b'8 Partner News Spring 2021MODHonouring engineering excellenceThe Rear Admiral Bateson Award for weapon engineering excellence 2020 has been awarded to CPOET(WE) Peter Spayne IEng MIET. Sponsored by the IET, the Bateson AwardDo you think awards are an is an annual award given to recognise andimportant part of recognising honour individual excellence in the weaponengineering excellence? engineering branch of the Royal Navy.Within the military the pay structures are The award is named after Rear Admiral Svery rigid, so the awards are very useful for L Bateson CB CBE, who was tasked withthat. The publicity and ceremony that goes forming the Electrical Branch in 1946; thisalong with it is really good. I have nominated has evolved over the years into what isa few colleagues for awards, and its been now the Weapon Engineering subbranch.well received. It puts a finishing touch on a job and its nice to know people care. We sat down with CPOET(WE) Spayne to talk about how it feels to win aSo, why was the Navy the career for you? prestigious award, his career in theI have been in the Navy for 17 years starting navy and how important Professionalwhen I was 16. I left school and did about Development is within the MOD.two weeks of sixth form. I wanted to do Can you tell us a bit about the incidentsomething hands-on, the Navy seemed like First of all, how does it feel tothat you were nominated for? a broad career and something different. win such a prestigious award? Back in January 2020 there was anBy the time I was 18, I was in Hong Kong Its an achievement I am really proud of. Itsincident while we were at sea and theworking on a ship and none of my friends nice that people in the wider organisationtensions in the region meant we couldnthad ever done anything like that. have recognised and seen the work I haveget our equipment maintained normally. put in. Theres a board in the main corridorI have never really looked back since. at HMS Collingwood with award winnersWe were out of comms range andInitially I joined as a gunner and then names and mine has just been addedthere were quite a lot of defects thatwhen I was 19, I went to Afghanistan. By to it. Im proud of that because I neverwe had to deal with, and we couldntthe time I came back the Navy had re-thought I would see that at any point.use the normal maintenance routes. Allorganised the branches and all of a sudden, external support was closed off andI was an engineer. Initially it happened by How did you find out you had won? we had to make things work in weirdaccident, but I landed on my feet because Before we left Theatre there was aand wonderful ways. We really got intoI discovered a love for engineering. debrief with about 50 of us, I got askedthe bones of the equipment in a way to step forward and was told I had wonwe wouldnt normally, all in 40-degreeAre you currently a member of a the award. I didnt even know I hadtemperatures. I have never had so muchPEI or professionally registered? been nominated. A senior officer readjob satisfaction like when youre againstI am currently IEng with the IET and out the citation and I had no idea.all odds and having to make things work.halfway through the CEng application.'