HMS Prince of Wales captain celebrates family's 100 years' continuous Navy service
The captain of Britain's biggest warship has raised an emotional toast this week, as his family marks 100 years of continuous service in the Royal Navy.
Every day since January 1925 there has been at least one Blackett in the Royal Navy – all the way up to Captain Will Blackett, the current Commanding Officer of Britain's flagship, HMS Prince of Wales.
Capt Blackett says it is "quite humbling to be at the end of a line of such brilliant people".
He is the fourth generation of Blacketts in the Senior Service, with careers of father and son overlapping, making more than 111 years' collective service.
Capt Blackett says his family's story mirrors the social mobility many Britons have enjoyed over the past century – in their case, from dockyard shipwright to commanding the country's most powerful warship.
Blackett family history:
- Captain Blackett's great grandad, William Blackett was born in Newcastle in 1902 and served as an ordnance artificer, a modern-day weapons engineer. He retired in 1947 as a chief petty officer and also a trained diver and was briefly a Royal Marines policeman.
- His grandad, also named William Blackett, was born in Wallsend in 1926, was commissioned in 1956, and retired from the Navy in 1976 as an acting lieutenant commander after 34 years and five months' service.
- His father, Jeffrey Blackett, was born in Portsmouth in 1955, joined Dartmouth in 1973 as a trainee supply officer and left in November 2004 as a commodore after 31 years and two months, but continued to serve the Armed Forces as their Judge Advocate General until October 2020.
- William Blackett was born in Portsmouth in 1982 and joined Dartmouth in September 2001, first as a warfare officer and has since commanded frigate HMS Lancaster before being appointed captain of HMS Prince of Wales at the beginning of last year.
- Capt Blackett's mum Sally was also a former Wren officer. However, she left the Navy when she got pregnant.
And while the Blackett name has been a constant thread through the Senior Service since 1925, Jeff says it's not the only continual factor.
"Much has changed in the 100 years since my grandfather joined up in 1925 but the one constant is the professionalism and dedication of the people who serve," he added.
"He would not recognise the technical advances in modern warships, but he would have an affinity with the men and women who serve in them.
"The Royal Navy is in our blood, and long may it remain so."
Will was enthralled by stories his late grandfather told him of service in WW2 – such as watching an air raid by Junkers dive-bombers attacking the naval base at Rosyth while on a train stopped on the iconic Forth Bridge – although initially his father, at one time, advised his son not to join the Royal Navy.
Dad – and Captain Will – are delighted he did anyway as the latter has had "a great adventure" so far.
He is now responsible for more than 800 men and women on a daily basis on Britain's biggest warship – rising to 1,600 when the flagship sails from Portsmouth in the spring leading her first Carrier Strike Group.
"Celebrating this family achievement has involved reaching back into history and learning more about my ancestors – it is quite humbling to be at the end of a line of such brilliant people and I hope I have done them proud!" Capt Will said.
"HMS Prince of Wales' deployment this year will take me to many of the places my grandfather served – I will take his old photographs with me and look forward to retracing his steps."
In his first week in the Navy, dad Jeff bought a flagon of rum in Gibraltar, opened only for special occasions. This week father and son shared a tot to toast the family's service.
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