"Firing into the Brown" #50 - Science Museum, "Corp makes a break for it", and stuff..

"So Carnehan weeds out the pick of his men, and sets the two of the Army to show them drill and at the end of two weeks the men can manoeuvre about as well as Volunteers. So he marches with the Chief to a great big plain on the top of a mountain, and the Chiefs men rushes into a village and takes it; we three Martinis firing into the brown of the enemy".

Kipling "The Man Who Would Be King"

Time for another update..

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Most enjoyable trip to the smoke for the grandson during half term - his Mum had got tickets for the Science Museum and wondered if myself and the current Mrs Steve the Wargamer also fancied a trip - in the words of the immortal Fluff Freeman, "not 'arf!", we said.. 😀

To my immortal shame I've never previously been to the Science Museum, and I would say without a shadow of a doubt that's been a definite loss on my part, as the place is fascinating..  the museum is huge and comprises a loosely connected bunch of collections and exhibitions at the heart of which is their technological significance, so there are galleries on the steam engine (brilliant) and the birth of the industrial revolution, then computing, medicine, mathematics - stuffed full of original examples of the subject..  Babbage's Differential machine was amazing, as were some of the Boulton and Watt Steam engines, but the exhibition that got me most enthused was on the top floor where they had an exhibition on the development of flight - everything from Montgolfier to the Space Race..

In no specific order then, these caught my eye.. 

First ever Hawker Siddeley P1127 - following - this was the prototype/test bed plane for what later became the production Harrier Jump Jet - this specific one is serial # XP831 which was the first of the first of those prototypes (and amazingly is the actual plane, not a replica..  😮)

Lots more information on the plane, and the program, here [clicky] and here [clicky]

I was also interested enough to find out why there was an Ark Royal crest on the side, and found out this very plane was the first ever to make a vertical landing on an aircraft carrier - Ark Royal as it happens... 

Next..  the War Office gave this - following - to the museum in 1945 - it's a captured V1, which the museum first exhibited in 1946 as part of an exhibition of enemy technology..  apparently it was very popular.. this one they cut away the sides of, so that people could see how the thing worked more clearly..  the 'orange balls' b.t.w. are high pressure fuel tanks for the rocket engine..

 "Nicht auftreten" - "don't step here" 😏

Following - no mistaking that barn door nose, and one of my favourite WW1 planes.. an SE5A scout in civilian colours. This one was built in 1917 and saw Royal Flying Corps service as ‘F937’ with 85 Sqn,  but after the war was sold privately, and was registered as ‘G-EBIB’ and modified for skywriting [clicky]. It then flew with the Savage Skywriting Company between 1922 and 1934.

Three legends in one shot - following - Supermarine Spitfire, Spitfire and Hurricane (bottom to top), all originals..

Mad as a bucketful of frogs..  a Messerschmitt Me-163B-1A Komet (following), Werknummer 191316, "Yellow 6" - one of 21 captured by the British at the end of the war and used for evaluation. They had a  stupidly small operational window, something like 10 minutes of fuel, but also 'exhilarating' to handle according to one of the RAF's top test pilots (Eric "Winkle" Brown)..  

"Brown recalled that the noise made by the Komet’s rocket motor was “absolutely thunderous… It was like being in charge of a runaway train; everything changed so rapidly and I really had to have my wits about me”. The fighter zoomed up to 32,800ft (10,000m) in 2.75 minutes at a 45° angle — “exhilarating”, according to Brown. Once the limiting Mach number of 0.82 was reached, the effects of compressibility became apparent: heavy buffeting and a strong nose-down trim change. Once the fuel was completely exhausted, Brown glided down to a “very comfortable” dead-stick landing".

They landed using that skid at the front - take off used a detachable trolley, that fell away once the plane was airborne..  madness...

