A Royal Navy sailor from Helston has been presented with a Meritorious Service Medal for his 27 distinguished years as an aircraft engineer, mostly working at RNAS Culdrose.

Chief Petty Officer Mark Carruthers (right) was presented him with the medal as he left the service by air station commanding officer Captain Stuart Finn (left). Mark continues to work at RNAS Culdrose as a civilian.

The 47-year-old grew up in Helston and followed his father into the navy.

"My dad, Fred Carruthers, did 34 years in the navy, mostly based at Culdrose," he said.

"He was also a chief in the Fleet Air Arm and also got the MSM."

Aged 19, Mark joined the Royal Navy in 1993 as an artificer, repairing and maintaining Sea King helicopters.

He rose to become a chief petty officer and stayed with the veteran aircraft as a technical support specialist until they were retired from service in 2018.

As a trainee he served on HMS Ark Royal during the conflict in the former Yugoslavia in 1993. His frontline service with 849 Naval Air Squadron includes deployment on HMS Ocean off Libya in 2011 as well as two tours of Afghanistan in 2010 and 2012.

He said: "My time in the Royal Navy has just been an amazing experience and I've met some fantastic people. I've done every job that I wanted to do and got the MSM – which was a complete surprise - drawing to a close my career which I have totally enjoyed."

Mark has now started a new job with company Morson, which repairs Merlin helicopter panels and rotor blades. He continues to live in Helston.

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