THe First and Last of two kinds
Discussion
Aug 1957 saw our family attend the Navy Day at Portsmouth. Dad being ex HMS Dido went to most Chatham and Pompey ones sometimes both
On the trip'to see the ships' up at the far end of the Harbour there were various RN ships laid up either in reserve or laid up for disposal, but one took my eyes and i got a picture of her.
During a tour of one of the surface ships Dad being ex Navy was giving the nod to nip down to Dorset in Early Oct which we duly did.There we saw the worlds first Nuclear sub USS Nautilus and the very last battleship built
Sorry about the condition of both pics but at least I still have them and apologies for putting up two posts as for some reason thumsnap and PH have decided i am not allowed to publish multiple ones!!
However if you really squint and use a good glass you can just make out Nautilus emitting steam..We were on the hill overlooking the harbour and pic was taken on a box Brownie!!
Vanguard next
On the trip'to see the ships' up at the far end of the Harbour there were various RN ships laid up either in reserve or laid up for disposal, but one took my eyes and i got a picture of her.
During a tour of one of the surface ships Dad being ex Navy was giving the nod to nip down to Dorset in Early Oct which we duly did.There we saw the worlds first Nuclear sub USS Nautilus and the very last battleship built
Sorry about the condition of both pics but at least I still have them and apologies for putting up two posts as for some reason thumsnap and PH have decided i am not allowed to publish multiple ones!!
However if you really squint and use a good glass you can just make out Nautilus emitting steam..We were on the hill overlooking the harbour and pic was taken on a box Brownie!!
Vanguard next
Great to see those pictures.
I remember my dad telling me about how he went out on a small boat with his parents at the Coronation Fleet Review in June 1953 (he'd have been 9 years old at the time) and his overriding memory was the size of HMS Vanguard.
It's great to have these tiny connections, however insignificant. As someone born in the 1980s but with a fascination for military history, particularly naval, the RN battleships (and the period of Royal Navy dominance they represented) may as well be ancient history when you can't go and see & touch them. It's these things that make it feel that bit more real to us relative youngsters!
I remember my dad telling me about how he went out on a small boat with his parents at the Coronation Fleet Review in June 1953 (he'd have been 9 years old at the time) and his overriding memory was the size of HMS Vanguard.
It's great to have these tiny connections, however insignificant. As someone born in the 1980s but with a fascination for military history, particularly naval, the RN battleships (and the period of Royal Navy dominance they represented) may as well be ancient history when you can't go and see & touch them. It's these things that make it feel that bit more real to us relative youngsters!
Squirrelofwoe said:
As someone born in the 1980s but with a fascination for military history, particularly naval, the RN battleships (and the period of Royal Navy dominance they represented) may as well be ancient history when you can't go and see & touch them. It's these things that make it feel that bit more real to us relative youngsters!
Its why it was almost criminal that KGV wasn't preserved, due to her significance. There was an attempt to do so, but nothing came of it, and instead she went off to the scrappy in Scotland.aeropilot said:
Squirrelofwoe said:
As someone born in the 1980s but with a fascination for military history, particularly naval, the RN battleships (and the period of Royal Navy dominance they represented) may as well be ancient history when you can't go and see & touch them. It's these things that make it feel that bit more real to us relative youngsters!
Its why it was almost criminal that KGV wasn't preserved, due to her significance. There was an attempt to do so, but nothing came of it, and instead she went off to the scrappy in Scotland.Completely understandable given the economic climate of the time, but sad looking back.
It's like seeing the photos from the late 1940s of HMS Implacable (1805) before she was scuttled in 1949, but at least we have Victory. It's a real shame that we have nothing preserved from the Dreadnought era- onwards, particularly given the significance of the Royal Navy in their development and the significance of their importance to the country in the two World Wars.
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