Hurricane following - to be specific Hawker Hurricane Mk 1, serial no. L1592 / W/O 5422, possibly the only existing Hurricane to retain fabric covered wings. Built in 1938 by Hawker this one fought over Dunkirk and in the Battle of Britain, but was attacked by a Bf-109E in August 1940, and damaged in a forced landing near Croydon following the attack. She was repaired and served with the RAF until the end of the war. Her claim to fame though, is that she appeared in both the film "Angels One Five", and an episode of  Monty Python's Flying Circus, "The Light Entertainment War" 😁

Following - Spitfire Mk1a P9444 - built in 1940 by Supermarine Aviation at the Wooston Works, Southampton, and fitted with a Merlin III engine. First flight was in April and it was then assigned to 72 Squadron in June. Flew in Battle of Britain but sustained serious damaged on landing, following P/O Elliott passing out due to lack of oxygen in the July of the same year. Although it was repaired it never again flew operationally. Eliott by the way survived, but had to bale out (safely) over Kent in September the same year when his (next) Spitfire was shot down over Hartfield, Sussex. Then he was wounded two days later following combat over the Thames Estuary. I was pleased to read he survived the war, won a DFC, married, had children and eventually died at a good age as a retired Air Vice Marshall.. 😊 More on him here [clicky]

Last of all - following - Supermarine Rolls Royce Seaplane, S.6.B. S.1595 (the actual plane, though it does have a dummy engine). This one was the winner of the Schneider Trophy in 1931, designed by Mitchell (he of Spitfire fame) it was powered by a supercharged Rolls-Royce 1900 hp engine. Two weeks after winning the trophy, this plane then set a world speed record of 407.5 mph - the fastest ever vehicle on earth at the time. So much of what would later become the Spitfire was owed to this machine - stunning plane..

...enough planes for now...

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Prompted by a post on a fellow Bloggerati's site [clicky], I recently downloaded a copy of these:

Ruthless-Fastest-Rules-in-the-West-3.pdf (fireballforward.com) 

..they're free gratis, and a quick read through prompted me to get some of the little metal men out and try a straight forward and simple man on man gunfight..  just to see how they work.. following shows some of the mechanics, and how it drives the narrative (and for me - with most of my wargaming being solo - the narrative is becoming more and more important, if the rules don't make a good narrative then I lose interest 😏)

For this game then, our old 'friends' from Long Bute Farm [clicky] are reunited.. 

Following his capture (at the end of the game) Corp has been held by the Confederates in one of their cavalry encampments, but he manages to escape by overpowering the guard coming with his evening meal, and pausing only to take the guards carbine, is now making his way back to friendly (Union) lines. 

Unfortunately for him however, Zeke has been out foraging for something for the pot, and sees him moving quickly back towards Union lines. Suspecting the worst Zeke has gone in pursuit, but is unable to raise the alarm as the camp is too far away to hear him. As Corp crosses a small sandy clearing, Zeke shouts to him to stop, and knowing he can't escape without opening himself up to a clear shot, Corp dives for cover, loads his Sharps, and makes ready. On the other side of the clearing Zeke does the same..

Still unpainted..  for shame! Corp top left, Zeke bottom right..  all ground is open, bushes provide cover but do not block line of sight..

"Ruthless" is a card driven game and uses a standard card deck (minus Jokers)..  each side gets 5 cards and the side playing the highest from their set wins initiative and moves; normally each player would have 4 or 5 characters, but with one a side (as in this case) it moves quickly, each character then has two actions per turn (three if they have a seven card to play)

• 1st Move: (C: 6 Clubs vs Z: 8 Clubs) Zeke wins the initiative, but both Aim (which is 1 action) and Fire (also 1 action) - both miss (short range, need a 6+ on a D10, there are some modifiers of which the important one for our two protagonists is that Zeke has rolled a sharpshooter character trait, giving him +1 on the roll)

• 2nd Move: (9 Diamonds vs Ace Diamonds) Zeke wins again, both Reload (1 action) and Fire (1 action), Zeke misses, but Corp shooting second, hits, but only a graze. Zeke takes a 'toughness test' (think of it as a morale check) but fails and becomes 'Lily Livered' (in more usual terms, Zeke is Shaken/Disordered 😁)

So in narrative terms this is what I see in my head so far (I blame too many episodes of "High Chaparral" 😏)

