An excellent speaker meeting

At its bi-weekly meeting on Monday 17^th February 2025, Hungerford Rotary Club was pleased to welcome Ben Franklyn as its after-supper speaker.

 Ben, a long-time resident of Hungerford, gave a fascinating talk about his extraordinarily varied and accomplished career in the Royal Navy Fleet Air Arm. From humble beginnings as the son of a local builder and funeral director, he was accepted at the age of 18 for officer training in the Royal Navy at Dartmouth College and grew through front-line service into senior command positions.

 He started his entertaining talk with a short quiz in Navy Slang which revealed Beano - a cynical senior officer – and a scab lifter - the ships doctor. Then followed many engaging and amusing stories of his time as Captain and Commander of Sea King and Merlin helicopter squadrons on a variety of ships and missions around the world, including the interception of Somali pirates and games of cat and mouse with Russian submarines. He also told how the author Tom Clancy revealed the presence of one of the major security systems in the North Atlantic’s efforts to keep track of the secretive Soviet subs.

 In conclusion, Ben asked his audience to choose from sixteen further stories and told of the retribution of “Harry the bastard”, of inter-Service rivalry over plans to rid the Navy of fixed wing pilots and the inebriated capture of the French flag and its unintended consequences.

 Despite his amazing career, Ben retains his humility and was thanked by those present for a brilliant and entertaining address.