Royal Navy warship HMS Ledbury has a new commanding officer, but links with a West Sussex village live on.
Outgoing captain, Lieutenant Commander Justin Hains, has welcomed a childhood friend to take over the helm of the Portsmouth-based minehunter.
After two years in charge Lt Cdr Hains has handed over to Lt Cdr Simon Pressdee – an old pal who grew up in the same village of Lavant near Chichester.
Lt Cdr Hains, 40, led the crew through a seven-month deployment to the Arabian Gulf and more recently a three-month period in the Mediterranean and Northern Red Sea, providing the UK’s contribution to the NATO high-readiness mine countermeasures group.He said,
“I am very proud of what we have achieved together over the last two years as a crew and individually.”
Lt Cdr Pressdee, 38, joined the Royal Navy in 1994 and has served in submarines, minehunters and destroyers and experienced the full breadth of RN operations worldwide he said,
“Assuming command of HMS Ledbury is a huge privilege for me. I am very much looking forward to working with my crew to fulfil a busy and challenging programme.”
HMS Ledbury is currently in Portsmouth undergoing routine maintenance prior to operations and exercises in the Baltic later this year.
[mappress] Press Release, September 11, 2013; Image: Royal Navy