Across the clearing in the lessening light of early evening, Zeke sees the dammed blue belly dive for cover behind some scrub following his shout.. how on earth did he manage to get away, anyway? Zeke pauses for thought, the camp is too far away to have any possibility of them providing support, and with the amount of shooting going on in the no man's land between the two armies no one will bat an eyelid at another few shots. Looks like it's down to him to bring the Yankee back. Raising his Sharps to his shoulder he thanks the fates he's loaded already, and taking aim he shoots but curses when he see's the bullet kick up dust at Corp's feet.. the Yankee is clearly made of stern stuff though and Zeke ducks involuntarily as a bullet zips past. Cracking open the carbines chamber Zeke reloads and quickly shoots, but again misses.. "dammit" he curses, but just then a second shot from the Yankee grazes his arm. Ducking down into cover, he gathers his wits, takes a deep breath and for the first time wonders if he's taken on too much?

• 3rd Move: (6 Spades vs 7 Hearts) Zeke wins again and this time gets 3 actions (he played a 7 card), he takes a 'Get Your Courage Up' test (1 action) to remove the effect of being 'Lily Livered' which he passes (in the game they take this to be having a swig of whisky.. 😏), then Reloads (1) and Fires (1) and hits Corp but again to no effect! Corp takes a toughness test for having been hit,  and passes then reloads, fires and misses. 

• 4th Move: (3 Diamonds vs 5 Hearts), Zeke wins again (to account for playing solo, and being able to see both decks, I alternated who turned over a card and played first - Zeke had the better cards) he reloads and Fires and true to form, misses. Corp does the same and also misses but because he played a 3, it allows him to discard useless low level cards and replace them from the deck - a clever mechanic this, you have a to play a 3 (a low value card) so you know you're likely to lose the initiative in order to have the benefit of maybe getting better cards. Corp discards 3 cards.

Zeke sneaks a quick swig of the rot gut whiskey he bought from Charley, the quartermaster, that morning, and then splashes some of it on the wound before wrapping a neckerchief round it. Loading his carbine, he returns fire. It'll take more than some damned blue belly to stop him.. he fires, and is rewarded by hearing a grunt from the other side of the clearing, but also the sound of return fire - the Yankee was hit but clearly not badly. Zeke fires again without success..

• 5th Move: (Q Diamonds vs 9 Hearts), Corp wins (finally picked up some good cards!), Reloads, Fires and Misses. Zeke does the same actions but hits. Corp takes a toughness test but this time fails and becomes Lily Livered.

• 6th Move:  (Ace Clubs vs 8 Hearts), Corp wins and uses one of his mew cards, an Ace, to win the initiative, but it is also an automatic 'Get Your Courage Up', so he reloads and fires at full effect but misses - he clearly needs to do something different!  Zeke however, reloads and fires but hits (he threw a 10 on a D10, and added + 1 for that Sharpshooter trait), but after all that only grazes Corp. Despite that Corp still has to take a toughness test, and fails again - Lily Livered.

Zeke continues to exchange shots with the Yankee, the only good thing being that neither of them can shoot worth a damn he thinks sourly.. he shoots again though, and this time is again rewarded with a cry of pain from the other side of the clearing - has he done for the blue belly?

• 7th Move: (Ace Spades vs 3 Hearts), Corp continues to mine those good cards he picked up a few moves prior, and wins - the Ace is an automatic 'Get Your Courage Up', so he reloads and fires at full effect and finally hits Zeke, wounding him in the leg. Zeke passes his toughness test and returns fire at full effect - reloads and fires but misses. As he has also played a 3, Zeke discards/replaces 2 cards

• 8th Move: (King Spades vs Q Spades), Corp wins and changes tactics, he opts to move twice into base to base contact (he has a 'Skill with Bowie knife' character trait he hopes he can use!). Zeke attempts to shoot Corp as he advances (snapshot - what we'd call opportunity fire) but fails to get a shot off  (he needs a card in his deck higher in value than the King Corp played for initiative and didn't have one). The two men immediately engage in 'Fisticuffs' (hand to hand) - Corp plays a Q of Diamonds, but Zeke plays a 2 of the same suit - giving him a card driven benefit of "Low Blow" and automatically winning him the bout! Zeke inflicts a graze and a leg wound - Corp passes his toughness test to recover from the Lily Liver condition this caused..

