Queen honours Royal Marine Junglie
Warrant Officer Simon Tottle Royal Marines, from Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset has been awarded an MBE in The Queens New Years Honours List 2013. The Honour was awarded in recognition of his outstanding performance throughout his distinguished career and particularly in his role as an Air Operations Officer on 845 Naval Air Squadron - a front line Commando Helicopter Squadron.
A former pupil of Weston-super-Mare Grammar School, Simon joined the Royal Marine Commando’s at the end of the 1970’s, and for the early part of his career worked in several operational Commando Units. He was engaged in many activities from Nuclear & Oilrig Anti-Terrorist duties, to Counter-Narcotics & Border Security in the jungles of Belize and UN Peace Keeping in Cyprus.
In the late 1980’s he specialised as a Royal Marine Naval Aircrewman flying in the MK 4 Sea King of the Commando Helicopter Force, the duties of which include Navigation, Search and Rescue, Air Gunnery and Airborne Surveillance.
In this capacity he has seen service in all major operational theatres, including Northern Ireland, Iraq, Bosnia and Afghanistan. Out side of this normal pattern he has also been the Chief Instructor at the Navy’s Helicopter Underwater Escape Training Unit, an Air Operations Officer on HMS OCEAN running counter-Narcotics Operations in the Caribbean, and the Senior Aircrewman Instructor for trainee Aircrew.
He said of his award:
“Whilst it is a fantastic honour to receive such an award, I am sure that I have done no more or no better than any of my colleagues and I certainly would not have gained such recognition without their comradeship and support. However, in these troubled times, it is worth remembering that our families provide the greatest support to our Military and often make the greatest sacrifices. I also hope that this award may give some encouragement to young people who are striving to fulfil their potential but who, like me, were not sufficiently focussed at school: with hard work and dedication their ambitions can be achieved.”