The Desmond Wettern Media Award
The prize for the top maritime journalist of the year has been awarded to Alison Kefford, journalist and newspaper columnist. She received the Desmond Wettern Media Award, an engraved ships decanter and a cheque for £1,000.
The award was presented by Countess Mountbatten of Burma, President of the Maritime Foundation at the 20th Anniversary Dinner held at the Fishmongers’ Hall last night (21st November). The Guest Speaker was Rear Admiral Jeremy de Halpert, Deputy Master and Elder Brother of Trinity House.
The Award was made in recognition of the outstanding journalistic contribution she has made in working closely with HMS Southampton to give a comprehensive and accurate picture of life on board a modern Royal Navy warship, and its’ duties in the contemporary world, including the war against terrorism.
Receiving the Award, Alison Kefford said: “I am absolutely thrilled to receive this award. Without doubt the current policy of increasing media access to the Royal Navy is the way forward”.
The Mountbatten Maritime Prize
The second award, The Mountbatten Maritime Prize, was made to Andrew Williams and the BBC Battle of the Atlantic Team for their powerful BBC series “Battle of the Atlantic”, which vividly brought to a very wide audience the joint contribution of the Royal and Merchant Navies to Britain’s survival in the Second World War.
Receiving the engraved silver Armada Plate, Andrew Williams said, “We’re all delighted. We all felt it was an important series to make – so many programmes have been made about the Battle of Britain, but the all important struggle against the U-boat at sea has really been neglected. In the words of one of our contributors, Admiral John Adams; ‘I don’t think that many people thought of us, quite frankly, – people didn’t see the sunken ships or the men who never made it’. I hope we have made some small contribution to redressing the balance.”
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Notes to Editors:
- A professional journalist, Ali Kefford, works for the regional newspaper, the Southern Daily Echo.
- Andrew Williams works for the BBC.
- The Awards are made annually in memory of the late Desmond Wettern, writer on maritime affairs for over thirty years. They commemorate his single minded dedication to the belief that the United Kingdom’s economic wellbeing and security are inextricably bound up with the sea and to encourage publicists and writers to drawn attention to this linkage.
- The sponsors of the Awards include the Telegraph Group, the Swire Group, BAE Systems, P&O Nedlloyd, the Chamber of Shipping, the George John Livanos Trust and the Wettern Trust.