Portsmouth Historic Dockyards

Our first excursion of BSAO 2013 was to the Royal Naval Dockyards in Portsmouth to see some of the famous ships that have sailed from that port over the years.

From our excursion handout:

Portsmouth faces on to the English Channel and is a natural harbour, sheltered by the Isle of White. It’s been a home of the Royal Navy for many hundreds of years and continues to be a major supply port for military ships. Henry VIII stood on shore there and watched his flagship, the Mary Rose, sink; one of the first great military industrial plants was established there by Mark Isambard Brunel, manufacturing pulleys for the sail ships; Nelson sailed from there to Trafalgar; so did large elements of the D-Day invasion forces. Like many places essential to the war effort, Portsmouth was comprehensively bombed by German forces during the Second World War.

The weather was perfect.  We went on 2 of the battleships, the HMS Warrior and HMS Victory.

HMS Warrior

Warrior is a bit like a nuclear bomb in that its main function was deterrence. It is Britain’s first ironclad ship, launched in 1861, and was never involved in actual military combat. 

Captain's Quarters

Dining and Canons - what more do you need?

They kept the swords close at hand in case the canons failed to keep them from being invaded.

HMS Victory

 Nelson’s flagship remains technically a commissioned ship in the Royal Navy and is the flagship of the Second Sea Lord, Commander of the Home Command. Victory is one of those sights you never forget: imagining the awful conditions on board, especially during a battle, is virtually impossible. It was built over six years, launched in 1765, and continued in active military use until 1812.

 2013 is a special year: wooden sailing ships have to “dismasted” periodically, for reasons of stability and preservation, and this is one of those years.

The "dismasted" ship

Would you like to sleep like this?

"Here Nelson Fell" Plaque - notes the place where Admiral Nelson died