A SCOUT who once told his Knutsford troop he dreamed of a life at sea has grown up to captain the UK’s largest ever warship.

Jeremy Kyd, the commodore of the Royal Navy’s recently-launched HMS Queen Elizabeth, grew up in Gloucester Road and was a keen member of the 5th Knutsford Cubs and later the Scouts.

Now based in Dartmouth, Jeremy – or Jerry – is currently leading the 65,000-tonne aircraft carrier on sea trials ahead of beginning its service in 2020.

Memories of Capt Kyd are strong in Knutsford, with his family having moved to the town from Buckinghamshire in the 1970s.

Tony Leadbeater, president of Knutsford District Scouts, said: “Jeremy’s father was a Scout leader and his mother was on the parents’ committee.

“I happened to be a group Scout leader at the time, and during Jeremy’s time spent at camp we used to discuss various topics while sat around the camp fire in the evenings.

“Jeremy always said he wanted to be a sub-mariner when he left school – an ambition he obviously achieved by joining the Navy and rising to the very top.

“Having spent many of his formative years in the Scouts, he was educated at Kings School, Macclesfield. He always said how much he enjoyed his time with us – perhaps all those knots and lashings may have been of some use in his chosen career.”

Capt Kyd left Knutsford for Southampton, where he studied at university. He is the former captain of HMS Ark Royal and HMS Illustrious, and the former commanding officer of Britannia Royal Naval College in Dartmouth.

On the launch of the 280m-long ship for sea trials in June, Capt Kyd said: “There are very exciting times ahead. To see her just as a ship is too simplistic. HMS Queen Elizabeth is a mobile four-and-a-half-acre airfield.

“What that means to the UK’s defence is that she’ll be deployed around the world, a very flexible asset used by all three services.

“There is an absolute and compelling reason to have aircraft carriers. We are an island nation, absolutely dependent on trade by sea – and law and order on the world’s sea routes.

“If you are an outward-facing nation like global Britain, an aircraft carrier sends a real message to allies – and potential enemies – that we mean business.”

One of Capt Kyd’s first jobs since sea trials began has been to show defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon around the ship.

Sir Michael said: “This ship is so much bigger than HMS Illustrious and it combines, of course, sea power with air power.

“Already we have 10 F-35s being flown and trained in the United States. By the end of this year we will have 14 of those fast jets - the world’s most sophisticated fighter.”

“HMS Queen Elizabeth, the biggest and the greatest warship this country has ever built, will go on now from these trials to defend our country, to safeguard our sea lanes, to work with our allies and partners to keep the peace, and to save lives across all seven seas.”

HMS Queen Elizabeth is expected to enter Portsmouth and be accepted by the Royal Navy towards the end of the year.

She will have space for 40 aircraft, with 679 officers and crew on board when she sails - a figure which could rise to 1,600 if all air elements are deployed during a time of conflict.

The second ship in the class, HMS Prince of Wales, is currently being fitted out in the Rosyth dock in Scotland, and Sir Michael announced to the ship’s company that this second aircraft carrier will be officially named on September 8.

n Do you remember Jerry and the Kyd family from their Knutsford days? Email yourviews@guardiangrp.co.uk.