ScuttlebuttHMSVictory

and

RoyalNavalMuseum

of the

friends

By subscription or £2Issue 44 SPRING 2012

The magazine of the National Museum of the Royal Navy (Portsmouth) and the Friends

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Editor John Roberts 01329 843427 (jaorob@tiscali.co.uk)Design & Print Studio 6 Wickham 01329 832933Advertising SDB Marketing 01273 594455http://www.royalnavalmuseum.org/support_friends.htm

Cover Picture: “The Heavyweight Punch” by Geoff Hunt, oil on canvas, 24 x 36 inches, 2005, see page 40

CONTENTSCouncil of the Friends 4Chairman’s Report (Peter Wykeham-Martin) 5New Vice Chairman (John Scivier) 6Treasurers Report (Roger Trise) 6 Prestigious BAFM Award for ‘Scuttlebutt’ (Roger Trise) 7 News from the National Museum of the Royal Navy (Graham Dobbin) 8HMS Victory Change of Command (Rod Strathern) 9Steam Pinnace 199 & London Boat Show (Martin Marks) 10Lottery Bid Success 13Alfred John West Cinematographer 15Peter Hollins MBE, President 199 Group (Martin Marks) 17Skills for the Future Project (Kiri Anderson) 18New Museum Model Series – Part 1: HMS Vanguard (Mark Brady) 20The National Museum of the Royal Navy: 100 Years of Naval Heritage 23 at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard (Campbell McMurray)The Royal Navy and Libya (Naval Staff) 28The Navy Campaign – “We need a Navy” (Bethany Torvell) 31The Story of Tactical Nuclear Weapons in the Royal Navy (John Coker) 32The Falklands War Conference at the RNM – 19 May 2012 35Thirtieth Anniversary of the Falklands Conflict (Ken Napier) 36HMS Queen Elizabeth - Update on Progress (BAE Systems) 38Lost CS Forester Manuscript Found (New CS Forester book) (John Roberts) 39Museum Wreath Workshop 39Geoff Hunt – Leading Marine Artist (Julian Thomas) 40Book Reviews 40AGM – 3 May 2012 (Executive Secretary) 43 “What’s on?” - Forthcoming Events at the Museum (Julian Thomas) 44 Visit by Naval Museum Friends to RN Submarine Museum – 11 June 2012 48Friends of the Royal Marine Museum visit to Albert Hall & RM School of Music 48Benefits of Friends Membership 52

ScuttlebuttThe magazine of the National Museum of the Royal Navy (Portsmouth) and the Friends

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CHAIRMAN’S REPORT

In the last issue I wrote about the impending work on HMS Victory’s masts and rigging. Many of you will now have seen she has now had her topmasts struck. This has been an amazing piece of work. I know that in her heyday, striking topmasts was little more than a routine evolution, but in these days of rigorous “elfin safety”, it is certainly more than just “routine”. If you haven’t had the chance, try and see the YouTube video taken by one of the riggers using a helmet camera as he worked on the masts. Undoing the bolts holding the yards was one of those occasions when you hope the rigger didn’t drop a nut from that height! However, whilst it is sad to see the ship looking so stripped of her glory, it has given the Museum an opportunity to run an exhibition called Bones of Oak and Iron which brings the refit work to life and is well worth a visit. Another visible recent loss has been the figurehead, which although the MoD accepts is part of the restoration package, seems to slip down the list of priorities. The loss of this very iconic symbol of HMS Victory does cause your Council some concern and has been the subject of discussion with other interested parties. Council hopes that we can find a speedy resolution to this issue, and restoration of her magnificent figurehead.

The Friends have been very fortunate to recently receive a substantial legacy which allows us to progress certain projects. Council is not letting this money burn a hole in its pocket, but we are keen to use this money to good and lasting effect. Many of you will have been aware of the long relationship that the Friends have had with the Steam Pinnace 199. Under Peter Hollins’ leadership her restoration was achieved and Ivan Steele has taken up the baton from Peter. However, her boiler certification has expired and she needs a substantial refit before she can steam again. In September at a meeting with the National Museum, agreement was reached that should assure that not only will the necessary refit be carried out, but that she will be financially supported for at least another 10 years. Under this agreement, Council have pledged up to £30,000 from the recent legacy to the refit of the Pinnace – approximately a third of the cost. This pledge allows the Pinnace to bid for support from National Lottery Heritage Fund and Prism for the remaining funding with a reasonable chance of success, as they have separately raised

some £5,000 from their own efforts. Part of this agreement is that the Pinnace will be used by the Museum as an aid to fund raising and generally raising awareness of the National Museum. This will include appearances at local events such as the Southampton Boat Show, Yarmouth Old Gaffers and other trips in support of the Museum. This is a very welcome move and helps secure the medium term future of this historic vessel, and I would like to thank the Museum staff for their help in reaching this agreement.

And yet another piece of good news has been the success of the National Museum of the Royal Navy in obtaining funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards the new 20th and 21st Century galleries. This helps secure money that has already been pledged to get new funding. The Museum has now raised £3 million and has £1.5 million to go, but is confident that they can make this target. The staff at Portsmouth has put in an incredible amount of hard work in securing this funding and on your behalf I congratulate them on their success. The new 20th and 21st Century galleries will be a stunning and vital addition to the Museum at Portsmouth. I am sure that it will prove to be a very popular attraction, bringing to life the part played by the Royal Navy in the 20th Century and right up to the current day.

I make no excuse for focussing on the future for both HMS Victory and the Steam Pinnace, and the new Gallery for the National Museum of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth. All three projects are of direct interest to the Friends. A fundamental role of the Friends is to help the National Museum at Portsmouth keep our naval heritage alive and flourishing at a time when nationwide museum resources are under pressure, and it is good to see the way that the National Museum of the Royal Navy is moving ahead.

Peter Wykeham-Martin

THE COUNCIL OF

THE FRIENDS OF THE ROYAL NAVAL MUSEUM AND HMS VICTORY

Patron: Admiral HRH The Prince of Wales KG, KT, OM, GCB

President Lord JuddChairman Commodore Peter Wykeham-Martin Royal Navy

Vice Chairman: Lieutenant Commander John Scivier Royal NavyExecutive Secretary & Treasurer Mr Roger TriseHonorary Secretary Dr Campbell McMurray OBE

MEMBERS OF COUNCILLieutenant Commander Nicholas Bates, Royal Navy

Mr David Baynes – Volunteers Co-ordinatorLieutenant Commander Mark Brady, Royal NavyLieutenant Commander Clive Kidd, Royal Navy

Mr Christopher KnoxCaptain John Roberts MBE, Royal Navy

Mr Ivan Steele – Steam Pinnace 199 ProjectMr Paul Woodman

EX OFFICIO MEMBERS OF COUNCILCommander John Bingeman, Royal Navy – Society of Nautical Research

Mr Graham Dobbin – Chief Operating Officer NMRNMr Julian Thomas – National Museum of the Royal Navy Friends Liaison

Lieutenant Commander Rod Strathern, Royal Navy – Commanding Officer HMS VictoryCouncillor Rob Wood - Portsmouth City Council

Councillor Chris Carter – Hampshire County Council

Executive Secretary Roger Trise (023 9225 1589) rnm.friends@btinternet.com

National Museum of the Royal Navy, HM Naval Base (PP66), Portsmouth PO1 3NHwww.royalnavalmuseum.org

Scuttlebutt

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LIEUTENANT COMMANDER JOHN SCIVIER ROYAL NAVY NEW VICE CHAIRMAN

John Scivier the new Vice Chairman of the Friends joined the Royal Navy in 1977 and after nine years as a rating, passed out of BRNC Dartmouth in 1986. He became an Air Traffic Control Officer and was promoted to Lt Cdr in 2001, when he took over the Naval Aeronautical Information Centre (NAIC) at RAF Northolt before going on to serve in HMS Ocean. He saw active service in the

Gulf region, in support of operations in Afghanistan and in 2003, as part of the Op Telic 1Task Force in Iraq. In 2006 he was appointed Commanding Officer of HMS Victory, a job he described as the best in his career. John then returned to aviation specialist appointments before being appointed to HMS Collingwood.

John is involved in a number of charities and is a regular UK ‘4 Peaker’, has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro, and trekked to Mount Everest Base Camp. He is a fellow of a number of professional bodies, and was named as the Institute of Leadership and Management Achiever of the year in both 2008 and 2009. A freeman of the City of London, John lives in Gosport with his wife Kerry.

Personal Message from the new Vice-Chairman

“The Friends are an important element of the life of both the naval museum and Victory and provide essential support both financial (grants) and personal (volunteers). The volunteer programme, under the excellent oversight of David Baynes provides assistance to the museum at a minimal outlay and it is so refreshing to see that there are people in our society that care so much for our maritime heritage that they are willing to give their own time up. I hope that I can impart my enthusiasm, background knowledge and experience into the Friends and I will strive to ensure that, through the Friends, the museum and Victory are served well. There are areas in which I can see some changes may be required and I think if I have a message, it is that we are an organisation that supports history – however, we must be prepared to accept a rapidly changing and more technological world and embrace a small percentage of the future along with a large percentage of the past. We live in austere times and income generation in the museums and charities sectors is certainly a huge and continuous challenge – a challenge that I know, the Friends will continue to embrace”. John Scivier

After an exciting year for the Museum, which last month received the Lottery funding for the development of the 20th Century galleries, I am pleased to report that the Friends have also received a substantial legacy from the estate of Mrs Eve West. She had already donated a group of historically important artefacts relating to her husband’s career, the late Commander John West DSC MBE Royal Navy. We have been aware of the forthcoming legacy for over two years, which is shared with two other charities, but have not been able to make any plans as the Estate had not been settled. At last all the formalities have been concluded and the money now resides in our bank account. We are very grateful for the generous Legacy of Commander and Mrs Eve West which will enable us to support projects in the forthcoming development programme and of course HMS Victory.

With encouragement from the Museum the Friends supported a bid by the Pinnace team to the Heritage Lottery for a grant to repair the Pinnace which now needs substantial restoration work to enable it to steam. The application was successful with a Lottery Grant of £50,000 and with the £30,000 committed by the Friends plus a private donation the work can now be started.

Many of you may not be aware of the hard work undertaken by Christopher Knox who is spreading the word about the Museum and Friends by giving lectures to local groups. He is not only gaining new members but often receives donations for which the Friends are very grateful.

I would like to thank all the members who have amended their Banker’s Orders to the new rates of £20 for a single member and £25 for joint membership and also thank all those who have responded to our reminder letters. It is your continued support that allows the Friends to thrive, and that one of the other important contributions is from the volunteers which although not appearing on the financial reports balance sheet nevertheless has a considerable value.

Roger Trise

TREASURER’S REPORT

PRESTIGIOUS BAFM AWARD FOR SCUTTLEBUTT

The Friends of the Royal Naval Museum and HMS Victory have won national recognition for their newsletter Scuttlebutt. The twice-yearly newsletter of the Friends was judged to be runner up in the British Association of Friends of Museums (BAFM) 2011 Friends’ newsletter competition.

The judges called it “… a very interesting, and informative publication, well illustrated and with an attractive layout…”.

Loyd Grossman, President of BAFM, presented Roger Trise, Executive Secretary of the Friends, and editor of Scuttlebutt, with a commemorative certificate at a ceremony in London.

“I am particularly pleased for Roger Trise”, said Peter Wykeham-Martin, Chairman of the Friends. “He has worked on Scuttlebutt twice a year for well over ten years, in addition to his duties as Secretary and Treasurer of an organisation of more than eight hundred members. This is a just reward for his efforts and for those of Studio 6 in Wickham, who do the design and printing.”

Loyd Grossman, President of BAFM (on the left) presents the commemorative certificate to Roger Trise, Editor of Scuttlebutt.

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In any institution there are one or two memorable years every generation and I am convinced that for us, last year was one of these very special years – and how fitting that, as this was our centenary year, it became a year to remember, ending on a particular high note – more of which later.Where to begin?The obvious place is the commemorations for our Centenary which included:v Message of support from Her Majesty The Queenv Two visits by HRH The Princess Royalv HRH graciously unveiled our new Centenary stained glass window (located in the Victory Gallery) which commemorates key moments/organisations in our history – of which, the Society of Friends is, obviously, one of those listedv Opening of New, Found Treasuresv Special centenary badge given to all who visited on our Centenaryv Massive Birthday Party in Victory Arena culminating in the cutting of the giant Centenary Birthday Cakev Local School took over the running of the Museum for a day

However, as exciting as all of this was, so much more has been achieved (in no particular order):

v The shop was moved from its “tucked away” position into the main reception of the Museum and given a much needed face lift. v The Museum’s Face to Face Project was short listed for the Art Fund Prize Clore Award for Museum Learning. Although we weren’t lucky enough to win this it is extremely prestigious to be short listed in this wayv A Research Seminar Programme designed to raise the academic standing of the Museum commenced in October. This year’s programme will culminate on 13th June 2012 with the inaugural First Sea Lords Annual Lecture to be delivered by Professor Andrew Lambertv The temporary exhibition “Bones of Oak and Iron” was opened by The Second Sea Lord in the space previously occupied by the shop. This is a fascinating exhibition designed to explain more about the restoration work HMS Victory is currently undergoingv The Society of Friends was able to financially support the trip by Richard Noyce to Washington in preparation for an exchange of items for our new Galleries – in turn we are loaning War of 1812 items from our Collection to the Americans. v Our American Society of Friends were able to financially support the restoration of the HMS Trafalgar figurehead – Nelson now positively glistens when the sun catches this figurehead!

And then, if that wasn’t enough, the year ends with the fantastic news that we have secured a Round Two Pass from Heritage Lottery Fund for our Modern Navy Gallery Project. We have been awarded 100% of what we asked for - £1.4M from a project total of £4.5M and with money already committed from other sources we are left with roughly £1.5M still to raise. In the current climate, that will not be an easy task but we are confident that we can achieve this and the Galleries will open as planned in early 2014. Physical work won’t commence until the final quarter of 2012 but there is plenty of preparatory work to be done between now and then which will keep everyone very occupied.

And, looking forward to 2012, I can now also confirm that the Museum expects to become free of charge as from 1st April 2012 – no, this isn’t an early April fool’s Joke! It is Government Policy that National Museums should be free of charge and therefore we have been hoping to be able to do this for quite a while now but it is only in recent weeks that this was agreed. This means that the Museum will be free of charge to all visitors – HMS Victory, Fleet Air Arm Museum, Royal Marines Museum and the Royal Navy Submarine Museum are not going free and will charge as usual. For us, this is really exciting news and we should see our visitor numbers climb as a consequence. There is undoubtedly a marketing challenge as we will want to make the most of the fact that we are free without disadvantaging the other attractions within Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and I know that PHD are already considering the best way of getting this message across to visitors.

So, 2011 was quite a year! As always, I need to thank each and every one of you for being so supportive of all that we try to do. I’m not sure how we can top the success of 2011 in 2012 – but we shall certainly be giving it our very best effort!

February 2012 Graham Dobbin, Chief Operating Officer

“2011 - THAT WAS THE YEAR THAT WAS!”News from the National Museum of the Royal Navy (Portsmouth)

Chief Operating Officer’s Report

CHANGE OF COMMAND OF HMS VICTORY

On 16 December last year HMS Victory welcomed her 100th Commanding Officer, as Lieutenant Commander Rod Strathern assumed command from the outgoing Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Commander Oscar Whild.

The 46-year-old, who lives in Winchester, said: ‘Command of HMS Victory is a huge privilege for any CO, but to be the 100th adds a particular significance and I am conscious of following in some very illustrious footsteps.’ He added: ‘HMS Victory is a priceless national treasure and I certainly intend to ensure she is well looked after.’

Oscar Whild, who took command of Victory in September 2008 was not only saying farewell, as commanding officer, but he was also saying farewell to the Royal Navy as he was retiring from the Service. The Falklands war veteran said the past three years had been the highlight of his thirty year naval career.

Oscar Whild said; ‘It is without doubt the best job in the Royal Navy that someone of my rank can undertake. The ship certainly gets under your skin and although it is time for me to move on, it will still be a wrench for me to go,’ After handing over command he was busy preparing to leave his Portsmouth home for retirement in the south of France with his wife Nicky.

