Lt Cdr J J (‘Ian or ‘Pennant”) SHEA Royal Navy

Ian joined the RN on 16 Sep 70 as a member of Hawke Division BRNC.  Became known as Pennant as, although he professed to be Scottish (albeit with a Janner accent), he probably had more Irish than Scots blood.  We were frequently berated by our Div Chief for leaving ‘Irish Pennants’ hanging from our bunks at the time, hence the nickname ‘Pennant’.  Notwithstanding this somewhat dubious pedigree, Ian invariably wore a (Scots) kilt and played the bagpipes rather well.  He was also a good run ashore, amusing raconteur and a professional seaman. He served in DANAE (74-76), BICKINGTON (77), FEARLESS (78), HERMES (79) and commanded VIGILANT in Northern Ireland in 1980) before secondment to the Sultan of Oman’s Navy in 1981.  He subsequently transferred to the Omani Navy in which he reached the rank of Cdr equivalent.