Back comes the answer almost immediately, and Zeke feels a burning pain in his leg - dammit, leg wound! Ducking down into cover, he takes another swig of the rotgut and shoots back. Peering round the edge of the scrub he sees the Yankee running towards him across the clearing, raises his rifle to fire, but is too slow and the blue belly slams into him. As they circle each other in the growing gloom, Zeke lands a lucky kick, and the Yankee stumbles backwards, tripping on some rocks and falling badly, he's hurt bad but not done for yet, Zeke thinks.. 

• 9th Move: (K Clubs vs Jack Hearts), Corp wins... moves into contact again for further fisticuffs. Zeke again attempts a snapshot (as his Sharp is still loaded) - both have Jack's but Zeke's takes precedence, so he shoots and hits Corp in the chest. Corp passes his toughness test, and batters Zeke causing damage to chest and arm. Using his 'Bowie Knife' trait Corp opts to make the chest wound a severe wound knocking Zeke unconscious. He moves forward, ties him up and takes him prisoner.

Corp battering Zeke..

The Yankee gets to his feet and comes at him again, this time with a wicked looking knife. Zeke fires wildly, and could have sworn he hit him, but a sudden blinding pain, and everything suddenly stops and goes dark. When he comes to, his face is dripping with what tastes like his whiskey, and struggling to stand he finds his arms tied, and the blue belly standing over him taking a swig from his canteen.. raising it in an ironic salute, the Yankee speaks.. "looks like the tables are turned, Reb"..

Game over! Well that was a lot of fun..  a simple but very clever set of rules giving huge amounts of narrative value, and playing well.. I mucked up the last snapshot test (I compared cards in the deck but what Zeke actually needed to do was beat Corps initiative card) but it didn't affect the outcome..

I'm not normally a card driven game fan - but there's something about a deck of cards that fits with a western skirmish game.. 😏

Butchers bill... that chest wound for Zeke was upgraded to Severe, causing unconsciousness..

I really must get some paint on the lads..  I feel the need to have another go with these rules with a few more per side.

Corp and Zeke (and their lads) will march again!

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Laters, as the young people are want to say...

I have been to... HMS M33

Just back from a visit to Portsmouth Historic dockyard where this time I went to see a 'most interesting' ship, one I'd never actually visited before..  which is one of the joys of the year long ticket, you can go and see stuff that normally you'd miss out on due to time constraints.

HMS M33 (for such is she) would have been considered so insignificant she wasn't even given a name when launched, but she is an M29 class monitor (one of five) ordered in March 1915 from Harland and Wolf in Belfast, she was then commissioned in the June; just 12 weeks give or take. Unbelievably fast considering the number of other ships being built by H&W at the same time, but to be fair, she's pretty simple in construction terms, and not enormous..

Good overview of the layout..

Like Warrior, she owes her continued existence to a large dose of luck, but mostly an extraordinary variety of roles over the years that kept her just useful enough not to scrap.. of all the ships I've seen in the Historic Dockyard, this one along with Alliance (the submarine) and Victory is the one I enjoyed most - absolutely fascinating boat..  the volunteers clearly love her, and are also enthused! 

Unlike the other ships in the dockyard she has had what they call a "sympathetic" restoration - she has had a long, and at times hard, life with lots of physical changes made to her over the years, but the conservationists have returned her as much as they can to how she would have been when launched, but without replacing all the physical changes that have been made in the interim - no spit and polish, just a lot of work to stabilise corrosion and rot..  I think they've done an amazing job..

Bows on..

Note the towing eyes and guides on the waterline at the bow - there importance will become clearer following..

Stern - note also the shallow draft..

Not surprisingly, considering her type, M33 was a bombardment ship - designed to operate close in to shore and provide fire support for any land based operations..  as such, on launch, she was fitted with two 6"/152mm [clicky] guns which were capable of firing a 100lb shell. These were one of the most advanced naval guns in the Navy at the start of WWI, and usually fitted to Cruisers and Battleships - M33 (and her sister ships) had a bite and was clearly considered important enough to justify the use of the guns on such a small ship- I have read elsewhere that the guns were originally earmarked for a new class of battleship, but the design of the battleship changed so the guns became temporarily surplus..  serendipitous!

