Residents of Leicester and Leicestershire have a Royal Navy ship to call their own after cementing ties with cutting-edge destroyer HMS Daring.
Civic leaders and the Royal Navy have agreed that the Portsmouth-based destroyer will be affiliated once HMS Daring completes a multi-million pound transformation.
It means the ship will fly the flag for the city and county wherever she deploys around the world and in return, the people of Leicester and Leicestershire will offer moral and, at times, physical support to the destroyer and her 200-strong crew.
As a new ship’s company gradually brings HMS Daring out of her major overhaul and engine upgrade in Portsmouth Naval Base, they are reviving other dormant aspects of an active warship’s day-to-day life, including her affiliations.
All Royal Navy warships enjoy affiliations with towns, cities or boroughs and, occasionally, with entire counties, such as frigates HMS Kent or Sutherland.
For the past two decades Daring has been bound with the City of Birmingham (as well as the island of Guernsey), plus Army and RAF units, historic Livery Companies, cadets and veterans’ groups.
With a new HMS Birmingham being built on the Clyde as the fourth of the Royal Navy’s Type 26 frigates, she will take over ties with the West Midlands powerhouse, and Leicester and Leicestershire, with around 1.1 million residents, will take Birmingham’s place.
The city of Leicester has previously had ties with battle-cruiser and then nuclear submarine HMS Renown, while minehunter HMS Quorn was associated with the namesake hunt and borough of Melton Mowbray until she decommissioned in 2017, but there are no links between the broader county and the Senior Service.
As a landlocked county, naval connections are not obvious, although the dashing World War 1 naval leader Admiral David Beatty spent much of his time at Brooksby Hall near Melton Mowbray when not at sea.
Daring’s sailors will keep Leicester and Leicestershire’s leaders up-to-date with the ship’s activities and operations, attend key events in the county, such as Remembrance parades, forge ties with sports clubs and veterans’ groups, reserves from HMS Sherwood which serves the East Midlands and raise money for charities countywide.
“As we work to return HMS Daring to the front line, establishing lasting ties with affiliates is a key link to the nation and people we proudly serve”
“This new affiliation with Leicester and Leicestershire marks the beginning of a new chapter and we celebrate the connection with a county rich in history, industry and innovation. “We look forward to the relationship ahead and the chances to build close ties.”
Person:Commander Graeme Hazelwood, Commanding Officer of HMS Daring
“This is a great honour. We’re grateful to the Royal Navy for everything they do to protect the UK and I’d like to send my sincere thanks for this significant affiliation.
“Not only is it an opportunity to bolster understanding and awareness of the Royal Navy’s work, it’s also a chance to step up awareness of careers in the Navy and support the many hardworking charities across Leicester and Leicestershire.”
Person:Mike Kapur OBE CStJ, Lord-Lieutenant of Leicestershire