New regional commander for the Isle of Man and northern England Commodore Gary Doyle paid a courtesy visit to Her Worship the Mayor, Councillor Sara Hackman JP on Thursday May 28th.

 Commodore Gary Doyle with the Mayor and Mayoress, Councillor Sara Hackman and Councillor Carol Malarkey

Commodore Doyle has taken over from Commodore Dickie Baum who was in the role for five years and will be based in Liverpool at the naval regional headquarters.

Commodore Doyle’s career to date includes operational service in nine Royal Navy warships. Of these, he was commanding officer of two: HMS Brockleby, the mine countermeasures vessel, and air defence destroyer HMS Southampton, during Operation Oracle which was the UK’s response to the 9/11 attacks.

Maintaining links with the Isle of Man and the north of England and developing the understanding of the Royal Navy within the region will be the principal objectives for Commodore Doyle in his new role.

He said: ‘It is a real privilege to return to my home city and to be tasked with reinforcing the spirit of the Royal Navy throughout the North of England and the Isle of Man.’