A TAVISTOCK resident has been honoured by the Queen, during a special presentation at Buckingham Palace earlier this month.

Lieutenant Commander Anthony Jenks RN was awarded the MBE in the 2011 New Year's Honours. He attended his investiture accompanied by his wife Caroline and daughters Helen and Sarah. The Queen presented Tony with his award in recognition of services to hydrography during 37 years' service in the Royal Navy.

Joining the Navy as a seaman officer at the age of 18 and later specialising as a hydrographic surveyor, Tony served in 16 ships and has surveyed in every ocean, leading to the production of many new and updated marine charts.

In the 1982 Falklands conflict he was embarked in HMS Junella, one of five large fishing trawlers taken up from trade and manned by Royal Navy crews. He was responsible for the precise navigation of these ships as they swept minefields that had been laid by Argentine forces across the approaches to Stanley Harbour.

During the first Gulf War in 1991 he served as executive officer of HMS Herald, again involved with mine clearance operations.

Tony's service has taken him to the Arctic twice and to the Antarctic five times, where he has worked closely with the British Antarctic Survey. His shore appointments have included the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall, where he procured hydrographic equipment for survey ships and six years as director of training at the RN Hydrographic School in Devonport.

Embracing huge technological advances in his time as a surveyor, Tony said: 'When I started we were still drawing charts by hand and obtaining seabed samples using a lead-line and tallow. Now I specialise in satellite positioning and computer applications.'

Tony has lived in Tavistock for 25 years and, having retired from the Navy in April, he is now working with the University of Plymouth to develop new courses in hydrographic surveying. He also aims to spend more time pursuing his interests in astronomy, choral singing, dinghy sailing and walking on Dartmoor.