Tampion for JDF

The museum of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), Up Park Camp, is to receive an important addition to its collection as a result of the kindness of former Royal Navy man, Hugh Campbell, who has donated a Tampion from the HMS Jamaica.
Mr. Campbell handed over the gift to Deputy High Commissioner, Sharon Saunders on Wednesday, May 3, at the High Commission in London.
He inherited the item from his father, Vice Admiral Ian Campbell, who died in 1980. The Vice Admiral, who was then a Captain, commanded the HMS Jamaica in 1946/47 and on leaving the ship, he was presented with the tampion from one of the secondary armament guns.
A tampion is a wooden plug or a metal or canvas cover for the muzzle of a gun. It can be found on both land-based artillery and naval guns. Over time, tampions were embossed or engraved with the arms of the unit, and they became collectors’ items. The tampion being given to the JDF consists of a polished white metal ship’s crest ( a pineapple), mounted on ebony.
Built by Cammell Laird Ltd in Birkenhead, the HMS Jamaica was launched in November 1940 and commissioned in June 1942. The ship was best known for her clashes with larger German ships in World War 11.
Mr. Campbell said the ship was the first unit of any service or company to fire a shot in anger in the Korean War, when she sank three North Korean patrol boats.
Vice Admiral Campbell joined the Royal Navy Academy in 1911 and served in the First World War. His final appointment, before retirement, was Commander-in-Chief, South Atlantic, based in Simonstown from 1954 to 1956.