Lieutenant Commander Oscar Whild (on the left) hands over command to Lieutenant Commander Rod Strathern, in the great cabin, on board HMS Victory.

The Museum expects to

become free of charge as from

1st April 2012

““

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Almost certainly the most popular events at this year’s London Boat Show was the “Climb the Victory Mast” incorporated into the Classic Boat magazine stand. This idea grew out of a “back of a fag packet sketch” made by Boat Show staff member John Goode (left) about three years ago. The public were invited to

climb up a rope ladder to a real HMS Victory yard mounted some 8 metres above. They then had to proceed out to the end of the yard and ring a bell. Successful climbers were given a prize of a discounted entry voucher to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. A belaying system operated by professional climbers introduced an essential note of safety and our cox’n, Reg Hill, an experienced tall ship crewman was on hand to give practical tips and encouragement. Also on the stand was a 24 pounder cannon, shot, powder box and related tools on loan from Victory.199 volunteers were briefed up on Victory herself and the cannon to engage with the visitors whilst they queued up to climb....and on the first Saturday there were big queues...so much so that around early afternoon we had to close for half an hour to give the team a break!

Going back a couple of days, Ivan, Alistair Dilley, Mike Ryan and myself met up at HMS Victory to collect the 24 pounder, accessories and some boxes of publicity material for the Historic Dockyard and HMS Warrior. The cannon “kit” came as a barrel, about 14 wooden and 9 iron pieces. We were very grateful for a helping hand from the Royal Navy (above) as the kit is kept in Victory’s lowest deck. Luckily the barrel was a fibreglass replica and a two-man lift - otherwise we would have needed a large fork lift truck. Leaving Mike behind we proceeded by van up to the Excel Exhibition Centre which sits next door to the London City Airport and the Thames. Vehicle access is strictly controlled to try and reduce chaos to organised mayhem as hundreds of exhibitors try to load up their stands.

STEAM PINNACE 199 LONDON BOAT SHOW

199 TEAM HITS THE HEIGHTS AT THE SHOW!

The Royal Navy helps load the van

Control meant lining up the van in a ferry queue system and watching the lines either side of you continuously moving somewhere whilst your line seemed to be permanently frozen. You are then directed to a one hour limit parking space near to an access door relevant to your stand. We laid out our cannon kit but unlike an IKEA flat pack there are no step-by-step instructions! There followed a democratic discussion on the assembly as, for example, there were two smaller and two larger wooden wheels plus four other pieces we never did use! Thanks to the gathering of “old salts”, as the Boat Show keep describing us to the media, the gun was assembled fairly easily (above and below).

Assembling the gun carriage

Mounting the gun in place

At this stage of late afternoon before opening day, the North Hall can honestly be described as a mess of wooden pallets, plastic sheeting and discarded packing rubbish (above and right). Overnight the show cleaners perform a near miracle and produce the spick and span presentation that is all that most of us ever see. In the picture (right) Victory rigger Ian Bell talks to John Goode and 199’s Ivan, next to a very smart canon display.

Meanwhile Reg had been testing the mast climbing (below and below right). Someone was heard describing him as like “a rat up a drain pipe”! I’m sure it was meant as a compliment.

H&S officers please note the helmet and climbing harness in the picture below. The event was risk assessed “to death”!

Aligning the gun barrel

Rigger Ian Bell talking to John and Ivan

A mess of packing and rubbish

Reg tests the riggingReg climbs the mast

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The opening Friday is a press and media day. Several camera and radio teams dropped in. The picture (above) shows rigger Ian Bell being interviewed by ITV. There was also a short piece by BBC South on the local news on Friday evening. Practical Boat Owner expressed interest in a post refit article on 199.

Ivan keeping things clean

Visitors admiring the cannon

Reg welcomes visitors to the mast climb (below). He seems to have a way with the ladies? Of course that is a euphemism!

The competition from The Historic Dockyard Chatham had an interesting display based around rope making (below) and using professional staff.

The stand was manned by:

Alistair Dilley, Andy Ryan, Clive Kidd, Ivan Steele, John Turner, Martin Giles, Martin Marks, Mike Waddleton, Reg Hill and Stephen Barnes.

HMS Victory - Little Known FactsDid you know that her masts and spars are metal, not wood? They were taken from another vessel, Shah, in 1880 when the rigging was refitted.Did you know that one of her 32 pdr. guns, if fired unrestrained, would recoil over 50 feet? Even restrained with two sets of block and tackle, it still moved 11 feet. The 32 pdr. fired at point blank range, considered to be 400 yards, would penetrate 4 feet of solid oak. Victory’s own sides were only around 2 feet thick at the waterline. Most injuries on the receiving end came indirectly from wood splinters, not the shot.

...and finallyJust so that Reg doesn’t think he’s the only one who climbs the rigging, here is a picture of Peter Hollins MBE (below) a long way up the rigging of RRS Discovery. He is the one waving, he tells me.

The RRS Discovery was the last traditional wooden three-masted ship to be built in Britain. Designed for Antarctic research, she was launched in 1901. Her first mission was the British National Antarctic Expedition, carrying Scott and Shackleton on their first, successful journey to the Antarctic, known as the Discovery Expedition. She is now the centre piece of visitor attraction in her home, Dundee.

In the picture below we see our gallant cox’n, Reg Hill, talking to HRH Princess Anne at the show. Mainly hidden behind HRH is crew member Mike Waddleton. It seems HRH enquired if Reg still went aloft to which he tells me he was able to respond positively.

The final total on the number of visitors who went up the mast is believed to be over 1,500! It will be interesting to see how many make use of their discounted entry coupon for the Historic Dockyard that they were given as a prize for their achievement as the source can be identified.

Discovery in Antarctica

Lottery Bid Success!!The Heritage Lottery Fund has very kindly awarded 199 a £50,000 grant towards her refit. The committee have been aware of this since before Christmas but have been constrained by some very tight disclosure rules laid down by the Fund. Together with £30,000 from the Friends of the Royal Naval Museum and some other grants we now have a fund of around £86,000 that allows us to proceed.

A vote of thanks should go to Ivan who has worked very hard to put the bid together. However, as PRISM turned own our bid we are still £12,000 short of our estimated requirements. If you know a potential donor.......

More from the London Boat Show 2012

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NOTES OF A MEETING ON 11TH JANUARY OF THE 199 REFIT ORGANISING COMMITTEE

1. Having considered the various alternatives it was agreed that The Maritime Workshop (TMW) at St Vincent College was the most economic venue to carry out the refit. It was agreed that TMW progressed with the construction of a trolley to support 199 and provide stretcher bars to prevent any possible crushing pressure on the hull when lifted.

2. After consulting tide tables, a date for 199 to be moved to TMW would be confirmed. Once 199 was alongside at TMW the gun, funnel, casing, engine and boiler would be removed to lighten the boat prior to lifting her on to the trolley. George would attempt to free of as much as he could to enable the removal of the casing, engine & boiler before 199 was moved from mooring. All removed items were to be inspected for wear, tear or damage and then stored in TMW buildings.

3. 199 would then undergo a comprehensive inspection and her restoration needs listed and reports prepared for discussion at the next meeting after the lift.

4. Frank will prepare a Work Schedule that specifies all the tasks and provides a flow diagram for the known tasks ahead.

Committee members: Ivan (funding), Alistair (shipwright), Frank/George (engineering) Martin M./Chris (publicity, volunteers, community involvement) - aided by Peter H. who is acting as a consultant to the committee.

199 Work Progress Update: George has been working hard to disconnect pipe work so that the engine and boiler can be lifted out. He has progressed well in the boiler room but the engine room work has been slowed by heavily corroded bolts on the condenser pipes and the variety of different thread types found. He has removed a huge number of bolts holding down the casing over both spaces.

Diary Note: The 199 Annual Dinner – Friday 2nd March at 7.30pm – Anglesey Hotel, Alverstoke.

Yarmouth 2012 – As 199 will not be ready in time for this year’s Old Gaffers’ Festival, Ivan is investigating having a 199’ers hammock rig similar to that used at the London Boat Show. The Festival organiser’s response is awaited.

Briefly the following decisions were made:

ALFRED JOHN WEST F.R.G.S. CINEMATOGRAPHER

Alfred John West (1857–1937) was a British award-winning marine photographer in the Gosport firm of G. West and Sons from 1881 and from 1897 at the age of 40, a pioneer cinematographer. He was then active in both roles until 1913 when he sold his copyright in negative plates of yachting studies to Beken of Cowes, and his stock of positive moving film to a distributor in Glasgow who quickly went out of business and disappeared with the material without completing the purchase.

West tells us in his autobiography ‘Sea Salts and Celluloid’ (1936) that he ‘... kept the negatives’ but the bulk of the film stock cannot now be traced. A few tantalising clips remain as does a full descriptive catalogue in the British Library of all the moving film he created under the ‘Our Navy’ brand. The stock of A J West’s negative plates is professionally conserved and currently held as a working archive for the production and sale of yachting prints by Beken of Cowes. Alfred West died in 1937 and is buried at Kingston Cemetery Portsmouth in Hampshire (E Plot, Row 19, Grave 14).Business - From c. 1880 Alfred John West worked alongside his brothers and sisters in his father George West’s photographic business ‘G West and Son’ at 97 High Street in Gosport, Hants and later at 72 and 84 Palmerston Road, Southsea. He became a nationally and internationally famous marine photographer, winning many national and international medals for his studies of yachts in full sail. His portrait of the ‘Mohawk’ racing at the Royal Southampton Yacht Club Regatta in 1884 was awarded the gold medal at the St. Louis Convention USA for which 9 other countries competed.

In 1897 he converted to the newly developed ‘moving’ film and by 1898, his personal cinematographic business ‘Our Navy’ based in an annex called ‘The Anchorage’ at his home ‘Rozel’, 7 Villiers Road, Southsea, had a full-time staff of 50. In 1902 he formally registered the name ‘Our Navy’ as a Limited Company. Alfred West’s cinematographic activity from 1897 was in exhibiting films related to naval, and later military, empire and yachting subjects under the general title of ‘Our Navy’. The shows were presented in halls and later in purpose-built cinemas across the UK and the British Empire.

The London home of ‘Our Navy’ was the Regent Street Polytechnic, which still houses one of London’s first purpose-built cinema halls. The Lumiere Brothers gave the first ever

public film show of moving pictures in the United Kingdom on 21st February 1896 in the hall. ‘Our Navy’ also exhibited at The Crystal Palace and the People’s Palace in the Mile End Road.

Photographic Methods - Alfred J West invented his own shutter and stabilising devices and mounted his heavy dry plate camera in the well of a sailing yawl. This was manoeuvred by his boatman under the lee of large racing yachts to obtain the best shots of these heavily-canvassed vessels at full speed. In 1898, during the early period of cinematographic technical development, his employee James Adams was granted a patent for improvements in and relating to cameras and projecting apparatus for “kinematograph” pictures by the UK Patent Office. Photographing the Turbinia - In 1897, Alfred J West obtained photographs of the ‘Turbinia’ steam yacht traveling at full speed at the Royal Fleet Review. He was subsequently invited by Sir Charles Parsons to film and photograph the vessel in the Tyne and the pictures captured remain the defining image of Turbinia at speed. Sir Charles Parsons is believed to the person standing in the Conning Tower in this picture. West writes in his (unpublished) 1936 autobiography as follows:

“It was at this same Review that a wonderful little vessel named the “Turbinia” appeared, steaming through the Fleet at 35 knots, a speed never before achieved on water. She was the first ship to be fitted with the turbine machinery invented by her owner, the Hon. C. A. Parsons of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and a great sensation was caused by her steaming through the lines at such a speed. Whilst she was at anchor in Portsmouth Harbour, I went aboard and told the owner that I would like to get a snap of his craft going at full speed. “No one has succeeded yet, although many have tried”, replied Mr. Parsons. “I should like to have a shot at her”, I persisted. “Alright, so you shall!” he said with a smile, “I will make another run through the fleet tomorrow, look out for me between lines A. and B. at noon. That should give you an opportunity. “I’ll be there, opposite the Flagship”, I told

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him. Punctually at l2 o’clock there appeared between the leaders of the lines a smother of foam - it was the “Turbinia”. As she raced past the Flagship, I was waiting in my launch and took a flying shot of her. When I developed the plate I was delighted to find that I had “got her”, and the owner was so pleased with the result that he invited me to take a number of photographs and a cinematograph film of his craft on the Tyne.”

Subsequently West’s ‘Our Navy’ made regular use of this shot in its publicity and brochures and the moving pictures of the vessel were frequently shown as part of the performances and referred to specifically in the promotional material associated with the shows as ‘ Turbinia ... showing the effects of foam etc ‘.

Cruise of HMS Crescent - In 1897, Alfred J West embarked as ship’s photographer and cinematographer on the three month cruise of HMS Crescent, commanded by HRH the Duke of York. On its return to port he gave a Royal Command Performance of the material to Queen Victoria at Osborne House in the Isle of Wight. A second Royal Command performance showing ‘animated photographs’ was given to King Edward VII, his family and Estate staff on November 9, 1901 at Sandringham. The film shown at that presentation was taken by Alfred West’s assistant, Chief Petty Officer McGregor, who had been taken on board as official photographer for ‘Our Navy’ for the world cruise of the converted liner ‘Ophir’. The cruise was undertaken by the then Prince of Wales (later George V) and his family.

Trafalgar Centenary 1905 - At the culminating Albert Hall celebrations on 21 October 1905, Alfred West showed

a programme of patriotic and nautical films. The Times of London reported on 20 October: “...Mr Alfred West, well known for admirable kinematographic shows of a naval character, will give a novel one, illustrating the reception of the French Fleet”. The show also featured a sequence of a very old seaman who had served with Admiral Hyde-Parker (one of Nelson’s captains) accompanied by a Petty Officer from the Royal Naval Barracks and two Boys from the Royal Seamen and Marines’ Orphanage. The action took place on the quarterdeck of HMS Victory, the elderly seaman showing a young boy the features of the ship – the ship’s wheel, the memorial plaque ‘Here Nelson Fell’ and culminating in the laying of a wreath. This short sequence survives as one of the extant film clips of ‘Our Navy’.Many thanks to Clive Kidd for drawing this topic to my attention and an acknowledgement to Wikipedia for the information on West.

What a difference an “H” makes.I was slightly alarmed by a headline on the front page of the Sunday Times: recently “Threat to Portsmouth” followed by:”BAE Systems is considering closing the historic Portsmouth Dockyard.”. Initially I read this with concern, and incorrectly, as “...Portsmouth Historic Dockyard”. For those who haven’t seen this news item, it is now reported as speculation surrounding a way ahead study for the BAE business centres as future MOD(N) orders fall off. Or, a personal view without any evidence, just political arm twisting perhaps to ensure they get the new Type 26 frigate build contract! It has certainly wound up the Trade Unions and local MPs. Martin Marks

PETER HOLLINS MBE PRESIDENT OF 199 GROUPThe Friends of the Royal Naval Museum and HMS Victory are delighted with the news that Peter Hollins, the 199 Group President has been made an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours list, and congratulate him most sincerely on his thoroughly well-deserved honour.

Peter Hollins, 90, of Alverstoke, was awarded the MBE for his voluntary service to the Royal Naval Museum and HMS Victory. Mr Hollins, a former fourth radio officer on the famous ship Queen Mary, was instrumental in bringing the Steam Pinnace to the Royal Naval Museum after discovering the last remaining vessel in the River Thames.

Peter Hollins MBE and his son Tim when they carried Commodore Wallace, Commodore Portsmouth Flotilla, and two colleagues on a tour of inspection of Portsmouth based ships using the 1897 steam cutter no.438 in lieu of the steam pinnace. (UK MOD Crown copyright)

Peter was a founding member of the Gosport-based Maritime Workshop charity, which gave the Pinnace a complete refit in 1998. The vessel emerged to take part in the Festival of the Sea in 2001. The Prince of Wales and the Duke of Edinburgh have both used the ship and it has been a regular attraction at the Old Gaffers Festival in Yarmouth.

