From drug smugglers to penguins: How Portsmouth's Royal Navy sailors will be spending this Christmas

FROM swimming with penguins in the Atlantic to hunting for drug smugglers in the Pacific - it will be an interesting Christmas for Royal Navy sailors from Portsmouth this year.
By The Newsroom
Published 24th Dec 2018, 08:47 BST
Updated 10th Jan 2019, 10:48 BST
From left, Medical Assistant Karl Mann, ET(CIS) Matthew Scott, ET(ME) Curtis Brearton, AB(EW) Oliver Holden, and AB(EW) Zac Jones onboard Plymouth-based HMS Argyll, which left the UK in June for the Mediterranean and the Middle East and will return in March Picture: LPhot Dan RosenbaumFrom left, Medical Assistant Karl Mann, ET(CIS) Matthew Scott, ET(ME) Curtis Brearton, AB(EW) Oliver Holden, and AB(EW) Zac Jones onboard Plymouth-based HMS Argyll, which left the UK in June for the Mediterranean and the Middle East and will return in March Picture: LPhot Dan Rosenbaum
From left, Medical Assistant Karl Mann, ET(CIS) Matthew Scott, ET(ME) Curtis Brearton, AB(EW) Oliver Holden, and AB(EW) Zac Jones onboard Plymouth-based HMS Argyll, which left the UK in June for the Mediterranean and the Middle East and will return in March Picture: LPhot Dan Rosenbaum

Thousands of men and women from the Senior Service are set to be on duty over the festive season, with men and women stationed across the globe.

They'll be joined by countless others from the British Army and Royal Air Forces who are also on operation at home and abroad.

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But despite being thousands of miles away from home and facing a unique Christmas away, it will never beat spending time with family.

AB Emily Cranstone, of Portsmouth, is serving on HMS Montrose in the Pacific this year for Christmas.AB Emily Cranstone, of Portsmouth, is serving on HMS Montrose in the Pacific this year for Christmas.
AB Emily Cranstone, of Portsmouth, is serving on HMS Montrose in the Pacific this year for Christmas.

And ahead of this year's festive celebration, sailors have sent poignant messages back to their loved ones.

Lieutenant Commander George Storton, is the commanding officer of Portsmouth-based patrol ship HMS Clyde, which is this year on operations in the south Atlantic.

The 35-year-old and his ship's company of 43 will be away from their family guarding the waters near the Falkland Islands.

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He said: '˜I am incredibly proud of the diverse team that serve on Clyde including many who will experience their first Christmas on operations and would like to extend our warmest Christmas wishes to all of our families and friends at home that support us.

Leading Seaman (Above Water Tactics) Jamie Berry, 26, will be on HMS Clyde in the south Atlantic, missing his newborn son's first ChristmasLeading Seaman (Above Water Tactics) Jamie Berry, 26, will be on HMS Clyde in the south Atlantic, missing his newborn son's first Christmas
Leading Seaman (Above Water Tactics) Jamie Berry, 26, will be on HMS Clyde in the south Atlantic, missing his newborn son's first Christmas

'˜While our operational task will remain in the forefront of our mind there should be opportunity for the ship's company to enjoy Christmas with plans for a morning swim at Bertha's Beach '“ home to a Gentoo penguin colony as well a slightly unusual Christmas BBQ enjoying the austral summer.'

First-time dad Leading Seaman (Above Water Tactics) Jamie Berry, 26, is part of Clyde's crew and felt this year will be an extra tough one away.

He said: '˜It is hard being away from my family over the Christmas period, but luckily with the communications we have here I will be able to speak to my family on Christmas day, which I am very much looking forward to.

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'˜I have been deployed over Christmas before but this will be the first time I have been away since having my own family, with my son being born in September of this year.

Petty Officer Paul Walsh, of Southsea, is on HMS Protector in the Antarctic for ChristmasPetty Officer Paul Walsh, of Southsea, is on HMS Protector in the Antarctic for Christmas
Petty Officer Paul Walsh, of Southsea, is on HMS Protector in the Antarctic for Christmas

'˜Although we will all be away over Christmas, the ship's company is looking forward to being able to celebrate the festivities in our own way on board.

'˜We are very close and we will all be together to ensure that morale is high and everybody has a good time, while also thinking of our families and friends back home.'

The Royal Navy has 21 ships or submarines deployed or on call this year, with more than 2,000 people on duty.

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It's going to be a fifth Christmas away for Petty Officer Marine Engineer Mechanic Paul Walsh, of Southsea, who will be based on HMS Protector in the Antarctic.

Lieutenant Commander George Storton, is the commanding officer of Portsmouth-based patrol ship HMS Clyde, which is this year on operations in the south Atlantic.Lieutenant Commander George Storton, is the commanding officer of Portsmouth-based patrol ship HMS Clyde, which is this year on operations in the south Atlantic.
Lieutenant Commander George Storton, is the commanding officer of Portsmouth-based patrol ship HMS Clyde, which is this year on operations in the south Atlantic.

He is in charge of maintaining small crafts, diesel generators and propulsion on the navy's ice breaker and said: '˜Being deployed on tasking at this time of year is especially hard and I'll miss my family, friends and my girlfriend Adelaide.

'˜But having my fellow mess mates around me will make my first time in the Antarctic most enjoyable.'

AB Writer Emily Cranstone, of Portsmouth, is one of those serving in the Pacific on HMS Montrose as part of the frigate's global deployment.

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She said: '˜This means I am going to be away for Christmas which will be hard, being away from my family and friends.

'˜However the places we get to visit and the people I get to visit them with really make it for me. Happy Christmas everyone at home.'

Commander Conor O'Neill, Montrose's commanding officer, from Southsea, said: '˜We'll be in the middle of the Pacific for Christmas itself and I think we will all be sad to be so far away from our friends and family. And for me personally to be away from wife and son, Ted.

Commander Conor O'Neill, of Southsea, is the commanding officer of frigate HMS Montrose, which will be based in the Pacific over the festive break.Commander Conor O'Neill, of Southsea, is the commanding officer of frigate HMS Montrose, which will be based in the Pacific over the festive break.
Commander Conor O'Neill, of Southsea, is the commanding officer of frigate HMS Montrose, which will be based in the Pacific over the festive break.

'˜But the three things that keep us going are the knowledge that we have the support of our loved ones back in the UK, who probably have it harder than we do in some ways; the importance of the work that we are doing out here for our country and the comradeship of our shipmates.

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'˜So from all of us out here on HMS Montrose, merry Christmas.'

Also on deployment from Portsmouth will be the city-based destroyer, HMS Dragon, which is expected to be in the Gulf after a successful series of major drug busts in the Indian Ocean over the past few weeks.

Commander Peter Higgins, on board HMS Protector, said: '˜It is important to recognise the sacrifice and commitment of our sailors who are deployed over Christmas, and also that of our families at home who are without their loved ones this year. 

'˜Of course, we all miss our families and friends at this time of year but at the same time it is hugely rewarding to be carrying out essential work in Antarctica on behalf of the UK, playing our part in the International Thwaites Glacier project.'

 

Related topics:Royal NavyPortsmouth