Main armament - this one at the stern - note also the secondary 6pdr quick firer for close quarters support under covers on the deck above..  oh, and Victory photobombing.. 😍

 No hydraulics - all shells were lifted from magazine to gun by man power.. example of the type of conservation.. enough to give you an idea of what the space was and how it worked, but otherwise a100+ year old ship - warts and all..

Aft magazine - there would have been another forward for the forward gun

Aft small arms magazine - just forward of the main magazine

I mentioned she was not enormous, and small she is; just over 170 foot long and only 30 foot wide, unbelievably though, her draft is only just less than 6 foot (1m 80cm in new money) - to put that in context that's only 3 foot more than my boat! She'd float in a puddle, but you'd need your seasick pills if you were in anything like a seaway as she would have rocked like a pig, they were also known for lifting the stern so high in any waves that the propeller would clear the water..  to account for this they tended to be towed if they had to go any distance..  

Aft upper deck - ships boat (a whaler) and the 6pdr quick firing gun just behind.. note the simple riveted deck plates

Searchlight/signal light was on rails and could be slid from one side of the ship to the other..

M33's first commission, under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Q.B. Preston-Thomas, was in support of the Gallipoli landings, and for that she was towed all the way, I can only imagine how hellish it must have been for the 5 officers and 67 crew while crossing the Bay of Biscay under tow... it also took a while, as they ran out of fresh provisions on the way and had to resort to tinned/preserved food well before eventually arriving in Malta 3 weeks later.

Speaking of which dining arrangements were spartan...

Three meals a day for the entire crew - including officers - was prepared on this range!

After Gallipoli (which she supported until the evacuation) she was at Salamis for the taking of the Greek fleet, but on return was then sent to Murmansk in 1919 as part of the force sent by the Royal Navy to support the North Russian Expeditionary Force against the Bolsheviks. This is the second ship in the Historic Dockyard where I have heard mention of this expedition (one of the MGB exhibits made mention of it as well, as Naval VC's were won there, must read up on it..

Representation of the crew as it would have been at Gallipoli

On her return to England, she was laid up at the Nore until 1924 when she was converted for mine-laying duties at Pembroke Dock. She was re-commissioned on 3 February 1925 and finally got a name, HMS Minerva, and then became a tender at the Portsmouth school of torpedo and anti-submarine warfare (HMS Vernon).

M33 in mine laying role..  guns gone

Officers quarters:

  Officers cabin - first lieutenant I think..  with ships cat (of which there was one 😏)

 Corridor for officers cabins - with shower space at the end

Captains cabin

Officers mess

By 1939, and the start of WW2, she was being used in Portsmouth for a variety of purposes including being used as a fuelling barge, she was finally hulked the following year before being converted into a boom defence workshop in 1943, when she lost her name and became C23(M), and was towed to the Clyde to become part of the boom defences for the remainder of the war.

The bridge:

Engine controls..  steering position is the platform to the right..

Helmsman stood up high so as to be able to see over any smoke from the forward gun firing..

Radio room - hugely important as this would have been the main means of receiving information on targets for firing at, and how their shells were landing..  like something out of Jules Verne..

Gunnery officers cabin was separate to the other officers - located just under the bridge

Gunnery officers cabin - other end..

She came back to Portsmouth from the Clyde in 1946 and continued (for over 40 years!) in her newest role as a floating workshop and office servicing local auxiliary craft, where she was based at Royal Clarence Yard in Gosport, but with her name changed once more to RMAS (Royal Maritime Auxiliary Service) Minerva. 

Warrant officers mess..

Crews quarters - with the exception of the Marines, the Warrant officers, and the officers - all of them slept in here..

Crews quarters - other side showing the mess arrangements typical of the Navy - you can see the same in Victory and Warrior..

Marines quarters

She was finally disposed of in 1987, when she was taken to Hartlepool for restoration in recognition of her importance as one of the last surviving examples of a Royal Navy WWI era warship.

Five Monitors during the Gallipoli campaign: M33 is second from the left (piccie copyright IWM)

Amazing ship...

Further references:

• Recommend this one..  very interesting..  First World War: Britain’s surviving vessels (ww1britainssurvivingvessels.org.uk)
• https://behindtheartefacts.blogspot.com/2013/12/hms-m33-lucky-ship-thisheritage-weekend.html
• HMS M33 | National Historic Ships
• HMS M33 - Wikipedia

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 Laters, as the young people are want to say...

