NAVAL CAREER

Prince Philip left Gordonstoun in 1939 and joined the Royal Navy as a cadet.

He completed his initial training at the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, where he was awarded the King's Dirk and a prize as the best cadet of his entry.

In 1940, he joined the battleship HMS RAMILLIES in Colombo as a midshipman and spent the following six months in the Indian Ocean.

In January 1941 he joined the battleship HMS VALIANT in Alexandria. Valiant was in the Mediterranean fleet and was involved in several engagements, including the battle of Crete.

During night-action off Cape Matapan, Prince Philip was in charge of VALIANT's searchlight control, for which he was mentioned in despatches. Shortly afterwards he was awarded the Greek War Cross of Valour.
 
Having qualified for promotion to Sub-Lieutenant, he returned home and, after taking a series of technical courses, was appointed to the destroyer HMS WALLACE based at Rosyth for convoy escort duties on the east coast.

He was promoted to Lieutenant on 16 July 1942 and in October he was appointed First Lieutenant (second in command) of the destroyer escort HMS WALLACE. At the age of 21, he was one of the youngest officers in the Royal Navy to be given such an appointment. In July 1943, WALLACE took part in the Allied landings on Sicily.

After further courses, he was appointed as First Lieutenant of the new Fleet Destroyer HMS WHELP. WHELP first joined the 27th Destroyer Flotilla and sailed for the Indian Ocean to join the British Pacific Fleet.

WHELP was present in Tokyo Bay when the Japanese signed the surrender on 2 September 1945. After the Japanese surrender, Prince Philip served continuously onboard WHELP throughout the following months. WHELP returned home in January 1946.

After acting as an instructor in the Petty Officers' School and attending the Naval Staff College at Greenwich, he was appointed First Lieutenant of HMS CHEQUERS in 1949. CHEQUERS was leader of the First Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean Fleet.

He was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander in 1950 and then appointed in command of the Frigate HMS MAGPIE.

In 1952 he was promoted to Commander, but his naval career came to an end upon the death of his father-in-law, King George VI.