
Remembrance day singer, 10, 'completely froze' as hero father returned
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Lt Cdr Adams had returned three months early from duty in the Indian Ocean for the surprise on Saturday night. Megan, from Stirling, who had previously said how sad she was that her father
would not see her singing at the festival, was told by host Huw Edwards that he had a special guest for her. Fellow members of her group of singers, the Poppy Girls, who were in on the
surprise then spun Megan around to see her early Christmas present in the flesh. As her father walked down the steps towards his daughter, she burst into tears and shouted:
"Daddy!" as she ran towards him. The audience loudly applauded the special moment, with the Queen smiling broadly and looking pleasantly surprised as she exchanged comments with
fellow Royals Philip and Anne. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg's wife Miriam could be seen wiping away a tear as the father and daughter left the stage together. Lt Cdr Adams, from
Stirling, was given short-term leave for Megan's special treat shortly returning back to the Seychelles where he has been part of Operation Atlanta since June. The operation set up in
2008 was designed to protect the Horn of Africa and the Gulf of Aden from pirates. Lt Cdr Adams, a father of two, said he became "emotional" when he received an email during his
time at Port Victoria asking him to attend the event to surprise his 10-year-old daughter. He said: "There were some inquiries made to see what the possibility would be of coming back
for a few days to witness the performances, and I found out just over a week ago. "I had no idea that people were moving behind the scenes to make it happen. I was overwhelmed and
delighted at the same time. "I was quite emotional thinking that I'd been given the opportunity to go home. It's not a normal thing with the services to do that, so I was
delighted." Rear Admiral Robert Tarrant, who allowed Lt Cdr Adams to attend the event said the "real hardship" of soldier's on duty is with their loved ones. He said:
"Obviously you miss your family. You miss lots of special, key events and dates, and this was going to be one of them. “But I think it's particularly difficult for the families who
get left behind. We're sent on operations to do a job, we do that, but actually the real hardship is for them."