Following on from last weeks post on HMS Resolute, we pick up the account in this second blog post. On 10 September 1855, the abandoned HMS Resolute was found adrift by the American whaler George Henry, captained by James Budington of Groton, Connecticut in an ice floe off Cape Walsingham of Baffin Island, 1,200 miles… Continue reading The story of how a Tyneside ship ended up as the Resolute desk of the President of the United States Part Two
Tag: Royal Navy
The story of how a Tyneside ship ended up as the Resolute desk of the President of the United States Part One
It’s hard to say much about the desk of the Prime Minister outside the Corona virus, it is almost unheard of him or her to address the nation or indeed The Queen outside her customary Christmas message of goodwill and even then she has more desks than I had hot dinners in 2020 so whilst… Continue reading The story of how a Tyneside ship ended up as the Resolute desk of the President of the United States Part One
Original hand-drawn battle plans by Admiral Lord Nelson for the Battle of Trafalgar are discovered.
Incredible a hand-drawn sketch by Admiral Lord Nelson himself showing his plan for victory at Trafalgar has been discovered tucked inside the pages of a scrapbook after nearly 200 years. They were discovered by historian Martyn Downer in a scrap book book from the 1830s which was recently sold at auction. It shows his plan… Continue reading Original hand-drawn battle plans by Admiral Lord Nelson for the Battle of Trafalgar are discovered.
HMT Bedfordshire – The Royal Navy ship sank defending the United States.
I’ve written several posts about American servicemen who died in Britain in WW2, most recently on the The Endcliffe Park Memorial in Sheffield & the incredible devotion of Tony Foulds. A few weeks ago I came across a fascinating sad little bit of history from WW2 regarding some British servicemen who died in American waters, securing… Continue reading HMT Bedfordshire – The Royal Navy ship sank defending the United States.
Sailing away with Flags of Convenience
What have Liberia, Panama and the Marshall Islands have in common? This might sound like the start of a bad joke but it is a legitimate question. The answer is that these nations are the leading Flag States in the world for shipping. Every merchant ship must register with a country, known as a flagged… Continue reading Sailing away with Flags of Convenience
What would have happened if the Soviet Union had nuked London?
It is hard to imagine anything worse than a nuclear war and recently a normally well-hidden document in the National Archives in Kew (West London) has come out of hiding to be the star attraction in a new exhibition. It’s seems almost a world a way but I can very easily remember as a boy… Continue reading What would have happened if the Soviet Union had nuked London?
Up Close and Personal with the Greenwich Painted Hall Ceiling
Two weeks ago you may have seen my post on the Painted Hall in Greenwich which is often referred to as the Sistine Chapel of England. The artwork is 300 years old however and due to age, wear and tear and earlier attempts at preservation, the imagery had become very dark and rather indistinguishable from… Continue reading Up Close and Personal with the Greenwich Painted Hall Ceiling
The Painted Hall of Greenwich – Englands Sistine Chapel
Said by many to be the English equivalent of the Sistine Chapel, The Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich is one of the most spectacular and important baroque interiors in Europe. You might get some idea what awaits when you first arrive at the Cutty Sark station or as I prefer to… Continue reading The Painted Hall of Greenwich – Englands Sistine Chapel
The lonely Isle of Islay and the doomed American soldiers who died there in 1918 in 2 naval disasters.
The Scottish Isle of of Islay is best known these days for its world famous peaty single malt whisky but a century ago, this normally tranquil place which sits on the western coast of the U.K and facing the fierce north Atlantic was for just a few short months at least, anything other than tranquil.… Continue reading The lonely Isle of Islay and the doomed American soldiers who died there in 1918 in 2 naval disasters.
The Americans Are Coming!
When war was declared in Europe, the United States of America had no interest in joining what they labelled as the European War. American doctrine of the time was insular with regards to the old world and instead concentrated on shaping the Americas as to its own liking. Indeed a significant portion of the American… Continue reading The Americans Are Coming!
Stephen Liddell 