An interest in all things naval

Although I have been a wargamer for many, many years, my games have always included ships whenever it was possible. This is because I have had a lifetime interest in all things naval.

I suspect that this is due to several factors. Firstly, as a toddler I spent many hours in the Imperial War Museum where I developed a fascination with the ship models that were on display. If my memory is correct, the entrance to the museum was dominated by a model of the damaged oil tanker, the San Demetrio, and inside were huge display cases containing models of every ship that took part in the Battle of Jutland. My favourite model was of HMS Vindictive ...

... as she was after the Zeebrugge Raid.

Secondly, one of my uncles (Uncle Peter, who was married to my mother's sister) had served in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, and his stories about life at sea intrigued me. He had served aboard HMS Indefatigable ...

...when she was part of the British Pacific Fleet, and amongst his stories was one about her being hit by a kamikaze aircraft, and how the ship was back in action less than an hour afterwards, thanks to her armoured deck. He also used to regale us with the fact that aircraft from his ship took part in the last British air combat of the war and that she was attacked by a Japanese dive bomber after the war was supposed to have ended!

I became so enamoured with the idea of becoming a sailor that at the age of sixteen I looked at joining the Royal Navy, but when I discovered that my eyesight was too poor to become an officer, I gave up on the idea ... but never lost my interest in all things naval. In fact, over a third of the shelf space I have in my toy/wargames room is given over to books about warships and naval history. I really ought to catalogue them, and if I do, I will share the list with my regular blog readers.