There is no doubt that I owe Hymers a great deal. I was a perfectly average pupil - a B & C grade student, competent second trumpet and pretty good athlete, but my future direction was not obvious. A session with the visiting Navy school careers officer and subsequent trip onboard HMS COVENTRY from Portsmouth to the Clyde (18 months before she was sunk in the Falkland Islands) was the trigger for what became a 36-year career in the Royal Navy. 

I joined the Navy after university in 1985. My early career was mostly at sea, operating in Europe, the North and South Atlantic and the Middle East.  I had the great privilege of commanding several ships; HMS BITER, the patrol vessel of the Manchester Universities’ Royal Naval Unit, the Minehunter, HMS ATHERSTONE and, at the age of 34, the destroyer HMS EXETER. As a captain, I was the first commanding officer of HMS DARING, the first Type 45 Destroyer, before going on to command the UK’s Amphibious Task Group operating in the Indian Ocean, Norwegian Arctic, and on the East coast of the USA. Otherwise, I spent time ashore in HQs in the UK and the Ministry of Defence, spent 6 months in Baghdad as the advisor to the senior Iraqi hierarchy in their Joint Headquarters and latterly ran a NATO HQ in the United States with responsibility for shaping the future of the military Alliance. The advert goes; ‘Born in Hull, made in the Royal Navy’ - so true; but Hymers established many of the leadership foundations – teamwork, self-reliance, personal resilience and humility. 

One of the most intense experiences of any military, probably public service, career is the sacrifice that is required – the men and women who serve but also the families who take the brunt of separation and often the aftermath of their loved one’s intense operational experience. I have operated in conflict zones and spent many years deployed - professionally stimulating, but not without its pressures.  And, of course, having served throughout the Iraq and Afghanistan period, the ultimate implication of service was all too often visible. 

It was therefore an extraordinary honour to have become the National President of the Royal British Legion in October this year.  Being part of an organisation that offers so much support to the Armed Forces’ community is a privilege and standing in the Royal Albert Hall reciting the Kohima Exhortation was one of the most powerful experiences of my life. The opportunity to look back, remember, learn from history, while reflecting on the human contribution is essential. It is not just for the old, but for us all whether we have had serving relatives or not.  It is not about the politics of war, about which we can rightly have divergent opinions, but about service and sacrifice – very human conditions to which we can all associate. Hymers’ vision states that its pupils will learn to ‘act with integrity, show a sense of responsibility to their local communities and the world beyond’. We will all do this in our own way, but I hope can value service in whatever form it takes.

We will remember them.

Paul Bennett, OH 1972-82

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