Born in Manchester, Mr Hollins family moved to Essex and enjoyed holidays in Portsmouth. He went to sea for six years during the Second World War before becoming an architect.

Martin Marks

1918

SKILLS FOR THE FUTURE PROJECT

After recently graduating from the University of York (reading History of Art) I’m now halfway through a traineeship at the National Museum of the Royal Navy. My position is part of a 1 year Skills for the Future project, “Strengthening Our Common Lives” (SOCL), coordinated by London-based arts charity Cultural-Cooperation, and funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. SOCL’s unique range of 10 project partners includes Bristol Museums, Galleries & Archives, Southbank Centre, King’s College London and Historic Royal Palaces. The project aims to increase workforce diversity, presenting opportunities to individuals in sections of the population that are currently under-represented in the heritage sector, and to facilitate pursuing a future career in heritage. I’ll finish in June with a Level 3 Diploma in Cultural Heritage awarded by the Victoria and Albert Museum. The units I’m studying vary greatly, from collections research, to learning and interpretation, cataloguing, ethics and professional judgement, marketing…and that’s to name a few!

However, the ultimate focus of my role is to engage with local communities and encourage Black and Asian Minority Ethnic (BAME) audiences to visit NMRN. This addresses a critical issue affecting the impact of our museum in terms of accessibility – we need more people coming in from diverse audiences. This is not exclusively BAME groups, but also includes those of different ages and from different areas within the local Portsmouth community.

I’ve been researching artefacts hidden in our collection stores to identify the multicultural contacts the Royal Navy have made around the globe. Eventually these will be presented to various community groups and their subsequent interpretations, teamed with information about the objects’ socio-cultural significance, will potentially run as ‘threads’ within the new exhibition space.To offer a glimpse of the kind of objects I mean, here are some I’ve been investigating over the past few months!Arabic Manual of Astronomy and Divination Translation: “God knows the month of the Aquarius brings hot wind with humidity, settled when the moon goes down...anyone who travels at the end of the month of the Aquarius will always come back with good things...”

This Arabic Manual of Astronomy and Divination was taken from M’wele (modern day Kenya, east Africa) in 1895. It’s equipped with diagrams, charts and text which prophesise future events. In 1897 the Kingdom of Benin (modern day Nigeria, west Africa) was occupied by the Naval Brigade. Thousands of objects in brass and ivory were shipped to Britain, to be sold by Queen Victoria’s government. This ivory tusk was taken from the Oba’s (Divine King’s) palace and (in its original context) played a vital role in the spiritual connections between past and present for all the Nigerian people of the Edo tribe. Above a detail of the Benin Tusk showing the Oba wearing the linking beads of kinship across his chest.

The Natraja plate This detail depicts the Hindu deity Natraja (the Lord of the Dance), a pictorial symbol of creation, destruction, preservation, salvation, and illusion. It was made using an important process of classical south Indian metalwork that’s nearing extinction. This plate was awarded to Rear Admiral Frank Ballance for his service in the Indian Navy (1950-53).

The value of these artefacts is multifaceted; they stand as international trophies whilst the circumstances surrounding their acquisitions open doors to ethical debates. This is not something that should be censored, but instead must be confronted and questioned. And, after this is done, we can reach fully informed interpretations.

To showcase some of these pieces I held a small object handling session during Black History Month in October. Here the public were able to drop-in and investigate some of the objects for themselves. In conjunction with this research I’ve met with organisations such as African Women’s Forum, the African Union and PRENO (Portsmouth Race Equality Network Organisation) which will hopefully lead to joint activities such as multicultural days and food demonstrations. These will celebrate the Navy’s contact with different societies; their work has always been an international affair, so it’s vital that we recognise and communicate this accurately in the new exhibitions of Storehouse 10.

This process is very much on going, as we are constantly making new discoveries and acquiring new artefacts. The next image shows a recent acquisition from earlier this year, it’s a page taken from Margaret Cooper’s photo album. Margaret served in the Women’s

Royal Indian Naval Service (WRINS) from 1944-46 as Chief Officer and Deputy Director. The Indian woman on the far right is Second Officer Kalyani Sen.

As you can see, each object is unique with the potential to convey some very powerful and thought provoking messages. The ways in which these objects will be used remains undecided. I’m currently working on a mini project with our new artist in residency Helen Snell. Helen is currently one of nine artists exhibiting in the Nelson Gallery for New, Found Treasures (July 5th – December 30th). I’m providing her with some information for her next laser-cut artwork that’s inspired by the cultural contacts of the British Navy – it’s looking to be a magnificent piece.Let’s hope the next half of this traineeship is as good as the first!

Kiri Anderson

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“IT IS THE VERy MOdEL OF a MOdERn naVaL BaTTLESHIP”

The RN Museum’s model of HMS VANGUARD

It was appropriate, given the good news of the museum’s plans to improve its coverage of the modern history of the Royal Navy, that the cover of the April 2011 ‘Scuttlebutt’ should have featured a 20th Century RN ship. And how fitting that the subject was HMS Vanguard – not just one of the most handsome British warships of modern times, but arguably the finest ‘battleship’ ever built for any navy.

I never saw Vanguard herself, but well remember visiting the Science Museum while at primary school and being impressed by the large and meticulously-detailed models of Vanguard and of the ‘Super-Dreadnought’ HMS Monarch. These models represented the first and last examples of their type to fly the White Ensign, and while their main-armament turrets were similar it was clear even to a youngster that most other details were significantly different. During subsequent visits I always re-acquainted myself with these fascinating exhibits – but after only a few years, as my boyhood interest in the RN developed, it struck me that the Science Museum had made curiously little effort to use those two models, displayed in the same gallery, to illustrate the considerable changes in naval technology over the period 1914-45.

I consider the scrapping of Vanguard in 1960-61 to have been a tragedy. Of course she couldn’t have been kept intact ad infinitum – the preservation of large steel warships is an expensive business, and couldn’t have been justified in her case – but she was nonetheless disposed of long before the end of her ‘useful’ life, largely for political reasons, and then scrapped with undue haste (See Note). Had she been retained another ten years or so I’d have had my own chance to look around Britain’s last battleship, but leaving personal considerations aside I’d argue that more should have been done ‘for the record’ before she was broken-up. She should at least have been extensively photographed – interior and exterior – ‘for the record’ before being broken-up, but ideally certain important items of equipment should have been retained for display. For when completed just after the end of the Second World War she was not just a modern ship, but in important respects strikingly innovative. Notable in that respect were her radar suite, ‘flagship’ and Action Information

Organisation (AIO) facilities, and her anti-aircraft armament. The latter was especially noteworthy, and it can be argued that when Vanguard was completed her ‘main armament’ was almost a secondary consideration – her principal fighting value was as an anti-aircraft escort for high-value targets. (It made good sense, therefore, to propose in the late-1940s that she might be altered to carry the proposed surface-to-air missiles – but the anticipated cost of the work was prohibitive.)

In addition to the innovations mentioned above, Vanguard’s seaworthiness, habitability, speed, endurance, ‘damage-resistance’ and other desiderata were significantly better than those of the King George V class – as was to be expected, given the removal of peacetime design-constraints and the opportunity to incorporate wartime lessons during her building. In the decade after her completion Vanguard was certainly not ‘obsolescent’ – let alone obsolete – but it became increasingly clear that she was redundant. The RN had no reason to keep battleships in active service in peacetime, and doing so was expensive. The argument in the

early-1950s that fast battleships remained of value against Soviet Sverdlov-class cruisers implicitly acknowledged that Vanguard was at least twice as large as was ‘necessary’ by any rational criteria, and in the end the argument that Vanguard was inordinately demanding of resources and skilled manpower was decisive. Nonetheless when completed she represented the culmination of some 40 years of continuity in capital-ship development, and was also a benchmark for the RN’s post-war re-equipment. Hence my argument that more should have been done in the early-1960s to record the achievement that Vanguard represented before she was reduced to razor-blades and reactor-shielding.

But we have not completely lost sight of HMS Vanguard. Not least because ‘our’ museum has its own model of the ship (made for the builders, John Brown & Co, and representing Vanguard as completed). Currently not seen by most visitors, I’d expect the model to be displayed in the new 20th Century Galleries given that a major theme will be ‘Changing Technology’ – there are compelling reasons for citing Vanguard as an example of the RN’s willingness and ability during the 20th Century not merely to keep up with technological advances but to take the lead. The ‘NMRN Community’ – which does of course include ourselves as ‘Friends’ – could, however, go a great deal further than just displaying that model itself within the new galleries. There are several possibilities under the generic heading ‘Interpretation’ – from Oral History recordings made by various people with personal memories of the ship through to the presentation of the findings of modern-day researchers among the various archives (e.g Kew, University of Glasgow, Explosion! Museum, HMS COLLINGWOOD Museum) in which can be found details of the equipment and systems fitted in Vanguard.

Displaying our model of Vanguard in the new public galleries will not be without problems – its sheer size being one consideration when space will be at a premium, and another is that a good deal of ‘interpretation’ will be required to get the full benefit from display of the model. But it’s heartening to see that the NMRN aspires to be the world’s most respected naval museum – imaginative presentation of our model of HMS Vanguard, and other large ship-models, can be one way by which we fulfil that ambition.

Mark Brady

Close-up photo of the model of HMS VANGUARD, annotated to identify radar aerials associated with Air Warning and Gunnery Fire Control.

Note:My understanding from papers in the National Archives file ADM 1/26089 ‘Review of the future of HMS Vanguard’ (1954-55) is that in 1953 the Admiralty had offered to put her in Reserve as a cost-saving measure but had been directed by the Prime Minister (Churchill) that her retention in active service was a matter of national prestige. Even so her 1954-55 ‘refit’ included no significant improvements – not even fallout-transit capability – and soon after Churchill’s resignation (April 1955) the Admiralty had the earlier decision reversed (on the grounds that her large complement of Ordnance and Radio Electrical personnel were required for other ships. Thereafter she was a commodious and well-appointed HQ, Accommodation & Training Ship at Portsmouth – and as such survived the 1957 Defence Review – but eventually the Royal Navy’s retention of a single battleship became an embarrassment when the Admiralty was striving against considerable political (and RAF!) opposition to justify the continued procurement of carriers, guided-missile ships, modern submarines, ASW frigates etc. In 1959 the Admiralty decided to put her on the Disposal List, and replace her at Portsmouth by two Extended Reserve cruisers. But the condition of these two ships was so markedly inferior to that of Vanguard that it was deemed imperative to remove the latter from Portsmouth as soon as possible (see papers in ADM 1/27480 ‘Disposal of HMS Vanguard’ ), and the only option thereafter was scrapping. Sic Transit Gloria Mundi.

HMS Vanguard’s Command Spaces (Drawings from Raven & Roberts ‘British Battleships of World War Two’, with additional information from ‘The Boy’s Book of the Navy’, 1953 Edition)

The museum model of HMS Vanguard

THE naTIOnaL MUSEUM OF THE ROyaL naVy: A CENTURY OF

BRITISH NAVAL HERITAGE

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The National Museum of the Royal Navy formally came into existence only in September, 2009, bringing into a single, unified administration the four, formerly autonomous British naval collections: the Royal Naval Museum; the RN Submarine Museum; the Fleet Air Arm Museum, and the Royal Marines Museum, in close partnership with HMS Victory, Nelson’s flagship at Trafalgar. Its launch, celebrated with much fanfare and the firing of a full broadside from HMS Victory, represents a determined effort by the Royal Navy to engage a broad audience and become the essential national voice for naval heritage in Great Britain. The almost brand new undertaking is embarking shortly on an exciting, multi-million pound development programme, to create a series of new exhibitions devoted to the history of the Naval Service and its people in the 20th and 21st centuries, driven by the principle that the Navy, and the people of this country, have much to gain from a proper understanding of the courage, professionalism, resource and achievements of those who came before us.

The actual origins of this splendid undertaking, established for very much the same reasons in principle, are to be found at the end of the 19th century, when the first faltering steps were taken to create a Naval and Dockyard Museum in Portsmouth. That this ambition was crowned with success is owed principally to the strenuous efforts of one man, Mr Mark Edwin Pescott Frost, secretary to successive port admirals in Portsmouth Dockyard, from 1899 to 1921. The genesis of Frost’s successful endeavours in this line is to be found in an undated memo which survives: he wrote, “Soon after taking up the appointment of Secretary to the Admiral Superintendent in November 1899, I formed the resolution to establish a museum in the Dockyard as soon as practicable”. The first step in this direction, Frost goes on to say, came when the port admiral, “at my suggestion ordered all departments to send in a list of articles of interest and to earmark them for the purpose”. When accommodation subsequently became available in the old Dockyard ropery building, in 1905, Frost wrote, “…the admiral offered it to me for the Museum and I readily accepted”.

Described as “an aesthete with unbounded enthusiasm”, Portsmouth-born Mark Frost was undoubtedly an impressive and determined individual, a highly capable, well-regarded administrator by all accounts, this scholarly and reflective senior civil servant also seems to have possessed enviable powers of advocacy and persuasion. And a person of his unabashed antiquarian instincts could hardly fail to see that in his time the demise of Nelson’s old sailing navy was well advanced. Indeed, as if to make the point, at almost exactly this moment the first all big-gun, steam-turbine driven battleship, HMS Dreadnought, was building in Portsmouth, Dockyard, virtually within sight of his office window,

The Victory Museum HMS Dreadnought

Mr Mark Edwin Pescott Frost

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emphasising to him we can surmise the imperative need to do everything possible to preserve at least something of the material culture of the age of the sailing warship.

Over the next five years or so, mainly in his own time but with occasional Dockyard assistance Frost, enjoying the title Honorary Curator, brought together, organised and classified a huge volume of materials in preparation for opening the new Museum. Over 40 figureheads, numerous half-models, ship relics and other artefacts from the many small scale wars and minor campaigns that the Royal Navy had fought in the 19th century, as well as weapons, every conceivable example of carving and gilded gingerbread, trophies, pictures, prints, maps, charts, manuscripts, dockyard plans, items of ships’ furniture even, it is said, a fragment of HMS Victory’s foretop sail from Trafalgar, were acquired, researched, their provenance established, labels prepared and displays arranged. During this time, the embryo Museum was honoured by a royal visit when King George V and Queen Mary paid a call, gave their enthusiastic approval and signed the visitors’ book to start what was to be a continuing interest by the King and his consort, who themselves contributed items from time to time and never missed the opportunity to visit when in Portsmouth on royal business.

Portsmouth’s Naval and Dockyard Museum was officially opened in June 1911, so beginning in effect the interpretation of modern naval heritage in this city. The event received enthusiastic coverage in the local press and in national newspapers and over the next few years the new foundation

HMS Asia figurehead

enjoyed a decent popularity. Annual admissions, for which there was a small charge, hovered steadily around 17,000 or so paying visitors, and the proceeds together with the profits from the sale of an excellent catalogue prepared by Frost for the guidance of visitors, were donated to local charities. The Museum thrived modestly, becoming recognised as a significant addition to the nation’s maritime heritage: so much so indeed that The Times newspaper in 1913 opined that “a national naval museum should be developed around it”. The justification was real enough, but it was to be another 20 years before the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich was established, to fill this need. More pressing matters confronted the nation in the meantime, and the Museum was closed to the public on the outbreak of war.

Re-opened in 1919, it took time for numbers to recover and they seem never to have reached their pre-war totals, while Frost, by now approaching retirement, was constrained to write a letter to the Secretary of the Admiralty Board, in which he expressed the fervent hope that “….steps may be taken to ensure the Museum may be kept going as an active proposition. After all my time and research work expended upon it, it would be a great regret to me if it were allowed to languish and suffer from neglect”. In reply, the Secretary to the Board gave no such assurances, merely stating that “Their Lordships desire me to take this opportunity of conveying to Mr Frost an expression of their appreciation of the services he has offered as Honorary Curator of the Museum”. In fact, the Museum continued to operate through the 1920s, but seems to have lost momentum. With neither professional staff nor any expert technical assistance in curatorship or conservation, no real capital investment, an apparently declining level of commitment from his successors and, surely missing the untiring levels of energy and commitment of Frost himself, the Dockyard Museum began to languish and the stewardship of the collections in general to fail. But, the decision by the Admiralty, in 1922, to place HMS Victory in No 2 Dock and to preserve her in perpetuity was to change for ever the order of things in Portsmouth Dockyard, and in effect signalled the beginning of the end for Frost’s enterprising initiative.

