Prince Edward, the Earl of Wessex, visits Plymouth Guildhall as Armed Forces Day begins
THE past, present and future of Plymouth’s armed forces came face-to-face with royalty as the city’s Armed Forces Day celebrations got under way in style.
His Royal Highness the Earl of Wessex attended a grand reception in the city last night to mark the 95th anniversary of the Seafarers UK charity.
Prince Edward took the time to speak to dozens of veterans, charity workers and even young sea cadets ahead of attending today’s festivities on the Hoe.
Lord Mayor of Plymouth Cllr Michael Wright and Lady Mayoress Deborah Osborne welcomed him to Plymouth’s Guildhall for last night’s reception.
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Around 350 people had been invited to celebrate the charity’s milestone and mingle with the royal guest.
They included everyone from retired Royal Navy officers to serving military personnel, reservists and teenage cadets.
The prince also chatted to representatives from several charities which work with Seafarers UK.
Heather Ogburn, of HMS Heroes, which supports the children of service families, said it was “lovely” to meet the Earl of Wessex.
“We told him about the number of children involved and he is going to meet some of those children [today],” she said. “It was a lovely experience.”
One guest, the South Atlantic Medal Association’s Mark Davis, had even smuggled some special beer into the reception as a gift for the prince.
The bottle of ale had been brewed specially to commemorate 30 years since the Falklands conflict – and was gratefully received, Mr Davis said.
“I’ve been weighed down with it all night in my inside pocket,” he added. “I was a bit apprehensive about doing it but luckily he was happy to accept it.
“He said thanks and that he would drink it later.”
Prince Edward attended the event as the president of Seafarers UK, which provides £2.5million of grants each year to maritime-related good causes.
They can range from charities helping past and present military personnel, such as Combat Stress, to support networks for fishermen and merchant sailors.
Seafarers UK chairman Peter Wilkinson said he could think of “no better city” to host today’s celebrations.
He described Plymouth as “an iconic maritime city”.
Mr Wilkinson added: “It’s Plymouth that has been on the frontline of our island nation to this day.”
Meanwhile, Cllr Wright paid tribute to the “professionalism, dedication and courage” of the city’s service personnel.
MPs, council leaders, business figures and senior police officers were among those to watch a rousing finale to the evening by Her Majesty’s Royal Marines band.
Comments
by Bob_Wickerman
Monday, July 02 2012, 2:40AM
“Cajohn- 'I was most disappointed in the handling of the HMS Argyle fiasco'..
From what you say it seems the Tourist office blundered by giving away 700 tickets even though there was only room for 300 on the ship, and the Navy was left carrying the can. Beats me why on earth 700 were printed in the first place.
I doubt the Navy could have sorted it out at such short notice because suppose some people with tickets in the 1-300 range didn't turn up for whatever reason, or were late arriving, the Navy couldn't have waited forever til all 1-300 tickets were in their hands.”
by cajohn
Sunday, July 01 2012, 11:07PM
“I was most disappointed in the handling of the HMS Argyle fiasco. I got tickets to go on board three weeks beforehand, my tickets were numbered 44 to 60. We were told there were 700 tickets to be allocated. I was told in the Tourist Office that the boat would leave from Phoenix Wharf at 10. 30am and that we would be back by 11.30am. On Saturday we arrived with grandchildren at 9.45am. We had paid £4 to park for 3 hours. We were then told that the boat was not leaving from the Barbican but from Milbay Docks. We ran back to the car, gave our parking ticket to another grateful family and quickly drove over to Millbay. We then bought another parking ticket for 3 hours. As we walked up to the quay there was a very large crowd waiting, We joined the end of the queue. The first boat loaded up, it took 150 people. After waiting for 45 minutes we were told that there was only room for another 150 people on the second boat and that all the other people would not get on HMS Argyle. We left in disgust with our grandchildren and went home, there was no point in staying as we would not have had a chance of finding a parking space nearer town. We did not see any of the events on the Hoe. Apparently the Tourist office should only have given out 300 tickets, they gave out 700. The Navy should have let all people with tickets numbered 1 to 300 on board, so that the people who applied weeks ago got priority. It was an absolute shambles, with a lot of disgusted parents and disappointed children who had queued for more than an hour only to be turned away.”
by Magical123
Sunday, July 01 2012, 10:49PM
“Nice to see the PRINCE wearing so many medals , such a brave boy, his Ma must be well proud of him and pleased he got back from duty alive and in one piece.”
by Bob_Wickerman
Sunday, July 01 2012, 9:07PM
“Dinky quote- 'Is there anyway of getting a copy of the first picture in your montage?, as is is of my husband and myself talking to Prince Edward'..
To save any pic from the net just hit the 'Printscreen' key on your keyboard and save it to your hard drive, then switch on your printer and print it out from there unless the Herald has any objection.”
by olddogbreath
Sunday, July 01 2012, 8:32PM
“I would love to know why Prince Edward resigned his commission in the Royal Marines and what advice he was given at the time. He was, like many in the Royal Family surely the recipient of bad advice. We will presumably only know in about 100 years time, when we are all dead.
However, he is either rather arrogant in wearing a uniform or yet again rather badly advised. He is probably quite a nice bloke and would have been far more respected if he had turned up in a suit.
David Cameron comes out of this rather well, praising the forces, yet an article on the front page of the tory paper 'the Telegraph' stated that more of those in the army are to face the axe.
By the way how did he get, no airport and the trains and roads are tat?”
by Brizolboy
Sunday, July 01 2012, 12:59PM
“As the saying goes "You can turn a frog into a Prince but you can't turn a Prince into a Royal Marine"”
by swoop4
Sunday, July 01 2012, 10:33AM
“What? I just meant he's good with a roast......”
by swoop4
Saturday, June 30 2012, 9:12PM
“Not so. It's for services to turkey basters”
by matelotmel
Saturday, June 30 2012, 8:28PM
“The medal 2nd from the right was awarded for his efforts in challenging horticultural circumstances. He was by all accounts the best known Royal uphill gardiner in recent history.”
by niugnepyzarc
Saturday, June 30 2012, 7:45PM
“dinky how did you get so close without punching that face? jesus the smile on him is evil lol”