Royal Navy Submarine Service partners with City St George’s research consortium to strengthen systematic support for resilience and wellbeing • City St George's, University of London

The new project will establish a new People Hub for the Submarine Service.

By Dr Shamim Quadir (Senior Communications Officer), Published Wednesday, 29^th October 2025

The Royal Navy has launched a major new initiative to strengthen support for its submariners and their families, commissioning a two-year research and implementation programme led by City St George’s, University of London.

The project will establish a new People Hub for the Submarine Service – a central body coordinating all people-related work, with a focus on mental resilience, leadership under pressure, and reliable workforce provision.

Rear Admiral Andy B. Perks MBE, Director Submarines Royal Navy, said:

Our submarine force comprises some of the most sophisticated machines on the planet. However, the real jewel in the Submarine Service’s crown is the people that crew them. Our submariners are deeply professional, incredibly dedicated, and resilient in the face of a multitude of challenges. However, I do not take that resilience for granted and so we’ve engaged the City St George’s University of London consortium to help us continue to provide the best possible support to our submariners, and their families, drawing on best practise and systematic analysis.

From left to right: Commodore Benjamin Haskins CBE, Commodore Submarine Flotilla Royal Navy; Commander James Dalrymple, Chief of Staff Submarine Flotilla Royal Navy; Dr Jutta Tobias Mortlock, Reader in Organisational Psychology, City St George’s, University of London; Rear Admiral Andy B. Perks MBE, Directors Submarines Royal Navy. LPhot Bladen © UK MOD Crown Copyright 2025

The programme is being delivered by a consortium of cross-institutional scientists, drawing on the expertise of occupational psychologists, behavioural economists, and workforce resilience specialists. The consortium is led by Dr Jutta Tobias Mortlock from City St George’s Department of Psychology, in close collaboration with Professor Jo Yarker, Managing Partner, Affinity Health at Work, and Kristy Sanderson, Professor in Applied Health Research at the University of East Anglia.

Dr Mortlock, the project’s Principal Investigator (PI), noted:

Submariners are resilient – that is obvious. This work represents a transformative opportunity to combine behavioural and implementation science with organisational insight and Defence-specific operational knowledge in service of the Navy’s long-term people mission. We are proud to partner with such a committed and forward-looking Service.

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