Prince Harry opens Royal Navy's new centre in Devonport

HRH Prince Harry was in Plymouth today (Friday 2 August) to open a new £30m amphibious centre in Plymouth's Devonport Naval Base.

Royal Marines Tamar, the centre of operational and training units for small craft crews of landing craft, hovercraft and fast boats at HM Naval Base, Devonport, was launched on Friday 2 August accompanied by HM Band Royal Marines.

The royal guest, in his role as Commodore-in-Chief Small Ships and Diving, attended a parade and VIP reception at the centre which also trains assault Marines in coastal and river landings.

HRH, a fully trained Apache Attack Helicopter pilot in the Army Air Corps, unveiled a plaque on the new ‘Tandy’ building (named after a D-Day hero Marine) marking the occasion after taking the parade salute and reviewing the guard and parade of RM Tamar personnel from 1 Assault Squadron.

Colonel Garth Manger, Commanding Officer of 1 Assault Group Royal Marines, said:

“Having Prince Harry open Royal Marines Tamar is a great honour and serves to highlight the importance of this new bespoke amphibious base.

"For the first time the Royal Navy will have all the amphibious elements together in one place ensuring that we deliver real operational capability in a cost effective and professional manner.

"Prince Harry’s presence on this seminal day in 1 Assault Group Royal Marines’ history is fantastic and gives the unit a real boost.’’

“As a professional soldier himself Prince Harry understood and appreciated the importance of the new centre.

"He has already shown a lot of interest in the RM Tamar and what it means to the Royal Marines, the Royal Navy and defence as a whole."

He added: “The most important people here today are the families of the troops.

"They see them go off every day to work or on deployment - today is for them. They can see what they do every day and get an idea of how they spend their times deployed and training."

For the full story, visit the Royal Navy's website.