A veteran from Broughton House was able to have a “magnificent day” as he stepped aboard HMS Prince of Wales
The resident of Broughton House Veterans Care Village for the last three years, had the opportunity of be welcome on the largest and powerful surface warships ever constructed in the UK.
Gary Taylor, 72, who was a Radar Operator in the Royal Navy in the 1960’s before leaving in 1975 – serving eight years.
The veteran visited the ship, whilst the crew docked in Liverpool to receive the Freedom to the City.
The naval ship docked, and visited residents of Broughton House Care Village but Gary was able to do one better – the 72-year-old veteran was able to board the ship.
Describing the experience as “absolutely fantastic”, he was able to travel to Liverpool to meet the crew and being given a tour of the vessel.
“It was the most fabulous day, I can’t single out one thing but the organisation was brilliant but then again it is a capital warship,” Gary joked.
“The ships company, and the captain could have put on anything that would have made it any better.”
Gary was able to have a tour of the ship and met the crew onboard of the HMS Prince of Wales, sharing stories and conversations about their roles.
He continued: “We arrived and everything was just ready for us, and we virtually walked straight on board and into the hanger and we were there for about two hours.”
Throughout the time on the warship, they were shown various displays and exhibitions from diving equipment, missiles, and fire fighting equipment.
“It was so impressive, and I couldn’t have asked for a better time.”
But the excitement of the day didn’t stop there for Gary, being invited to walk along the flight deck – which he was fortunate to do with the weather.
He continued: “We were invited up to the flight deck, and it was absolutely breathtaking. But literally it was breathtaking because it was so windy.
“We were very lucky, as they cancelled visits up there the day before because of the rain and wind, but it was wonderful.
“I walked up the ski slope at the front, and I can’t fault anything about the whole experience and the day out.”
The experience was made available to Gary after he joined the Royal Navy Association and a veterans breakfast club which was a joint venture between the two.
“A lot of wonderful people put in a lot of effort to do this, and it was a big big day in recent life.”
Gary also continued to speak on the respect shared between both the crew and the veterans as he said: “When they realised that we were veterans, they gave us that extra ten minutes to talk to us and explain things thoroughly to us.
“It was magnificent, and the ships company were just wonderful. They were so attentive, and no question I had was too troublesome for them.
“I had so many questions for them, but they were asking me loads of questions about my time in the Navy, and they were genuinely interested in what I had to say,” he added.
“They made me feel as though I felt a bit special.”
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