TWO significant historical events occurred in Barrow during the year of 1993.

The crews, service men and workers of Barrow's shipyard were not only witnesses to the commissioning of Britain's first Trident submarine, but also attended the Royal Visit by Lady Diana, Princess of Wales.

The Princess, who was responsible for naming the sub HMS Vanguard, was welcomed as the guest of honour in a ceremony held at Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering in Barrow in August.

During the Royal visit she was given a tour of the submarine and the surrounding docks.

She met with crew members and workers.

Princess Diana also enjoyed a special lunch to mark the occasion that was held at the marquee next to Devonshire Dock Hall.

However, during the visit a small group of protesters made their presence known.

Activists descended on the docks in order to protest against the Trident program.

Groups included the anti-Trident peace movement who tried to disrupt proceedings of the day.

Cumbrian Police were on hand to maintain order and managed to keep things under control as the sub was commissioned without further incidence.

Despite this, the Royal Visit went ahead as scheduled.

The Vanguard-class of ballistic missile submarines were entered into service in the United Kingdom in the 1990s.

The machine had an intended service life of 25 years.

The HMS Vanguard in total weighed more than 16,000 tonnes when completed

The craft was set to be decommissioned with Successor-class submarines set to be built as part of the UK's Trident submarine programme, which was backed by members of parliament a month prior to the visit.

Trident continues to this day.

The visit of Princess Diana was a memorable occasion in the Barrow community and in its industrial history.

As well as being the location where the first Trident submarine was commissioned, this mark two significant historic events.

Vanguard was launched on in 1992, and commissioned in 1993.