Crew of HMS Bulwark return for Christmas

The crew of a Plymouth-based warship has returned home today to more than 600 cheering friends and family.

HMS Bulwark has been on a three month deployment to the Middle East but now its crew are returning home for Christmas.

HSM Bulwark left Plymouth in September as part of the Royal Navy's Joint Expeditionary Force Task Group.

It will now undergo a two year refit.

Where has HMS Bulwark been?

  • The task group took part in amphibious exercises off Albania and Egypt.

  • Then it headed through the Suez Canal to conduct further exercises in Oman.

  • She then spent a short period training the Somaliland Coastguard.

  • She finally returned home via Haifa in Israel, where she hosted senior dignitaries from the Israeli government and Armed Forces.

HMS Bulkwark has undertaken duties since 2011, but she will hand over duties as the nation’s ‘on call’ assault ship to sister ship HMS Albion in 2017.

Crowds lined the dock to see HMS Bulwark return

  • During their deployment the crew have eaten their way through:

HMS Bulwark is returning from three months in the middle east and will now undergo a two year refit