Over the many years the ship had been afloat in the harbour, a sizeable collection of Nelson memorabilia and other commemorative items had been collected and displayed on board, including the state barge built for Charles II which had carried Nelson’s coffin upriver from Greenwich to St Pauls for his funeral in January 1806, and the admiral’s original dining furniture from the Great Cabin. On the decision of the Admiralty, in consultation with the Society for Nautical Research which had been behind the initial drive to preserve the Victory, to re-instate the ship to her exact 1805 appearance, outfit and internal configuration, these and other such items, however, could no longer be displayed on board. Eventually, in 1929, agreement was reached with the SNR on a site adjacent to the ship for the construction of a new museum building, where this material could be conveniently displayed. There being no sensible case for the

operation of two separate museums within the working Dockyard, it was agreed that this edifice, to be operated under the aegis of the Society of Nautical Research, should supersede the original Frost foundation. Only such items from the Dockyard Museum as were appropriate and relevant to its role as essentially the interpretation centre for HMS Victory would be transferred to the new premises, however.

It was not in fact until 1938 that the new Victory Museum was completed and in the event a substantial number of Dockyard Museum artefacts did indeed find their way into the new museum, many of which remain in the NMRN collections to this day, and on display. But of those items not required, some were disposed of or returned to their donors, and others where suitable were offered to the new National Maritime Museum. There is no doubt that Frost, now approaching his 80th year, was profoundly disappointed by the Admiralty’s decision in effect to wind up his pioneering venture, and he wrote numerous heartfelt

letters to numbers of influential people whom he had known, expressing his sorrow at the fate which had befallen his great enterprise, pleading with a great sense of wounded pride for a reprieve. His pleas alas fell on deaf ears and although the replies were all decently sympathetic to his predicament, and all acknowledged his sterling contribution to naval heritage in Portsmouth, the matter was effectively closed: it was just the way things were, was the tone, and in truth there was no malice in this despotism. But Frost, clearly much saddened by the turn of affairs, continued to feel let down and bitter, but resigned and at the opening of the new Victory Museum, in July 1938, the chairman of the Society of Nautical Research delivered a generous tribute to the man and his achievement.

The new Victory Museum, opened in 1938 closed almost immediately in 1939 on the outbreak of war, and did not re-open until the end of hostilities. Throughout the early 1950s and thereafter, under the auspices of the SNR, which was able to fund a modest expansion of the premises, meet the salary costs of a full-time curator, greatly improve the quality of the accommodation and the environmental conditions under which the collections were stored and, critically, expand them through such accessions as the Suckling-Ward collection of Nelson relics. These and other initiatives did much not only to extend the popular appeal of HMS Victory whose visitor numbers by the mid-1960s amounted to some 275,000 per annum, but also helped to establish the Victory Museum as a key Nelson collection, second in its field only to the National Maritime Museum and in time enabled the Museum to develop its reputation as a major international centre for the study of the great admiral and his career. In more recent times, through high class scholarship, publications and the opening of new modern galleries devoted to this subject and related themes, these claims have been greatly reinforced and the NMRN in Portsmouth is now recognised to be a world authority in this field.

But there is one final, touching strand to this tale: the history of the NMRN, from its beginnings as a pioneering centre of British naval heritage to the grand, modern enterprise of today, also represents a small, rather obscure but fascinating expression of what we call our “special relationship” with the United States. This, because, within the unfolding story of this institution is to be found what can only be described as an affecting love affair between Britain’s most famous sea warrior, Admiral Lord Nelson, and a 20th century American citizen born into the gilded life just after the outbreak of the First World War, Mrs Lily Lambert McCarthy. The young Lily’s heart was opened to the life and career of the great man through the influence of her father, Gerald Barnes Lambert, the retired chief executive of the pharmaceutical company which still bears his name and who became, in Lily’s youth, with the immensely successful Listerine trademark behind him - in prohibition America - an eminent and wealthy art collector and international yachtsman. He not only introduced his daughter to the sea and ships, but to the Immortal Memory.

In her memoir, Remembering Nelson (1995), Lily tells

Nelson

HMS Victory

Portsmouth’s Naval Dockyard

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how her “first enchantment” with Heinrich Friedrich Fuger’s striking portrait of the admiral, painted in Vienna in 1800 and purchased by her father in about 1926, persuaded her to read first Southey’s Life of Nelson. From this early encounter, a young girl growing up in idyllic and favoured Princeton was to follow Lily’s deep and abiding fascination with Admiral Nelson, his fleet and the history of British naval mastery in the age of sail. In due time, she became in her own right a distinguished collector of Nelson memorabilia and other tangible mementoes of his career, a lifelong devotion to our greatest naval figure which was to culminate in her making a gift of her private collection to the Royal Navy, in 1972.

The aforementioned Fuger is the undoubted gem of this assemblage. But it also includes an impressive and extensive range of pottery and porcelain, incised glass, snuffboxes and enamels, prints, drawings, engravings and paintings, including major works by Carmichael and Luny, and all manner of commemorative souvenirs, produced in dizzying numbers for a triumphant nation, as well as memorials of every description which a widespread sense of national grief at the hero’s death in action at the height of his fame occasioned. The range is satisfyingly wide and splendidly diverse, the fruits of a lifetime of painstaking research and close and superlatively well-informed scrutiny of sale room and art house catalogues in the US, in Europe and in England by Mrs McCarthy, where she and her husband John, ardent anglophiles both, made their home for many years after the war. Indeed, her very last purchase, an engraving of the admiral’s funeral car, was made a mere few days before her death, on March 3rd 2006, aged 91.

Not only did Lily present her collection to the Royal Navy, but she also supervised and contributed to the cost of its installation in a handsome new exhibition of Nelsonia in Portsmouth, first opened to the public in 1972. At the same time, very importantly, it was agreed that the older Victory Gallery and its collections, including those formerly part of the original Dockyard Museum (since 1938, vested in the ownership of the Society of Nautical Research), and the new Nelson material, known as the Lambert McCarthy Gallery, should be quickly brought within the administrative ownership of the Ministry of Defence. Concurrently, Portsmouth Royal Naval Museum was established through a deed of trust to provide a unified and professional management structure for the collections and to expand

the remit of the Museum to embrace the history of naval operations in general. Its core running costs now to be met by the Ministry, the collections were secured in perpetuity, thus in effect laying down the groundwork for the launch of the aforementioned National Museum, in September 2009.

In conclusion, the new gallery occupied premises on the ground floors of one of the great 18th century Dockyard storehouses, buildings, described by Nikolaus Pevsner as among the grandest of the numerous redbrick structures erected in the period between 1750 and 1800. These outstanding buildings, however, were being threatened imminent demolition as surplus to operational requirements in the 1960s, but the gift of the Lambert McCarthy Collection to the Royal Navy in 1972 gave them a (hard-fought, admittedly) stay of execution. Their progressive conversion since that date, and continuing, provides a perfect opportunity for their symbolic and cultural value as prime physical embodiments of a distinguished naval tradition to evolve into a new and dignified usage. Finally, the gift of the McCarthy Collection together with the process of decision-making which initially placed it in Storehouse No 11, and which was to lead to the formation of the Royal Naval Museum, and now the National Museum of the Royal Navy, building on the pioneering achievements of Mark Pescott Frost, laid the foundations for the development of today’s prosperous mixed economy in Portsmouth’s Historic Dockyard, based on the display, research and interpretation of the naval heritage which has contributed so vitally to the prosperity of this city and its people in modern times.

Campbell McMurray

Campbell McMurray was the director of the Royal Naval Museum from 1989 to 2006. He began his career at the National Maritime Museum in 1970 as the first Caird Research Fellow; he was subse¬quently appointed assistant keeper in the Department of Printed Books and Manuscripts. He left Greenwich in 1983 to become the founding director of the Scottish Maritime Museum, where he served until 1989. His scholarly interests are in naval history and in the history of seafaring in the 18th and 19th centuries.

RNM buildings

To advertise in scuttlebutt please contact simon Briant on 01273 594455 simon@sdbmarketing.co.uk

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THE ROYAL NAVY & LIBYA How your Royal Navy contributed to the successful tri-service multi-national campaign in Libya last year

The Royal Navy, working with the Army, the RAF and our allies, played a major role in protecting Libyan civilians from the regime of Colonel Gaddafi. A total of 16 warships, submarines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels have supported humanitarian, embargo and combat operations, either under NATO’s Operation Unified Protector or the UK’s Operation Deference and Operation Ellamy. These included elements of the Royal Navy’s new Response Force Task Group - the UK’s military quick reaction force.

DELIVERING MARITIME STRIKENuclear-powered attack submarines HMS Triumph and HMS Turbulent launched Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles against regime targets ashore. Helicopter carrier HMS Ocean operated Apache attack helicopters from 656 Squadron Army Air Corps which were able to target pro-Gaddafi forces with a high degree of precision. This was the first operational use of an Apache helicopter from the sea, in this instance a more flexible and lower risk alternative to basing them on land.

EVACUATING CIVILIANSWhilst on her way home from six months protecting UK interests in the Gulf, HMS Cumberland was re-tasked to help evacuate civilians from Libya. In total she rescued 454 people, including 129 British nationals, transferring them to the safety of Malta. HMS York, diverted enroute to her mission in the South Atlantic, extracted a further 43 entitled personnel, as well as delivering medical and food supplies to aid agencies in Benghazi.

ENFORCING A MARITIME BLOCKADESeveral Royal Navy frigates and destroyers patrolled the Libyan coast to enforce the embargo on arms sales in accordance with UN Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973. This included surveillance operations, repelling small boat activity, and boarding and inspecting merchant vessels. Operating close to the coast, HMS Liverpool faced repeated attack from Gaddafi’s forces, and in return she demonstrated the potency of Naval Gunfire. “It was very humbling to see my Ship’s Company working so calmly and quietly. There was no jingoism, no shouting,

the atmosphere was cool as people went about their jobs.”Commander Colin Williams, Commanding Officer of HMS Liverpool, after they silenced a Libyan shore battery which had opened fire on the ship and its helicopter.

CLEARING LIBYAN WATERS OF MINESHMS Brocklesby cleared mines from the port of Misrata after NATO forces spotted pro-Gaddafi forces laying the explosive devices, which threatened the flow of humanitarian aid into Libya and the evacuation of civilians.

SURVEILLANCE AND INTELLIGENCEFlying from HMS Ocean, Fleet Air Arm Sea King Mk7 helicopters from 857 Naval Air Squadron provided intelligence and surveillance to support the operation. Their mission was to clear a path for the Apaches - finding safe routes in and out of Libya without being spotted. They also fed back real-time information about ground movements for analysis by headquarters.“We spend so long training for times like these that it is fantastic to get a chance to do our jobs in a real, high threat environment…Uncertainty is always just around the corner, but our job, clearing the way so that humanitarian aid can reach civilians caught up in the conflict, makes me feel that I am really making a difference.”Petty Officer (Mine Warfare) Steve Moss, HMS Bangor.

DIRECTING UK AND ALLIED AIRCRAFTAlongside the RAF, HMS Liverpool has controlled aircraft of the NATO-led coalition from the sea using her sophisticated air surveillance technology. The ship’s Fighter Controllers directed 14 different types of aircraft for more than 280 hours, ensuring continuous coverage of the no fly zone. “It was a really long night. I’d only just been trained for the role and this was the first time I’d done it by myself– and I was doing it for real! Through my headset I could hear the pilots reporting as they engaged the targets”.Writer Lorissa Seville, 21, from Oldham in Greater Manchester, was on the bridge of HMS Albion during the first Apache helicopter strike mission.

PROVIDING LOGISTICAL SUPPORTThe Royal Fleet Auxiliary is a civilian-manned Fleet of fuel and supply vessels which provides logistical support to increase the operational endurance and worldwide reach of the Royal Navy. Tankers RFA Wave Knight and RFA Orangeleaf were able to keep Royal Navy and coalition warships on station off Libya for as long as required, whilst replenishment ship RFA Fort Rosalie provided stores and ammunition and performed a vital shuttle service between the area of operation and NATO bases in the Mediterranean.

A COLLECTIVE EFFORTLibya exemplifies the Royal Navy’s ability to contribute to operations which are ‘Joint’ (i.e. with the RAF and Army) and ‘Combined’ (with our foreign allies). A case in point is HMS Ocean’s maritime strike role. The helicopter carrier acted as a huge floating launch pad for Apache helicopters belonging to the Army Air Corps, assorted Royal Navy helicopters from the Fleet Air Arm and visiting helicopters from other nations. These were operated in conjunction with other attack helicopters flying from the French Navy’s assault ship Mistral, together with conventional strike missions by the RAF and allied air forces.

WHAT IS THE RESPONSE FORCE TASK GROUP?The Response Force Task Group (RFTG) is the UK’s military quick reaction force. It is led by Commander UK Task Group (COMUKTG). Events overseas can have a direct impact on our own security and prosperity at home, but from Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait in 1991 to the Arab Spring in 2011, almost all of the major conflicts and upheavals in modern times have taken the world by surprise. The RFTG represents the UK’s ability to respond to this uncertain and increasingly interconnected world.

VERSATILE AND FLEXIBLEConsisting of ships, aircraft and Royal Marines held at very high readiness. The RFTG is a scaleable force ideally suited to undertake a range of missions at short notice. Ships assigned to the RFTG can undertake separate tasks in different parts of the world, or operate together as a single Task Group, working alongside the RAF and Army or with our foreign partnersMissions could include: v Humanitarian aid and disaster reliefv Evacuating civilians from trouble spotsv Maritime security patrols (such as counterterrorism and energy security)v Maritime blockadev Land attackv Amphibious operations

The RFTG can also poise off the coast in international waters from where it can:v Deter threatsv Prevent conflictv Provide options for military intervention.

INDEPENDENT MILITARY INTERVENTIONHistory teaches us not to take for granted access to overseas bases or proximity to our allies. Consequently, the RFTG also enables the UK to undertake independent military intervention should the need arise. This ability is currently centred on our amphibious ships, which can insert Royal Marine Commandos ashore by landing craft and helicopter and then direct their operations from the sea. Crucially, this can be done at a time and place of our choosing, more quickly and with fewer logistical considerations than would be required of a conventional land force. From 2020, the RFTG will also incorporate carrier strike in the form of Britain’s new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. These will form the cornerstone of Britain’s ability to provide air support in conflict zones and project military power overseas.

SHIPS, SUBMARINES, RFAs, SQUADRONS & UNITS INVOVED IN OPERATIONSHMS ALBION Command ShipRFA ARGUS Casualty/Aviation ShipHMS BANGOR Sandown Class MinehunterHMS BROCKLESBY Hunt Class MinehunterHMS CUMBERLAND Type 22 FrigateRFA FORT ROSALIE Stores Replenishment ShipHMS IRON DUKE Type 23 FrigateHMS LIVERPOOL Type 42 DestroyerHMS OCEAN Helicopter CarrierRFA ORANGELEAF Replenishment TankerHMS SUTHERLAND Type 23 FrigateHMS TRIUMPH Trafalgar Class SubmarineHMS TURBULENT Trafalgar Class SubmarineRFA WAVE KNIGHT Fast Fleet TankerHMS WESTMINSTER Type 23 FrigateHMS YORK Type 42 DestroyerFLEET AIR ARM 815, 845, 847, 857 Naval Air SquadronsFLEET PROTECTION GROUP RM Elite boarding teams

Director of Public Relations (Royal Navy)

HMS Ocean Tomahawk missile HMS Bangor Directing operations Shore bombardment Apache helicopter Refugee HMS Albion Frigate

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WE NEED A NAVY THe NAVY CAMPAIGNThe Navy Campaign was established in 2010, in the wake of the Strategic Defence and Security Review. As the long term consequences of the political decisions started to loom from the mist, it became apparent that the passionate response of the naval community to the cuts could be strengthened by some targeted direction. Thus the Navy Campaign was created, drawing together Cdre Steve Jermy RN’s many years in the Royal Navy and his numerous contacts with the political experience of Bethany Torvell.

