HMS Richmond was pleased to welcome Mr Douglas Bell of the Royal Naval Association (Newbury Branch) for a short visit whilst the Ship was alongside HM Naval Base Portsmouth recently.
Mr Bell (a former Charge Chief Petty Officer with 28 years service in the Royal Navy) had come onboard primarily to visit his daughter, Lieutenant Commander Lucy Ottley, who is serving in HMS Richmond as the Logistics Officer.
Mr Bell took full advantage of his visit to get brought up to date with the state of the art weapons and navigation systems that HMS Richmond is fitted with and was interested to learn how advanced the capabilities of a modern Royal Navy frigate had become in comparison to the Ships he had served in 30 years ago.
To mark the occasion of his visit Mr Bell, an active member of the Royal Naval Association in Newbury very kindly presented the Commanding Officer, Commander Robert G Pedre Royal Navy, with a branch plaque on behalf of the Association.
Commenting on his visit Mr Bell said,
”I have thoroughly enjoyed being back on board one of Her Majesty’s finest warships and the memories of life onboard have come flooding back from my time in the Service. It was great to meet some of the Ship’s Company and discuss their roles onboard, I was made to feel really welcome throughout. It has been a fabulous opportunity to see how Naval capability has progressed and the warm feeling of being back onboard has not left me!”
HMS Richmond is currently at sea supporting specialist navigation training and conducting material preparations in support of her current tasking.
[mappress] Naval Today Staff, March 7, 2013; Image: Royal Navy