Nov 12 - HMS Sabre Deployed To Tangier For Remembrance Service
Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron (RNGS) recently deployed HMS SABRE to Tangier to support Remembrance Sunday and conduct joint training with the Moroccan Navy.
The Remembrance Service was held in St Andrews Church, which is more commonly known as the ‘English Church’. The church lies in the heart of Tangier and is a quiet calm leafy respite from the hustle and bustle of the city.
Amongst the Christian graves in the churchyard is a section of Commonwealth War Graves which are all kept in pristine condition by the ex-pat community in Tangier.
There are thirteen graves, of which, twelve are for Allied Airmen who lost their lives as a consequence of action in North Africa during the Second World War and the thirteenth grave is that of Sergeant Terence Henning of the Gibraltar Security Police.
As Private Sean Yeo, a Bugler from the Royal Gibraltar Regiment Band, played the poignant notes of the Last Post, wreaths were laid by Gibraltar Defence Police Chief Police Officer Chief Superintendent Rob Allen, Commanding Officer HMS SABRE Lieutenant (Lt) Simon Henderson and Royal Air Force representative Senior Aircraftman Blue Garraway.
The annual deployment also gives RNGS the opportunity to complete mandatory out of area training whilst forging a good relationship with their Moroccan counterparts.
Lt Henderson, who led the training package, said: “Following the Remembrance weekend I was delighted to call upon the Commanding Officer of Tangier Naval Base, we were able to hold discussions on a range of maritime issues before carrying out a joint exercise at sea. The Exercise itself was a huge success and gave us both the opportunity to conduct joint formation manoeuvres and practice our defence against fast attack craft.”
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