SHE'S the pride of the Clyde and tonight HMS Duncan returns to active service when the warship sails down Glasgow's famous river and out into the open seas.

The Type 45 has spent six days berthed at Yorkhill Quay on "community engagement" which included crew members attending First World War commemorations at Glasgow Cathedral and George Square.

Launched four years ago at the BAE yard at Govan, the destroyer leaves Glasgow with a new captain.

Commanding officer Richard Atkinson took the helm on a day when the nation remembered the 100th anniversary of the start of the Great War. He said: "I'm excited although it is a little intimidating. But I'm looking forward to the challenge.

“It is an extremely proud day for me as I take over as Commanding Officer of HMS Duncan. It is at a particularly poignant moment that I take the helm, as HMS Duncan, built here on the Clyde, plays a role in the national commemorations of WW1. Indeed a previous HMS Duncan, launched in 1901, saw significant action in the First World War. I am now looking forward to our next exciting job, supporting the NATO Summit in September.”

Duncan was the last of a new generation of warships built at the Scotstoun and Govan sister yards on the Clyde at a cost of £6billion. The Type 45s are the most advanced destroyers ever operated by the Royal Navy.

Their main function is to shield the fleet from air attacks though Duncan was also sent to the Philippines to help with humanitarian aid following Typhoon Haiyan.

She welcomed the public aboard while being docked at Yorkhill Quay, a stone's throw from BAE's Govan shipyard, where she was built.

gordon.thomson@eveningtimes.co.uk