A pair of Royal Navy sailors visited an Aberdeen veteran to gift him a crew baseball cap following their exploits on TV.
George Gordon, 90, served as a Chief Petty Officer with the Royal Navy for 35 years and served on Type 14 Frigate, HMS Duncan.
After watching a recent TV programme called Warship: Life at Sea, which is based on the New HMS Duncan – he was reminded of his own service.
Having recently lost his wife and suffered a bout of Covid – his daughter Sue attempted to purchase one of the crew’s baseball caps after he’d spoken of how much he liked them.
Hand-delivered surprise
And in a touching twist, members of the crew decided to hand deliver the cap to Mr Gordon at his home in Kingswells, Aberdeen.
HMS Duncan crew members Callum O’Neill and Alasdair Ager gave him a framed print of the ship, a ribbon bearing the ship’s name and the sought-after baseball cap.
The gift was all the more special as they had taken the time to get the word “veteran” embroidered on the back.
They then chatted with Mr Gordon and heard some of his stories from his time aboard the original HMS Duncan.
Midshipman Ager said: “It was truly a pleasure to meet George and his family and hear some of his incredible stories of his time in the Navy, from having a half tot of rum with Lord Mountbatten, being present at the last issue of the rum ration and the days of bedding down in hammocks.”
“It was great to see that the connection from serving in the armed forces spans across the generations, and the lessons passed down from George certainly have their place in today’s Navy.”
Midshipman O’Neill added: “It was a really nice visit; George and his daughter Sue were over the moon, and George was full of fantastic stories that we could have listened to all day.”
His daughter added: “Dad so enjoyed meeting the young officers Ali and Callum and comparing with them the changes over the last 70 years. It was good to hear the cheeky jokes and camaraderie carry on.
“He is so proud of the gifts they brought. He’s a keen golfer, despite his age and although less physically able these days, he will still be wearing the baseball cap in the ’19th hole’ at his local club.”