Representing the Royal Navy at rugby and visiting both the Arctic and Antarctic have been among the highlights of Crafthole sailor Chief Petty Officer Dave Oakley's career. Having been based at HMS Raleigh in Torpoint, CPO Oakley is leaving the Royal Navy after 27 years of service. Coincidently, it was at HMS Raleigh in 1980 that CPO Oakley began his Service career, arriving at the gates of the establishment in February that year to undergo six weeks of initial training to transform him from a civilian into a sailor. He then moved onto HMS Collingwood in Fareham, Hampshire, for his specialist training to qualify as a weapons engineering mechanic (radar) before taking his place in the fleet. Since then CPO Oakley has gone on to serve on eight warships including most recently HMS Echo, one of the Royal Navy's newest multi-role hydrographic survey vessels, during her first deployment to the Gulf. His time at sea has taken him to the Far East, America, South America, the Falkland Islands as well as the Antarctic and the Arctic Circle. CPO Oakley has also served ashore at numerous Royal Navy establishments including two years at HMS Rooke in Gibraltar from 1990 to 1992, where he met his wife Claire, who is also serving in the Royal Navy. Working as a new entry instructor at HMS Raleigh, CPO Oakley has spent the last 18 months passing on his experience and helping to train the Royal Navy's latest recruits. A keen rugby player, CPO Oakley has represented the Royal Navy on 150 occasions playing against the army five times in the annual match at Twickenham. In the early 1990s he was on the books of Plymouth Albion and made around 40 appearances for the first XV. CPO Oakley has also toured Kenya and Australia with the navy team and played for the Combined Services side alongside counterparts from the Army and RAF. He continues to turn out for the navy veterans' team and for his local community side, Torpoint and Saint Columba. The 44 year old said: 'The past 27 years have given me the opportunity to see the world and play sport at the highest level. That would never have been possible if I had stayed in Civvy Street.' Originally from Salford, CPO Oakley now lives in Crafthole with his wife Claire and two daughters Charlotte, aged 13, and 12-year-old Lizzy. Despite leaving the Royal Navy, CPO Oakley is not giving up his association with the sea entirely. He is taking the skills he has acquired in the Royal Navy to embark on a new career as an engine fitter with Princess Yachts based in Plymouth.
