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The Last Post of Dunluce Castle
For Game of Thrones fans, Dunluce Castle is a highlight of any Northern Ireland location tour.…RNR Officers Club Liverpool
The RNR Officers’ Club Liverpool, more commonly known as the Sea Urchins, and based out of…Misery on the Jellicoe Express
Throughout 2 world wars, the Jellicoe Express ran between London Euston and Thurso, linking the South of England ports with the Royal Navy’s Orkney anchorage in Scapa Flow. The train was named after Admiral John Jellicoe, Commander of the Grand Fleet at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. The first Jellicoe Trains ran from August 1914, carrying steam coal…
The Last Post of Dunluce Castle
For Game of Thrones fans, Dunluce Castle is a highlight of any Northern Ireland location tour. Perching precariously on the basalt outcrops of the Antrim coast, its dramatic situation, plus a touch of CGI, turned Dunluce Castle into Castle Pike, Seat of the House Greyjoy, in fictional Westeros. For naval researchers, H.M.S. Dunluce Castle is a…
RNR Officers Club Liverpool
The RNR Officers’ Club Liverpool, more commonly known as the Sea Urchins, and based out of the stone frigate HMS Eaglet, was formed in 1921 and will thus celebrate its Centenary in 2021. To mark this special occasion it is intended to publish a book about the Club which will include a biography of all…
The End of Hostilities
The ‘Instrument of Surrender’ that concluded the end of hostilities of World War 2 was signed at Reims at 02:41 Central European Time (CET) on 7 May 1945. The signing took place in a red brick schoolhouse, the Collège Moderne et Technique de Reims which served as the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force. It was…
One Degree of Separation
A hero of the Arctic convoys in World War II who missed out on a medal because he was one degree too far south is finally to get his award. Edwin Leadbetter, 92, was outraged he did not get the Arctic Star and the prestigious Ushakov Medal for his services to Russia in the dangerous…
HMS Ephretah
Also known as HMS Ephreta, the Admiralty Steam Drifter Ephretah was built at Oulton Broad, Lowestoft in 1918 named ‘Quicksand’. She was one of the many pre-war trawlers requisitioned by The Admiralty for minesweeper or anti-submarine work. The trawler, though not an ideal anti-submarine craft, was a cheap and accessible resource for that duty. The guns they could mount…
The Photographers of WW2
Two civilian pressmen were among the photographers called up to witness the British Expeditionary Force in 1939 and 1940. When the Second World War broke out in September 1939, just one Army photographer, Geoffrey Keating, and one cameraman, Harry Rignold, accompanied the British Expeditionary Force to France. On 24 October 1941, the Army agreed to…