A SEASALT is calling ahoy! to old shipmates who served aboard HMS Protector between 1959 and 1961.

Jim Halliday, of Maud Street, Chorley, is looking for seafaring friends for a reunion, planned for March next year in Gosport, near Portsmouth.

Jim completed two tours of duty on board the vessel, sailing to the South Atlantic, around the Falklands, and the island of South Georgia.

He said: "I was a leading cook. At times it was not easy, particularly when you were not able to get fresh vegetables.

"We were mainly based at Port Stanley, the Falklands, but we only went into port once a month. Everybody was kept busy and had their work cut out."

The HMS Protector Association was established 12 months ago.

HMS Protector was built in 1936 and was chiefly involved in laying submarine nets. After the Second World War, its role changed and the ship was converted and dispatched to the Antarctic, where it was used to carry helicopters.

People interested in joining the reunion should call organiser Harry Pinkertone on 01492 874685.