"Firing into the Brown" #49 - Gunboat sheds, Yapton, beer and stuff..

"So Carnehan weeds out the pick of his men, and sets the two of the Army to show them drill and at the end of two weeks the men can manoeuvre about as well as Volunteers. So he marches with the Chief to a great big plain on the top of a mountain, and the Chiefs men rushes into a village and takes it; we three Martinis firing into the brown of the enemy".

Kipling "The Man Who Would Be King"

Time for another update..

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Was out for a cycle the other day and thought it was way over time for me to see if I could get a better picture of the remains of the gun boat sheds that I touched on a few posts ago [clicky]

As a reminder, this was how it was pictured at the time

Patent Heaving-Up Slips' at Haslar Gunboat Yard (from Mechanics' Magazine, 3 January, 1857)

...and here is how it looks now from the closest I could get to them*..  the tower in background is part of the old Haslar Hospital (now "luxury retirement living" 😏)

..the engine room chimney is still intact, as are ten of the original canopied roofs..

*Still MOD property unfortunately, though now belonging to a Services sailing club for on shore boat storage.. either way access is monitored/policed, but the following is from English Heritage and shows their current condition..  amazing..

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 Yet again Yapton Beer Festival has come and gone in a delightful slightly hazy, bucolic, relaxing, errr..  blur...  😏

Not so good on the weather front this year, but good enough to sit outside once a brief shower passed though, and a prime position to watch the Goodwood Spitfire do a low roll over the village hall where the festival was being held..  magic.. 

Brewery (click for more info)	Beer	ABV	Notes (from brewery website)	What I can remember...
Darkland Indie Brew Co	Boardwalk Bliss	4.4%	Combines new hops with classic core varieties creating truly exceptional tropical flavour notes of passionfruit, mango, papaya, lemongrass and melon. Triple Dry Hopping with Citra, Mosaic and Galaxy to further enhance the aromas and flavours. Creating a well balanced ale akin to sliding into a hammock between two palm trees, whilst keeping things soft and light to the palate	👎👎Hideous..  either sour or off..  this one went to irrigate the grass outside..
Arundel	Smash	4.5%	Single hop (Mosaic) and single malt (Chevalier), lovely easy drinking pale ale	👍Had tried this a few weeks before at one of my local pubs so it was a known quantity (unlike most of the ales at the festival it has to be said) - this one has the unique privilege of being the only beer made by this brewery that I like..  and I've tried most of them!
Bristol Beer Factory	Powerslide	4.4%	Bringing the Aussie energy Vic Secret [a hop variety apparently 😏] kicks off with power levels of tropical and pineapple goodness, twisted to amplify the hop power with both T90 and Spectrum. Motueka follows up with fresh citrus depth	👍BBF are safe hands when it comes to breweries in my opinion, so I may not have heard or seen of the beer before but knew it was going to be OK, and so it was..
Goldmark	Citra Smash	4.4%	Single hop and single malt pale ale classic, generously dry hopped with Yakima Valley Citra hops	👍Another safe brewery - pleasant beer, not outstanding..
Kelburn	Jaguar	4.5%	A golden, full bodied ale with undertones of grapefruit and a long lasting citrus, hoppy aftertaste. This beer has bite!	👍Nice beer, one of the better one's, but no, no bite..😏
Magic Dragon	Green One	4.2%	A refreshing Citra hopped IPA with crisp, grapefruit, lemon notes and a slight citrus aroma	👍I drank it but can't remember anything standout or unusual about this brew, other than that like the others it was nice..  😀
Urban Island	Quiver	4.5%	Session cask brewed with Mosaic, Cashmere & Citra hops, pale ale malt & oats	👍One of my local breweries and I have actually been to it for a beer, but again not what I would call a standout brewery - they make OK beers though and despite the fact that this was a hazy style beer it was OK..
Kirkstall	Dissolution	5%	Brewed in memory of the dissolution of Kirkstall Abbey by Henry Vlll, in 1539 AD, and the disbanding of the Abbey’s Cistercian order. This is a classic India Pale Ale, with a resolute hoppy kick and lasting citrus finish	👍Going stronger by this stage of the festival as I was looking for distinct flavour and extra ABV usually helps..
Downlands	Endless Circles	5.5%	After many cycles of discussion we settled on Mosaic, Centennial and Citra for the hop build	👍👍All the thumbs up beers were above average but not outstanding, this was slightly more above average than them, so if there was one - this is my best beer of the festival

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 Laters, as the young people are want to say...