The aim of the Campaign was, and still is, to get information from those that have it to those that need it. For politicians, this meant providing a counterbalance to some heavily biased briefings and fuel for some pertinent PQs. For the press, it involves tracking down an angle on a story or finding a suitable quote from an elusive Admiral. One of the most wonderful aspects of the job has been meeting some of the many groups and individuals that make up the naval community, discovering common causes and frustrations, and working with the Navy to address those.

The Navy is aware of our activities, but there is no official relationship nor have we sought official endorsement. Rather, our stance has been to remain independent so that we can speak out without being subject to pressure to follow a certain line because it is deemed political convenient. Having started in a defensive position, fighting to defend the Fleet Air Arm, we have moved to a more proactive stance of promoting the Navy as a whole. We also do our best to boost morale wherever and whenever possible, something that you can certainly get involved in!

Making the case for the Navy is hard – there is a level of ignorance that has to be addressed before we can start to make the case for more specific areas, such as mine countermeasure ships or maritime aviation. This malaise can be witnessed in much of the discussion surrounding Operation Ellamy or the debate about Arctic Convoy medals, and in the general sea blindness by which this country is afflicted. What we doFor the past year, we have been working in three arenas: Parliament, the media, and the naval community. In Parliament, we have been meeting with MPs and building up working relationships. We have also provided information to those meeting their MPs and encouraged widespread engagement. With the media, we have been working to raise the profile of the Navy. As part of this, Beth has been putting forward commentators for press, radio and TV interviews, as well as arranging background briefings and introductions. Within the naval community, we have been building up our network and facilitating meetings.

What YOU can do!Without the support of those in the naval community, the work of the Navy would be infinitely harder. There are several ways for you to get involved:Get informed – the Navy has produced a series of great briefings that set out exactly what the Navy and its branches are doing today. You can find these on their website (http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/) under the heading ‘About the Royal Navy’. These are the perfect briefings for sharing with friends, colleagues and MPs. Get democratic – get in touch with your elected representatives and ask them to make your views heard. It’s never been easier to contact your MP. You can write to them at:

[Name of MP] House of Commons London SW1A 0AA

You can send them an email through the fantastic service offered by Write to Them (www.writetothem.co.uk). Many MPs list their phone and fax number on their website – why not call them up and arrange a meeting during their surgery hours to discuss what the Navy does for this great nation?Get vocal – get in touch with the Press. Write to the national papers and your local papers. If you see some incorrect reporting, let the editor know! Many TV and radio programmes are interactive these days, allowing their audience to call, text or email in – why not get involved with that? When dealing with the media, it’s best to keep things short and sweet. Work out what your main argument is, dress it up in a snappy yet polite sound bite, and then fire away!Sign up to the Action List –we have set up a mailing list that we call our Action List, which we use to alert supporters to news that might be of interest or a specific issue needs their support. You can sign up online through our website, or by emailing ‘signmeup@thenavycampaign.com’.Spread the word – tell your friends and family about the work of the Navy. Host a dinner party, an afternoon tea or a session in the pub. Get your local community discussing the issues – as a taxpayer, you are footing the bill, and as someone that lives in this country, these decisions will impact on you! There is more information about us and our website at the end.Support usThe Navy Campaign has been supported to date by very kind donations. The FAAOA provided us with funding that lasted until the start of December, which was fantastic. However, looking at the progress we have made to date in raising the profile of the Navy and the threats it faces, we believe this campaign will need to run on in to the future. As such, we are looking to raise funds through contributions from individuals and organisations. If you are interested, please get in touch with us via our website or by emailing contact@thenavycampaign.com DetailsThe Navy Campaign website can be found at: www.thenavycampaign.com

Bethany Torvell

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THE STORY OF TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPONS IN THE ROYAL NAVYBy Commander John Coker of “Explosion!” museum

Part I “Red Beard”

For over thirty years during the Cold War, various ships of the Royal Navy were secretly modified to carry and operate nuclear weapons. In the early 1960s suitably adapted strike carriers were deployed east of Suez with the free-fall nuclear bomb Red Beard, the capability later being extended to strike carriers operating west of Suez. Red Beard suffered from significant operational limitations and was eventually superseded by the much lighter and more versatile nuclear bomb WE177A, which could be used in the free-fall, laydown, retarded or nuclear depth bomb roles. Both types of weapon could be carried by appropriately adapted nuclear capable strike-aircraft of the Fleet Air Arm (FAA), with Scimitars, Sea Vixens and Buccaneers operating Red Beard and Buccaneers and Sea Harriers carrying WE177A. WE177A could also, with minimal modification, be used by most types of ASW rotary-wing aircraft of the period, appropriately adapted, as a nuclear depth bomb, operating from nuclear-capable ships in addition to the carriers.

In this first part we look at the story of Red Beard or the ‘Target Marker Bomb’ or, to give the weapon its correct Service designation, ‘Bomb, Aircraft, High Explosive (HE), 2000lb, Medium Capacity (MC)’. WE177A will be covered in the next part of this series.

During the immediate post Second World War period, the Admiralty and Naval Staffs had seen little operational advantage or economic benefit in having a nuclear capability at sea, being much more concerned with maintaining the fighting ability of the Fleet in a nuclear environment. Recognizing the political advantage of a strategic capability for nuclear strikes against Russia some consideration was given in the late 1940s to the operation of strategic nuclear bombers from strike carriers within range of Russia. This was soon accepted as unrealistic, Britain’s first nuclear weapon, the free-fall Blue Danube, was too large and heavy for the FAA aircraft under development at the time and would have required the construction of expensive special strike-carriers in a period of severe economic constraint.

However by the early 1950s in the face of the growing threat from the expanding and increasingly capable ocean going Soviet Navy, further consideration was given to developing a tactical naval nuclear bomb. The Chiefs of Staff were made aware of the progress with the development of a warhead considerably smaller and lighter than Blue Danube and accordingly sought the views of the individual Services on the potential use of such a nuclear weapon. The Naval Staff responded with proposals for using these smaller bombs in tactical strikes by FAA carrier-borne aircraft under development against Soviet naval targets. These included attacking Soviet naval support facilities, including submarine pens and graving docks as well as naval shipping in port

and naval airfields posing a threat to the Fleet. It was also considered that nuclear armed FAA strike aircraft could prove to be an effective counter to the threat posed to mercantile shipping and convoys from powerful Soviet ‘Sverdlov’ class cruisers.

This was to result eventually in Red Beard, Britain’s second generation atomic bomb (A-bomb), which was actually the fourth type of British designed nuclear weapon to enter

service. It was developed in the 1950s to meet a Joint Naval and Air Staff Requirement (N/ASR) for a kiloton weapon suitable for low-altitude release by Royal Air force and FAA aircraft in ‘tactical’ situations. The Joint Requirement was formally issued in late 1953 with an in-service date (ISD) of 1957 but changing requirements, changing priorities and a degree of inter-Service rivalry led to several re-issues of the Requirement with consequent delay to the ISD. A warhead, considerably smaller and lighter than Blue Danube’s, was developed by the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment (AWRE) Aldermaston using an innovative implosion system. This had been proposed by Woolwich Arsenal and resulted in a more compact explosive chain to compress the fissile material to achieve criticality. To enable weapon release in level flight at low altitude, various means of retarding the bomb, to allow the aircraft time to escape prior to detonation, were investigated and trialled by the Royal aircraft Establishment (RAE) Farnborough. This problem of low-level attack was resolved by the adoption of the Low Altitude Bombing System (LABS) and the introduction of the toss or ‘loft’ bombing manoeuvre, the retarding requirement then being suspended.

The introduction of nuclear weapons into service use and the implications should there be an accident called for high

Soviet Sverdlov cruiser

standards of safety and reliability in the design, construction and through service-life of the weapons and their warheads. For Red Beard reliability was achieved, wherever possible, using duplicated systems and appropriate cross-connections, and monitored, together with safety aspects, by a through-life surveillance programme. To provide maximum safety, an early requirement was for the in-flight-loading of Red Beard’s fissile core but this proved impractical and ‘last-minute-loading’, i.e. inserting and locking the core in place with the gauntlet tool immediately prior to take-off, was adopted. Three separate and unrelated events had to occur before store arming was complete. These included the closing of a separation switch which ensured that aircraft power could only initiate arming events after one inch of travel following store release. A timer was started, ensuring that the store’s air-driven turbo-generators, which powered the internal arming, firing and fuzing circuits, were only enabled after a time delay following release to allow the aircraft time to escape.

In parallel with the bomb’s design and development, the RN had been seeking a replacement for the Westland Wyvern and an RN Staff Requirement (N.A.39) had been raised. The original Draft Requirement was modified and when issued called for a high speed, low-level strike aircraft capable of attacking ships at sea or in port with a variety of weapons, including a nuclear bomb. The aircraft developed to meet this Requirement was the Blackburn Buccaneer. Prior to the arrival of the Buccaneer S Mark 1 in the Fleet, the Scimitar became the first of the FAA’s aircraft, soon to be followed by

the Sea Vixen, to be cleared for the carriage and release of the bomb although there were operational limitations due to environmental constraints with both types of aircraft and neither were cleared for arrested deck landings. The store, with its four flip-out stabilising fins, was carried externally on the Scimitar and Sea Vixen, the bomb carrier being pylon mounted under the port wing with a Bomb Release Safety Lock (BRSL) preventing inadvertent release. Internal carriage, again with a BRSL, was provided on the Buccaneer, the bomb being carried within the rotating bomb-bay.

Five Fleet Carriers, HM Ships Victorious, Hermes, Centaur, Eagle and Ark Royal, were ‘nuclear capable’ with Red Beard, all having the necessary secure stowage and maintenance arrangements. The weapon was transported in three main component sections i.e. nose and warhead section (less the fissile core in its ‘Gauntlet’), the centre section and the tail section, and stowed separately onboard, having to be assembled using a special jig before loading on an aircraft. Uniquely, Victorious had a ready-use magazine on the hangar deck in which an assembled Red Beard could be stowed. On all the nuclear capable carriers the fissile cores were stowed away from the rest of the bomb’s components in ‘safes’ in a separate secure area, with periodic maintenance routines being conducted on the cores in a specially installed fume cupboard.

There is no official record of a ‘live’ round ever being flown but an inert weapon, fully representative except that it contained no nuclear material, was used during a realistic strike sortie by a Buccaneer from Eagle during a demonstration user-trial. Other similar fully representative rounds, again with inert cores, were used during the series of surveillance programme flights conducted by the RN in support of a joint RN/RAF programme. These flights with ‘unarmed’ weapons were conducted from carriers, the aircraft landing at a Royal Naval Air Station rather than returning to the carrier.

Three of the ‘Fort’ class Royal Fleet Auxiliaries (RFAs) Langley, Sandusky and Rosalie were specially fitted with secure, permanent stowages tailored for Red Beard transit containers, with additional stowages, as well as maintenance arrangements, for the nuclear components. These RFAs supported the Carriers on deployment, enabling any necessary ‘disembarrassment’ off-load of ‘special weapons’ when paying courtesy visits abroad. Director Armament Supply (DAS) was also responsible for the transfer of Red Beard between the stockpile and Carriers/RFAs in the United Kingdom (UK) using RN ‘Special Convoys’ and for transfers by air between the UK and Singapore.

The version of Red Beard issued to the RN was the Bomb, Aircraft, HE, 2000lb, MC Number 2, the bomb becoming available in limited numbers early in 1960. Number 2 signified that it was the “Loft” version and designed for use with LABS and release at low altitude, whereas the Number 1, which was only used by the RAF, was the Ballistic version suitable for high altitude release. The main difference was in the type of air-burst fusing, the Ballistic version having a radar fuze and the Loft a barometric fuze, both versions

Loading a nuclear bomb

Buccaneer dropping a nuclear bomb

This conference will provide new, early career and established scholars the opportunity to present new research and perspectives on the 1982 Falklands Conflict. It will focus on the war at and from the sea. The conference will cover all aspects of

the maritime conflict from the perspectives of Britain, Argentina or neutral states. Areas of particular interest to the conference include; war memory, veterans issues,

the use of maritime airpower, amphibious warfare and amphibious forces including Marines, submarine warfare, the legacy of the conflict (including corporate responses to the conflict

and lessons learned), domestic, social and cultural issues.

Conference Director, Dr Duncan Redford at: duncan.redford@nmrn.org.uk The National Museum of the Royal Navy

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having an air-burst (with ground burst back-up) and ground burst options. The de-selection of an air-burst could be made in flight from the aircraft’s cockpit, the weapon detonating on impact. Modifications were made to the Loft version with the introduction of the Mark 3 and Mark 4 variants aimed at reducing the environmental limitations when carried by FAA aircraft, especially the Buccaneer, under world-wide conditions. The weapon was first outloaded to HMS Hermes in late 1960 when she was deploying to the Far East, approval for ‘emergency operational use only’ having been issued during the summer. Ironically, the bomb conceived by the RN as an anti-surface ship strike weapon for use in the North Atlantic in support of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) was first deployed in support of the South East Asia Treaty Organisation (SEATO) for potential use against land targets. Prior to this deployment various trials of stowages, handling and test equipment and at-sea stores transfers, together with the production of the appropriate operating procedures to ensure the necessary nuclear safety and security measures, had to be undertaken. Strict ‘need to know’ and ‘two-man’ rules were enforced and the necessary Command and Control arrangements established to ensure that no live weapons could be loaded onto an aircraft and armed (i.e. fissile cores inserted) without the Prime Minister’s prior authorisation.

Assembly and testing the weapon using the special assembly/disassembly jig under the ‘two-man-rule’ could take up to two hours, the bomb then being ready for loading into or onto the aircraft. The aircraft itself had to undergo a role change involving the fitting of additional equipment , to enable the fuzing and release of the store, prior to weapon loading and the ‘last-minute-loading’ of the fissile core.

From 1960 to 1970 Red Beard operational rounds were deployed unobtrusively by the Fleet with no significant problems but, despite modifications, the bomb continued to suffer from shortcomings limiting its operational capabilities. Even before the weapon had entered service a draft ASR was circulated to the Naval Staff by the Air Staff for an ‘improved’ kiloton weapon the draft leading to a Joint N/ASR and for the development of a lightweight and versatile weapon that was to become WE177. WE177A, the naval version of the next generation tactical nuclear bomb will be covered in the next part of this series.

Red Beard Details: – Two main operational versions, the ‘ballistic’ or Bomb, Aircraft, HE, 2000lb, MC, No. 1 and the ‘Loft’ or Bomb , Aircraft, HE, 2000lb, MC, No 2. The

Red Beard nuclear bomb

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former were for high altitude release above 25,000ft by RAF aircraft and the latter for use with LABS and entry into the loft manoeuvre at altitudes of up to 4,500ft by both RAF and FAA aircraft.

Both versions were 12ft long and 30ins diameter, required Last Minute Loading (LML) of the fissile core and employed flip-out fins which were deployed by lanyards at weapon release. Power for the arming, fuzing and firing circuits of both versions was supplied by ram-air driven turbo-generators, with an air inlet on the nose of the weapon. The main difference between versions was that ballistic employed radar fuzing and loft, which was a lighter weapon, used barometric fuzing. Nominal yield was 15 kilotons and both versions were out of service by 1971

Note:Commander John Coker MBE Royal Navy, of “Explosion!” museum, researches and documents the museum’s unique collection of nuclear weapons, both strategic missiles and tactical bombs. John Coker served in the Royal Navy for over twenty three years and on leaving the Service he continued to work for the Government being employed on the Navy’s strategic weapon systems. “Explosion!” the museum of Naval Firepower at Priddy’s Hard in Gosport has a set of naval nuclear weapons including Polaris and Chevaline and is opening a new gallery portraying the story of nuclear weapons in the Royal Navy. www.explosion.org.uk

“THE FaLKLandS WaR 30 yEaRS On”

A ONE DAY CONFERENCE AT THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE ROYAL NAVY, PORTSMOUTH

19 MAY 2012

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HMS PLYMOUTH – D-DAY SAN CARLOS MAY 1982In May we commemorate the Thirtieth Anniversary of the Falklands Conflict with a wide ranging Conference in the Museum. HMS Plymouth led the task force into San Carlos and Ken Napier, a veteran who was on board at the time, has kindly provided an interesting curtain raiser for Scuttlebutt with this dramatic account of his ship in the thick of the action.

