Tribute to hero RFA captain Robert Anders following death

Robert Anders saved the lives of people trapped in the Bahamas as captain of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary ship Mounts Bay in September 2019 during a hurricane relief mission.

The region was devastated by the category five Hurricane Dorian, which destroyed homes through 185mph winds and left residents hungry, thirsty and without and shelter.

Rob’s vessel brought water, food, medical supplies and prefabricated buildings when the disaster struck, and the former William Beamont High School pupil saved the life of an elderly woman as she lay trapped under rubble for four days.

Captaining his ship, Rob used a Google Maps reference sent by the woman's husband to rescue her.

Her husband had called the British crew, who sailed to the area and used co-ordinates and directions from the man to locate his wife using a Royal Navy Wildcat helicopter.

Captain Robert Anders

Captain Anders and his team also saved an American woman and her three children, including a seven-week-old baby suffering from sepsis.

Using helicopters and boats from RFA Mounts Bay, he directed the hurricane relief effort, including the clearance of 50 miles of roads blocked by storm debris to allow aid to arrive.

At the time, he said: “The whole ship was united in a common aim to help the people onshore and let them know the community cared.

“The ship’s company delivered something called hope. That is something that was visible in people on the ground, who moved from shock and loss to believing that they could rebuild.”

At the age of 17, Rob joined offshore oil and gas safety experts Boston Putford through its youth training scheme.

After eight years, he joined the Royal Fleet Auxiliary in 1996, where he served on both RFA and Royal Navy ships in the Mediterranean, Middle East and South Atlantic.

He qualified as a master mariner in 2002, when the Royal Navy selected him to qualify as a principal warfare officer, and he joined a NATO counter-terrorism patrol in the Mediterranean.

Captain Robert Anders and his wife Phillipa

In 2005, he was promoted to become staff warfare officer in the RFA, responsible for providing warfare training. He was later promoted to chief officer and then captain in 2016.

Rob led the RFA representation at the Festival of Remembrance in 2019, where he read an epitaph while in the presence of The Queen.

He was awarded an OBE in March last year for his humanitarian efforts in the Caribbean, but he was unable to collect it in person due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The honour is set to be collected by his wife Phillipa, whom he married in 2003, his son and his daughter, when restrictions are relaxed.

After being awarded his OBE, Captain Anders said he was humbled and that the ship’s company earned the award more than he did.

“A ship will only be effective if it’s a team – everyone on Mounts Bay, no matter which service, was part of that team,” he said.

A lifelong Warrington Wolves fan, Rob made sure that a flag displaying the club badge flew proudly over his ship.

A Warrington WOlves flag flies proudly above RFA Mounts Bay

He was a regular attendee at the Halliwell Jones Stadium on matchdays alongside former Wire star of the 70s Mike Nicholas MBE.

Sadly, Rob was diagnosed with a brain tumour in mid-December.

He died aged 49 on the morning of December 22 – the same day he was due to undergo surgery.

He will be sadly missed by his family, friends and colleagues who knew him best, and remembered fondly by those in the Bahamas who benefited from his kindness and dedication to help.