A Stone Royal Navy lieutenant is the first – and last – female to become a Navy Lynx helicopter pilot when she received her wings from Prince Andrew last week.
The ceremony was held at RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset and was the culmination of five years’ training for Lieutenant Danielle Welch, a former pupil at St Dominic’s Priory School in Stone.
She is the first and last woman to become a Royal Navy Lynx helicopter pilot as the Lynx is due to be replaced in 2017.
Danielle, aged 30, from Stone, told BBC Somerset: “My family and friends are all very proud. This is something I have been trying to achieve for most of my life and when I found out I had been selected it was brilliant. The course is tough. We started the Lynx course with six and we’ve ended with four. Not everyone gets through but to achieve it is brilliant.”
Danielle has always had the sea in her blood. She was introduced to life at sea at the tender age of just six months’ old when she journeyed far and wide as a family in the Merchant Navy and proud parents Mark and Teresa Hancock were there at the ceremony.
A St Dominic’s Priory School spokeswoman said: “We are so proud of our ex-pupil and wish her all the best for her continued career in the Royal Navy. Congratulations Danielle!”
