Navy News
Direct from the front-line, the official newspaper of the Royal Navy, Navy News, brings you the latest news, features and award winning photos every month.
HMS Trumpeter receives Freedom of Ipswich
7 May 2025
The Archer-class patrol vessel was granted the honour from the Mayor of Ipswich on Wednesday 30 April, marking a special relationship between the Borough and the Royal Navy.
HMS Trumpeter has been granted the Freedom of Ipswich which signals the beginning of a new formal affiliation between the Borough and the Royal Navy’s warship.
The affiliation builds on the Borough’s long-standing connection with the Armed Forces and continues the legacy of the previous affiliation between Ipswich and HMS Quorn, which ended when the ship was decommissioned in 2017.
It is not the first time that HMS Trumpeter has shared a connection with the Borough, after being based in Ipswich for a number of years before moving to Newcastle.
The occasion was marked over three days, commencing with a formal ceremony on Wednesday 30 April with guests including the Mayor of Ipswich, the Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk as well as local MPs.
Celebrations continued with a tour onboard for the Mayor and local Councillors on Thursday 1 May and concluded with the Mayor experiencing some time on the water, sailing down the River Orme on Friday 2 May.
Trumpeter was proud to call Ipswich home from 2010 to 2024, so it’s a real pleasure to cement our affiliation.
HMS Trumpeter’s Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Stephen Robbins, said: “Trumpeter was proud to call Ipswich home from 2010 to 2024, so it’s a real pleasure to cement our affiliation.
“We’ve had excellent engagement with local Sea Cadets, the Military Preparation College for Training, Royal Naval Association and town council which I hope will foster closer ties between Trumpeter and Ipswich as we visit more often.”
HMS Trumpeter is one of 16 Archer-class patrol vessels assigned to the Coastal Forces Squadron, providing maritime security and operations within Europe’s coastal waters. The ship, operated by a small team of five sailors and led by an experienced Lieutenant, regularly contributes to UK and NATO exercises and operations in UK territorial waters, North Sea, Western Europe and Baltic Sea.
Ipswich has a long and proud maritime and naval history with the town seeing port activity there for at least 1400 years and locals such as Thomas Slade contributing to the design and build of Nelson’s flagship, HMS Victory. Ipswich continues to have a significant maritime trade, being the UK’s largest grain exporting port, as well as importing a range of products.
A Memorandum of Understanding will now be drawn up to set out the aspirations of the Council and HMS Trumpeter for the affiliation.