On 12 November the Governor-General, Her Excellency the Honourable Ms Sam Mostyn AC presented the Duke of Gloucester Cup — awarded to the RAN unit that has demonstrated the highest level of overall proficiency in the previous year to the Commanding Officer of HMAS Sydney, Commander Ben Weller.
In her social media post the Governor General said, “HMAS Sydney’s remarkable achievements over the past year included 187 days underway, participation in major international exercises such as RIMPAC and Pacific Dragon, and delivering cutting-edge capability through successful Naval Strike Missile (NSM) and SM-6 missile firings.
HMAS Sydney will now display a 5-pointed gold star in recognition of the achievement. The star is removed only when the award is won by another RAN unit. BZ to the crew of HMAS Sydney for your hard work and dedication!”
The Governor-General also presented the King’s Gold Medal. This is awarded annually to a member of the RAN who has displayed leadership qualities and the highest performance in a training institution to Lieutenant Harrison Planck, currently posted to Sydney.
The Duke of Gloucester’s Cup was instituted in 1946. His Royal Highness Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, presented a silver cup to the RAN as a prize for the ship that shot down the greatest number of sleeve targets during a calendar year.
Continuing the competition proved impractical. More recently, the cup has been awarded as a prize for the RAN unit displaying the highest level of proficiency. The first RAN major fleet unit awarded the prize was the cruiser HMAS Hobartin 1947. The first submarine to win was HMAS Onslow in 1977. In 2011, RAN Clearance Diving Team 4 wrested the cup from the fleet to become the first clearance diving team to receive the award.
Sources: Government House & the RAN
