HMS Sultan Celebrates Partnership with Worshipful Company of Plumbers – 11 September 2025
HMS Sultan welcomed representatives from the Worshipful Company of Plumbers today for a special ceremony marking the unveiling of a commemorative planter, symbolising the enduring collaboration between the two organisations.
The ceremony began at 1130 with the formal opening and unveiling of the planter, where Captain Mark Hamilton, Commanding Officer of HMS Sultan, addressed guests on behalf of the establishment. Speaking about the significance of the partnership, Captain Hamilton said: CO addressed the visitors and said “A massive thank you on behalf of all of us at HMS Sultan for this. We needed this to be in a prominent position, the planter is in the absolute centre of where everyone passes.”
Captain Mark Hamilton, Commanding Officer of HMS Sultan, and the Master say a few words to commemorate the occasion
HMS Sultan welcomed the Worshipful Company of Plumbers today for a special ceremony unveiling a commemorative planter symbolising our enduring partnership.
The Master Charles Brooks addressed everyone and said “On behalf of the members of the Worshipful Company of Plumbers, I am honoured to present to you this splendid lead planter to celebrate the longstanding relationship that our Company has enjoyed and will continue to enjoy with HMS Sultan.”
“I am delighted that we have been joined today by members of the Crawley & Horsham Armed Forces Veterans Breakfast Club who have been so helpful in supporting and assisting in the making of this Planter.”
Following the unveiling ceremony, guests joined Captain Hamilton and senior staff for lunch in the Officers’ Mess, providing an opportunity for informal discussion about future collaborative opportunities and shared interests in engineering education and training.
The afternoon programme included a comprehensive tour of the base, where visitors witnessed HMS Sultan’s professional training facilities in action. The tour showcased both the Marine Engineering Training Group and the Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival Equipment School (RNAESS), where Royal Navy trainees develop the technical expertise essential for maintaining the fleet’s ships, submarines, and aircraft.
The Company’s party in front of the Super Sentinel: Debbie Chapman, PM David Hamilton, Michael Turner (CHAFVBC), Paul Gooderson (CHAFVBC), Wendy Hamilton, The Mistress (Penny Brooks), The Master (Charles Brooks), Lvy Peter Cheesman
The visit highlighted the natural synergy between the Worshipful Company of Plumbers’ 650-year heritage of promoting excellence in craftsmanship and HMS Sultan’s role as a centre of engineering excellence. Both organisations share a commitment to rigorous training standards, professional development, and supporting the next generation of skilled engineers and technicians.
HMS Sultan maintains close working relationships with seven Worshipful Companies, alongside professional engineering institutes and educational establishments, all united in their mission to advance engineering education and promote STEM opportunities within local communities.
— End of Press Release —
By way of background to the above official press release, the Company together with the Plumbing Museum and Workshop Trust agreed to commemorate our relationship with HMS Sultan by making a lead cast planter, to be located at HMS Sultan. The Workshop team, led by Head Demonstrator Lvy Peter Cheesman along with Trustees PM David Hamilton and PM Steve Hodkinson travelled to meet the team at HMS Sultan earlier in the year to agree the location and size of the Planter and then the team at Amberley set to in casting the lead and making the Planter, aided
by veterans from the Crawley & Horsham Armed Forces Veterans Breakfast Club. The Master and Mistress, on their social visit to Amberley in May 2025, cast the Company crests that now adorn the Planter. The Planter was sited courtesy of PM Hamilton’s son in law Callum in the summer, and we were invited to officially unveil and present it to HMS Sultan on 11 September.
The Plumbers’ party consisted of the Master and Mistress, PM David Hamilton, chair of PMWT, Past Mistress Wendy Hamilton, Lvy Peter Cheesman, Head Demonstrator at the Plumbers Workshop, and Debbie Chapman, Demonstrator, together with Paul Gooderson, Chairman Crawley & Horsham AFVBC, and Michael Turner, Crawley & Horsham AFVBC.
We were marvellously looked after by the Officers at HMS Sultan, the Commanding Officer Captain Mark Hamilton, the XO Cdr Fergus Ochtman-Corfe and Lt Cdr Neil “Fez” Parker. After an excellent lunch in the Officers’ Mess, we were given a tour of the base seeing the HMS Sultan trainees in the workplace – both Marine Engineers and Air Engineers. HMS Sultan, home to the Defence College of Technical Training’s Defence School of Marine Engineering and the Royal Naval Air Engineering and Survival Equipment School, prepares engineers and technicians to provide crucial operational capabilities. This includes daily maintenance, repair and operation of aircraft, ships, submarines and vehicles on operations across the world. We were also shown and climbed aboard the Base’s steam wagon, Super Sentinel, which has been used in Lord Mayor’s Parades, most recently for the 2024 Parade by the Worshipful Company of Blacksmiths whose member Alastair King is the current Lord Mayor.
Charles Brooks – Master