INTRODUCING STEPHEN BENNETT

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After a childhood spent in Egypt and Jordan, Stephen joined the Royal Navy and specialised as a hydrographic surveyor. He served in Antarctica, the Middle East, and the Far East, the Caribbean and European waters. He saw action in two wars and commanded two ships and a specialist naval school before retiring after thirty-five years’ service, the last ten of which were based in Arabia. He was appointed OBE in June 2000. Stephen subsequently returned to Oman for six years to manage a private company for a member of the Omani royal family before joining a Paris-based international organisation concerned with standards for the safety of marine navigation, towards the end of which he was appointed as visiting professor to the Navigation Institute of Jimei University, Xiamen, China. Stephen now lives in West Sussex, where he is Chair of Governors at a local primary school, chair of a local charity and the "Wednesday Welcomer" at the Weald & Downland Living Museum..