50 April 2019 www.bahrainthismonth.com unitedkingdomsupplement this region was costing the global economy USD18 Billion as shippers were forced to change trading routes and pay higher insurance premiums. Preventing terrorism – Many of the UK’s allies in this area face a threat from terrorists in the region. Royal Navy warships and helicopters continue to work alongside other nations to deter or disrupt terrorist attacks and prevent related illegal activities such as human trafficking, drug and charcoal smuggling. Providing well developed mine-hunting expertise – Mines are cheap, easy to use and have the potential to close important waterways. It is essential that the UK has the capability to undertake mine-hunting operations wherever there are large concentrations of shipping or international trade routes. The Royal Navy permanently has four mine hunters in Bahrain (rotating personnel every six months) to develop and retain expertise and experience in warm-water operations. A Royal Fleet Auxiliary support ship is also here in Bahrain to serve as a floating headquarters for Commander UK Mine Countermeasures Force (COMUKMCMFOR) during large-scale mine-hunting exercises. Supporting merchant shipping – The UK Maritime Trade Operation (UKMTO) is a small cell of Royal Navy personnel based in Dubai, which tracks shipping movements and runs a 24-hour reporting service to enable swift communication between merchant shipping and naval forces in the event of an attack or suspicious activity. Members visit ships in the nearby ports of Jebel Ali and Fujairah to provide advice on maritime security. The role of the UK NSF – The NSF has now been operational for one year. It has proven successful in supporting the UK Naval presence in the region. The accommodation is clean, modern and comfortable; with a well-equipped gym, café, shop and recreational areas. The feeling of ‘all of one team’ emanates and is continuing to self-generate. The NSF is a cornerstone of the UK’s ability to maintain a forward presence in the region, and is very important in our defence cooperation programme. Bahrain remains critical to our plans for Gulf security. The Bahrain-owned, UK-operated, NSF underlines the importance of our mutual relationship and permanent presence in Bahrain and the Gulf more widely. Our governments recognise the strategic importance of moving forward together and the mutual benefits this brings. This includes nurturing a shared UK-Bahrain NSF vision that, if correctly developed and executed, will add much weight and longevity to our joint current strategic and maritime vision in the Gulf and the wider region. You have a strong family connection with Bahrain, of which you are immensely proud and fond. Please tell us about it? My family started its warm and affectionate love affair with the Pearl of the Gulf in 1953 when my Royal Naval father first sailed into Bahrain. He was a ‘writer’ (or scribe) by trade in the Royal Navy Secretariat branch, and, having written his memories and taken many photos, he was meticulous about inscribing where and when and what the pictures were, to send home to my mother. After his first time here, he sailed from the island with his ship but soon returned, with my mother, for a more permanent ‘posting’. So began our family history and firm footprints in the sand of the Island. He was based at HMS JUFAIR (as was) and they lived in the base and also moved to a small apartment behind Manama Souq, where my elder brother was born, in a small ‘yellow block bungalow’ along Shk Esa (Isa) Avenue. They returned to the UK in the early 1960s and over the years between then and now, Bahrain was woven into my life as I grew up, with family stories, and cine films, of Bahraini friends, culture and sights that always came naturally into conversation and the delicious smells and spices from my parents’ kitchen. My father always taught me that personal relationships build trust into alliances – particularly here in Bahrain. He also said that “sometimes the meeting [with a person] happening is a most desired and rewarding outcome in itself.” My father unfortunately passed away this time last year but, knowing I had been appointed as the British Defence Attaché, he and mum managed to share some last stories with me, and send me out with a box of photographs, stories, smiles and my own memories to make. He asked that I bring his love and spirit back to Bahrain. Which I hope I am humbly doing. Cdr Windsar’s parents in Bahrain
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