Lieutenant Commander Robert Hirst Royal Navy

Bob started his career as an artificer apprentice in 1971 and commissioned in 1976 as a Seaman Officer.

He spent 11 years as a submariner serving in HM Submarines OTTER, OTUS, CHURCHILL and COURAGEOUS, and in 1986 was the XO in HMS OTUS as a Lieutenant.

On leaving the Submarine Service, he went ashore to study Russian at Beaconsfield for 18 months, before becoming an Arms Control Inspector at The Joint Arms Control Inspection Group (JACIG), (or as he often said ‘JACIG stands for Just Another Cover for Intelligence Gathering!’).

He was later appointed as the Commanding Officer of HMS FERRET, the small reserve intelligence unit at Chicksands, which culminated in 2003, when he led a joint intelligence unit during Telic 1.

He left the Service after 33 years in 2004 at the age of 50 and moved to Wiltshire, where he went on to work at Porton Down for 10 years before finally retiring.

It was whilst he was with JACIG that he met and married Jenny within 6 months. In their retirement, they enjoyed travelling all over the world and as passengers on 20 cruises. They spent just shy of 34 years together before pancreatic cancer took him within 2 months of diagnosis.

Bob was a quiet, intelligent, and loyal man which helped to make him a dedicated husband to Jenny, a professional naval officer and a friend to many. Despite his shore roles, Bob remained a proud submariner to the end.

His funeral will take place at Salisbury Crematorium on Wednesday 27 May 2026 at 1400.