From HMS Cockchafer to the row over Agincourt, what goes into naming a warship?

Would you serve on HMS Cockchafer? How about a destroyer called HMS Frolic or HMS Fairy? If none of these tickles your fancy, what about a tour on HMS Spanker?

Believe it or not, these are all real ships that served in the Royal Navy.

And earlier this week it was revealed that a new submarine would called HMS Achilles - not HMS Agincourt as had been intended.

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This is due to fears France would be offended by the name, which was a battle the English won over the French during the Hundred Years' War, but some have called it "woke nonsense", including former Conservative defence secretary Grant Shapps.

So this gave us the idea to take a further look at the process that goes into giving a Royal Navy ship its name.

Professor Michael Clarke discussed how a name is given to a Navy vessel on this week's Sitrep – which analyses the top defence stories of the week and is available wherever you get your podcasts.

He said it is decided by the Names and Badges Committee before it eventually goes to the monarch.

"They choose a name according to the class of ship and then it goes to the Navy board… and they look at it, they then send it to the Secretary of State," he explained.

Prof Clarke said it will then go to the palace "and the monarch will normally say yes, after which [the name] is fixed".

"But if the monarch has a preference, then that, of course, will be taken into account," he said.

"And if they want to use a name, there is the monarch, like Queen Elizabeth, the aircraft carrier, of course, they consult the palace before they even put the name to them.

"I think the way the system works is pretty efficient and it's no big deal, to be honest, you know, one name was touted, another name is more acceptable to the monarch – job done."

But although some names passed the selection process, it is unlikely they will be used again.

"There was a minesweeper called the Spanker," Prof Clarke explained.

"We won't have that one.

"There was a Destroyer called a Fairy, that's never used, and my favourite is the Frolic. 

"A destroyer called the Frolic. Could you imagine… a sailor coming home to his wife saying 'I've been on the Frolic for six months'?"

But his absolute favourite? The Cockchafer.

"That was a River Iron Gunboat launched in 1915. And Cockchafer is the name of a beetle, which interestingly is also called the Doodlebug beetle. 

"But we shouldn't laugh because the Cockchafer had a very distinguished career launched in the middle of the First World War.

"It served in the First World War, in the inter-war period, in the Second World War in the Middle East. It was part of the invasion of Sicily in 1943. 

"But I think we can guarantee that no other ships are likely to be given that name."

You can listen to Sitrep wherever you get your podcasts, including on the Forces News YouTube channel.