> Military Sealift Ship HMNZS CHARLES UPHAM
(grin!) There’s a funny story behind that vessel...
It was bought for a bargain about 12 years ago IIRC, by overly-zealous bureaucrats with more money to spend than commonsense. In a fit of misplaced national fervor she was named after NZ’s greatest War Hero ever. (Luckily perhaps, postumously: Upham VC may have seen the humor to it, perhaps not...)
How embarassing!
Unfortunately, it’s a member of our Nation’s fleet that our Navy would probably like to forget: it was good for pretty much nothing and would have required significant and expensive modification to make it even a little bit useful. I’m not even certain this vessel is still commissioned...
...could just as easily be a tramp steamer now, or more likely in Davy Jones’ locker.
One day, with a proper change of Government and a bit of good luck, I’m hoping our Navy gets kitted out with a few of those fancy new fighting vessels like our Australian mates have just purchased: they should name the first one of those lot “HMNZS Charles Upham”.