British Navy releases names of officers killed in collision

THE names of three Royal Navy officers who died when two British helicopters collided in the Gulf at the weekend were released yesterday.

They were Lieutenants James Williams, 28, Philip West, 32, and Antony King, 35, all based at the Royal Naval Air Station Culdrose, near Helston, west Cornwall, England.

A fourth officer from the station lost in the same crash has been named in reports as 31-year-old Philip Green.

They were among six British personnel and one from the United States military who died in the early hours of Saturday.

Two RN Sea King Mk7 airborne surveillance and control helicopters from 849 Squadron based at Culdrose collided over international waters in the Arabian Gulf.

The Navy said there were no survivors from the crash, which was not as a result of enemy action. Lt West lived in Budock Water, near Falmouth, with his fiancée Nicky, a nurse at Treliske Hospital in Truro.

The couple, who were to be married in August, had been converting a barn together, said the Royal Navy yesterday. Lt West, known as Stretch because of his 6ft 4ins height, was described by his fiancée today as patient, thoughtful and considerate.

“Both families were looking forward to celebrating the couple’s marriage in August, and his loss is hard to bear,” said the Navy statement.

“However, they have all been overwhelmed by the tremendous support they have received from friends and family, which is proving a great comfort.”

Lt West, admired by his colleagues for his professionalism, grew up in Carlisle before moving to Hoy Lake on the Wirral at the age of 10. He went to Salford University, joining the University Royal Navy Unit, and went on to attend the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, Devon.

His parents recalled that he always wanted to fly, and, after Sea King Observer training, he ‘gained his wings’ in 1994.

He served with HMS Invincible in the Adriatic in 1996. Two years later he met Nicky while serving at RNAS Culdrose and, much to the amusement of his family, became “quite a countryman,” said the Navy today.

“He loved his dog Georgie and Nicky’s four horses.”