Book your place HERE for our members’ exclusive talk on Thursday 15 April at 1900.

We’re looking forward to welcoming Jonty Powis as our Guest Speaker this month, who will give a talk on the Belgrano Attack – covering Conqueror’s background, the trip south, mood on board, what we failed to get right and the attack itself.

Commander Jonathan (Jonty) Powis is at least a 5th generation mariner, and all three of his children have gone to sea. He served in the Royal Navy 1974 – 2006 in a range of Operational, Teaching, Command, Staff and Rescue roles. Jonty specialised in Submarines and Navigation and his regular sea-going career spanned 22 years including twice commanding a boat through build, commissioning and early operations. His third command being a hard running submarine at the end of its operational life which he took into disposal twice. He saw action in the Falklands war as the Navigating Officer of HMS Conqueror. He came ashore in 1996 and served in the British Embassy in Washington, the MoD in London and finally dual-hatted as the Submarine Operations Officer for NATO and the operational head of the UK Submarine Rescue Service. The latter placed him at the front of the successful international efforts to globalise Submarine Rescue in the aftermath of the Kursk tragedy of 2000. On leaving the Navy he worked in Rolls-Royce introducing into service the UK, France and Norway’s “NATO” Submarine Rescue System (NSRS).

Currently Jonty is the Ops Director for the Britannia Maritime Aid Project and President of the Derby Sea Cadet Unit.