A YORKSHIRE man who had a 42-year career spanning six-decades and has been described as a “true gentleman” and “warm” by all those who knew him has passed away.
Charles Lambert, also known as “Charlie”, was born son of a railwayman in York in 1963 and joined the Royal Navy as a junior weapons engineering mechanic aged 16.
His abilities and potential were noted and in 1987 he attended a mechanic’s course, passing out as weapons engineer artificer and in 2014 he was promoted to warrant officer class 1.
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Charlie served in Leander Class Frigates, Type 23 and Type 42 destroyers with operations in HMS Iron Duke 1999 in support of NATO operations for Kosovo.
He also served under the HMS Richmond in the Iraq War in 2003 and HMS Liverpool off Libya in 2011.
Ashore he worked communications establishments, including Harrogate, Gibraltar and Naples, and as an instructor at HMS Collingwood.
In his latest assignment where he was the longest serving member of the team, Charlie brought his considerable naval and engineering experience to the Navy Safety Centre as an assistant to the fleet safety, health and environmental officer (FSHEO).
This consisted of coaching and mentoring officers and ship’s company, sharing his depth of knowledge to promote safety in the workplace.
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In one case Charlie and the FSHEO were on a submarine being subjected to the usual banter about “Skimmers”, so he called for a show of hands of those with any sea time in an O boat.
Charlie and the FSHEO were the only ones to raise their hands and the submariners were silenced.
It was in the Royal Navy that Charlie met his wife Louise and they married in 1989 and went on to have three children together.
Lieutenant Commander Richard Woodridge, fleet safety, health and environmental officer, said: “Charlie brought considerable breadth of experience and knowledge to my team.
“He was committed to the RN and its Health & Safety, seeing clear value in what we did to improve safety across the Fleet.
“He supported me greatly, acting as a sounding board and contributing to ensure our team’s effectiveness.
“I spent many days working closely with Charlie as we travelled together around the UK, easy to get on with he was a good friend with more than enough service, field gun and family stories to ensure the long hours away were entertaining.
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Mr Adrien Bayne, royal navy safety centre audit SO1, said: "I got to know Charlie as a warm person who was a caring family man and a true gentleman."
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