BULWARK clears bridges with 6m to spare

Capital visit for Capital ship
Unexpected bonus as Forth welcomes HMS BULWARK...

Sailing under the famous Forth Bridges, with just 6m above them to spare, the sailors and marines of HMS Bulwark got a bonus recently when the ship berthed, unexpectedly, in Rosyth. Benefiting from the short notice programme change, some of the Ship’s Company took the opportunity to travel to all corners of the UK – weekends at home have been sparse for the assault ship’s crew over the past two years. Many, however, stayed in the area and sampled the delights of Scotland’s historic cities of Dunfermline and Edinburgh.

It was a particular delight for the CO, Captain Gavin Pritchard, who grew up in Edinburgh, to return home. On Monday morning he visited his old school, Stewart’s Melville College in Edinburgh. He enjoyed a tour of the School to see how things had changed and also an opportunity to meet the headmaster.

Captain Pritchard said of the visit to his home town

“It is unusual for a capital ship to have a couple of spare days in her programme and even more unusual for them to be transformed into a ‘home town run’ for the Captain. The Navy has always been very welcome here and this visit was no different – the people of Dunfermline and Edinburgh are great hosts – we were made really welcome and and I know that the ships in refit here (and soon the crew of CVF) have the same experience.”