The final decision to go ahead with Operation SUTTON, the repossession of the Falklands, was received at 1300 on 20 May. The Argentines had already been made aware on 18 May, the BBC having announced that the two invasion groups had combined and were ready to attack.

This was the most exhilarating and satisfying moment of my life. From my Action Station on the Flight Deck, of HMS Plymouth leading the twelve ship Amphibious Force, I photographed the four lines of the group, with their thousands of troops on board, ploughing steadily and inexorably forward, under grey and overcast skies, through a moderate sea, with some white horses. The photo is in front of me now as I type!! Other escorts were on either side, the carriers were over the horizon and the ASW helicopters were dipping away – it was terrific: we were determined, we had the kit and we had the ships!

We were topped up to 90 days of endurance, we had an outfit and a half of ammunition, we had no Operational Defects awaiting stores, and we had even received mail the day before, a quite incredible feat of logistics support, especially at such a distance. We were tired – I had had little or no sleep for a couple of days – but we were going in.

HMS Plymouth had been the first surface warship to actually sail from Exercise Springtrain. We’d retaken South Georgia, and Lt-Cdr Astiz had signed the final surrender in our Wardroom. (Alfredo Astiz was finally sentenced to “life” on October 26th, 2011, in Argentina, for torture and various murders). We’d worked ourselves up with daily circuit training: breathing apparatus, fire fighting, first aid, rerouting electrical supplies etc. We’d fired an AS11 missile against the Argentine submarine SANTA FE, and had bombarded Grytviken. We’d landed our SAS at night, who’d gone on to capture Astiz and his 15 Special Forces troops. We’d gone on to meet and escort incoming ships, including our own little flotilla of LSLs. And we’d had our 21st birthday with enough cake for everyone on board.

We split into four groups, and headed into Falklands Sound. The wind had dropped and we had a clear night for our potential Naval Gunfire Support against the Arg troops on Fanning Head, to the north west of San Carlos water. Troops had been landed to the north of Fanning Head, and we could see their tracer going into enemy positions. The Arg troops had anti-tank weapons, and we in PLYMOUTH – and the Landing Craft we were leading, were so close we could have been damaged by them seriously just as the Arg corvette GUERRICO had been almost sunk by our troops defending

South Georgia. Some surrendered, some broke away, to shoot down two Army Gazelles and to kill three of the four downed aircrew in the water.

Five escorts had taken up their positions in the Sound, as we led the Landing Craft and other ships into San Carlos, in the dark. Opposition ashore was almost negligible, and although we were prepared for NGS, this was not needed. We were heavily attacked by air all day. Our 20 year old Seacat aimer (the average age onboard was 20.8, slightly older than other ships, as we were the 6th Frigate Squadron leader), had one hiccup, when he failed to gather his first Seacat of the day as he fired at a Pucara, and the missile passed between CANBERRA’s mast and funnel. He was very successful for the rest of the war. There were continuous air raids for the next five hours, and we engaged with 4.5s, Seacat, 20mm Oerlikon and GPMG. The two WWII vintage Oerlikons were fired by one of my Leading Cooks, and an LRO(T) – not seamen gunners. Despite the Combat Air Patrol (CAP) the Arg aircraft – Aeromacchi, Syhawk A4s, perhaps Etendards and Mirage Vs – were clearly targeting and hitting the warships in the Sound but luckily missing us in San Carlos.

In the Sound, ANTRIM was hit, BRILLIANT and BROADSWORD were damaged, and ARGONAUT was stopped dead in the water with unexploded bombs on board. ARDENT was bombed and hit repeatedly. Half of the 40 aircraft attacking us were assessed as being shot down, but this was difficult to confirm, as there were naturally

competing claims for the same shot down aircraft. We claimed a Mirage V which had already been shaken up by a Seacat from ARGONAUT.

We volunteered to go out to standby and assist the stopped ARGONAUT. We were close to ARDENT being finished off, a very nasty sight, with her crew being taken off by our sister ship YARMOUTH. We passed a tow to ARGONAUT but as she had a total power failure, the Captain decided that the tow would be too awkward in the crowded waters of San Carlos, so we secured her alongside, unexploded bombs and all, and moved into San Carlos. I boarded her with my catering team and we went round passing out food and hot drinks throughout the blackened and damaged ship. Our Damage Control team provided power from our own ship, and then got her Diesel Generators going, but her crew were very shell shocked. Overnight I had red lights rigged to light the upper deck area between the two ships, and prepared for a big breakfast for both crews. I had also – with her permission - found some of her real eggs! (We’d had no eggs or NAAFI nutty for weeks – we’d been at the end of the supply lines for too long, and other ships had got there before us). I also managed a couple of hours of sleep, my cabin being on the waterline beside one of her unexploded bombs, and very noisy with the creaking of the fenders. I didn’t care. I went on board her again with my

team, and we literally cajoled, pushed and shepherded her crew into coming on board us. Their ship was still dark with temporary lighting here and there, plenty of damage all round and the contrast between our undamaged ship helped to bring their crew round. I have never seen such a change in morale, as they clambered dully on board and left quite lively, our reassurance and what was for us normal cheerfulness, had a

quite dramatic effect. They later gave us a brass sign for our Dining Room inscribed “For the ship that saved us” – this was perhaps a bit overdramatic but it had been a very interesting few hours. And we did enjoy the eggs for breakfast so the help was not all one way.

We later buried their two dead at sea, under red lights at night, with all appropriate ceremony, and two vicars. About 120 of us witnessed the burial, and it did bring home to us that people were actually being killed. But it also increased our determination.

PLYMOUTH went on to protect the shipping in San Carlos by day, and go out each night escorting ships out and in, and bombarding here and there. Some thoughtful people on the way down had not given us much chance, one describing us as old Ming, but in fact with the raids coming in without using their radar, overflying West Falkland to find their way, our 4.5s etc were ideal: the first warning was often the aircraft themselves swinging round from the northwest or south. We had very high morale: and bad jokes. One busy day, the Seacat aimer commented “Never let a Dago by!”

We were eventually caught on our own in daylight out in the Sound, by six Mirage Daggers on their way to Bluff Cove – we were both surprised to see each other, but not surprised enough to stop us shooting down two of them, and being hit by four bombs and numerous cannon shells, from the rest. Luckily no-one was killed. Only one bomb actually went off, as it hit a very solid Depth Charge, which caused a big fire. When we’d got this out, we were repaired further out at sea, by Stena Seaspread: we’d been the most seriously damaged of any ship which didn’t actually sink. We volunteered and went back into action on the Gun Line (where GLAMORGAN had been hit by a lorry mounted Exocet a few days before) as we still had plenty of shells on board, and we knew the 105s ashore were short of ammunition. As we were preparing for our first call for fire, I heard on my flight deck headset, over the radio from ashore, “The white flags are going up!” – and they were.

Lieutenant Commander Ken Napier MBE, Royal Navy

HMS Plymouth on fire in San Carlos after being bombed

A Sea Dart missile from HMS Exeter destroys a Lear Jet piloted by Vicecomodoro R de la Colina (previously unseen photograph) KN

Ken Napier peers out of the damaged funnel of HMS Plymouth

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HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH - UPDATE

The Royal Navy and Portsmouth Dockyard are inextricably linked and it is essential at this time of rumours that we monitor closely developments of both. Rumours about the future have been sparked off by BAE Systems review of their operation in Portsmouth and fears for job prospects amongst the 3,000 workforce. On the other hand the Royal Navy has confirmed the decision in the Strategic Defence & Security Review that Portsmouth would remain a key main Naval Base. Portsmouth is the Royal Navy’s premier naval base, home to sixty per cent of the Fleet and in the wake of BAE Systems review it is reassuring to have the MoD confirmation that whatever happens Portsmouth will remain the home of the Royal Navy. It is important that we keep a close eye on work in the dockyard and with that in mind the latest BAE Systems progress report is below. Ed.

The assembly process has been incredibly smooth considering the scale of this project, with minor delays caused by the weather – particularly high-speed winds which mean the Goliath Crane is unable to operate. However, even with weather delays, the assembly programme remains on track and I look forward to further progress next year.

Construction work on HMS PRINCE OF WALES (PWLS) is now beginning to pick up pace, with work underway on Lower Block 01 in Appledore, and Lower Block 03 in Govan. Although it may seem far away, we are expecting the first block delivery to Rosyth toward the end of 2013. We already hold a large number of components for PWLS at the storage facility near Glasgow which currently holds some 5.9 million QEC items and will ensure we have everything needed to begin assembly in 2014. The images below show LB01 (left) and LB03 (right).

The 18 month investigation (known as the Conversion Development Phase (CDP)) into the conversion of one carrier continues, and we are looking at two main options: an in-

build conversion of PWLS, or a refit conversion of QNLZ. We expect our investigations will conclude later this year and final decisions will be taken in early 2013.

I was glad to see a successful test launch of the F-35C Joint Strike Fighter from the Electro-Magnetic Aircraft Launch (EMALS) test facility at Lakehurst in late November. The completion of this test programme (which will re-commence later in 2012 as the test facility is undergoing maintenance) will go some way to helping us with the various safety cases we need to certify F-35C with EMALS.

BAE Systems Maritime

When I last reported, we were just about to begin assembling the first blocks of HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH (QNLZ). I am pleased to say that we have make quick progress over the last three months and a substantial amount of block work is now in the dock at Rosyth, despite the weather doing its best to disrupt things.

In September work began to join Lower Block 03 (LB03) and Centre Block 03 together (CB03). CB03 consisted of four sections, and all were in place at the end of October. In November, the first Sponson (03) was lifted into place and was followed by Sponsons 04 and 06 in December. The final Sponson lift is scheduled for January next year and we should have a fully joined “Super Block” (which is Lower Block + Centre Block + Sponsons) in April 2012.

Hot on the heels of this milestone will be the delivery of the next major block, Lower Block 02 from Portsmouth, which will follow the same assembly process as that for Lower Block 03. 2012 will see a lot of assembly work.

The picture above was taken in early December and shows LB03, CB03 and Sponsons 03 and 04. You can see the hangar space as well. When complete, this “super block” will weigh about as much as two Type 45 Destroyers, yet only represents about ¼ of the ship! As I have said before, it’s a very tight fit in the dock.

Assembling the ‘Super Block’ of QUEEN ELIZABETH

Lower blocks 01 and 03 of PRINCE OF WALES

LOST CS FORESTER MANUSCRIPT FOUND AND PUBLISHED

Seldom do we ever get the chance to read a genuine new book by a deceased popular author but in the case of the famous twentieth century naval writer CS Forester (1899 – 1966) this is now possible due to an extraordinary chance discovery. A manuscript, by Forester, the naval historian, biographer of Nelson and creator of ‘Hornblower’, disappeared over seventy-five years ago and it was assumed, until very recently, to have been lost for ever and Hornblower was considered to have been to blame.

It was in 1935 that CS Forester wrote the complete draft of a crime thriller entitled ‘The Pursued’. At that time he was in London busy creating his great fictional naval hero ‘Horatio Hornblower’. In fact during that period he and his publisher became so occupied with the newly created Hornblower that ‘The Pursued’ had to be put to one side. It is not clear when the idea of creating Hornblower first occurred to Forester but with his passionate interest in naval history he had bought three volumes, containing six issues of the Naval Chronicle, in a second hand book shop in 1927. The Naval Chronicle was a detailed magazine published monthly between 1790 and 1820, thus covering the years of the Napoleonic wars. When Forester was offered a Hollywood contract to write a film script he travelled to California in 1935 on board the liner Aquitania and took the Chronicles, to study with him. At that time he was becoming well established as a popular writer with his latest book ‘The African Queen’ having just been published. Six years earlier he had written ‘Brown on Resolution’ a naval story set during the war at sea in the Pacific in the First World War. The book was made into a cinema film, entitled ‘Forever England’ starring the late John Mills and the American version, entitled ‘Born for Glory’ was released in 1935. Forester became disenchanted by Hollywood and decided to return to writing at home in London. He booked a passage back to the UK travelling on the Margaret Johnson via Central America and the Panama Canal. During the long leisurely voyage home he studied the Chronicles and was inspired to write his first Hornblower book ‘The Happy Return’ set mostly in the Pacific off the coast of Central America. The book was made into a film ‘Captain Horatio Hornblower’ by Warner Brother, starring Gregory Peck, in 1951.

On return to UK Forester was not certain that Hornblower would be a success and so switched to what he knew best, writing good novels and wrote ‘The Pursued’ a gripping story of murder, sex and revenge set in London. The finished draft was sent to publishers in London and also in the USA but this was not followed up due to the pressures from the success of Hornblower, which fully occupied Forester. Then Forester was drawn to the Spanish Civil War (1936-38) and travelled to Spain. It was there he developed his interest in the Peninsular War of the Napoleonic Wars and

wrote his second Hornblower book ‘Ship of the Line’. The draft of ‘The Pursued’, which had been put to one side, appears to have disappeared at about this stage. The Second World War followed the Spanish Civil War and CS Forester travelled around before moving to the USA. In fact the book had not been lost and the manuscript finally turned up in a minor auction in London where fortuitously it was spotted by Dr Colin Blogg and Lawrie Brewer of the CS Forester Society. They managed to acquire and then authenticate the manuscript but it had been put up for auction anonymously and the identity of the vendor had been rigidly withheld. All attempts to discover the vendor and thus uncover the story of what had happened to the manuscript failed. The book was eventually published for the first time by Penguin Classics in November last year. Whilst ‘The Pursued’ is not a naval story, aficionados of CS Forester will nevertheless be delighted with the opportunity to read this brand new and exciting book. More information is available on the web site of the CS Forester Society (http://csforester.wordpress.com/).

John Roberts

WREATH WORKSHOP IN THE

ROYAL NAVAL MUSEUM.

After the success of the previous year’s Christmas Wreath Workshop in the

Royal Naval Museum, numbers doubled for the December 2011 event. Friends of the Museum

volunteer Hazel Woodman, a professional floristry lecturer, commented that the standard of wreaths

produced was excellent and they all enjoyed taking their work home to adorn their front doors.

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GEOFF HUNT FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF MARINE ARTISTS

The Museum is lucky enough to be able to count Geoff Hunt among its supporters and friends. He has been a stalwart of our Patrick O’Brian Weekends, not just describing the creative process from which sprang the wonderful cover images for the Aubrey/Maturin series (of which more later), but in contributing his first-hand experiences of the author. These were, I recall, always polite and positive, if occasionally enigmatic.

It was less luck and more inspired curatorship that led to the Museum owning the first 14 original paintings from the series. Colin White, an early aficionado of O’Brian’s writings, bought the originals before the tremendous runaway success of the relaunch of the series in the early 1980s (undoubtedly in part due to Geoff’s cover work) made his later works hot properties and well beyond our reach.

So visitors to the Museum can enjoy Geoff’s work which is hung in the Sailing Navy Gallery and up the stairs to the first floor in our main building. Walking passed his paintings every day, I never fail to admire their composition, colours and draftsmanship. Hearing him talk about how a painting evolves from his mind’s eye to the finished work, often via the back of an envelope (some of which he has kept!) and through hours of research and sometimes model-building, is a wonderful experience. What a great treat that he has allowed us to adorn the cover of this issue of Scuttlebutt with another tremendous image.

Julian Thomas

THE SEA PAINTER’S WORLD The New Marine Art of Geoff Hunt Conway Books £30.

Geoff Hunt’s work will be familiar to most readers of Scuttlebutt – it is his paintings that are the covers of the Patrick O’Brian novels and adorn the staircases of the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth. His work is not merely a seascape of sailing ships, but as typified by the covers of the O’Brian novels, he concentrates on close ups of parts of the ship. This book uncovers some of his trade secrets and then uses 6 specific case studies to show how his incredible attention to detail produces paintings which you almost feel you could use to make models from, they are so technically accurate.

