Captain (soon to be Commodore) Richard Farrington CBE RN

[Wander00]

I have just read in The Times that Captain Richard Farrington is to be promoted Commodore later this month. He will be remembered as Captain of HMS Nottingham when it went aground off Lord Howe Island in 2002, for which he was CM'd and Reprimanded. I just wanted to say I was delighted to see that he had been promoted as after the incident I twice attended his lecture on the circumstances of the stranding and the recovery of the ship. He was also guest speaker at a Trafalgar Night Dinner at Royal Lymington Yacht Club. Where does this connect with military aircrew you may ask - well it is because the aftermath of the grounding was an example of preparedness, courage (several of the crew were decorated for their bravery and resourcefulness in saving the ship), pre-planning and above all LEADERSHIP. So, I am delighted to read of Richard Farrington's promotion and I hope others will join Mrs W and me in wishing him well in his new appointment.

[Old-Duffer]

I join you and Mrs W and I salute the soon to be commodore.

After the accident, his comments and humility were outstanding and he never sought to shirk the blame. His personal actions are said to have probably saved the ship. It was wonderful to learn that he had been promoted captain a few years after and I often wondered what had happened to him subsequently - great news.

Old Duffer

[salad-dodger]

^^^^^
All of what O-D said. I remember him being interviewed after the incident.

S-D

[Haraka]

Good to see, well done all round.

I did see comments years ago that in the R.N. dinging a ship was one sure way to get noticed!

[Genstabler]

And how pleasant to see complimentary comments being made about a senior officer on Pprune for a change. Well done Sir.

[Union Jack]

Well done indeed!

Story here for those not previously aware of it:

Commander 'who ran aground' revealed to be ship's saviour - Telegraph

Jack

[Rosevidney1]

The great Admiral Chester Nimitz also was court martialed for a similar accident as a junior officer.

[500N]

I remember when this happened, was always impressed
by what he said to the media.

Good to hear it didn't ruin his career totally.