HMS Trafalgar home for the last time

The nuclear-powered submarine Trafalgar sailed into her home port for the last time on Tuesday, after 26 years in service. The first of the Trafalgar Class submarines and the first of the class to be decommissioned from the Royal Navy, she sailed into Devonport Naval Base, Plymouth, to an emotional welcome, proudly flying the 120ft decommissioning pennant from her fin to mark the end of her long and distinguished service. As she entered the River Tamar from Plymouth Sound, HMS Trafalgar was escorted by a Royal Navy helicopter from RNAS Culdrose, Ministry of Defence police craft, a flotilla of pleasure-craft and tugs firing water cannon high into the air, before being piped into her home base by other submarines and warships alongside.

Her captain, Commander Charlie Shepherd, spoke of the poignancy of the submarine’s homecoming for her crew. “The feeling of everyone, including me, as we came in today, was a mixture of pride and sorrow. Sadness, because this is the last time the submarine will be operational and some sailors who have been on board for up to seven years will miss what has been their occupational home for so long. Close-knit submarines are almost families and this community will be broken up.”

HMS Trafalgar, which was launched on July 1, 1981, and commissioned at Barrow-in-Furness on May 27, 1983, will be officially decommissioned at a ceremony at Devonport Naval Dockyard on December 4.

Online RAF records

The National Archives has put the service records of 99,000 RAF officers online for the first time. They include some of the most celebrated, pioneering pilots from the First World War. The account of Cecil Lewis, who joined the Royal Flying Corps in October 1915 after lying about his age, is included, as well as records of Sidney Reilly that show he transferred from the RFC to MI1(c) (British Secret Service) in March 1918 before he was recorded killed in Russia. Visit nationalarchives.gov.uk

Christmas adventures raise money for veterans

The proceeds of a new book Away at Christmas, by Jeremy Archer (Elliot Thompson, £9.99) are being used to support Combat Stress, the charity that cares for the mental health of ex-Service personnel. Mr Archer served in the Army for ten years. The book captures how Christmas has been spent in some of the most remote and dangerous places from the North Pole to a canoe on the Niger rapids. Extracts are taken from the diaries and memoirs of adventurers through the ages, including the Scottish explorer Mungo Park, who died while exploring the Niger in 1806, and Eric Newby whose travel writings included A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush. To order the book telephone Foundation Cards on 01372 844670.