Royal Fleet Auxiliary awarded the Firmin Sword of Peace

Largs Bay was sent by the British government after more than 230,000 people were killed in the Caribbean territory of Haiti in January 2010.

At a ceremony in Portland on Wednesday the Royal Navy’s Commander in Chief Fleet, Admiral Sir Trevor Soar, said Largs Bay’s efforts had saved lives.

He said:

“There is no doubt in my mind at all that the teamwork and sheer determination displayed by the Ship’s Company of RFA Largs Bay saved many lives and your help continues to make a difference to the people of Haiti.”

The vessel was on an operational exercise in the Arctic Circle when the hurricane struck. She was rapidly reconfigured to provide humanitarian disaster relief and sailed from Southampton.

When she arrived at the capital Port-au-Prince, Largs Bay combined the ship’s ability to position close to shore with the skills of 17 Port Maritime Regiment to drive landing craft from the ship over the final stretch of water to the beach.

Working with American personnel Largs Bay delivered 430 tonnes of supplies and 165 tonnes of rations which equated to 389,000 meals.

Meanwhile engineers worked ashore to repair generators and to rewire key administrative and public service buildings.

In the midst of this the ship’s company also managed to raise £10,500 for the disaster emergency committee by running the distance from the UK to Haiti on the ship’s running machines.

The presentation of the Firmin Sword of Peace was made by Tony Kelly, Sales Manager for Firmin & Sons Ltd to Adm Soar.

Adm Soar said:

“It’s a great privilege for me to be here to hand over the Firmin sword of peace, and I’d really like to thank Tony Kelly for Firmin’s sponsorship of this prestigious award which was established in 1966.”

Captain Ian Johnson, Commanding Officer of RFA Largs Bay said:

"When I consider the previous recipients of this award and their fantastic achievements I feel extremely honoured to accept it on behalf of all who served on RFA Largs Bay during the Haiti relief effort in 2010."

The award is made for valuable contribution to humanitarian causes by developing and strengthening good relations with the inhabitants of any community whether in the UK or overseas.