In the introduction, Geoff Hunts acknowledges the influence of artists such as Montagu Dawson. I feel that part of his skill must lie in the fact that he sails and has a natural affinity with the sea. He admits that his ships must be “correctly drawn” and that it is very difficult to paint ships in a “loose, painterly, impressionistic manner”. Again his sailing knowledge allows him to ensure that his running rigging would, for example, work!

His case studies cover the Home Waters, the Mediterranean, the Battle of the Nile, North America and Nelson in the West Indies. The Home Waters case studies is a good example of his breadth of work with paintings of Etchells yachts racing in the Solent, HMS BULWARK at the Trafalgar Review and the Mary Rose. The Mediterranean case study covers the artists voyage in the modern sailing cruise liner Sea Cloud, Jack Aubrey’s Mahon, Hornblower’s

gallant battle in the SUTHERLAND, and the battlecruiser INDOMITABLE entering Malta. These all illustrate his extraordinary ability to bring ships and novels to life.

His North American study stems from his work with the Mystic Maritime Museum, and covers actions of the Revolutionary War including the tale of HMS RAINBOW’S navigational exploits in attacking a mast-ship off Wiscasset. The final study again covers the factual and the fictional - exploits of Nelson, Aubrey and Hornblower. A final touch in the book is a painting of the light carrier GLORY returning home in 1947 –a tribute to his father-in-law who was serving on board. I would dare anyone to criticise Geoff Hunt’s work which I find a delight to study and absorb. He brings the novels we know and love to life with marvellous paintings, and the history is enriched by his illustrative works. A coffee table size book, it has been beautifully published and the plates are of the highest quality; this is a wonderful book for anyone with a love of the sea. I leave it to Patrick O’Brian to sum up Geoff Hunt’s work “perfectly accurate in period and detail, but very far from merely representational, are often diffused with a light reminiscent of Canaletto”. I cannot better that remark.

Peter Wykeham-Martin

NAVAL WEAPONS OF WORLD WAR ONE By Norman Friedman, published by Seaforth Publishing (Hardback, 408 pages, £45).

When reviewing books by Norman Friedman it is becoming increasingly difficult to find the right superlatives which do full justice to his masterly works and this latest superb book is no exception. Entitled “Naval Weapons of World War One,

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Guns, Torpedoes, Mines and ASW Weapons of All Nations, An Illustrated Directory” this book is certainly what it says on the cover but it is much more than just that.

Friedman does cover all weapons, the biggest section being devoted to British guns, which takes up a third of the book, over three hundred pages on guns, forty-five pages on torpedoes and forty pages on mines and ASW weapons. The weapons are dealt with by nation in order of the main naval fleets; British, German, US, French, Italian, Russian and Japanese then other navies and then by size within each weapon category. He also covers the development of ammunition pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of the different ammunition used by different countries. But more than just describing the individual weapons Friedman adds an excellent introduction to each section covering basic principles, tactics, development and construction, which puts the weapons in perspective.

His clear concise summaries provide excellent analysis of the naval history of the period. A particularly fascinating aspect of the book is the contrasting essays on British and German naval tactics. He deals with the key enabling technology of fire control and its crucial importance to long range gunnery duels. He covers the battleship versus battlecruiser debates in the fleet handling discussions of the time. He adds fascinating insights such as comments about Jellicoe’s tactical plot giving him a dramatic advantage over Admiral Scheer enabling him to control his ships and keep crossing the German line. He claims that the sense of confusion and surprise on board the German flagship almost certainly convinced Scheer that it would be suicidal to fight the Grand Fleet again. History has tended to criticise and look down on Jellicoe for his failure to gain a great victory at Jutland but this book shows him in a better light as a more gifted admiral with a great tactical mind. Friedman shows how Jellicoe was against Churchill’s obsession with numbers and heavy gun calibre but he also points out Jellicoe’s rather preoccupied fear of torpedoes, one of the reasons he failed to close the German High Seas Fleet at Jutland.

There is a prodigious amount of detail on so many weapons, much of it from Friedman’s own extensive research but also compiled from John Campbell’s original manuscript prepared for an encyclopaedia of World War I naval weapons but never published. This thoroughly well researched book gives a detailed technical account of the development of naval weapons during a critical period of history. It provides a really superb source of information with many splendid photographs, line drawings and detailed technical diagrams and is an ideal reference book for all naval enthusiast and historians. This excellent book is most strongly recommended.

John Roberts

WARSHIPS AFTER WASHINGTON By John Jordan, published by Seaforth Publishing (Hardback, 338 pages, £30).

This thoroughly well researched book gives a detailed technical account of the development of the five major naval fleets (UK, US, French, Italian & Japanese) during the critical period, 1922 - 1930, after the Washington Naval Treaty of February 1922.

The purpose of the Washington Naval Treaty was to prevent a prohibitive naval arms race and to a certain extent this was achieved but the development of the fleets over this period was to have a crucial impact on the Second World War. Though the treaty stopped the building of new battleships it led to the construction of more powerful heavy cruisers in their place. The book commences with an assessment of the major navies after the First World, starting with the Royal Navy “..In size, power and reputation the world’s premier fleet…” followed by the USN, Japanese, French and Italian navies. Jordan then sets out the treaty in detail going through the various articles and pointing out the importance already being attached to aircraft carriers as capital ships. He summarises the impact of the treaty under the heading “Winners and Losers” with the Americans as clear winners but the British as losers having effectively lost their position of world naval supremacy. The British also failed to abolish submarines. The rest of the book goes into detail on the main categories of ships; particularly interesting are the chapters on the treaty cruisers and the development of aircraft carriers. Jordan concludes with the 1927 Geneva Conference, which reviews the many consequences of the earlier treaty. This book is a really excellent source of information with many splendid photographs, line drawings and detailed technical diagrams, in all, an ideal reference book for the naval enthusiast of the period..

John Roberts

VICTORY IN COMMAND The autobiography of Captain Alexander Grant 1872-1961

“Victory in Command” is probably one of the most coveted and evocative titles for a naval book. Captain Grant was a reluctant author, badgered by his peers into writing his autobiography in 1947 with the intention of entitling it “Through the Hawse Pipe” in acknowledgement of his service on the Lower Deck. Unfortunately no publisher could be found, but his grandson rescued the manuscript a few years ago, edited it, and had it privately published for which we should all be grateful as this is a delightful tale.

The son of a Scots miller, he joined the Navy in 1887. As a Boy Seaman, he undertook initial training in Devonport before joining the PENGUIN, a surveying sloop equipped with steam. Clearly bright, he was a Petty Officer by 22 before embarking on what was to become his chosen career path - gunnery. Joining Whale Island when to his own admission he had never seen a breech loading gun fired, he had a meteoric rise and left after less than 2 years as Commissioned Gunner – aged 24. Then followed a time in training ships and reserve fleet ships before he joined his fully operational ship, the battleship ILLUSTRIOUS – to find he was the fourth Gunner in a year!

In the years preceding the First World War he served in the battleship KING EDWARD VII and then a further period on the staff at EXCELLENT before joining the LION in1915. His experiences in LION including Jutland are fascinating. Unhappy with the method of supplying cordite to turrets, he implemented a new system which potentially could have saved some of the other Jutland battlecruiser losses if they had adopted similar

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methods. As it was, Grant was lucky not to have been injured in the LION Q turret explosion. Promoted to Lt, he was appointed in command of the destroyer GRIFFON, despite never having kept a watch at sea!

Beautifully crafted English and nice mix of anecdotes and experience paint a very vivid picture of the Navy of the early 20th century. As a committed Gunnery officer (one can almost hear his voice) he covers his various appointments – including the job of Grounds Gunner - at his alma mater, EXCELLENT with affection and detail, bringing to life some of the names and traditions that still survive (I hope!) at Whaley – “the House that Jack built”, Domville’s approach etc. He was clearly a character of the old school – and as his grandson points out in a footnote, there is no mention of his wife or family.

I have only one minor issue – it isn’t really a criticism. The last chapter consists of thoughts by the author on changes in the Navy between 1888 and 1945. I found this somewhat dated the book –which stands up very well as an autobiography – but it is only a very minor point. Having said that, I thoroughly enjoyed this gem of a book which is on sale in the RN Museum shop.

.Peter Wykeham-Martin

THE GRAND FLEETBy David K Brown, published by Seaforth Publishing (Softback, 208 pages, £16.99).

This book, first published fourteen years ago, has become a minor classic. Written by the late David Brown, who was Deputy Chief Naval Architect before retirement in 1988, it demonstrates his clear mastery of the subject. Sub titled “Warship Design and Development 1906 - 1922”, “The Grand Fleet” covers an important period of British naval history, from the launch of the revolutionary Dreadnought, through the First World War and on up to the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922. Brown tackles this huge subject in two main parts, first ‘Pre-War Design’ then the more extensive section on ‘Wartime Experience and Design’.

The book is completed with a fairly short section on design leading up to the Washington Naval Treaty, focusing on capital ships. There are many books devoted to the capital ships of the period as well as the many engagements in World War One, but this book is fascinating as it includes smaller warships and submarines. It also follows up the many lessons learned from combat and the consequent major impact on design. Though a comparatively short book it nevertheless manages to cram in a great deal of information and is well illustrated with many photographs, drawings, graphs and tables. This book is an essential primer for any serious study of the period, which covers the zenith of British seapower. Strongly recommended for all interested in British and Naval history.

.John Roberts

THEY COULDN’T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT US THE MERCHANT NAVy IN THE FAlklANDS WAR By John Johnson-Allen, published by Seafarer Books (Softback, 252 pages, £9.95).

With the thirtieth anniversary of the Falklands conflict fast approaching this excellent book is a timely reminder of the essential role played by the support ships, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) and ships taken up from trade (STUFT) to the successful outcome of that war. There have been a great many books on the conflict but relatively few covering the important part played by the over seventy merchant ships which deployed down to the Falklands. The book is divided into separate sections dealing with the different types of ship, after a brief introduction chapter two covers the liners Canberra and Uganda with many first hand accounts from people who were onboard. This is followed by the container ships starting with the tragic story of the Atlantic Conveyor before following the story of the Atlantic Causeway. Subsequent chapters cover the tankers, ferries, repair ships and tugs. The RFA section covers RFA Olmeda and the RFA Sir Lancelot. Each story is brought to life by the first hand accounts. Complete with a very fitting introduction by Admiral Sir Michael Layard, a survivor from the Atlantic Conveyor sinking, it is well illustrated with twenty photographs and a number of line drawings. The book provides a clear insight into the experiences of the men of the Merchant Navy and the RFA at war and is a welcome addition to the many accounts of the Falklands conflict.

.John Roberts

OCEANS ODYSSEY Edited by Greg Stemm and Sean Kingsley, published by Oxbow Books ISBN 978-1-84217-442-9 (£25.00).

Odyssey Marine Exploration (OME) has been surveying the English Channel for interesting wreck sites since 2005. A major achievement has been finding HMS Victory (1737-44) which over the last 40 years has defied numerous searches. Now identified, Victory lies thirty miles south of Start Point in a depth of less than 80 metres. At the time of loss there were no survivors from this 100-gun flagship that had an outfit of all bronze cannon. Of these, forty-one appear within Odyssey’s photo mosaic of the surrounding seabed. The photographs show that many have been disturbed by fishing trawlers including some with wire abrasions; this is worrying since their concretion covering has been knocked off exposing their bronze to further degradation. To prove Victory’s identity, two bronze cannons were raised and subsequently bought by the MoD. They are under conservation at Fort Nelson on Portsdown Hill before being exhibited at the ‘National Museum of the Royal Navy’.

BOOK REVIEWS BOOK REVIEWS

The book also covers three other wreck sites; one, SS Republic (1865) was found 150km off the south-eastern USA coast in a depth of 500 metres. The Republic’s recoveries include a wide selection of porcelain objects and bottles, one of which was full of preserved peaches, besides 4,135 gold and 47,263 silver coins. This was an amazingly successful salvage operation at twice the depth of recovering the gold from HMS Edinburgh. Another site is thought to be HMS Sussex, an 80-gun third-rate lost in the Straits of Gibraltar in 1694 found at a depth of 821 metres. The continuous 3-5 knot current on the seabed in the Straits has reduced the site to a flat plane with only iron cannon and ballast showing. A preliminary investigation has taken place with the agreement of HMG.

The two editors work for OME, an American company who are the world leaders in operating ROVs (remote operating vessels) for shipwreck exploration. They can be congratulated on producing a fascinating book based on material contributed by different authors. While I was surprised to see a couple of repeated pre-disturbance surveys and illustrations, I understand from the Editors that this is intentional; the ten chapters are stand alone papers by different authors brought together in a single publication. Anyone who watches the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow will find this book, with its wide variety of artefacts depicted by excellent photography, fascinating.

John Bingeman

OCEANS ODYSSEY 2 UNDERWATER HERITAGE MANAGEMENT & DEEP-SEA SHIPWRECkS IN THE ENGlISH CHANNEl & ATlANTIC OCEAN Edited by Greg Stemm and Sean Kingsley, published by Oxbow Books ISBN 978-1-84217-442-5 (£25.00).The Editors should be congratulated on publishing their second volume within a year of Oceans Odyssey (1) reviewed above. The latest book addresses the problem created by Government complying with the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage without appreciating the difference between terrestrial and underwater sites. The ravages of storms and modern heavy weight fish trawls will continue to destroy underwater heritage sites left ‘in situ’, the recommendation of the Convention.

Above I reported the excitement of the discovery of the 100-Gun Victory (1744) site with all bronze cannon. The latest book has chapters on “the Background to their Casting” and a “Conservation Report” on the two guns now with Royal Armouries at Fort Nelson, Portsdown Hill. More recent surveys by Odyssey Marine Exploration in the Western Approaches were devoted to identifying German U-boat losses. This chapter is written by Axel Niestlé from Dabendorf in Germany who has researched the histories of these submarines leading to their correct identification; this has created an opportunity to rewrite German naval history now that their ultimate ‘graves’ are known. With views from Odyssey’s ROV (Remote Operating Vessel), Axel was able to positively identify five.

Another interesting chapter is an assessment of mid-18th century English ship losses due to French and Spanish privateering. I was surprised to learn that English merchant losses were slightly higher than those from the combined French and Spanish ships captured by the Navy and English privateers. Other chapters cover exploration on the eastern seaboard of the United States with recoveries from the Jacksonville ‘Blue China’ wreck. This unidentified schooner has been dated to the mid-nineteenth century, based on the cargo of Staffordshire ceramics. This site illustrates Odyssey’s technical capability to delicately excavate the site at a depth of 370 metres.

This is a well presented work lavishly illustrated in colour by a company that are world leaders in underwater excavations, and capable of conducting successful ROV excavations at even greater depths than the ‘Blue China’ site.

.John Bingeman

The Friends of The Royal Naval Museum and

H.M.S. Victory 36th Annual General Meeting

and Reception

Princess Royal GalleryNational Museum of the Royal

Navy, Portsmouth

Thursday 3rd May 2012 at 17.30pm

Guest speaker Matthew sheldon

Head of Curatorial Department

The Development of the New 20th and 21st Century

Galleries

Booking details will be sent under separate cover

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EVENTS AT THE MUSEUM IN 2012

Conferences, lectures and seminars Saturday 19th May & Sunday 20th MayThe Falklands War 30 years onTo register an interest in attending please contact Duncan.redford@nmrn.org.uk or telephone 02392 727577

Wednesday 13th June, 5.30pm

The First Sea Lord’s Annual Lecture on Naval History and StrategySir Julian Corbett and his critical role in creating the strategic template for a maritime state, Professor Andrew Lambert, King’s College LondonRenowned historian Andrew Lambert examines the impact of Sir Julian Corbett, advisor to Admiral Fisher and author of ‘Naval Operations’ the official history of naval operations in the First World War.Free event, booking essential as spaces are limited. Please contact 02392 727 577 or email events@nmrn.org.uk

Saturday 9th June and Saturday 13th October, 10.30am to 1pmNaval service certificates demystified

A practical half-day workshop aimed at family historians wanting to learn more about the information given in ratings service certificates. Cost £16 including light refreshments and an information pack. Places limited, booking essential. Please call 023 9272 3795 or email: library@nmrn.org.uk

Research seminarsJoin us to hear new and established scholars present their latest research on aspects of naval history.

