Queen Elizabeth couldn’t resist pressing a firefighter’s horn during a royal visit yesterday (23.10.17).
The 91-year-old monarch met crew from the HMS Sutherland to mark the 20th anniversary of the vessel’s commissioning at Millwall Docks, east London – where the ship is on a four-day visit to celebrate the milestone – and couldn’t help but press 21-year-old engineering technician Stanley Money’s warning device.
Elizabeth poked the horn and then gave it a little squeeze, much to the delight of Chief Petty Officer Peter Manning, 38.
He told the Docklands and East London Advertiser: "The queen asked what it was for and I told her the crew sound it if they get into a distress situation during firefighting when it could be dark with smoke, to let other firefighters know they need help."
The queen also met with the crew of a Wildcat helicopter who were deployed to the Caribbean last month, separately from the HMS Sutherland, to deal with the devastation following Hurricane Irma.
They told the monarch what the situation was like and described events they had witnessed.
The HMS Sutherland is a Type 23 frigate which has dealt with various missions around the world in its 20 years.
The boat recently completed a six-week operation in preparation for its deployment next year, but is usually used to escort Chinese and Russian warships when they pass into UK territorial waters, and tends to be based in Plymouth, southern England.
Queen Elizabeth can’t resist horn press
