The engineer, a fifth generation mariner, joined the Royal Navy when he was 19. On September 27 2020, he discovered that his wife, Sian, a petty officer, was being deployed to the Falkland Islands – where she currently is serving – earlier than anticipated. The engineer, who has served for nearly eight years, drank 'a considerable amount of alcohol' before heading back to his room that he was sharing with three of his colleagues. In the room, situated on the third and top floor of the HMS Sultan, a shore base of the Royal Navy in Gosport, Bulcock disabled the fire alarm so he could smoke on his vape in an act that was 'out of character'.