Our pride and fear for 'Illustrious' daughter - Mother

The mother of a 17-year-old serving on HMS Illustrious told today of her pride and fear that her daughter may be involved in strikes against Afghanistan.

Able Seaman Claire McDonough, from Warrington, Cheshire, is on board the 20,000-ton aircraft carrier just 12 months after joining the Royal Navy.

The ship, which has around 1,200 men and women on board, is taking part in the military exercise Operation Swift Sword in Oman but may be used to head British strikes against Osama bin Laden.

Claire’s mother Carol, a 43-year-old cleaner, today wept as she read letters from her daughter and spoke of the family’s pride in her achievements.

She said: ‘‘Claire left school with pretty good GCSE results but she thought she was going to do much worse so she had her mind set on not carrying on with education.

‘‘She hadn’t had a life-long fascination with the Navy and, like a lot of people, she joined up because she couldn’t think of anything else to do.

‘‘I was a bit apprehensive at first, but when I saw how much fun she was having and the new friends she made I was made up for her.

‘‘She found the training incredibly tough but it was a challenge and she got a sense of achievement out of it.

‘‘She has always been heavily into the idea of equal rights for women so she will pride herself on pulling her weight.

‘‘She was fairly shy while she was at school but her self-confidence has come on in leaps and bounds. She is really bubbly now and was looking forward to the exercise.’’

Claire, a keen kickboxer, has a 20-year-old sister Victoria, who still lives with their mother and father Michael, a 43-year-old fleet supervisor for Mersey Regional Ambulance Service.

Mrs McDonough said: ‘‘Vicky misses Claire. Like the rest of us, she was really happy when she joined up and it did so much for her, but she is worried.

‘‘We are all incredibly proud of her, but we are on tenterhooks all the time, watching the news whenever we can and worrying what might happen.

‘‘I am proud of her and happy for her but I will be happier when she gets back here.’’

Mr McDonough said: ‘‘Claire doesn’t like being away from home but at the same time she enjoys the activities and she is there to better herself and get qualifications, and that is exactly what she has been doing.

‘‘She will take pride in working as part of a Royal Navy team and won’t ask for special treatment just because she is young and female.

‘‘We don’t like her being away from home but I believe she is just as safe there as we are here.

‘‘As far as I’m concerned she is there on exercise and nothing to do with the trouble over there. If war does break out we are just hoping for the minimum.

‘‘No-one wants their child involved in a war. We just want her home.’’