A ROYAL navy ship is to pay its final visit to the town bearing her name before being decommissioned.
The minehunter HMS Shoreham will spend four days in the Sussex town to allow local groups associated with the ship throughout her 20 year career to say their goodbyes.
HMS Shoreham departed Clyde naval base yesterday to begin her short goodbye tour before arriving in Sussex tomorrow.
People are being invited to show their appreciation for the crew at a ceremony and parade at the Shoreham Centre on Saturday at 10.45am.
Lieutenant Commander Andrew Platt, her final Commanding Officer said: “It is a real privilege to bring HMS Shoreham back to her hometown where she was first commissioned - and to hand-back the Freedom of the Adur District awarded in 2011 ahead of the Ship's decommissioning later this year.
“Over her 20 years of service - with nearly half of these spent deployed in the Gulf, HMS Shoreham's strong maritime links with our hometown have been of great support to a generation of sailors - and it is right that we express our thanks to Shoreham during this visit.”
Since the HMS Shoreham was granted Freedom of the Adur district, sailors have paraded through the town with full military pomp and ceremony on three occasions and most recently in 2017.
Councillor Stephen Chipp, Chairman of Adur District Council, said he will be “delighted” to see the mindhunter back in the town.
He said: “There has been a fantastic relationship between residents of the District and HMS Shoreham and we have watched her serve with distinction around the world helping to keep it a safer place.
“On Saturday, on behalf of residents, I will be delighted to be leading the thanks to the ship and those who served on her. It will be an emotional but stirring occasion.”
The current HMS Shoreham was commissioned in Shoreham on July, 20 2002.
Since then, she has maintained close ties with the town despite conducting prolonged operations either in home waters, as part of NATO task groups in European waters, or in the Gulf.
People can buy tickets to tour the ship in Shoreham Port on Sunday.
For more information, visit https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/hms-shoreham-ship-open-to-visitors-tickets-332712872157
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