Staff at HM Naval Base Clyde were joined by First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Philip Jones on Friday, August 18, when the head of the Royal Navy visited Scotland’s largest military base.
Accompanied by his wife, Lady Elizabeth Jones, the First Sea Lord toured both Faslane and Coulport sites, visiting some of the thousands of Sailors, Submariners and Royal Marines at the Naval Base, together with the civil servants who support them.
Two personnel from Clyde were presented with medals by First Sea Lord during the visit, with MOD Civil Servant Mairi Stevenson awarded the Imperial Service Medal (ISM) and 43 Commando’s Lieutenant Colonel Pete Kemp RM being presented with a Long Service and Good Conduct medal with Bar.
Mairi Stevenson, who recently retired from MOD Training at Clyde, picked up the ISM after 30 years of valuable service and for her important contribution to the work of the department.
Lieutenant Colonel Kemp’s award was presented for 15 years of reckonable service and for meeting the highest possible standards.
During the visit Lady Jones also headed to Helensburgh where she toured Churchill Square’s Drumfork Club which is currently undergoing a major refurbishment and met representatives from Royal Navy and Royal Marines Welfare and organisation Recruit for Spouses.
Speaking to an assembled gathering of Naval Base personnel, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Philip Jones thanked the group for their hard work, saying that: “HM Naval Base Clyde knows what team work and partnership looks like.”
The Admiral also took time to highlight the frenetic pace of activity over the past 12-months which has been dubbed “The Year of the Navy”.
“It has been an extraordinary year for the Navy,” he said. “We have signed the Crowsnest capability contract, named the first of a new batch of Off-Shore Patrol Vessels, rolled-out HMS Audacious, cut steel on the first Type 26, and, of course, welcomed HMS Queen Elizabeth to her new home in Portsmouth.”
But the focus on the Navy won’t stop on December 31,” he continued. “There is lots of activity ahead which is a sign of a change - a renewed focus on the maritime.”
