BABY ARRIVES SWIFTLY FOLLOWING ON THE WINGS OF DAD AND ADVICE FROM HRH

BABY Arthur couldn’t wait to arrive following the excitement of his Dads award of Pilot Wings and advice from HRH The Duke of York, KG to the expectant Mum!

HRH, who has flown both Sea King and Lynx helicopters during his time as a Fleet Air Arm Pilot, was The Guest of Honour at Royal Naval Air Station Yeoviltons Final Lynx and Sea King Parade. It was here that HRH met and chatted with Judy Lofthouse (29) about the impending and overdue arrival and suggested that a curry might help speed things along! In a nod to The Duke's effective advice, the new parents have given baby Arthur the middle name "Andrew"

Lt Tom Lofthouse had not anticipated wife Judy Lofthouse (29) being at his Wings Parade as he qualified as a Sea King Pilot on 29 Jan 2015, they had been expecting the arrival of their Son a week before. Neither did they expect that by following the advice of HRH to have a curry that night might quite literally help fire things along. Judy Lofthouse said;

"Two weeks before the wings parade we were told the birth was imminent, and four days before, I was informed that I was technically in established labour albeit without feeling any contractions. So it was becoming more likely that we were not going to make it to the ceremony. I was keeping everything crossed and astonishingly not only did we get to attend but our son was born later that night, following advice from the Duke of York to have a curry (which we did). I feel so incredibly lucky and immensely proud. It was without doubt the best day of my life."

New Pilot and new Dad Lt Tom Lofthouse said;

“Flying training has taken 5 years of countless exams and around 350 assessed flying hours; to finally get my wings was a tremendous feeling. The arrival of our son on the same day as being awarded my Wings made for an absolutely perfect day. The Duke of York advised my wife to have a curry which we did that evening and it seemed to do the trick, therefore we couldn't resist adding Andrew as a middle name, Arthur Thomas Andrew Lofthouse”.

Baby Arthur was born at 07:19 on 30 Jan 2015 weighing 8lb 5oz at Yeovil District Hospital. Lt Tom Lofthouse added;

“The care provided on the labour and maternity ward was absolutely outstanding.”

In just 24 hours Lt Tom Lofthouse had become a fully fledged member of the Royal Navy’s Fleet Air Arm family, with the brand new addition to his own family, Baby Arthur and Mother and Baby are doing well.