Rustington man speaks about emotional return to royal barge

Brian and other former members of the crew of the Royal Yacht Britannia had the honour of sailing on the royal barge as it carried the Queen and Prince Philip from the embankment at Battersea to the Spirit of Chartwell, on which they joined other members of the royal family for the cruise with a flotilla of 1,000 boats and ships.

For Brian, 72, it was an emotional return to the barge, on which he was a crew member for more than three years out of a total of almost 18 years serving with Britannia.

Prince Philip exchanged a few words with him and other crew members as he boarded the Britannia barge.

“You could see that they were pleased to be back on board the royal barge,” said Brian, of Beverley Gardens, Rustington. It was an honour to be on the barge, and very nostalgic, too. I must admit, there was a tear in my eye as we were going down the river.”

Once the royal couple were safely on board the Spirit of Chartwell, Britannia’s barge continued with the rest of the flotilla on the five-mile journey to Tower Bridge.

It was the first time that Brian, himself, had set foot on the barge since he left the Royal Navy and Britannia in 1984 as a petty officer seaman. He had joined the royal yacht’s crew in 1966 as an able seaman, 11 years after joining the senior service.

“I applied and was very pleased when I was accepted. It was a privilege, and very prestigious.”

Over the next 18 years he would travel all over the world on Britannia, the yacht often setting off weeks before royal tours to reach far-flung parts of the globe.

“Sometimes it would take a month to get somewhere. Then, the Queen would fly in for two or three weeks of intense work, then she would fly off again and we would head back to Portsmouth.

“Someone on the crew worked out once we were at sea for six months of the year. But it was always best when the royal family were on board. That was what the ship was for.

“You got to know some of the family more than others. When the children were younger, they had members of the crew as nannies who got quite close to them at the time.

“Some of the family were more friendly than others, but it was always an honour to serve on Britannia.”

When Britannia was de-commissioned in 1997, Brian, then living at Ashington, was invited to the ceremony at Portsmouth. He is a member of the Association of Royal Yachtsmen and has been up to Leith, near Edinburgh, where the royal yacht is now moored as a tourist attraction, to help with other association members carrying out maintenance work.

Watching proudly as the television cameras gave excellent views of Brian and other crew members on Britannia’s barge were his wife, Audrey, two daughters, son and five grandchildren.

“They have all sent me messages about it. It was a fantastic day,” he said.