Thu. Jul 17th, 2025

HMS Glasgow

As Deacon of the Incorporation of Hammermen, I had the pleasure of attending the naming of HMS ‘Glasgow’ in Glasgow’s 850th year. This was the first of eight Type 26 frigates named by Her Royal Highness the Princess of Wales.

The Duchess of Rothesay, as she is known in Scotland, declared the time-honoured words: “I name this ship Glasgow. May God bless her and all who serve in her.” Her Royal Highness was accompanied throughout her visit by The Prince of Wales.

Proceedings opened with an inspection of the Royal Guard, followed by the 25-minute naming ceremony, during which Second Sea Lord Vice Admiral Sir Martin Connell thanked Their Royal Highnesses for their support and all those involved in the Type 26 endeavour to reach this milestone in the programme.

From the first ever HMS Glasgow, sailing under the Royal Navy flag at the end of the 17th Century to the ship we see here in the 21st Century, HMS Glasgow has evolved and adapted to meet the warfighting and operational demands of its day. Each metamorphosis saw shipbuilders adapting materials and designs so that crews could operate each successive HMS Glasgow on operations and in conflict and war. The result of this being 11 battle honours – HMS Glasgow’s pedigree is awe inspiring. HMS Glasgow a pure-bred Anti-Submarine Warfare platform, setting the standard for naval warfare and is ready to meet the geopolitical challenges of the day.

The Hammermen Craft has had a long and distinguished association with Clyde based Naval ships, having sponsored and awarded various prizes to the naval ships engineering crew.  

Young Engineer of the Year

As Deacon I also recently attended as a guest the Scottish Engineering Dinner in the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow which had over 700 attendees. The 2025 Young Engineer of the Year Award in partnership with The Incorporation of Hammermen of Glasgow was presented to Zak Thomson of Emtelle for his role in developing a cable and machine allowing installation companies to install fibre drop cable distances up to three times longer than previously seen using their own battery drill – the solution is now being rolled out across the world. Zak will be presented with his award at our annual Dinner in November 2025.

The 2025 Runner Up for Young Engineer of the Year Award (YEYA25) in partnership with The Incorporation of Hammermen of Glasgow was Robyn Heslin Dewar of Thales UK.

The 2025 Commendations for Young Engineer of the Year Award (YEYA25) in partnership with The Incorporation of Hammermen of Glasgow went to Steven Scobbie of Oil States Industries (UK) Ltd and Rachael Crowe of PEAK Scientific.

Past Deacon Andrew Young was quoted as saying:

Once again, the calibre of young engineers participating in the competition was exceptionally impressive. Their outstanding presentations demonstrated a remarkable depth of engineering talent, of which Scotland can be justifiably proud.

Hammermen Awards

This month, the craft continued the support of Hammermen David K Harrison Award. We were inundated with participants, and the short list (shown below) will be voted upon by the public.

  • Ammar Ahmed, University of Leeds: ‘Lights out operations
  • Nanbyen George Kim, University of Aberdeen, ‘Hydrocracking of household waste plastic: The next Industrial Revolution
  • Adarsha Kumar Pradhan, University of Bath, ‘Intensification of Biohydrogen Production using Hydrodynamic Cavitation’
  • James Ashie Kotey, The University of Sheffield, ‘Let Them Make Chips: An Open-Source Revolution
  • Jessica Redgraves, University of Lincoln, ‘Current of Change: The Clean Energy Revolution
  • Samuele Martinelli, University of Strathclyde, ‘3D-Printed Sensors: Pioneering the Future of Industrial Innovation
  • Ya He, The University of Sheffield, ‘Engineer 2.0: Decoding Teamwork via a Gamified Workshop to Forge Collaborative Problem-Solvers
  • Mohammad Harris, University of Hertfordshire, ‘Redefining Industry: AI-Driven Optimisation for a Greener Future
  • Jenna Howells, University of the West of England, ‘The Automated Age: How AI will power the next revolution’.

May/June events

On the last weekend in May, our craft joined other Hammermen Crafts for the traditional Stirling March, where our flag was paraded through the streets of Stirling. The craft also supported the Beneficiaries Lunch within Trades House, and attended the final planting of a Pear Tree with the Lord Provost to commemorate Glasgow850.

In June, the craft will be supporting the Trades House Apprenticeship week, Craftex 2025, as well as our Schools Craft and School Citizen Awards.

On a personal note, I will be flying off for a tour of China, visiting Shanghai, cruising up the mighty Yangtze River and viewing the 3 gorges, visiting Pandas, viewing the Terracotta Army, visiting the Forbidden City and walking the Great Wall, before returning to Glasgow and finally getting ready for our Deacon handover in September to Dr Mick O’Connor.