-
Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.
We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team
Hms Victory
- Thread starter Astoness
- Start date
C
cornwall col
Guest
I cant keep up with all the changes. I was amazed when a teenage son of a friend joined up and told me that the new ships have to be designed so the personnel can sit up in their pit and read with their own adjustable reading light...still if the Navy want to attract the best I guess they need to provide the facilties youngsters today expect.
Went to Guzz a while back and even the strip was largely derelict and the Navy had moved its social life from the Likes of Diamond Lil's to the pubs and wine bars of old Plymouth...how times change.
Went to Guzz a while back and even the strip was largely derelict and the Navy had moved its social life from the Likes of Diamond Lil's to the pubs and wine bars of old Plymouth...how times change.
C
cornwall col
Guest
Yes and the Royal Fleet Club is now the Royal Fleet Hotel and is a normal hotel complete with a ballroom and ensuite rooms with TV's etc....Lol when I stayed there when I was in the Navy there wasnt even a plug in the sink. Think Pompey has lost its Sailors Home Club is now the Royal Maritime Club and is open for anyone who wants to stay there...times change I guess even my branch badge doesnt exist anymore....
...yes back on track lol Nice photos including HMS Warrior
...yes back on track lol Nice photos including HMS Warrior
chocks2
master brummie
Lot of ex-matelots on line eh!
Excellent, Interesting and factual post from you Llamafama but contrary to popular belief Nelson was not put in a cask of rum. He was actually pickled in a mix of brandy and spirit of wine and ironically he was shipped back to the UK aboard HMS Pickle.
Ganges gone, Daedalus gone, Osprey gone, Minerva gone, Ark 4 gone, Fearless gone, Hermes gone, 809 NAS gone 781 NAS gone. Either the Navy's falling apart or I was a jinx.
Excellent, Interesting and factual post from you Llamafama but contrary to popular belief Nelson was not put in a cask of rum. He was actually pickled in a mix of brandy and spirit of wine and ironically he was shipped back to the UK aboard HMS Pickle.
Ganges gone, Daedalus gone, Osprey gone, Minerva gone, Ark 4 gone, Fearless gone, Hermes gone, 809 NAS gone 781 NAS gone. Either the Navy's falling apart or I was a jinx.
L
llamafarmer
Guest
hey chocks2 i was a chockhead too... 
L
llamafarmer
Guest
my ships in order of service... 824 sqdn, olmeda, ark (4), argus, birmingham, manchester, illustrious, fearless, ocean... best of the bunch was manchester when we went on a run ashore the whole ship went!
L
llamafarmer
Guest
yes i was but as i branch changed to aircraft controller i experienced a bit of animosity so i didnt carry on with my subs 
chocks2
master brummie
Take a trip down the gut Old Boy but forget the egg and chips! the chippies gone. Only one bar down the gut now and they don't even know what a sticky green is.
Dear old Aggie's retired again it's now a Polish club and believe it or not the China Fleet Club is closed.
Union Street has become just a street and the only pub on Queens street, The Old Vic is now a gay bar. No bars left on Gosport High Street.
If suicide is an option I think I might join you but I think we should have a tot or two before we go eh?
"ONCE JACK ALWAYS JACK" CHEERS OLD BOY!!!!
Dear old Aggie's retired again it's now a Polish club and believe it or not the China Fleet Club is closed.
Union Street has become just a street and the only pub on Queens street, The Old Vic is now a gay bar. No bars left on Gosport High Street.
If suicide is an option I think I might join you but I think we should have a tot or two before we go eh?
"ONCE JACK ALWAYS JACK" CHEERS OLD BOY!!!!
Dave M
Pheasey Born Bumper
At Trafalgar I think that the English sailors were far more trained at their tasks than the French/Spanish opposition. They had been blockading the enemy coast, with relief, for years and drills would probably have been a daily routine. The French were destroyed. They had been trying to avoid fights most of the time whilst the English navy had always been looking for one. It was the only way that the English could survive as a nation. Napoleon could not invade across the Channel without superior sea power and at Trafalgar he lost it all for ever.
It would seem that the tactics of the forces were different. The French would try to dismast the opposition and render the ship unmanageable whereas the English would try to do as much damage below decks (hopefully above the waterline) so that they would be able to sail the defeated ship away as a prize. Every sailor recieved a share of the prize money. One wonders how all of this played out in the close quarters of the battle where I would suspect that the order was to fire at will the more the better. You could only fire when your gun came to bear on the enemy though and if crossing astern or ahead this would result in a series of shots along the row of gunports as each gun came to bear. I think this is called raking. Must have been horrible to be caught in that position.
I don't think it is known how many ships were involved but from what I have read the numbers on both sides may have been fairly equal. There was no question about the outcome though...it had to be that way or perhaps we would not be here today. In effect the odds in numbers of ships did not matter. Beating a larger force would just have taken a bit longer than it did. What I did not realize was that this war was faught in far corners of the worlds oceans. For survival, the French had to be defeated...everyware. We won and they lost. That's the way it was and is. We gained control of Canada. Had it gone the other way one wonders what might have happened.
After this battle England and Britain had complete control of the seas for a hundred years and made them free for everyone to sail.
Only two French ships escaped the slaughter and capture but sadly, as a side note, a storm blew up on the following day and many of the damaged prizes had to be cast free on a lee shore even after gallent efforts to save them. A sad day for the gallent sailors to loose their share of the prize money after winning what was for us the most important sea battle in history.
The loss of Nelson was a great blow. One of the sadest events in history. He was much loved by everyone. A brilliant naval tactition.
It would seem that the tactics of the forces were different. The French would try to dismast the opposition and render the ship unmanageable whereas the English would try to do as much damage below decks (hopefully above the waterline) so that they would be able to sail the defeated ship away as a prize. Every sailor recieved a share of the prize money. One wonders how all of this played out in the close quarters of the battle where I would suspect that the order was to fire at will the more the better. You could only fire when your gun came to bear on the enemy though and if crossing astern or ahead this would result in a series of shots along the row of gunports as each gun came to bear. I think this is called raking. Must have been horrible to be caught in that position.
I don't think it is known how many ships were involved but from what I have read the numbers on both sides may have been fairly equal. There was no question about the outcome though...it had to be that way or perhaps we would not be here today. In effect the odds in numbers of ships did not matter. Beating a larger force would just have taken a bit longer than it did. What I did not realize was that this war was faught in far corners of the worlds oceans. For survival, the French had to be defeated...everyware. We won and they lost. That's the way it was and is. We gained control of Canada. Had it gone the other way one wonders what might have happened.
After this battle England and Britain had complete control of the seas for a hundred years and made them free for everyone to sail.
Only two French ships escaped the slaughter and capture but sadly, as a side note, a storm blew up on the following day and many of the damaged prizes had to be cast free on a lee shore even after gallent efforts to save them. A sad day for the gallent sailors to loose their share of the prize money after winning what was for us the most important sea battle in history.
The loss of Nelson was a great blow. One of the sadest events in history. He was much loved by everyone. A brilliant naval tactition.
