Royal Navy: HMS Collingwood in Fareham celebrates 85th birthday as anniversary applauded - pictures

HMS Collingwood in Newgate Lane, Fareham, honoured her founding with a birthday party today (January 10). Commanding Officer, Captain Tim Davey, was invited to cut the birthday cake together with the youngest sailor AB(AWT) Rosie Coman, 16.

Musicians from the Royal Marines Band Service were present for the show and performed ‘Happy Birthday’ and other upbeat songs. Phase 2 sailors from Victory Squadron also joined the ceremony.

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The cake was cut into pieces and passed around all the personnel following a speech from CO Davey. Addressing the crowd, he said: “Today marks a special birthday in HMS Collingwood’s history, as we celebrate 85 years of the establishment delivering first class training in support of front line operations.

“Thank you to ESS for providing this amazing cake for us today and the members of the RM Band who have made this a truly memorable occasion.”

HMS Collingwood gained its name from Lord Collingwood, a distinguished admiral at the turn of the 19th century. The base itself, commissioned in 1940 to train roughly 1,000 sailors every three weeks, is the lead establishment of the Maritime Warfare School. It is also home to the Royal Naval Cadets of HMS Collingwood Royal Naval Volunteer Cadet Corps.

The main role of the base is to take sailors through stages two and three of Warfare and Weapon Engineer training. It also supports the Royal Navy Leadership Academy and Fleet Intelligence Centre. Training courses cover a variety of aspects to Royal Navy life, including diving, engineering and other skills.