A ROYAL Navy officer born and bred in Torpoint was guest of honour in his home town for HMS Raleigh’s first passing-out parade of the new term.
The event marked the successful completion of training for 62 recruits.
Captain Trevor Gulley, who is currently Commanding Officer of HMS Sultan in Hampshire, is a proud Cornishman who attended three Torpoint schools and he and his wife Priscilla, who joined him for the parade, still live in the town.
Captain Gulley has been in the Royal Navy since 1982, joining after completing a Naval Architect Technician Apprenticeship at Devonport Royal Dockyard. A marine engineer by trade, he has served on warships including HMS Illustrious and HMS Bulwark and has held staff appointments at Bath, Portsmouth and the Italian city of Naples.
He has also twice worked in a training role on the staff of Flag Officer Sea Training in Plymouth.
Captain Gulley is a former Training Commander at Raleigh and during the day he was updated on new developments since his previous visit last year. He also met instructors and recruits at varying stages of their training. The captain was accompanied on the visit by representatives of his current training team.
Captain Gulley said: ‘Receiving an invitation to be a guest of honour anywhere is a real privilege, but to do so at HMS Raleigh, within my own home town, fills me with enormous pride.’