TWO cadets from Bournemouth and Poole are among the latest to become Royal Navy Officers.

Midshipman Sam Ball, from Moordown, and Sub Lieutenant Lloyd Wilkinson, from Poole, marked their formal commissioning as officers on parade at Britannia Royal Naval College in Devon.

They have both completed an intensive 30-week training course, with the final phase of this training spent onboard HMS Defender, one of the Royal Navy’s latest Type 45 destroyers.

Sam, aged 23, a former St Peter’s School pupil, said: “I wanted a challenge and the opportunity to test myself to the limit, so a job in the armed forces appealed to me.

“Out of the three, the Royal Navy was the only one to match the criteria that I wanted. Overall I felt that the training has set me up in a good position to carry on the rest of my career.”

Meanwhile, Lloyd – a former Poole Grammar School student and Loughborough University graduate – said he joined up to ‘start an exciting and challenging career’.

The 24-year-old added: “It has been draining at times but also a rewarding experience that I have been able to share with my classmates.”

Both men will now undergo separate specialist training.