Bishop helps sailors in the frontline fight against Covid

Providing the moral and spiritual support to help fellow sailors through the Covid-19 pandemic is Bristol Naval reservist and chaplain Simon Chapman.

Based at Bristol’s HMS Flying Fox, Simon – like all Senior Service chaplains known affectionately as ‘bish’ – has spent five years in the Royal Naval Reserve after serving as a full-time chaplain with the RAF and as a reservist with the Army.

His three years with the air force included a deployment to Kandahar as chaplain for the 1,500 British personnel stationed at the Afghan based. He joined troops on patrol and helicopters on sorties, provided pastoral care and led services at the base, spent time with casualties and led vigil services and repatriation ceremonies for the fallen.

He became a naval reservist “to experience something completely different, go to new places and feel that I’m doing something that at times may be nationally significant.

“I’m someone who thrives on change and challenge. The Royal Navy provides me with a constant flow of changing locations, deployments and people to work with. No two days are alike.”