Comments

Yesterday’s blog entry only generated a single comment … and that was from someone who wanted to share his hatred of American Women with anyone who wished to read his comment.

Now I am not against the concept of ‘free speech’, and I think that the person who made the comment is entitled to his opinion, just as I am entitled to mine. That said, I thought that the ‘comments’ area of my blog was not to proper place for these views to be aired, and I have removed the comment that had been made.

One reason why this particular comment appeared is due to the fact that I do not have any mechanisms in place to vet comments before they are published. I used to have such a system … but removed it as I felt that it made it difficult for regular blog readers to make comments about what they had read. At present I do not plan to reinstate comment verification on my blog … but if the sort of non sequitur comment that was published yesterday begins to appear regularly, I may have to do so.

Nugget 275

Yesterday afternoon the editor of THE NUGGET sent me the draft of the latest issue. I plan to print the original copy later today and to take it to the printer by Tuesday afternoon at the latest. This should mean that I will be able to collect it from them on Friday and I should then be able to post it out to members of Wargame Developments over the weekend.

IMPORTANT: Please note that this is the second issue of THE NUGGET to be published for the 2014-2015 subscription year, and that members who have not already re-subscribed will need to do so in the near future. This can be done by visiting the relevant page on the Wargame Developments website.

The password to open the online PDF version of THE NUGGET and THE NUGGET COLOUR SUPPLEMENT will be sent by post and email to members when the THE NUGGET is published.

Remembrance Day 2014

‘They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.’

‘When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today.’

‘We will remember them.’

Richard Hough's 'Buller' stories

When I began writing my recent blog entries about Philip McCutchan's HALFHYDE stories, I was reminded in a comment made by Legatus Hedlius that Richard Hough – a well-known naval historian – had also written a number of books set during the late Victorian and Edwardian era. A quick search on the Internet indicated that second-hand copies of these books were on sale ... so I bought them. (All the books I bought were withdrawn library books, and none of them cost me more than £0.50 plus postage ... which I regard as a bit of a bargain for hardback books!)

The books were:
BULLER'S GUNS

BULLER'S DREADNOUGHT

BULLERS' VICTORY

Richard Hough manages to tell a fictionalised version of the history of the Royal Navy from the 1870s until the 1920s by placing his main characters – Archie Buller and Rod McLewin – at or near the centre of the major events of that period ... and I must admit that it works rather well as a story-telling device.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading these three books, and they reminded me what a good writer Richard Hough was.

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Amongst others, Richard Hough wrote the following non-fiction books that sit on my bookshelves:

• THE FLEET THAT HAD TO DIE (about the Russo-Japanese War)
• ADMIRALS IN COLLISION (the story of Admirals Tryon and Markham, and the sinking of HMS Victoria)
• THE BIG BATTLESHIP (the story of the dreadnought battleship that was ordered as the Brazilian Rio de Janeiro, became the Turkish Sultan Osman I, and eventually ended up as HMS Agincourt)

Soldiers of the Queen (SOTQ): Issue 157

This morning's post included the latest copy of SOTQ (Soldiers of the Queen, the quarterly journal of the Victorian Military Society).

The articles included in this issue are:

• The Death of Field Marshal Earl Roberts (14 November, 1914) by Rodney Atwood
• Sherlock Holmes and the Victorian Army by Dan Allen
• Food Coupons during the Siege of Mafeking, 14 October 1899 to 17 May 1900 by J F Cowlin
• Lord Kitchener, St Paul and Corinthians 13 by Dahlia Harrison
• ’An Excellent Bandmaster’: BM William Clark, 1st Bn. The East Surrey Regt by Mike Boxall
• Book Reviews
• About the VMS

Yet another issue that is full of interesting and somewhat eclectic articles. I have only read the Sherlock Holmes one so far … and very enjoyable it was!

HMS Severn

Yesterday morning – our colds and the low air temperature not withstanding – Sue and I paid another trip to Woolwich Arsenal Pier. On this occasion we were not there to catch a Thames Clipper towards London; this time it was to see HMS Severn (P282) (a River-class offshore patrol vessel) sailing past on her way to pay an official visit to the City of London.

We arrived at the pier in plenty of time, and whilst we were waiting a Metropolitan Police launch went past us at high speed …

… and a tug – the Svitzer Laceby – also made her way past the pier … going astern about as fast as she could sail forward!

Almost bang on time, HMS Severn sailed around Margaretness from Barking Reach into Gallions Reach.

In a matter of minutes – and escorted by another Police launch – …

… HMS Severn was past Woolwich Arsenal Pier and well on her way towards the Thames Barrier at Charlton.

It was then time to go to leave the Pier and to go and get warm!

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HMS Severn’s characteristics

• Displacement: 1,700 tonnes
• Length: 260’ 10” (79.5m)
• Beam: 44’ 7” (13.6)
• Draught: 12’ 6” (3.8m)
• Propulsion: 2 × Ruston 12RK 270 diesel engines driving two controllable pitch propellers; 280kW bow thruster; 185kW stern thruster
• Speed: 20 knots
• Range: 7,800 nautical miles at 12 knots
• Complement: 30 (with accommodation for up to 50)
• Armament: 1 × Oerlikon 20 mm cannon; 2 × 7.62mm general purpose machine guns

I have been to ... see the poppies at the Tower of London

Although both of us we suffering from quite bad colds, Sue and I decided yesterday morning that we would go up to the Tower of London to see the field of poppies that has been created there as a memorial to all the members of the British Armed Forces who were killed during World War I.

