New Royal Navy submarine HMS Audacious officially tied with Leeds

The Lord Mayor of Leeds Cllr Gerry Harper was in attendance as a new member of the Royal Navy fleet was officially affiliated with the city.

This follows a naming ceremony held at BAE Systems Maritime in Barrow-in-Furness that saw astute-class submarine ‘HMS Audacious’ unveiled in front of a small, select audience.

Leeds’ links with Royal Navy warships goes back to Ark Royal III which was ‘adopted’ by the city shortly before she was sunk in 1941. In response the people of Leeds raised nearly £9m to build a replacement which came in the form of Ark Royal IV, the famous Audacious-class carrier which served for a quarter of a century.

Following the decommissioning of Ark Royal IV in 2010, the famous name has been in abeyance, which meant until now, Leeds was shipless. Now after six years without one of Her Majesty’s warships to take under their wing, the people of Leeds once again has an official bond with the Royal Navy. In total, Leeds has been associated with a succession of HMS Ark Royals for seven decades, with HMS Audacious the latest in a long-line to now proudly represent the city.

Lord Mayor of Leeds Councillor Gerry Harper, said:

‘’It was a great honour to be invited to the naming ceremony of HMS Audacious which is the latest Royal Navy vessel to be affiliated with the city of Leeds.

"Leeds is proud to have a long and historical association with the Royal Navy and HMS Audacious follows in the illustrious footsteps of Ark Royal IV which represented Leeds for 25 years.’’

For media enquiries, please contact;

Jo Lepelley, Leeds City Council press office (0113) 39 51578

Email: joanna.lepelley@leeds.gov.uk