'Special' HMS Sultan families day marks 70th anniversary of Royal Navy Gosport site -pictures

Excited military children and their loved ones celebrated the 70th anniversary of a naval base with a “special” families day.

Personnel at HMS Sultan in Gosport came together for an afternoon of fun and had chance to spent time with their loved ones. Various activities and entertainment was planned to make sure the anniversary was celebrated in style.

Birds of prey, a petting zoo, inflatable axe throwing, a variety of bouncy castles and inflatable attractions, Didi cars with track, and the spectacular Tigers Motorcycle Display Team were just some of the activities on offer. Steam waggon rides, live music, kids' circus skills, face painting, balloon animals, glitter tattoos and a roaming magician added to the festive atmosphere, alongside food and drink and ice cream.

Commanding Officer of HMS Sultan, Captain Mark Hamilton, said: “Today's Families Day perfectly captures what makes HMS Sultan so special, our people and the incredible support of their families. This year is particularly poignant, as we mark seventy years of this extraordinary establishment. The expertise trained here spans the full breadth of naval engineering, from the Marine Engineers who keep our ships and submarines at sea, to the Air Engineering and Survival Equipment technicians on whom our people's lives depend.

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“Events like this remind us that behind every skilled engineer and technician we train here is a family who supports their journey. Their sacrifice and understanding enables our personnel to focus on becoming the innovative, professional engineers our Royal Navy needs.”

Families day is an annual event which brings together personnel from across the establishment and their invited guests. Thanks to the generous support of sponsors and charities, this year's event was free for all attendees and offered personnel and their families the chance to learn about the wider support available to them from service charities and organisations.

HM Sultan was commissioned on June 1, 1956, the day after the closure of HMS Siskin. It has grown from its origins as the Mechanical Training Course into one of Defence's most significant engineering training establishments.

The base is now the home of the Marine Engineering Training Group (METG) and the Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival Equipment School (RNAESS), which delivers over 320 courses to more than 7,700 trainees annually from across the UK Armed Forces, NATO and international partners including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Saudi Arabia and Brazil.

Capt Hamilton added: “As we look ahead, we are focused on transforming how we deliver that training, expanding our use of simulated and emulated environments and growing our work with NATO allies and partner nations.

"Agility will be central to how we operate in the years ahead, as the Naval Service becomes more complex and more demanding. And as new platforms arrive under a hybrid Navy, Sultan will remain what it has always been, the engineering heartbeat of the Naval Service, powering naval engineering for generations to come. I'm immensely grateful for the continued support of our families, sponsors and charities, and delighted we can celebrate this milestone together today."