By way of a change we decided to go to central London by the Thames Clipper service, which runs from Woolwich Arsenal to central London at peak times in the morning and evening. (There is an all-day service from North Greenwich to the London Eye as well as several commuter routes.)

We arrived at Woolwich Arsenal Pier ...

in plenty of time to catch the 9.20am service from Woolwich Arsenal to Tower Millennium. From the Pier we had a great view of the River Thames.

Beside the sight of the massive office blocks at Canary Wharf, ...

... we could see the Woolwich ferries making their way backwards and forwards across the river.

We could also see – and hear – the passenger aircraft landing and taking off from London City Airport.

Bang on time, one of the Thames Clipper catamarans arrived at the Pier ...

... and within a matter of minutes we were sailing through the Thames Barrier.

Our first stop was at the O2 (the old Millennium Dome) at North Greenwich.

After some more passengers had boarded the Clipper, she sailed on to her next stop – Greenwich Pier – which was just past the old Royal Naval Hospital, Greenwich.

(The building is now the main campus of Greenwich University.)

We soon left Greenwich behind us ...

... and reached Tower Bridge ...

... just under forty minutes after boarding the Clipper.

The advantage of disembarking at Tower Millennium was its proximity to the Tower of London, and within a matter of minutes we were able to see the poppies that have been 'planted' in the Tower's moat.

The sight was truly awesome ... and the poppies almost filled the moat that surrounds the Tower.

It is little wonder that this temporary memorial has attracted so many visitors. It is something that has to be seen to be really appreciated, and when the final poppies are added by 11th November, it will be truly magnificent.

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For the benefit of non-UK blog readers, a short explanation about this memorial is probably helpful.

The wearing of a poppy was adopted in 1921 to commemorate soldiers who have died during the First World War. The choice was inspired by the poem 'In Flanders Fields', and they were first used by the American Legion to commemorate American soldiers who had died. The poppy was later adopted by military veterans' groups in parts of the former British Empire, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. The annual 'sale' of paper poppies has been a major source of income for the Royal British Legion in the UK. (Before 1971 it was known as the British Legion). The poppy is not 'sold' for a pre-set price; it is given in return for a donation made to the Royal British Legion's funds.

The poppies that have been 'planted' in the moat around the Tower of London are part of a huge art installation entitled 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red'. It marks the centenary of the start of Britain's involvement in the First World War, and it was created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins. When the installation is complete by 11th November 2014, 888,246 ceramic poppies – each of which represents a British military fatality during the war – will fill the Tower's moat.

The poppies each cost £25.00 to 'buy', and the money raised will be shared equally amongst six service charities:

• Cobseo (The Confederation of Service Charities): This confederation is dedicated to the goal of maximising the charitable support given to the Armed Forces Community through the co-operation, co-ordination, and collaboration of the organisations working in the Service Charity sector.
• Combat Stress: The UK's leading military charity that specialises in the care of Veterans' mental health, treating conditions including Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety.
• Coming Home: This is the fundraising campaign for the Haig Housing Trust, which provides specially adapted homes for seriously injured and disabled Servicemen, and the general needs housing of ex-Servicemen and their families.
• Help for Heroes: This charity inspires, enables, and supports those who have made sacrifices on our behalf in order to help them to achieve their full potential.
• The Royal British Legion: This is the UK's largest Armed Forces charity, and it provides care and support to all members of the British Armed Forces - past and present - and their families.
• SSAFA (Soldiers', Sailors' and Airmen's Families Association): This charity provides lifelong support to anyone who is currently serving or has ever served in the Royal Navy, British Army or Royal Air Force and their families.

I have been to ... Cartagena Naval Museum, Cartagena, Spain: The Peral submarine

My wife and I had just left the Cartagena Naval Museum when one of the warding staff ran after us to make sure that we knew about the existence of another part of the Museum. She pointed us around the corner ...

... in the direction of the next door building ...

... where Isaac Peral's submarine Peral, was on display.

The Peral was one of the first (if not the first) fully capable military submarine. It was armed with two torpedoes, and on trials it showed that it was capable of operating underwater for many hours and was able to launch its torpedoes whilst submerged.

Despite the fact that it was undoubtedly the best submarine of its time, the Spanish Navy did not build further Peral-designed submarines. Had they done so, they would have enjoyed a superiority in underwater warfare that it would have taken other navies years to match.

The submarine was withdrawn from service in 1890, its equipment was removed, and the hull was stored at La Carraca Arsenal. The hull was supposed to be scrapped in 1913, but the order to do so was seemingly ignored. In 1929, Admiral Mateo García de los Reyes, first commander of the Spanish submarine force, had the hull towed it to Cartagena, where it was stored ashore within the submarine base. It remained there until 1965, when the local government of the city had the hull moved to the Plaza de los Héroes de Cavite and put on display. The hull was moved again in 2002 to the Paseo Alfonso XII, and to its present location in 2013. The hull has now been renovated and restored.

The Peral's characteristics

• Displacement: Surfaced: 77 tonnes; Submerged: 85 tonnes
• Length: 22m (72' 2")
• Beam: 2.9m (9' 6")
• Draught: 2.8m (9' 2")
• Propulsion: 2 x 30hp/22kW electric motors driving two propellers
• Speed: Surfaced: 7.8 knots; Submerged: 3 knots
• Range: Surfaced: 400 nautical miles at 3 knots
• Armament: 1 x 14-inch Torpedo Tube (in the bow); 3 × 14-inch Schwarzkopf torpedoes