SAILORS on board five Portsmouth-based warships will be tucking into their turkey dinners at sea instead of at home this year.
Two Hunt-class mine-countermeasure vessels, HMS Quorn and HMS Atherstone, are on maritime security patrols east of Suez.
The River-class patrol vessel HMS Clyde is in the South Atlantic along with Type 42 destroyer HMS Edinburgh.
And Antarctic patrol ship HMS Protector is surveying the continent.
The Royal Navy says one in seven sailors, Royal Marines and Fleet Air Arm ground crew will be on duty over the holidays – more than 4,800 men and women in total.
Lieutenant Emma McCormick, who is based at the fleet headquarters in Portsmouth, is flying out to spend the festive period with her husband, Petty Officer Keith McCormick, who is the coxswain of Forward Support Unit 2 in the Gulf.
She said: ‘For me, making sure there’s a bit of normality in our lives at Christmas is very important.
‘I suggested hosting the rest of the guys for nibbles but it got lost in translation, so I’m now cooking for up to 26 which is a logistical nightmare – but probably quite fun.’
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