A Royal Navy officer from Ilkley has been playing a key role in maritime operations in Libya.

Lieutenant Commander Tim Neild, Staff Operations Officer to the Commander of the UK Task Group, Commodore John Kingwell, is involved in Cougar 11 the major navy deployment to the Mediterranean and Middle East.

Serving on the Royal Navy’s Flagship, assault ship HMS Albion, Lt Cdr Neild co-ordinates the efforts of warfare specialists, naval aviators and Royal Marines to plan operations.

The former Ilkley Grammar School pupil left the UK at the beginning of April and has already been involved in directing amphibious operations off Cyprus and Albania. At the end of May, the Task Group was diverted to Libya to conduct maritime strike operations with Apache helicopters from the helicopter carrier, HMS Ocean.

Lt Cdr Neild said: “The Royal Navy’s Response Force Task Group is the centrepiece of the UK’s ability to react at short notice to unforeseen global events. When our orders came, the whole Task Group very quickly shifted focus from amphibious operations with the Royal Marines to operating our Apache helicopters in the Maritime Strike Role.

“This involved a great deal of work for my team, but the fact we achieved this so quickly and effectively is a testament to the ‘can do’ attitude of the Royal Navy.”

  • Read the full story Thursday’s T&A