conditions the pilots

are doing incredibly well to keep them straight and level. I feel the

need to applaud. Can we do that! APPLAUSE

There's one more coming apparently. Absolutely incredible. This is

nostalgia. What's this like for you lads knowing what you've gone

through? To see this and it vividly reminds you of what it was like in

these dreadful days in the Atlantic. In the would be a mild day in the

Atlantic. The ships were pitching up and down and life was pretty

precarious. We lost a lot of people. When we were on a ship, we must not

forget the people who are not here today, because they gave their live

lives. Thank you both for your time. I know there's lots of people that

want to talk to you on board, so thanks for stopping bit. It is no

mean feat getting a boat like this up the Thames. Can you imagine the

people who live in those flats seeing this enormous aircraft

carrier. Don't forget in the history of London loads of ships used to go

up here in the old days, and Napoleon came to Greenwich. Is a 210

metre by 36 metre floating city. said Napoleon, I meant to say they

brought Nelson back. I'm dyslexic. Lucy joined "Lusty" on her journey

from Portsmouth to see exactly how she managed to get here. I join HMS

Illustrious as she leaves Portsmouth for her short voyage to London. 16

hours later she's in the mouth of the Thames and a daunting challenge

lies just ahead. I'm about to witness the ship's very difficult

passage through here, the Thames barrier. Captain Martin Connell is

the man in charge. Captain, this is a big day for you? It is.Are you

nervous? It is always good to have a bit of athen lip nerves would be a

bad thing, but no, it is something we've planned in some detail, so we

are confident, particularly in the pilots and their expertise, that

this will go entirely smoothly today. What's unique with this ship

as an aircraft carrier is the bridge is displaced to starboard, so we are

looking out at one side of to vessel. As we approach the Thames

barrier we have to line it up correctly so we'll have about 12

metres either side, which sounds like quite a lot but believe me when

23,000 tonnes approaching the Thames barrier, that isn't much room.

is steered from here, the bridge. As HMS Illustrious waves her way up the

Thames estuary I get my hands on the helm had, a moment to sense just how

difficult it is to manoeuvre a vessel of this size. Why does it

take so long? Because it is a huge ship? I've just had a little go at

staring Illustrious. Really difficult. The amount of

concentration needed is unbelievable. I'm just glad I'm not

going to be in the hot seat when they are steering through the Thames

barrier. It is not just about the steering. The propulsion is

controlled from six decks below. Stoke Stoker is Scott Scotty.

Upstairs they are using these Telegraphs to ask us what

revolutions they want. That will decide the ship's speed, at the

moment it is 13 knots. If it gets a bit hairy on the bridge, do you

notice the tension in their voices? Yes, you've got conning one, we call

it pipe. You feel the tension in the voices and that's when things happen

a lot quicker. Ship approaches the Thames barrier the Captain takes up

a position on the bridge roof and the atmosphere is tense. I set off

in the ship's Lynx helicopter to get a really good view. How is that

side, but it was safe and we got through in one piece. Now then, we

said didn't we there was another plane that was going over and the

Catalina went over during that film. Dan's back on the sofa to tell us

the significance of the Catalina. The Catalina is an interesting

place, a flying boat, it landed in Northern Ireland, on a loch. It

would fly miles out into the Atlantic. You can see looking at the

Catalina bulbous that look like insect eyes and they would spot

submarines. They also spotted the Bismarck. Eddie, we were just saying

a few years ago you honoured the memory of Royal Navy veteran Billy

Swift? I went out in the 60th anniversary of the Normandy

landings. He was a real character and he put a lot of effort into

getting the first Navy memorial on the D-Day beaches. He raised cash to

do this. He was on the Arctic convoy. These guys went through hell

getting into Murmansk in Russia. There's a medal the Russians wanted

to give them but for some technical reason, the Americans and the

Canadians have got it, but the British aren't allowed to have this

one. I think David Cameron should let the Russian medal go to the

sailors who were on the Arctic convoys like Billy Swift. You know

such a lot of history. Noticed that nobody was talking about history on

stand-up. I was never good at these in school, why did the First World

War start? I have no idea. Making jokes about the triumvirate in Rome

is niche but I like it. Been all over the place. I've been all around

Europe, playing in Bucharest, in Vienna, in Berlin. It is a World

Tour basically. It is. Well, it is going to be cat Mooned awe this year

-- at Midland ow this year and -- Kathmandu this year and America next

year. I'm doing it in French now. See you talking about the spartans.

