William's Bring Your Dad To Work Day

Its a familiar problem - a family member is coming to meet you at work, maybe have a quick peek around the office, and, just before they arrive, you get called into an important meeting.

Well, when Prince William's chopper was called out on a rescue mission today, his commanding officer took his place so that William could greet his dad, who popped into  RAF Valley, where his search and rescue pilot son is based, as part of his annual summer tour of Wales with Camilla.

While Chaz - immaculate in a double-breasted suit with pocket square as always - looked at RAF Valley's workings, William's team rescued a 45-year-old man from Cader Idris, Snowdonia, who had at least one broken ankle.

William's commanding officer, Wing Commander Mark "Sparky" Dunlop, officer commanding of 22 Search and Rescue Squadron, told a Daily Mirror reporter: "I think everyone works very hard to make sure that William is treated very much as with any other airman.

"Obviously there are some differences with security arrangements, but William is a Royal Air Force officer - a qualified search and rescue captain doing a professional job just the same as the rest of us.

"He joined the squadron approximately two years ago and he's studied hard and has attained his operational captaincy and therefore has met the rigorous demands of that requirement. Like all other operational captains, he should be rightly proud of that achievement."