TWO new crew members have been recruited to head-up operations at Action Stations, the £14 million new blockbusting Royal Navy attraction opening in May at Flagship Portsmouth in the historic dockyard.

Senior technician Dave Francis and education officer Peter Wright have joined forces with Action Stations' general manager, Barbara Barnes, who was appointed last March.

Peter will be taking up his duties at Action Stations on April 17. Currently head of physics at Hardley School near Fawley, Peter has a background in sciences that he will use to help develop physics, design and technology, and mathematics for all educational levels from Key Stage 2 to post 16 studies.

His previous posts included running a course on cosmology, that involved students using the leftovers of a cocktail party to simulate the expanding universe!

He lives in Hedge End with his wife Helen, young son and small collection of snakes and millipedes.

Dave from Petersfield, is self-taught in hi-tech wizardry. He has a background in electronics, computers, interactive models, film and video production, and art and graphics.

Married to Deb with three daughters and a dog called Murphy, Dave starts at Action Stations on March 5. He will be looking after all the state-of-the-art interactive displays, videos and film shows.

"The technical aspect of this attraction is just so exciting and it will be the ideal job for me, so I cannot wait to start, " said Dave.

Barbara returned to Portsmouth, her home port last year, after working in Cumbria for six years, managing The Beacon in Whitehaven, a new heritage attraction which subsequently won many prestigious awards.

Before that, she was with the Mary Rose for four-and-a-half years before being appointed visitor services manager of the Flagship Portsmouth Trust when it was formed in 1992.

Barbara said: "It is really good to have Dave and Peter with us. They are people of such a high calibre who love what they do. That combination of enthusiasm and skill is really what Action Stations is all about."