A Royal Naval reserve from Sittingbourne shared his experiences as part of a recruitment drive.

Able seaman Stephen Baalham who completed his basic training at HMS Raleigh in Plymouth in October, attended the event at the Historic Dockyard, Chatham, to help raise awareness of what the service has to offer.

The day also marked the 70th Anniversary of the launch of HMS Cavalier - the last surviving Second World War destroyer.

Volunteers are drawn from all walks of life and train to enable the Royal Navy to meet its operational commitments.

They serve in a variety of roles, including seaman, logistics, maritime trade operators, diving, information systems, information operations, nursing and media operations.

The 23-year-old, who works as an administrative assistant for Concur at Kent Science Park, said: “I always wanted to join the Royal Navy but thought I’d try the reserves to give me a taster.

“Now I’ve come to the conclusion that I get the best of both worlds.

“And I absolutely love it.

“Basic training was brilliant, I passed everything first time and there was a small group of us and we bonded really well.

“The highlight was the simulation of damage repair on a ship where we had to deal with floods and firefighting –
the adrenalin was really pumping.”

For more information, go to www.royalnavy.mod.uk/navyreserves or call the Medway unit on Tuesday evenings between 6pm and 10pm on 01634 579289.