Command of a Naval air squadron passed between two near-neighbours in a small Cornish village – but the ceremony was carried out in the Gulf.

Lt Cdr Steve Murray handed over the reins of 814 NAS – the Flying Tigers – to Lt Cdr Nick Dunn. The friends live in Perranwell Station, near Truro, so command effectively passed from one side of the village to the other.

Lt Cdr Murray, now promoted to Commander, has been the Commanding Officer of 814 NAS, the first front-line RN squadron to be equipped with the Merlin, for two years, and leaves to ‘fly a desk’ at Boscombe Down, near Salisbury.

The squadron embarked in RFA Fort Victoria in January and played a role in protecting Coalition ships from surface attack during the war in Iraq – the aircraft’s first operational deployment.

The squadron also conducted a VIP transfer to the American aircraft carrier USS Constellation, the deck landing marking another first for the aircraft.

The actual squadron handover was conducted while Fort Victoria was alongside at Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates.

Before the squadron left the Gulf on the RFA, Commodore Jamie Miller, the Commander of the UK Amphibious Task Group, visited the Squadron and praised them for their teamwork and outstanding contribution to Operation Telic.

Commodore Miller also took the opportunity to present a Meritorious Service Medal to WOA Dave Hollier – the MSM is awarded for an exemplary service career, and it was appropriate that Cdre Miller should make the presentation as the two served together in the Falklands in 1982.