The presenters of Britain's most popular car show have sent a thank-you video message to the crew of HMS Victorious, who've just completed a milestone patrol.
Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond filmed a 90-second video for the submarine crew after filming their two-part Africa special.
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Top Gear presenters James May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson discuss a route which will take them to the source of the Nile. Picture: BBC Top Gear
LAST week they were being hailed as silent heroes by the Prime Minister.
This week the crew of HMS Victorious have received a personal greeting from the presenters of Top Gear.
Just minutes after finishing filming their Africa Christmas special (which actually aired in early March...), the Top Gear trio of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May paused on the Tanzanian-Kenyan border to thank the submariners for their efforts defending our nation.
Victorious returned on April 4 from a three-month deterrent patrol – the 100th carried out by a Vanguard-class submarine, a milestone marked by a visit from the Prime Minister.
Before departing on each of those stealthy missions, the V-boat’s skipper, Cdr John Livesey, writes to various celebs before his submarine departs on patrol as a morale boost; last year the Man City fan succeeded in persuading his favourite team to bring the Premiership Trophy aboard – to his delight and the chagrin of the United supporters aboard.
This time around, it was the team behind the Beeb’s top-rated car show who responded.
“We would like to wish you all the very best on your long and difficult voyage,” says Jeremy. “Thank you very much for all you do – we’re very grateful.”
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HMS Tracker, a Royal Marines ORC and a tug shepherd HMS Victorious home after the 100th V-boat patrol. Pictures: PO(Phot) Ian Arthur, RNR Air Branch
And Victorious? Well, her crew are still basking in the glow of a visit from the premier.
Although David Cameron was only aboard fairly briefly, he had sufficient time to chat with some of the 135 crew – and presented Dolphins (the bagdes which mark someone out as a qualified submariner) to several rookie deeps, among them 22-year-old ET Charlee-Ben Ryman, who was on his first deterrent patrol.
“The learning curve while on patrol was incredibly high and it was difficult to have no contact with loved-ones,” said the junior rating.
“Luckily several of the people I went through the submarine qualifying course with are also on board and everyone works together as a team.”
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Cdr John Livesey, Victorious' CO, explains the complex controls room to the PM
ET Ryman was given the award for best trainee while on board HMS Victorious and also earned his “dolphins” – the unique badge given to qualified submariners who have completed their first patrol.
Overseeing ET Ryman, who was also named best trainee, was ‘bomber’ veteran 54-year-old WO2 John Horton, who was on the first ever Vanguard-class patrol back in 1996.
The senior rating was completing his 12th deterrent patrol in a Silent Service career going back to 1976.
“Over the years the changes and upgrades in technology have been huge and that means that with each patrol there is always a new challenge and something else to learn.”
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Mr Cameron chats with Victorious' crew on the V-boat's casing
John, who lives in Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, says that the biggest hardships during a deterrent patrol lie with the crew’s families.
“To be honest, my wife, Theresa, has the hardest bit,” he said. “She doesn’t know exactly when I am returning from sea and the only contact is one way through ‘family grams’ which are vetted and which we can’t reply to because the submarine needs to stay silent.
“When I left for this patrol our daughter, Stephanie, was pregnant with twins and could have had them by now. I could be a grandfather once again and don’t know even know it!”
As for Victorious’ Commanding Officer, he says Mr Cameron’s visit isn’t just significant for his boat, but for all four V-boats.
“We share the honour with the hundreds of dedicated submariners, families and support staff who have contributed over the years,” he says.
“It was a pleasure to be able to show the Prime Minister around the submarine and he was undoubtedly impressed by the challenges our people face in delivering deterrence.”
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