Due South (Georgia) for HMS Gloucester

HMS Gloucester has saved the best till last in her seven-month deployment to the South Atlantic.

The destroyer left the Falklands behind for a visit to the haven of nature that is South Georgia.

When the Fighting G was last down South Georgia way more than a year ago, the snow was over a foot deep right the way down to the beach.

This time it was the height of the southern summer, the jagged mountains and glaciers of the Allardyce range were this time showing a rather different face – they were visible, for a start, in gleaming sunshine.

Instead of three-tonne bull elephant seals fighting for harems, this time the beaches were thronged with inquisitive fur seal pups.

For the British Antarctic Survey, Gloucester’s visit was an opportunity to bring stores, move people and gear around and –  most importantly – use the precious resource of the Lynx helicopter for conservation work.

The aircraft was employed on aerial photographic surveys of eight glaciers, and comparison with previous photos will allow the BAS to determine if the glaciers are retreating and how fast.

In South Georgia, this has a particularly critical importance for the millions of ground-nesting birds, as the glaciers are the only thing preventing the devastating spread of egg-stealing rats to several areas.

Darren Christie, South Georgia Environment Officer, said: “The photos were absolutely brilliant.

“I can’t emphasise enough how important this information is to the management of the island, and it isn’t something that we could easily have achieved without Gloucester’s assistance.”

Even for the most hardened of Gloucester’s many old and bold, South Georgia has been the highlight of a long seven-month deployment just for its sheer, astounding beauty.

CO Cdr David George said: “To go to such a place is an immense privilege.

“For sailors, it’s something unusual: low-intensity, not warlike, but it reminds us that there are other things.

“Things that are worth striving or fighting for come in many shapes and sizes, and one of them is that this wonderful haven should be conserved.”