A Royal Navy sailor from Hackney has been presented with his Long Service Good Conduct medal following 15 years in the Service.
Alan Murrell, 38, is currently working as part of the Royal Navy’s secure communications team at the command headquarters in Portsmouth.
Born in Hackney, where his mum Jean Murrell still lives, he attended Hackney Downs School before taking a job as a civil servant in the Ministry of Defence public relations department in London.
He then joined the Royal Navy in 1997 following a spell as a Naval Reservist based at HMS President in London.
He cites his favourite ship as the former Type-42 destroyer HMS Liverpool on which he was based for eight years, with the best deployment a seven-month stint in the South Atlantic.
This included port visits in Rio de Janeiro, the Falkland Islands and sailing through sights such as the Panama Canal.
On the presentation of his LSGC medal he said:
“I am really proud of my 15 years in the Royal Navy – I have enjoyed so much of my career and have seen some amazing places across the world.
“My highlight is probably the moment I had a photo taken of me in my Leyton Orient football shirt and that being included in the Orient ‘Match Day’ programme.”
As well as the LSGC medal, Alan has the Operational Service Medal (2002), Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal (2002) and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal (2012).
A shareholder with Leyton Orient football club, Al’s other interests include playing the trombone for the Royal Navy volunteer band, studying maps as a member of the Flag Institute and reading up on local and naval history.
Now living in Gosport, he attends Stoke Road Baptist Church regularly.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, January 21, 2013; Image: Royal Navy