Eddie the Eagle soars into Naval Base

Former Olympic skier Eddie ‘the Eagle’ Edwards soared into Portsmouth to sample life at the home of the Royal Navy.

The British ski jumper, who became a household name and charmed the world after finishing last at the1988 Olympics, was guest speaker at a Portsmouth Naval Base mess dinner and was given a quick tour of the base before the formalities got underway.

Eddie, whose life has just been featured in the recent hit Hollywood film Eddie the Eagle, spoke to trainees at the Royal Marines School of Music before heading to Type 45 destroyer HMS Dauntless.

He said: “I could not believe the vast variety of exciting things that happen within the Naval Base. The standard of music I heard from trainees at the school of music was amazing.

“And the capabilities of the Type 45 destroyers is awesome. It is good to know we are in very safe hands. I was also delighted to meet and have a good chat with some of the sailors – there was great camaraderie on board.”

Musician James Evans, 20, was keen to meet Eddie as he’s just watched the Eddie the Eagle film. “I was obviously too young to have seen Eddie at the Olympics but I found the film inspirational, so to meet him in the flesh was very exciting.”

Engineering Technician Ricky Loxley, 28, added: “I have not seen the film as I was serving on board HMS Defender in the Gulf when it was released.

"I have read good reviews about it, so when I heard Eddie was coming on board it was quite surreal – we don’t often get celebrities on board.”