Summary: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh make a Royal visit to the naval base at Portland on 24 June 1981, to mark the seventieth anniversary of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA).
Description: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip visit ships at the Portland Naval base and are joined by the senior RFA staff for a lunch whilst there. The Royal party were welcomed onto the RFA's flagship RFA Fort Austin (A.386) by Vice Admiral Sir William Pillar, Mr Pritchard (Director General of Supplies and Transport) and Rear Admiral Charles Eckersley-Maslin (Flag Officer Sea Training and Portland's reserve Flag Officer). Commodore Sam Dunlop (who would go on to command the RFA during the Falklands War in 1982) escorts the Royal party throughout the day. Chief Officer Tony Mitchell is presented to the Queen before she embarks on a tour of the ship with Prince Phillip, Ann Fortune Fitzroy (the Duchess of Grafton) and Sir Joseph William Weld (the Lord Lieutenant of Dorset). They arrive at the bridge and are introduced to senior officer Roger Perry, as replenishment oiler RFA Tidespring (A.75), Round Table class Landing Ship Logistics RFA Sir Percivale (L.3036) and Rover class small fleet tanker RFA Grey Rover (A.269) are moored alongside. Also presented to the Royal party are Sub Lieutenant Soop, the RFA's catering adviser Mr Woolf, the ships bos'un Mr Duncombe and some of the helicopter crews of 824 Royal Naval Air Squadron.
