Submarine girl ‘dressed in captain’s uniform for mess-room horseplay’
A YOUNG female officer said to have had an ‘inappropriate relationship’ with the captain on board a nuclear submarine dressed in his uniform during ‘boozy horseplay’ in the vessel’s officers’ mess.
Sub-Lieutenant Rebecca Edwards, 25, who is believed to have had a fling with Commander Stuart Armstrong, 41, wore his gold epaulettes and barked out joke orders to other officers aboard HMS Vigilant – a Royal Navy submarine which is based on the Clyde and carries Trident missiles.
Their alleged affair led to five officers threatening to resign in protest at what they considered a blatant breach of the Royal Navy’s ‘no touching’ rules.
Sub-Lieut Edwards, who qualified as a submariner last year, faces being fined or demoted by naval chiefs pending an official inquiry. Cmdr Armstrong, who grew up in Kirkcudbright and graduated from Glasgow University, has also been relieved of his duties while an investigation is carried out.
Last night the family of Sub-Lieut Edwards, who joined the Royal Navy in 2014 after achieving a first-class physics degree at Bristol University, criticised her treatment and condemned Cmdr Armstrong for allegedly preying on a much younger, junior crew member.
Her grandfather Thomas Walker, 75, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Surely the opportunities to play about are in abundance in a job like that without doing it at sea and at work. So it is a bit poor really [for him to get involved with her].’
Mr Walker added: ‘Rebecca has clammed up a bit since this came out. She came to see us last weekend but nothing was said. But the Navy is her life and she is dedicated to it. I would urge the Navy not to endanger her career and her ambition. ‘I just hope that the male officers involved in this don’t drag Rebecca down with them.’ Sub-Lieut Edwards and Cmdr Armstrong were ordered off HMS Vigilant when it docked in the United States last month. They were flown back to Britain as Navy top brass began interviewing crew members. The submarine’s second-in-command Lieutenant Commander Michael Seal, 36, was flown home over claims of an illicit relationship with another female crew member. The married father-of-two, from Kirkcaldy, Fife, is also facing disciplinary action. Last night, his wife Jennifer, 36, told The Mail on Sunday he was not at the family home and that she did not know when he was coming back.
This newspaper has learned that the antics took place in HMS Vigilant’s wardroom where senior crew members gather to let off steam.
When on operations Royal Navy submarines are dry but the vessel was not involved in missions against enemy forces at the time.
Women have served on Royal Navy surface ships since 1990 but were not permitted to join submarine crews until 2014. A ban on intimate relationships is imposed aboard all Royal Navy vessels.
Given his seniority, Cmdr Armstrong is expected to face much stiffer punishment than Sub-Lieut Edwards, should he be found to have breached social conduct regulations.
A Royal Navy spokesman said: ‘An investigation is under way, but it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.
‘Any allegations of wrongdoing are taken very seriously and will be dealt with appropriately.’
The Navy’s first female warship captain, Sarah West, was released from her command of frigate HMS Portland over an alleged affair with a married officer in 2014.