Wednesday 14th March, 5.30pmThose they left behind: Naval families during the Napoleonic WarsDr Helen Doe, University of Exeter

Wednesday 9th May, 5.30pm Packing a Punch: Naval cartoons in print, propaganda and private scribblingMatthew Sheldon, National Museum of the Royal NavyAll seminars are free, no booking required. Call 02392 727577 or visit http://www.royalnavalmuseum.org/Researchseminars.htm for details

Arena events Saturday 30 June, 12.30pm – 4.30pm Armed Forces Day 2012Free event, no booking required, all ages welcome. For further details please contact 02392 727582 or email: rowannah.martincottee@nmrn.org.uk

Sunday 5th August 2012, 11am-4.30pm

It’s A Naval KnockoutAll you need is five participants. Whether you’re a five a side footy team or the greatest quiz team ever, there’ll be an event for you and of course free candy floss!For further details please contact 02392 727582 or email: molly.wilson@nmrn.org.uk Free event but registration required to enter a team in the afternoon with a charge of £2 per person.

Tuesday 6th March, 12th June, 11th September and 4th December, 2pm – 4pmNew for 2012! Naval Tea ClubA new social event for seniors! Join us for tea, chat and reminiscence with a different theme, artefacts and archives each time. Free event but booking needed. Please contact 02392 727584 or email events@nmrn.org.uk for further information.

Other eventsJoin us to hear new and established scholars present their latest research on aspects of naval history.

Saturday 31st March, 11am to 4pmAntarctic Discovery DayA special one-day event commemorating the centenary of Scott’s Antarctic expedition. Free, drop-in event, no ticket required, all ages welcome. Please contact 02392 727588 or email events@nmrn.org.uk for details.

Friday 23rd March and Saturday 24th March, 2.30pm Hidden Treasures - HMS Victory’s crew Join us in Captain Hardy’s Cabin for a special viewing of artefacts and archives connected to the men who served on HMS Victory. Places are limited to 15 people, so book early to avoid disappointment.Cost £20 - including refreshments and a ship visit. Booking essential. Please contact 02392 727565 or email events@nmrn.org.uk

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Other events, continued Saturday 6th October, 12 to 4.30pm Black History Month Multicultural DayJoin us to celebrate black history and discover more about the Royal Navy’s links to different countries around the world. Investigate cultural artefacts from our collections, find out about Nelson’s multicultural navy, listen to music and accounts of first contact plus discover how new foods and art forms travelled to this country and influence our lives today.Free, drop-in event, all ages welcome.Please contact 02392 72784 or email events@nmrn.org.uk for further information.

Saturday 10th November, 11am to 1pm and 2pm to 4pm

Remembrance DayJoin us to find out about Veterans experiences through artefacts, documents and films not usually on public display. Listen to poetry, meet a World War 2 Naval Officer and make a poppy or ‘forget-me-not’ postcard to add to our ‘Wheel of Remembrance’.Free, drop-in event, all ages welcome.Please contact 02392 72784 or email events@nmrn.org.uk for further information.

Inspired Art! workshops for adultsSaturday 12 May, 1pm to 5pm Family art books and memory boxesWork with a professional artist to create your own multimedia art book or box inspired by the decorative albums and illustrated letters in our collections. Cost £18 -including additional materials (please bring your own photos and images) and refreshments. Booking essential. Please contact 02392 727584 or events@nmrn.org.uk

Saturday 1st December, 1.30pm – 4.30pm Christmas wreath workshop Back for another year, come and join us once again to work alongside a professional florist to create a beautiful festive wreath from a range of materials, ideal for your home or to give as a gift. Cost £18 - including all materials and refreshments. Booking essential. Please contact 02392 727584 or email: events@nmrn.org.uk

Behind the scenes tours and Open Days Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd September, 10.30am, 11.45am, 1.30pm and 3pm Behind the scenes at the MuseumEnjoy a tour of artefact and archive stores with one of our curators and discover their highlights among the thousands of items kept behind the scenes. All tours are free but must be booked in advance. Contact 02392 839766 or email enquiries@historicdockyard.co.uk to reserve a place.

Saturday 1st to Wednesday 5th September, 10.30am, 11.45am, 1.30pm and 3pmBelow HMS Victory’s water lineJoin one of HMS Victory’s tour guides for a unique chance to go below the water line. Walk under 3500 tonnes of ship and view Victory’s keel at close range for a completely different perspective of the ship.All tours are free but must be booked in advance. Only 15 places per tour. Contact 02392 839766 or email: enquiries@historicdockyard.co.uk to reserve a place.

Saturday November 17, 2pm Storehouse 10 Hard Hat DayA chance to find out about our new, Heritage Lottery-funded 20th and 21st Century Navy galleries project. Join the architects and project team to learn more about the history and conservation of Storehouse 10 - a grade 1 listed building dating from 1777- and our exciting plans for the new galleries and exhibition spaces.Free event, booking essential as spaces are limited. Please contact 02392 72784 or email events@nmrn.org.uk for further information.

evening events with a difference! Saturday 19th May 7.30-10.30pm Murder Mystery Join the secret code breakers in wartime Britain and use your detective skills to unmask a spy. Enjoy a three course meal whilst actors from Katchakilla Murder Mystery provide an evening of entertainment, drama and suspense! Fancy dress optional. Booking essential. Tickets £45pp (includes meal and drinks). Please call 02392 727581 or email events@nmrn.org.uk for details.

Saturday 12th May and Saturday 27th October 2012, 8pm to 2am Storehouse 11 Paranormal InvestigationsThis magnificent Georgian building towers over HMS Victory and could be considered the spiritual home of Britain’s navy. Dark Encounters has exclusive access for this investigation, and our task is to document the paranormal activity of previous occupants and visitors. Can we record the kinetic activity that is supposed to occur in the upper rooms and on the staircases? Join us to find out.Cost £45.00. Booking essential as places are limited. Please see www.darkencounters.co.uk for details.

And don’t forget that there are family

activities in every school holiday and our new Cabin Club

for under-5s on the last Friday of

each month.

VISIT BY FRIENDS OF NAVAL MUSEUMS TO ROYAL NAVY SUBMARINE MUSEUM, GOSPORT

Monday 11 June 2012.

Following on from the visits by the Friends of all four naval Museums to the Fleet Air Arm Museum in 2009 and to the Royal Marines Museum in 2010, the visit in 2012 is to the Royal Naval Submarine Museum, Haslar Jetty Road, Gosport PO12 2AS. There will be the opportunity to tour HMS ALLIANCE, a World War 2-era submarine, and to view many other exhibits that tell the story of the Royal Navy’s Submarine Service since 1901. On-going restoration work to HMS ALLIANCE will be explained and should not impair or distract from the enjoyment of your visit.

Programme:1015-1100 Arrive; coffee and tea.1100-1145 Talk on RN submarine operations in World War I by Rear Admiral Paul Hoddinott, CB OBE1145-1245 Divide into groups. Guided tours of exhibits and HMS ALLIANCE1245-1330 Lunch. A two-course lunch will be served; wine and soft drinks will be available at an additional cost.1330-1430 Continue tours of HMS ALLIANCE and exhibits1430 onwards depart.The cost for the visit including lunch, tea and coffee is £14.50 per person. Please send names and cheques (payable to the Society of Friends of the RN Submarine Museum) to Commander P. Bolas RN at 58 Southleigh Road, Havant, Hampshire PO9 2QJ.

✁

Friends of the Royal Marines MuseumVisit to the Royal Marines School of Music

Tuesday, 7 February 2012 I am pleased to confirm that another visit to the Royal Marines School of Music will take place on Tuesday, 7 February 2012 and the timetable for the afternoon is as follows: 12:15 Depart from RM Museum in coach to HMS Nelson, Portsmouth 12:30 Arrive at HMS Nelson Unicorn Gate to be met by RMSoM Representative O/C Move to RMSoM for coffee in instructors’ coffee boat 13:00 Presentation on Royal Marines School of Music in the presentation suite 13:30 Tour Gibraltar Block, RMSoM 14:00-15:00 View Concert Band rehearsals 15:00 Depart for RM MuseumThe cost of the visit is: £10.00 per person to cover the cost of the coach.Please complete the application form below and send it with your payment, to Sharon Spencer, Friends of the RM Museum (SM12), c/o The Royal Marines Museum, Southsea, Hampshire, PO4 9PX I look forward to seeing you there. Sharon

I wish to book place(s) @ £10 per person

Name:

Address

Post Code: Tel no:

I enclose a check for £ (made payable to “The Friends of the RM Museum”)

I wish to pay by credit card (Mastercard/Visa)

start date: expiry date: 3 digit security code:

signature

50

Friends of the Royal Marines MuseumVisit to the Royal Albert Hall to hear

THE MASSED BANDS OFHER MAJESTY’S ROYAL MARINES

perform their annual

MOUNTBATTEN FESTIVAL OF MUSICFriday, 13 April 2012 at 7.30pm

PRICES HELD - 2012 PRICES SAME AS 2011!!Cost: £45.00 to include return coach and Front Circle Seat

£25.00 for making your own way (MFM ticket only)Pick Up Points: Havant (McDonalds) and Royal Marines Museum Public Car Park

To attend this very popular musical event, just complete this form and return as soon as possible, with your payment, to Sharon Spencer at the address below:

MOUNTBATTEN FESTIVAL OF MUSIC – 13 APRIL 2012:To: Sharon Spencer, Friends of the RM Museum (MFM12),

c/o Royal Marines Museum, Southsea, PO4 9PXFor more information phone Sharon on: 023 9288 2412 oremail: sharon.spencer@royalmarinesmuseum.co.uk

PLEASE ENCLOSE A SAE FOR CONFIRMATION, TIMINGS & TICKETS

I wish to book place(s) @ £45 per person on the coach visit on 13 April 2012

I wish to join the coach at:

Havant at 2pm (McDonalds NOT Bus sTATION) RM Museum car park at 2.30pm

I wish to book ticket(s) @ £25 per person and to travel independently

Name:

Address

Post Code: Tel no:

I enclose a check for £ (made payable to “The Friends of the RM Museum”)

I wish to pay by credit card (Mastercard/Visa)

start date: expiry date: 3 digit security code:

signature

I enclose a sAe for tickets, confirmation and timings

✁

HMSVictory

and

RoyalNavalMuseum

of thefriends MEMBERSHIP

APPLICATION

FORM

BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP

The primary purposes of membership of the Friends is to support the Museum and HMS

Victory both financially and in other ways.

1. Free admission to the National Museum of the Royal Navy, Portsmouth for the

member, spouse plus up to three children.

2. Free admission to HMS Victory for each member (may be a timed ticket system):

please check at the Visitor Centre on arrival.

3. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard is pleased to offer to The Friends of the Royal Naval

Museum and HMS Victory a 20% discount on the Site Ticket for Members only on

production of their membership card at the Visitor Centre.

The Site Ticket is valid for entry to HMS Warrior 1860,

National Museum of the Royal Navy and Action Stations for 1 year

(excludes return on special event days) and one entry to HMS Victory,

the Mary Rose Museum and Harbour Tours.

4. Free admission to Royal Navy Submarine Museum for member only.

5. Free admission to Royal Marines Museum for member only.

6. Free admission to the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton for member only.

7. Discounts (which are wholly at the discretion of the shops offering them) on

purchases excluding books and spirits at:

In addition members receive specific privileges to assist them in using and expanding their

knowledge of the Museum, HMS Victory and the wider aspects of Britain’s Maritime Heritage.

These comprise:

( a ) The Victory and Museum Shop

( b ) Mary Rose Shop

( c ) Nauticalia

It is hoped that all UK tax paying members will help us by completing the Gift Aid

Declarations on the reverse of the membership forms. As this has only to be declared once

it will enable us to reclaim tax on all donations and subscriptions and thus significantly

increase the value of all your contributions.

GIFT AID7

8. Publications concerning the activities of the Friends.

9. Special tours to places of maritime interest as notified in the Bulletins.

10. Admission to lectures in the National Museum of the Royal Navy (special rates for

Friends) and those organised by the Society of Nautical Research.

11. Access to the Library and Archives of the Museum by prior arrangement with

the Librarian.

12. Associate Membership of the Royal Maritime Club including use of accommodation

at competitive rates. Friends Membership card required to gain access.

13. Free admission to the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich.

Discount of 10% in Gift Shop. Access to Private Members Room.

The Membership Card must be produced when claiming free entry or discounts.Note:

For joint membership the above privileges apply for each member (single mailing).

Remembering the Museum in your will costs nothing now, but every gift given this way,

whether large or small, will make a difference in the future.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN THE FUTURE

The Friends of the Royal Naval Museum and HMS Victory

is a Registered Charity No. 269387

7

Please sign and return this form to Executive Secretary, Friends of Royal Naval Museum & HMS Victory,National Museum of the Royal Navy, HM Naval Base (PP66) Portsmouth, Hants PO1 3NH

BANKER’S ORDER

Account No. Sort Code:................................... ..............................

the sum of £ on the day of 20.................... ........................... ................................. ...........

Please pay to the Friends of the RN Museum and HMS Victory

(Bank Account No. 10049576 • Sort Code: 16 19 28) Royal Bank of Scotland plc,

Fareham Branch, 1-2 Westquay House, 20 West Street, Fareham, Hants. PO16 0LH

Signature Date 20

Name & Address

of

Member’s Bank

�

*I/We wish to join the Friends of the Royal Naval Museum and HMS Victory as:

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION FORM

*Please delete as appropriate

Single Annual Member

Joint Annual Members

Single Life Member

Joint Life Members

£20 or more, annually

£25 or more, annually

£275 or more

£350 or more

Signature

Address

Full name and title in CAPITALS

Post Code

Address

Full name and title in CAPITALS

Post Code

Please enclose a cheque for one year’s subscription made payable to the Friends of the RN Museum and HMS Victory or,preferably, use the Banker’s Order Form below. By completing the Gift Aid Declaration overleaf members who payincome tax can increase their subscription to the Friends substantially at no cost to themselves.

Solely for the purposes of publicising visits, a joint database has been created by a numberof Friends’ organisations in Portsmouth. If you wish your name to be included onthis database please tick the box.

do not

DATA PROTECTION ACT

�

and annually thereafter on the same day until further notice from my account

HMSVictory

and

RoyalNavalMuseum

of thefriends

GIFT AID DECLARATION

If you pay tax in the United Kingdom, please complete this Gift Aid Declaration. This willenable the Friends to reclaim income tax on your donation, adding one quarter to itsvalue at no cost to you.

(Please note: to save administrative costs, income tax will only be reclaimed on donationstotalling £10 or more in any one financial year.)

I declare that all donations made by me to the Friends of the Royal Naval Museum andHMS Victory on or after 6th April 2010 are to be treated as Gift Aid donations.

I confirm that I pay income tax or capital gains tax in the United Kingdom at least equal tothe tax that the Friends of the Royal Naval Museum and HMS Victory will reclaim on mydonations. I will advise you if this ceases to be the case or if I change my name or address.

Date

Signed

7MAKING A GIFT IN YOUR WILL

I am considering making a gift in my will in support of the friends. Please contact me.

Signed

Printed by Studio 6, The Square, Wickham, Hampshire, PO14 5JX • Tel: 01329 832933 • www.studio-6.co.uk

The Friends of the Royal Naval Museum is a Registered Charity • No. 269387

The National Museum of the Royal Navy and HMs Victory, Portsmouth

is a Registered Charity • No.1126283-1

Scuttlebutt is edited by: John Roberts

The Friends of the Royal Naval Museumand HMS Victory

National Museum of the Royal Navy, HM Naval Base (PP66), Portsmouth PO1 3NH Tel: 023 9272 7562

Friends direct tel: 023 9225 1589 • E-mail: rnm.friends@btinternet.com

Find us at www.royalnavalmuseum.org

Make a difference in the future: remember the Museum in your will now

Council would like to take this opportunity to encourage all Friends to consider remembering the Friends or the Museum in your will. It costs you nothing now, but every gift, however large or small,

will make a difference in the future.

We cannot offer legal advice, but if you would like further information, please contact

the Museum on Tel: 023 9272 7567

friendsof the

RoyalNavalMuseum

andHMSVictory

Scuttlebutt