Spartan women, Spartan dogs, Spartan cats. Spartan moles, Spartan sheep.

There is another helicopter which is about to come on land and

interrupters, but it is not quite here yet. That it is quite

interesting, the union Jack has been lowered on the back of take

illustrious, but you have got 1... Yes, I have got a European flag

here, which I know will annoy some people. But I am very positively

going around Europe. We do not want this kind of Second World War thing

to happen ever again. Me and Dan Snow both agree on this. I am

touring all around Europe, opening up new countries and new areas to

play when you go to these countries, do you adjust your

material to suit the country? No doubt I am talking about Spartans

and Greeks and Romans, Lord of the rings, people smoking pipes, it is

like Monty Python, it is silly and intelligent, stupid and crazy.

Whether it is Wembley, Berlin, Vienna or Istanbul. When you come to

a working aircraft carrier, you have got to expect this is a Merlin

helicopter, is it? But kept it is the new boy of the helicopter fleet.

It is such a workhorse, so versatile. It is coming into land

now, they are just checking there are no objects on the deck which

might get sucked up into the engines. Let's just enjoy it

engines. Let's just enjoy it landing. Look at that. How long does

a helicopter take to land? On board here, we have got a very special

guest, who is going to the charity dinner tonight, having raised money

for a fantastic course. It is worth remembering, this is actually a

helicopter carrier. These are the aircraft is carries at the moment. A

perfect landing. There is applause going up all around, this is

brilliant. It looks like a really tricky manoeuvre, but in fact, they

do this when the aircraft is moving, so they are used to it. I

have got a pilot's licence, so I know a little bit about this. It is

a little bit hairy. Something else that Eddie Izzard and do! I wanted

to fly Spitfires, that was it. Apparently it is really difficult,

because the controls are in reverse? No, Spitfires are beautiful

to fly but difficult to taxi. After the D-Day landings, with Spitfires,

more people died in accidents than in combat. At 450 miles an hour,

some people, unfortunately, the landing is really tricky. I am just

picking up on something you were saying, these days, HMS illustrious

is a commando and helicopter carrier. Back in 2009, that was when

the last Harrier took off. The sister ship, the HMS Ark Royal, will

take its final journey to the scrapyard next week. And then next

year, this ship come the illustrious, will be decommissioned.

Wits begs the question, what does the future hold for the British

Navy? HMS Montrose, firing the anti-ship harpoon missile off the

north-west coast of Scotland last week. This American-made system has

been fitted in 600 ships worldwide. Fewer and fewer of those are

British. The days when Britannia ruled the waves are long over. At

the end of the Second World War, the Royal Navy had 262 major ships and

submarines, employing nearly half a million people. Now, the Royal Navy

has shrunk to a T warships and submarines, with 34,000 personnel.

Retired naval officer John mucks worthies or great change over his 32

years of service. He is concerned that the modern Navy is just too

small. In 1960, when I joined, there were 12 aircraft carriers, 30

cruisers, 150 frigates and destroyers. Now, we will only have

19 frigates and destroyers. We are a shadow of our former selves. It is a

shame. We were the best Navy in the world, but we are becoming one of

the smallest. How do we compare to other countries? Our nearest

neighbours, France, have 10,000 more personnel, but five fewer ships. As

for China, they have 68 submarines, four times as many as we have got,

but the biggest Navy in the world is, unsurprisingly, the US. I have

got almost ten times as many people as the Royal Navy, and a massive 283

fighting ships and submarines. We clearly need to keep the US onside,

but a smaller fleet does not mean we are not a force to be reckoned with.

Under construction are tender of the largest warships ever built in the

UK am a at a cost of �5.9 billion. HMS Queen Elizabeth is three times

the size of HMS illustrious, and will enter service in 2018. John

Gifford, from BAE Systems, has given Gifford, from BAE Systems, has given

us a preview. Everything has been fitted in seven different shipyards,

all indoors, and the idea now is to put it all together, in the assembly

yard. The flight deck is more than 300 metres long, and 70 metres high.

