WHILE his two brothers chose jobs in teaching and business, Peter Spencer decided to follow his father Harry into the Royal Navy.

A 17 year old, fresh out of Brighton and Hove High School, he was sent to the Brittania Royal Naval College in 1965.

As a raw recruit from the Sussex coast even he could not have foreseen the day he took command of Britain's most famous warship - HMS Victory.

But 35 years after he first joined up, Vice Admiral Spencer has taken his place in naval history as the first engineer to be appointed Second Sea Lord, Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command and Flag Aide-de-Camp to Her Majesty the Queen, the second highest post in the navy.

And today his official Vice Admiral's flag was hoisted on the battleship made famous by Admiral Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar.

He said: "My father was in the Navy and I followed him into the service. I enjoy Navy life because it is so varied and I enjoy the opportunities it offers people.

"My last job was controller of the Navy and I was in charge of buying ships with a budget of £600million. I enjoy that sort of challenge and every time I have thought of leaving, I have been offered a better job."

Vice Admiral Spencer formally took up his new role in an historic ceremony aboard the 235-year-old Victory, now a living museum in dry dock at Portsmouth, yesterday.

In the glorious January sunshine he inspected the immaculately turned out ranks of a 24-man guard of weapons engineers from HMS Collingwood and the Band of the Royal Marines Portsmouth on the ship's quarterdeck, before descending to the middle gun deck, still furnished with Nelson's tiny bed, armchairs and desk.

Battle

At the table in the Great Cabin from where Nelson directed his most famous battle, Admiral Spencer signed the ship's visitor book beside the signature of the outgoing Sea Lord, Admiral Sir John Brigstocke who is leaving the service to take up a post with a charity.

With a jovial "There you are sir, good luck" and a battery of flash guns, Admiral Brigstocke handed over his ship.

Vice Admiral Spencer, an engineering graduate of Cambridge University, will now be responsible for recruitment and training within the Navy to ensure there are adequate numbers of people ready to deploy at any time, in peace, crisis or war.

He said: "It's hugely challenging. One of the things I have to do is make the Navy more visible to the general public and make sure we modernise the image.

"Events like this ceremony make it seem like we are stuck in our historical background, but my job is about re-inventing this history for today."

Perhaps one of the most obvious differences between HMS Victory in the Year 2000 and Nelson's day is the presence of women in the ranks.

Vice Admiral Spencer said ensuring life in the Navy is compatible with family life is one of his biggest aims.

"We have very high quality young men and women in the Navy and the job makes huge demands on them.

"I want to enable them to create a balance so they can contribute even when they have families", he said.

He believes he has achieved this himself. He has been married to his wife Lisa for more than 30 years and the couple have four children.

Lieutenant Commander Frank Nowosielski, the captain of HMS Victory, said it was no coincidence the officer in charge of personnel for the Navy is given HMS Victory.

He said: "One element of Vice Admiral Spencer's job is the fact he is responsible for the welfare and morale of the staff. Nelson was known for taking care of his men and ensured they were well fed and well trained It is a nice link."

Admiral Spencer has served on HMS Abdiel, Torquay and Bristol.

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