A SAILOR who has trained some of the toughest people in the Royal Navy has retired after almost half a century.

Ken Rutherford, who was born in Stanley, County Durham, joined up in 1961, aged 15, as a junior seaman second class.

His 49-year naval career took him to America, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, India through the Suez Canal and around the Middle East.

He became a petty officer physical trainer, tasked with the job of improving the fitness of regular sailors as well as Royal Marines and the SBS.

But one of his enduring memories is of witnessing the press chasing one of his heroes on his wedding day.

Mr Rutherford, 64, said: “I happened to be in Gibraltar in 1969 and someone said ‘gangway’. Then my mate said: ‘That’s John Lennon’.

Then Yoko Ono went past and the brim of her hat touched my chin.”

Mr Rutherford also recalls meeting Peter Sellers at a cocktail party in Mauritius and trained Olympic gold medal-winning cyclist Victoria Pendleton early in her career.

He left his full-time post with the Navy in 1986, but stayed on with the Royal Navy Reserve at HMS Calliope, on the River Tyne, as a physical trainer until he retired in June.

Earlier this month, Mr Rutherford attended the Queen’s garden party at Holyroodhouse, in Edinburgh, as a thank you for his long service.

The father-of-two, who has two grandchildren and plans to spend his retirement gardening and cycling, said: “I was probably the oldest trainer in the world.”