"Firing into the Brown" #48 - Phoenix, gun ports and stuff..

"So Carnehan weeds out the pick of his men, and sets the two of the Army to show them drill and at the end of two weeks the men can manoeuvre about as well as Volunteers. So he marches with the Chief to a great big plain on the top of a mountain, and the Chiefs men rushes into a village and takes it; we three Martinis firing into the brown of the enemy".

Kipling "The Man Who Would Be King"

Time for another update..

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Spotted this on Farcebook the other day - never seen it before, but it touches on a subject I had a brief'ish mention of here [clicky] and it's a fascinating picture..

This is Hayling beach - just down the road from me, and at the entrance to Langstone Harbour - and the hive of activity you see is construction of Phoenix (type C) caissons destined for Normandy as part of the Mulberry Harbours. There were four built between '43 and '44, so I would guess this is probably sometime in late '43, or early '44 given the state of construction and the workers clothes. 

The building in the far distance is now the Ferryboat Inn pub. View hasn't changed that much despite the years...  and the concrete support blocks are still there...

Piccie courtesy Tripadvisor

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Other blokes collects stamps, I collect gun ports... 😁

Was out on the bike the other day and wanted to see if any of the forward/front facing, gun ports were still visible on the Hilsea Lines despite the landscaping, and having been covered in the intervening years..  was surprised to find several - all bricked in of course, but one of them still has the remains of what must have been a steel shutter

No shutters but note the hinges for where they would have been

Look at that arch of bricks...

Remains of a steel shutter still visible.. note also the crappy quality of the brickwork to block the entrance compared to the others..  given the graffiti on this one I'd day that this one has been used for access more recently than the others by the "local youf"... 😏

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 Laters, as the young people are want to say...

"Firing into the Brown" #47 - Armstrong 7" 'ers, Sansom and stuff..

"So Carnehan weeds out the pick of his men, and sets the two of the Army to show them drill and at the end of two weeks the men can manoeuvre about as well as Volunteers. So he marches with the Chief to a great big plain on the top of a mountain, and the Chiefs men rushes into a village and takes it; we three Martinis firing into the brown of the enemy".

Kipling "The Man Who Would Be King"

Time for another update..

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..I came across this on Farcebook, and it is absolutely fascinating, it also has a direct bearing on the minor investigations and research I've been doing over the winter on the Hilsea Lines, as these would have been the guns that were mounted for a short time between 1886 and their eventual removal in 1903. By the by, these were also the heavy guns we saw fitted to HMS Warrior in the previous post.

It's worth noting that the design of these guns were already over 20 years old by the time they were actually installed in the Lines..  given that the Lines were already obsolete before they were even completed, and these guns were the first equipped despite the Lines having been completed 15 odd years before, it's also not beyond the realms of reason to conclude that these would have been guns not needed elsewhere..  😏

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I was sad to read this week of the death of the author CJ Sansom, one of my favourite writers..

He was perhaps best known for his books about the barrister Matthew Shardlake, set in Tudor England against the background of Henry VIII's court and the machinations of Thomas Cromwell, which I loved and have read all of (and this has caused me to want to revisit them soon), but I think his finest books were two relatively modern period ones he wrote..

Of the two "Winter in Madrid" is awesome and I reviewed it here [clicky] giving it a very solid 9 out of 10, but the best book by far is "Dominion". I reviewed it here [clicky] giving it a 10, and I absolutely completely and totally recommend it - if you haven't yet, you need to read it.

Sansom is (was 😔) one of those near mythical story tellers that I rave about - he was up there with the best, and I shall miss not having any more new stories from him, but what a legacy he leaves behind...

RIP, Sir...

Guardian Obituary [clicky]..

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 Laters, as the young people are want to say...