Royal Navy commissioning for former Sharnbrook Upper student

Midshipman Michael Bamber was one of 154 Officer Cadets taking part in Lord High Admiral’s Divisions at Britannia Royal Naval College. Around 800 families, friends and distinguished guests watched as Her Royal Highness inspected the parade as the representative of her father, The Duke of Edinburgh, The Lord High Admiral.

To earn his place on the parade ground, Michael completed an intensive 30-week training course, which was split into three distinct 10 week phases. While the course predominately takes place at the world renowned college in Dartmouth, the training included three weeks on board the Type 45 frigate HMS Daring, operating in UK waters.

Michael was educated at Sharnbrook Upper School and graduated from Swansea University in 2012 with a degree in mathematics. Joining the Royal Navy, he is following in the footsteps of his father Ben, who served in the rank of lieutenant between 1971 and 1979.

Michael said: “I joined the Royal Navy to pursue a challenging, dynamic and rewarding career. Every day of training is different, but living and working on HMS Daring for three weeks was definitely one of the highlights of the course.”

With the first phase of his training complete Michael will transfer to RAF Shawbury to take part in the joint air traffic control course.