Fourth member of the same family joins the Royal Navy

A 21-year-old recruit from Gosport has become the fourth member of her family in two generations to join the Navy.

Henrietta Goodrum signed up in November 2015 and celebrated her passing-out-parade at the training base in Cornwall, watched by her loved ones.

She underwent a 10-week initial naval training course and has now transferred to the Defence School of Maritime Logistics to continue her specialist training to qualify as a Writer.

She reached her 21st birthday during her transformation from civilian to sailor.

The Goodrum nautical story begins all the way back in 1981 with dad Simon, who joined as a mine warfare rating, serving on HMS Bildeston and Orkney.

He then switched to the medical world as a leading medical assistant on HMS Fearless and a petty officer on board destroyer HMS Southampton.

Commissioned in 1997, he is now a lieutenant commander in charge of training at the Institute of Naval Medicine in Alverstoke, where he and his team prepare Royal Navy medical officers and medical branch ratings for their operational roles in ships, submarines or in support of Royal Marines operations.

Mum Lucy is a former petty officer naval nurse. She joined the Queen Alexandra Royal Navy nursing service in 1983 and served in Germany, the Royal Navy Hospital in Gibraltar and as the staff nurse in the emergency department of Haslar Hospital, where she met her future husband who was being treated as a patient.

She left the Royal Navy in 1991 when her son Sam was born. A quarter of a century later, Sam is a 24-year-old warfare specialist who has completed his first operation deployment to the Gulf and is just about to leave frigate HMS Kent for a spell on board HMS Victory.

Proud dad Simon said: ‘I have four children and two of them are now in the Navy.

‘My other two children have also expressed an interest and could feasibly join up within the next five years while I am still serving.’