‘We took good care of mum but now it’s your turn!’ Cheeky lad’s hilarious sign greets sailor father as HMS Defender returns home after seven months at sea
- Hundreds of well-wishes turned out to welcome home warship HMS Defender in Portsmouth Harbour as it returned from a seven-month deployment
- Oscar Jefferson, 6, welcomed his father Ryan home with a very cheeky placard on Friday morning
- Some of the sailors loved ones were disappointed that the traditional homecoming had been cancelled due to the threat of the deadly coronavirus spreading during social gatherings
- Penny Mordaunt, the Conservative MP for Portsmouth North was left dismayed by the big turn out having pleaded with relatives of the homebound sailors to send welcome home messages via social media
- Coronavirus symptoms: what are they and should you see a doctor?
A cheeky lad hilariously greeted his sailor father home as hundreds of well-wishers today turned out to defy coronavirus warnings and welcome home warship HMS Defender.
Despite being told to stay away to help stop the spread of the deadly virus, crowds gathered as the £1bn destroyer sailed back into its home port of Portsmouth, Hants, this morning.
The Jefferson family were in attendance as Oscar, six, Myla, three, and Spencer, one, joined mother Ashleigh to welcome home Leading Hand Ryan Jefferson on Friday morning. Ryan had been on deployment for seven months, spending much of that time in the Gulf.
Six-year-old Oscar Jefferson (left) displayed a cheeky sign to welcome home his sailor father Ryan as HMS Defender returned to Portsmouth on Friday morning after seven months at sea. He is pictured with three-year-old Myla, Spencer, one, and mother Ashleigh
The ship returned to Portsmouth Naval Base following a seven-month deployment in the Middle East, particularly the Gulf
Hundreds of people turned out to welcome the sailors home after the traditional homecoming was cancelled due to fears over the spread of the deadly coronavirus
And Oscar had a hilarious welcome home placard for his returning father.
‘We took good care of mum… but now it’s your turn… she is a lot of work! Welcome home HMS Defender,’ the sign read.
The 190-strong crew’s official homecoming – where families traditionally gather in the city’s naval base to cheer sailors back into port – had been scrapped amid fears over the pandemic.
But crowds of people took to Old Portsmouth’s Round Tower – a traditional vantage point to welcome back ships of the Royal Navy – as well as along the harbour walls.
The cancelled homecoming had come as a huge disappointment for the loved ones of some of the sailors.
Ellis Chwarszczynski, 28, from Thetford, Norfolk, who came to meet boyfriend LET Danny Holmes, said that the crew were disappointed at losing the homecoming event but were happy to be back.
She said: ‘I am really gutted for him as it was meant to be a bit of a celebration for him.
Ellis Chwarszczynski was in Portsmouth to welcome home boyfriend Danny Holmes and revealed her huge disappointment that the traditional homecoming had been cancelled. She said: ‘I am really gutted for him as it was meant to be a bit of a celebration for him.’
Sailors aboard the HMS Defender wave to hundreds of loved ones as the ship makes its return to Portsmouth Harbour
Crowds of people took to Old Portsmouth’s Round Tower – a traditional vantage point to welcome back ships of the Royal Navy – as well as along the harbour walls.
‘It would have been nice to have one last event but they are still excited but they don’t know what they are coming home to.’
She added: ‘It feels so good to have him coming home but quite surreal like this.’
But supporters, despite being told by the government to employ social distancing to reduce the spread of the virus, lined the walkway of Portsmouth Harbour as crews reunited with loved ones.
Penny Mordaunt, the Conservative MP for Portsmouth North, was dismayed at the turn out, having pleaded with people to stay away rather than wave the type 45 destroyer back hoem as normal.
Penny Mordaunt, Conservative MP for Portsmouth North, expressed her dismay at the huge turnout for the homecoming sailors. She had pleaded with relatives of the sailors to stay away from Portsmouth Harbour ahead of the ship’s return
She said: ‘The more people reduce the amount of contact they are having the more lives will be saved, the more the NHS will be able to cope and the faster we will beat the virus.
‘People need to take this seriously. I know people want to welcome ships home, but these are extraordinary times. Please follow the CMOs advice.
‘Stay at home, keep your kids at home, isolate older and vulnerable people.’
The former defence secretary had previously urged people to instead send messages of support to HMS Defender via social media due to coronavirus fears.
She said: ‘Let’s make sure Defender and her ship’s company know how much we appreciate them by giving her a homecoming the chief medical officer would approve of – let’s take to Twitter as she enters Portsmouth Harbour.’
During the ship’s time in the Gulf, she made two major drug busts, seizing 2,500kg of hashish – worth £1m – last month, and a record haul of crystal meth worth £3.3m. The HMS Defender’s return was streamed by the Royal Navy on social media
But Gerald Vernon-Jackson, leader of Portsmouth City Council, today said he was ‘pleased’ people were out supporting the crew.
He said: ‘With coronavirus, we are trying to balance lots of things. The advice of the government is that it’s OK to be out and about outside even if you are self-isolating, but if you’re out with other people, just don’t be too close.
‘I’m really pleased the people on board have got a good welcome home and I’m sorry it’s not possible to do the official homecoming but I’m really pleased that people were there after their long deployment.’
The return of HMS Defender was streamed by the Royal Navy on its social media platforms.
During the ship’s time in the Gulf, she made two major drug busts, seizing 2,500kg of hashish – worth £1m – last month, and a record haul of crystal meth worth £3.3m.
The vessel deployed to the Middle East in August to safeguard critical shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz, which have been under threat from Iranian attack.
Source: Read Full Article