The Worshipful Company of Engineers, through its charitable arm the Engineers Trust, is honoured to recognise outstanding performance, leadership and impact across all branches of the Armed Forces and their civilian engineering support teams. Awards were presented at the Company’s Awards Dinner on 3rd June 2025. Some of our Award Winners were on active deployment in the defence of the nation and were unable to attend. Their outstanding achievements are summarised below.

The Royal Navy Engineer Officer of the Year 2025

Lieutenant Brendan Harrison Royal Navy

Following qualification as a Category A1 Nuclear Watchkeeper in June 2023, Lt Harrison took up the role of Ship Systems Section Officer on nuclear submarine HMS Vengeance.

He quickly demonstrated his engineering competence through the management and resolution of several high priority pre-deployment defects, the most significant being an issue with the fore-planes control system.

Once deployed on nuclear deterrent patrol, Harrison managed many challenging engineering situations.

Notably, he produced bespoke procedures and method statements which enabled repairs to hydraulic systems to take place whilst maintaining system availability.

In April 2024 Harrison was reassigned to HMS Victorious as the Reactor Section Officer, where he played a leading role in the depressurisation and drain of the reactor plant.

This would normally be carried out with the submarine in dock, with access to externally-fitted supporting systems. 

However, on this occasion it had to be carried out while afloat.

This was a novel procedure which required a large degree of engineering judgement, ingenuity and management of key stakeholders.

Lt Harrison has achieved engineering success far in excess of his rank and experience in a range of challenging operational scenarios.

Royal Navy Engineering Technician of the Year 2025

Leading Engineering Technician (Weapons Engineering) Edward Smith has displayed exceptional professionalism, technical expertise and dedication in maintaining the Sea Viper air defence system aboard HMS Diamond during Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea. LET Smith’s meticulous work ensured that the system remained fully operational, enabling the ship to intercept and destroy multiple airborne threats, including Houthi attack drones, missiles targeting merchant vessels and, most significantly, an anti-ship ballistic missile.

During HMS Diamond’s high-stakes deployment, LET Smith’s expertise was critical in sustaining the Sea Viper system at peak performance, despite the intense operational tempo. His proactive maintenance and rapid fault diagnosis guaranteed its reliability when it mattered most.

His contributions were pivotal on 15 December 2023, when HMS Diamond engaged and destroyed an incoming attack drone, the Royal Navy’s first anti-aircraft engagement in decades.

On 9 January 2024, his efforts enabled the ship to repel the largest Houthi drone attack to date, downing seven aerial threats. Most notably, on 24 April 2024, his commitment ensured the successful interception of an anti-ship ballistic missile, a landmark moment for Royal Navy air defence which saved many lives.

LET Smith’s leadership and expertise were instrumental in these engagements. Without his tireless dedication, the Sea Viper system’s effectiveness and HMS Diamond’s ability to defend both herself and international shipping would have been severely compromised.

HMS Prince of Wales Awards

HMS PRINCE OF WALES is affiliated to the Worshipful Company of Engineers, which, jointly with the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology is pleased to support the Vice Admiral Wildish Memorial Prize for Engineering Innovation and The Commander Marine Engineering Award for Operational Engineering.

Vice Admiral Wildish Award for Engineering Innovation

Awarded to the Junior Rate, Senior Rate, Warrant Officer, or Commissioned Officer of any Engineering Department on board HMS PRINCE OF WALES who has created a new piece of equipment or technique to deal with a unique problem, solve a known problem in a more efficient way, or used existing equipment or techniques in a new fashion to deliver a better result; demonstrating innovation in the face of adversity.

Petty Officer Air Engineering Technician (Avionics) Ricky Shilvock RN

During the Force Generation of the UK Carrier Strike Group, POAET(Av) Shilvock, made it his personal mission to raise the level of fleet standard training on the Highly Mechanised Weapon Handling System to a Theatre Entry Standard.  Using his technical expertise, he developed a phased training package that improved training for routine maintenance as well as for maintenance and repair during operations.  His graduated approach to building competence has seen our teams become more proficient in routine maintenance, battle damage repair, weapon build and ordnance delivery.

During OPERATION HIGHMAST the Handling System suffered an unserviceability affecting all weapon lifting equipment. The defect would have adversely affected the operational capability of the UK Carrier Strike Group.  Petty Officer Shilvock’s training plan, its delivery, and the development of a robust and capable team, led to a safe repair scheme which restored the system to full capability.  For his breadth of perspective, technical expertise, pioneering spirit and appetite for continual improvement, Petty Officer Shilvock is a worthy recipient of the Admiral Wildish Memorial Award for engineering innovation.

Historical Note: Vice Admiral Wildish served in HMS PRINCE OF WALES in 1941. A few months before the ship was sunk in the Far East, the ship’s officers presented him and his wife with a silver platter to mark their wedding. Vice Admiral Wildish died in 2017 and his family have given the platter to the current HMS PRINCE OF WALES in his memory. The platter is now part of the annual award, sponsored jointly by the Engineers Company and Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology, to commemorate the innovation shown by Admiral Wildish during his career as a Marine Engineering Officer. Among his many inventions was the splinter box (for damage control) as well as the concept of maintenance scheduling, a forerunner to Unit Maintenance Management System in use today.

The Commander Marine Engineering Award for Operational Engineering

Awarded to the Junior Rate, Senior Rate, Warrant Officer, or Commissioned Officer of the Marine Engineering Department of HMS PRINCE OF WALES who has delivered exceptional results against either significant operational or time pressures, and/or arduous conditions over the previous 12 months.

Leading Engineering Technician (Marine Engineering) Robbie Foster RN

LET(ME) Robbie Foster has led a small but highly effective team to produce and distribute enough fresh water to sustain over 1600 personnel comfortably throughout a frenetic period of Very High Readiness.

Foster joined the Fresh Water Section in September 2024 without the guidance and leadership of a direct line manager and without any experience in the production, embarkation, distribution or heating of fresh water.  Despite this, he has risen to every challenge.  His skill and dedication in providing a safe and reliable system were never more evident than in the period prior to deployment.  He carefully scheduled tank cleaning, safety valve calibration, defect rectification and system upgrades so that a reliable water supply was always maintained.  He displayed exceptional foresight and initiative to source obsolete equipment and to recommission the ship’s Embarkation Filtration System; a system that was last used when the ship was in Build. 

Very creditable, Foster has been able to rectify and to run the ship’s fresh water distribution system in a more efficient automatic mode for the first time in the platform’s history.  And when faced with a leak on a Reverse Osmosis plant early in the deployment, and with no replacement parts, Foster used his machining skills to salvage components and effect a repair that preserved the ship’s water supply and prevented mission failure.

Over this last 8 months, LET Foster has been instrumental in preparing the ship for a global deployment in Operation HIGHMAST.  His can-do attitude, initiative and cheerfulness in the face of adversity are all key attributes that have safeguarded a resource many in HMS PRINCE OF WALES take for granted and all of which make him exceptionally well deserving of this award.

The Worshipful Company of Engineers Charitable Trust (the Engineers Trust) acknowledges excellence in engineering, supports engineering education and research, gives grants and assists in the relief of hardship and poverty.