Captain Alistair had been appointed Captain of the Base and Deputy Naval Base Commander, and Captain HMS Neptune, in May 2013 and has now left to take up a new post as Head of the Maritime Logistic Improvement Programme at Abbeywood near Bristol.

A firm champion of HMS Neptune’s Field Gun Crew during his tenure at Clyde, he was thrilled when the lads decided to ‘escort’ him and his wife, Sharon, off the Base in such an unorthodox way.

He said: “Working at HMNB Clyde has been an absolute privilege and I move on with heavy heart after a hugely enjoyable and yet challenging time at Faslane. I’m proud to have overseen the delivery of a large refurbishment programme to Service Families’ Accommodation in both Rhu and Helensburgh, and the start of the next phase of building for Single Living Accommodation on the Base itself.” “I am particularly proud of and grateful for the close understanding, cooperation and teamwork between the Base, Helensburgh residents and across Argyll and Bute and wider Scotland - some would say the relationships are the strongest and closest they have been for some years and the benefits are being widely felt.” The new man at the helm is Captain James Hayes, who in recent years has worked in the United States on a number of submarine projects, before returning to the UK where he was responsible for running the Trident Equipment Programme before attending the Royal College of Defence Studies.

The son of a tea grower and a long-term resident of Helensburgh, Capt Hayes was raised in East Africa, but joined the Royal Navy in 1982. He has extensive experience of both HM Submarines and of working at Clyde – his last role here was in Faslane Flotilla as Squadron Weapon Engineer.

Capt Hayes added: “I am very much looking to forward to my work as Captain of the Base and in particular, to progress a number of Base initiatives currently in development and to work closely with the Naval Base Commander and the local community, to deliver safe and secure operational outputs.”