And then there is another 26 metres when you put the island on top of

that. So, as you can see, with facilities, we are talking about a

very big piece of structured dock all the ships are getting bigger,

but overall, the Navy has recognised that it has got much smaller. But

they say the reduced budget just means it has to be smaller with the

resources it has got. The Navy is the right size for the task we are

asked to do wherever that may be around the world. It could be in the

Gulf, the Middle East... The Navy is very different to the Navy of the

Second World War, which was involved in a full-scale war. At the moment,

that is not the case, so we are asked to do what we are asked to do,

with a Navy of an appropriate size. We are joined now by Captain

Connell. I sat in your chair earlier today. Somebody said, do not press

that button. It is unbelievable that you managed to navigate the ship

through that passage which was so thin. Yes, I think I will leave the

ship here. I do not want to think about sailing it out again. Was it

really tricky? I aged ten years, but we are going to have to turn it

around, and drive it backwards. is bigger than the ships of the old

days. I do not think I would like to bring a bigger ship here. What is

going to happen to her when she is decommissioned, and what is going to

happen to you? We are still the nation's on-call helicopter carrier.

We are on a few days notice to go anywhere in the world. When the

sister ship comes out next year, we will decommission, after 32 years of

service to the nation. Will it be turned into a museum? I hope so.

Right has said it is grown to save this ship for the nation. It is the

last surviving Invincible class carrier. And you and Illustrious are

bowing out at the same time. Yes, it is very sad, I have got very good

memories. Shortly, we will be hearing from the Royal Marine band,

but first of all, a very different kind of music. Yes, Agnetha Faltskog

has been a virtual recluse for 30 years, but she is back, and she has

given her first British television interview to us. Like thousands, I

grew up listening to ABBA, which is why I am intrigued to be meeting

Agnetha today. She is back, and I cannot wait to ask her why. I want

to read a review to you which I read about your voice from the new

album. The tender age in her voice is still there, as if burned by

love, and the embers are still hot to the touch. Isn't that lovely?

is lovely. It is always good to hear positive things. The new album is

was going to do another one. I thought my last record was my last

record. Then, when the guys came to my house and presented three new

songs, it was very good quality, and I could feel a challenge to do this

again. Because I love to record. how was your voice after a few years

of not singing regularly? Yes, it was a bit rusty to start with. I had

to take some singing lessons just to get back to that old feeling.

going to be the 40th anniversary in 2014 of Waterloo going to number one

and winning Eurovision. Are there any plans to celebrate that

anniversary? There should be! We now have a museum in Stockholm as well.

So, there is a celebration every year, I think! One big talking point

about ABBA, was it you who chose them? No, we had two guys who chose

them for us, and I would say they did a very good job. It was good

material to work in, because it was a bit stretchy. It looks pretty

tight. Yes, but it but it was tight anyway! I recently did a singalong

with a group of children, and I said, what song shall we sing?

Waterloo. Because they enjoyed mamma Mia. Yes, it is fantastic, because

it goes from generation to generation.

# Mamma Mia, here I go again. # Do you see each other? Yes, now and

then. I met Frida last summer, on vacation. We sat down and spoke very

emotionally, we spoke about nostalgic memories and so on.

have something in common that only the four of us have gone through.

And yet, in Britain, when we have weddings, there is one song which is

guaranteed to be played, dancing Queen. It appeals to energy and

happiness are. Does it give you energy, does it made you get up and

want to dance? Yes she is back! album is out on the 13th of May.

ceremonies do not end here, what else is planned over the next

month? Obviously, it will be marked in places like Liverpool, so, at the

end of the month, there will be a big service and ceremony in

Liverpool, which BBC One will be carrying. And there are other

events, particularly on that Western coast of Britain. It was heavily

bombed by the Luftwaffe, amongst other places. So they were really

part of the battle. Some good news before we go, we have what a

surprise for several able seaman. You have been promoted. They have

been promoted to leading hand. We are not quite sure what that means,

but huge congratulations. Thank you so much for everybody's hospitality