On Commonwealth Day 2025, we bring you the story of a British Army soldier, born in Nigeria, who recently visited his hometown while taking part in an overseas exercise.
Sergeant Emmanuel 'Ice' Usiagwu (right) pictured during integration training between the embarked Royal Marines of 42 Commando Boarding Team, 47 Commando Boats Team and personnel from the Nigerian Navy Special Boat Squadron.
RFA Lyme Bay, a UK Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessel pictured at Premiere Port (Apapa Quays) Lagos, Nigeria, as part of a Defence Engagement programme across West African partner nations.
RFA Lyme Bay's football team made up of a combination of RFA, Royal Marines, Army and Royal Navy crew members played the Sierra Leone Navy football team.
Sergeant Emmanuel Usiagwu, of the Royal Logistic Corps (RLC), is a Sergeant in the 17 Port and Maritime Regiment, RLC, based in Marchwood Docks near Southampton.
Emmanuel, otherwise known as ‘Ice’, paid a visit to his birthplace and hometown of Lagos, Nigeria whilst serving aboard a UK Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessel, RFA Lyme Bay.
The opportunity for Ice to visit his hometown of Lagos aboard RFA Lyme Bay brought him full circle via his position in the British Army.
Ice said:
“It was a great opportunity to see family and loved ones, including two brothers and two sisters, after having not seen them for a number of years. A busy role in the army and my own family back home in the UK does not allow me much opportunity to return to my roots.
“It was a surreal situation to find myself in British military uniform aboard a British Auxiliary vessel back in my hometown some 16 years after joining the British Army. Something I never imagined possible in my lifetime.”
It was a surreal situation to find myself in British military uniform aboard a British Auxiliary vessel back in my hometown some 16 years after joining the British Army
Ice was born in Lagos in 1984 where he grew up with family, including three sisters and six brothers, three of whom now also live the UK (teacher, nurse and soldier). He achieved a National Diploma in Marketing, aged 18, and then went on to work within the estate security sector in Lagos.
During a visit to a brother in the UK in 2007, Ice realised, after watching a TV recruitment campaign by the British Army, that he could join via the Commonwealth Soldier scheme. He then began the application and recruitment process and, having been successfully selected, joined the RLC in 2008 as a Port Operator.
Since completing training, Ice has deployed to the Falklands twice, was part of Op Olympic 2012, carried out an operational tour aboard Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) vessel RFA Mounts Bay in the Caribbean in 2019 and, more recently, joined RFA Lyme Bay in October 2024 whilst the ship was in Cape Town for the West African Leg of Littoral Response Group (South).
Ice is part of a team that provides unique Port and Maritime capabilities for UK Defence.
RFA Lyme Bay and her crew of embarked Royal Marines of 42 and 47 Commando, along with Royal Navy and Army personnel, has been conducting multiple visits of West African nations for integration training between the Royal Marines and their West African counterparts predominantly focused on Boarding Operations.
The ship also participated in Exercise Grand African Nemo, a long-running exercise staged in the Gulf of Guinea each year by France and West/Central African nations with the emphasis on curbing criminal activity and ensuring shipping safely passes through waters from Senegal to Angola – a coastline of around 6,000 kilometres (nearly 4,000 miles).
Onboard RFA Lyme Bay, as the Senior NCO, Ice oversees a team of six RLC ranks whose role is to ensure all vehicles and equipment are secured correctly. He also supports lifting operations as a crane operative working alongside RFA, Royal Marines and Royal Navy personnel.
Living in Southampton with his wife and three children, Ice enjoys football at Regimental level, and has represented the RLC at tennis. His next role will be Admin Sgt, managing the troop at Marchwood.
