Former head of Royal Navy Medical Service to name new cruise ship

The former head of the Royal Navy Medical Service is to name a new cruise ship.

Saga Cruises selected Commodore Inga Kennedy for the honour of ‘godmother’ and naming the Spirit of Adventure in a nod to the medical profession’s work during the pandemic.

Cdre Kennedy follows in the footsteps of the Duchess of Cornwall, who is godmother to sister ship Spirit of Discovery and who is Commodore-in-chief of the RN Medical Service.

“I was thrilled to be asked to become Spirit of Adventure’s godmother and feel I’m accepting this on behalf of the wider medical community who have worked so tirelessly throughout this pandemic and will continue to do so long after this crisis period fades,” said Cdre Kennedy.

During the naming service in Portsmouth next month, Cdre Kennedy will smash a bottle of English sparkling wine on the hull of the ship.

Cdre Kennedy, who trained as a registered nurse, midwife and lecturer, worked for the NHS before joining the Royal Navy Reserve in 1987.

She worked as a senior midwife at the Royal Navy Hospital Gibraltar before joining Queen Alexandra’s Royal Navy Nursing Serving in 2000.

She was promoted to commander in 2005 and served in Afghanistan in 2011 and was made captain that year.

She was promoted to commodore in 2015 and two years later was appointed head of the RN Medical Service, a position she relinquished recently.

 Group CEO of Saga, Euan Sutherland, said: “Commodore Kennedy has given a lifetime of service to nursing and our armed forces and it will be a privilege to watch her send Spirit of Adventure on her way.”