HMS Duncan returns home in time for Christmas

HMS Duncan's company have reunited with family after an eastern Mediterranean mission

Sailors on a Royal Navy destroyer have been reunited with their loved one for Christmas.

The HMS Duncan has returned to Portsmouth harbour, after sailing to replace HMS Diamond in the Red Sea on a multinational mission for six months.

The destroyer spent 125 days of its deployment at sea, providing air defence alongside allies from Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Spain, Cyprus and the US.

Families and loved ones braved the stormy weather to welcome back the crew, some waving flags or holding welcome signs.

An estimated 1,000 people braved the stormy weather to greet sailors at Portsmouth Harbour

The Royal Navy said 1,000 people greeted 200 sailors, who lined the ship's deck as it entered the harbour.

Cdr Dan Lee, commanding officer of HMS Duncan, said: "For us, it's a bit of time off, a bit of time back home with families - back in the new year, in order to start all over again basically."

Andrew Lynch, from the destroyer's logistics team, said: "When I hold my loved ones again, I'll do it with a new kind of appreciation, a deeper love and a quiet resolve that no distance, no time, no separation can ever truly break."

Crews will have time with their families over Christmas before heading back on deployment

HMS Duncan spent six months of 2023 in the eastern Mediterranean, leading Nato's premier security mission in the region.

As a result, the sailors have spent 12 of the last 24 months on deployments.

Engineering technician Bradley Jones said: "Having endured another long deployment, I can say without hesitation that I have developed a deep gratitude for the friends and family I have back home.

"No words can give justice to what it's like being deployed."

HMS Duncan was recently awarded the Destroyer Trophy at the Fleet Efficiency Awards.

Cdr Lee said: "I could not be prouder of my ship's company and all they have achieved.

"As we return home in time for Christmas, with my team selected as the best destroyer in the fleet, they should rightly be proud of everything they've done."