Submariner's ex-wife demands Royal Navy 'reinstate' captain sacked for allowing lockdown party

Furious Madge Middleton has launched a campaign defending HMS Trenchant’s ex-captain, Commander John Lewis, after he allowed his ship’s company to stage a dockside barbecue last month.

The 65-year-old, whose ex-husband was a Chief Petty Officer on the nuclear submarine when it was built and served in her for four years during the early 1990s, said the firing of Cdr Lewis was an ‘outrage’.

‘I was just incensed when I read about what had happened, it was outrageous,’ said the mum-of-two from Gosport.

‘I have a lot of history with HMS Trenchant and I have been aboard several times. There is no room to socially distance. It’s a tiny space. It’s like living in a tin can.

‘The captain probably just wanted to raise the crew’s morale. So I couldn’t see what the big fuss was. The crew have all been together anyway and the public weren’t wandering around the naval base.

‘It just seems such a harsh punishment for the captain. I just thought it was really mean.’

As previously reported, the navy launched an investigation after footage leaked of the crew watching a makeshift DJ set while sitting at tables or standing on the dockside at the Devonport naval base in Plymouth.

The party took place at the height of the national coronavirus lockdown and annoyed naval top brass.

Cdr Lewis was placed under ‘administrative investigation’ over concerns about his judgement and was relieved of his command of Trenchant.

The barbecue was said to be just one of a number of incidents ‘in which his judgement came into question’, BBC defence correspondent Jonathan Beale said on Twitter.

The broadcaster also claimed it was not only senior officers ashore who advised against the barbecue and DJ set, but some of his own crew.

Mrs Middleton said losing a submarine commander would be a huge loss.

‘It can take four years to train up a submarine commander,’ she added. ‘It would be a huge loss for the navy to lose a commander like this for one decision.’

Mrs Middleton has launched a petition online. To sign it, see: change.org/p/mod-reinstate-hms-trenchant-s-captain

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