A TOTAL of 27 members attended the July meeting of Crediton Probus Club, the first chaired by our new President, Russ Ballard, on Tuesday, July 3.

Grace was given by John Stone. This was followed by a fish meal that just suited the lovely weather conditions.

Russ mentioned that Keith Beetlestone had been elected vice President and that Ken Down had joined the committee organising speakers.

The quote was given by John Marshall and the draw prize won by Gerald Hill.

Keith Beetlestone looked back at our very successful summer outing – a cruise of the Exe estuary from Exmouth. We had enjoyed excellent weather and the meal at the Toby Carvery at Lympstone had added to the day’s delights.

Russ then invited Keith to introduce our speakers, members of a Royal Navy Presentation Team.

Commander Steve Banfield MBE first gave us an idea of the diversity of a naval career by telling us how, over the years, he had acted as a Fisheries Protection Officer, searched for drug runners in the Caribbean, patrolled the oceans around South Georgia and took part in NATO duties in the Baltic.

He has commanded three ships since 2002 and this afternoon introduced an incredibly professional presentation, aided by two colleagues, one of whom, Lance Corporal Mathew McGrath, was a member of the Royal Marines. Leading hand Peter Smith also helped.

Video clips were used to amplify their wide-ranging presentation which showed the great diversity of the service, and the wide-ranging tasks given to it by government.

This included a look at the manpower available and the vessels currently in use and a study of the time in the future when the new aircraft carriers (the “Queen Elizabeth” and the “Prince of Wales”) would be fully in use and a full compliment of 36 F35B Lightning II Jets and supporting helicopters was in place.

The presentation also included a look at the function of the Royal Marines in today’s navy (7,000 of the Navy’s 29,000 staff are Royal Marines).

Jack Fey (a former RAF man) thanked the team for a fascinating look at today’s Navy and the meeting concluded with the usual toast of “to the next time”.

KB