IMAGES SHOW SCOPE OF FORCE’S WORK Snapshots of life from serving Royal Navy personnel

A STRIKING array of images taken by sailors have impressed judges at the Royal Navy’s annual photographic competition.

The Royal Navy’s own dedicated photographers follow warships and commandos wherever they go, capturing significant moments and a behind- the- scenes look at missions carried out across the world.

The photographers, all of them serving sailors or Royal Marines, have now been recognised for their imagery in the Peregrine Trophy.

Photographer Kyle Heller was named the Royal Navy’s photographer of the year by the judges for his portfolio of images from HMS Queen Elizabeth’s deployment to the east coast of the US.

It’s about the opportunities, experience and variation that you get. Kyle Heller, Royal Navy’s photographer of the year.

HMS Queen Elizabeth won the Peregrine Trophy for their collection of images from the deployment, which Mr Heller was part of.

“I’m still trying to get my head round winning the award, in all honesty,” he said. “I’m not one for the plaudits at all and for me it’s about the opportunities, experience and variation that you get with this job. There really is nothing like it.”

Currently based at the Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose in Cornwall, he joined the Royal Navy in 1998 aged 17 before becoming a photographer in late 2009.

The award dates back to 1961 and is named after the HMS Peregrine Royal Naval Air Station in Sussex.

Due to Covid- 19 restrictions there will be no formal awards ceremony this year but the images will be on public display at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire from December through to March.

PICTURES: MOD/ PA BEHIND THE SCENES: Clockwise from top, HMS Queen Elizabeth as seen from the cockpit of a Merlin helicopter, and Royal Marines during fast roping exercises, both by LPhot Daniel Shepherd; an F- 35B Lightning jet by LPhot Kyle Heller; a Royal Marines assault engineer on ice demolition training by LPhot Stevie Burke.