Plymouth welcomes home 'band of brothers' as HMS Argyll returns to Devonport
Hundreds waved flags and displayed banners at Devonport Dockyard today as Plymouth's Royal Navy warship HMS Argyll arrive back home after seven months at sea.
The deployment saw the ship travel 35,000 nautical miles, visiting 16 countries across eight time zones and included operations in the seas around Africa, the Falklands, the Eastern Pacific and the Caribbean.
Her Majesty’s Band of the Royal Marines played for the crowds as tugboats fired jets of water into the air and the ship's helicopter flew past in celebration. Plymouth Pipe Band entertained the ship’s company as they sailed into docks.
Among the crew returning to loved ones was Physical Trainer Barry Chambers from Stoke in Plymouth, who was met by his fiancée admin assistant Leanne Jackson and their four-year-old son Alfie.
“It’s amazing to be back. Alfie has grown a lot. He looks so grown up now," he told the Royal Navy's website.
"The deployment was really good, personally speaking, highlights were Bermuda and Key West. It’s good to be back though. I kept the ship’s company in date with their fitness tests and staged adventure training for them – kayaking, climbing Table Top Mountain in South Africa, diving with sharks and cliff jumping, to name a few. It all helps keep up morale and makes the most of any visits.’’
Among the ship's operations, was the interception of an illegal supply of $116m of narcotics, as well as working with partner nations in Africa and a reassurance mission in the Falkland Islands, where it supported the Liberation Day Commemorations in Port Stanley.
The deployment involved a number of important training initiatives, exercises and operations from South Africa to the South Atlantic to the Caribbean and the Americas. The Argyll also helped saved the life of a Japanese fisherman who had been gravely hurt in an accident at sea.
HMS Argyll’s Commanding Officer, Commander Tim Neild, of Portsmouth, who was also reunited with his family, highlighted the importance of his ship's mission and praised his crew:
"HMS Argyll’s deployment stands as an exemplar in the defence community as to the flexibility and agility represented by a UK frigate on operations. We have conducted a vast range of tasking across half the globe.
"The capacity we built in Africa, the re-assurance and training in the South Atlantic and the 116 million US Dollars worth of drugs we helped stop in Central America all show the value for money that a most capable warship, such as HMS Argyll, provides. I am immensely proud of my ‘Band of Brothers’ for their commitment and professionalism throughout.”
Cdr Neild leaves the ship in two weeks to study for an MBA before taking up a job in the MOD in London.
“This is my swansong as far as the ship goes. And it has been an amazing deployment to go out on," he said.
The families joined the crew in belatedly toasting the birth of Prince George.
