Many wartime submarines had aquatic animal names and these recent additions to the museum's growing menagerie include a solid copper terrapin from HMS Terrapin and a bizarre wooden carved sunfish from the officers' mess of HMS Sunfish. These new exhibits have been added to the silver salmon from HMS Salmon, a stuffed ocelot from HMS Ocelot and a narwhale's tusk from HMS Narwhal.

Museum Archivist George Malcolmson said "The objects give us a fascinating insight into the quirky sense of humour of our submariners". "The beautifully made copper terrapin brought to mind the story of the submarine HMS Thorough's many pets. Former crew relate that they were continually stumbling over their real nine inch long tortoise at night in the subdued lighting, so a platform was built on his back to take a battery and a port (red) and starboard (green) steaming light, from then on his position course and sped were apparent at a glance".

"During HMS Thorough's war in the Far East the crew also liberated three dogs and a cockerel they nicknamed named Ebenezer and an unpopular chipmunk who continually nipped peoples bare toes.
"While in silent routine stalking Japanese surface forces Ebenezer once let out a loud "Cock a Doodle" and was quickly stuffed protesting into a sack. We can only wonder what the Japanese Asdic operator reported to his superiors! "

Other pets onboard submarines over the years have included: White Mice, Rats, Cats & Dogs, Parrots, Rabbits, Goats, Snakes and even a Reindeer which can be seen in the photographic archive at the Submarine Museum.

The Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, Hampshire is open every day and was set up as the "submarine memorial complex" with a key objective to commemorate the lives of the Royal Navy Submarine Service. For more information on a visit to the Royal Navy Submarine Museum and the new coffee shop overlooking Portsmouth Harbour visit www.rnsubmus.co.uk or call 023 92510354.

Bob Mealings, Acting Director of the RN Submarine Museum said, ?We are of course absolutely delighted that HLF have recognised the value of HMS Alliance and importance of the project. The Staff, Trustees and Volunteers at the Museum have all worked long and hard to reach this stage. Now we look forward to moving onto the detailed planning work?

?HMS Alliance is in desperate need of restoration, suffering from severe corrosion and decay. The grant will allow the Submarine Museum to realise ambitious plans not only to restore the vessel but to build a hard standing platform under the vessel that will make its care and maintenance sustainable for the long-term as well as increasing the level of access that visitors have to the submarine and the fabulous waterfront of Portsmouth Harbour ?.

Rear Admiral Roger Lane-Nott, Chairman of the Trustees of the RN Submarine Museum said ? This is tremendous news and I am very grateful to the Heritage Lottery Fund for their support on such a worthwhile project. We are confident that we can restore HMS ALLIANCE for future generations and in a sustainable way. We have much to do but this is a very important milestone.?

HMS Alliance is the only surviving WW2 submarine preserved in the United Kingdom . The vessel's importance to Britain 's maritime heritage was confirmed by her inclusion in the ?core collection? Historic Ships Register. Alliance first went on display to the public in 1981 and remains the Museum's most important heritage asset. Over 1 million people from all over the UK and the World have visited the submarine. It is recognised as valuable educational asset and is used in a variety of ways for both formal and informal learning. The submarine is also a Memorial to all RN submariners lost while on active duty.

The HLF first-round pass means that the Royal Navy Submarine Museum can now progress can now progress to the second stage of the HLF application process. The Museum has up to two years to submit more detailed plans and apply for the £3million grant that will be critical to funding this urgently needed project which in total will cost £4.8million.

The Royal Navy Submarine Museum is open everyday throughout the year and offers the unique experience of actually going onboard HMS Alliance with former submariners.

Oldest surviving Jolly Roger on show at Submarine Museum

3 July 2009

The oldest surviving Jolly Roger flag from the Royal Navy Submarine Service will be on show for the first time in new exhibition Skull and Crossbones due to open on Saturday 25 July at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, Hampshire . It will be exhibited alongside the newest Jolly Roger that the museum has in its collection which has been flown in recent times in Iraq.

The oldest Jolly Roger was flown from the WW1 E54 submarine that sank the German U-boat UC10 off Schouwen Bank, North Sea in August 1916 and the German U-boat UC81 off South West Ireland in May 1917. It was donated to the Submarine Museum in 1964 from the Exeter branch of the Submariners Association and has been kept in the reserve collection till now.

The Jolly Roger adoption as the battle ensign of the Royal Navy Submarine Service began when Lt Cdr Max Horton RN, in command of HMS E9, raised the Jolly Roger in September 1914 on return from the patrol which he sank the German cruiser Hela and the destroyer S-116. He had remembered the words of Vice Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson, when he has spoke out against the adoption of the submarine by the Royal Navy in 1901, ?The Crews of all submarines captured should be treated as pirates and hanged?

Mr Bob Mealings, Acting Director of the RN Submarine Museum said ? Made by the crew themselves, the Jolly Roger very quickly became a proud, visible expression of the bravery and daring of the Royal Navy Submarine Service?

?We are very proud to be able to show this Jolly Roger for the first time alongside its modern equivalent?

The symbols on the Jolly Roger flags represent different activities and became standardized during WW2. The latest Jolly Roger which will also be in the exhibition, from HMS Turbulent, was last flown during Operation Telic, Iraq in 2003. The Tomahawk symbols on this flag represent Tomahawk missiles fired and the Dagger symbols represent cloak and dagger (secret) operations.

Skull and Crossbones at the RN Submarine Museum will run throughout the year and is designed to be a family exhibition. Young children will be able to learn how to speak pirate, command their own boat, discover treasure and set sail for a tour of the museum. The exhibition will also explain why Submariners are known as the pirates within the Royal Navy and how the Royal Navy Submarine Service combats modern day piracy.

Son comes face to face with his dad,

the iconic face of the Submarine Service

 3 July 2009

Paul and Annette Read from St Clement, Jersey visited the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport Hampshire to finally come face to face with the image of the iconic ?Submariner Statue? They had only recently discovered Paul's father Reginald had been the model for this statue.

The ?Submariner? has become an iconic representation of the Royal Navy's Submarine Service and has been reproduced in a multitude of materials including, bronze, porcelain and even the lead from the batteries of Holland I (Royal Navy's first submarine 1901). Her Majesty the Queen was given a silver replica of the ?Submariner? on 8 th June 1958 when she presented the Queen's Colour to the Submarine Command.

Mr George Malcolmson, Archivist at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum said, ?Leading Electrical Mechanic (Leading Torpedo Operator) Reginald Lawrence Read was picked to model for the artist Gilbert Ledward RA. How he was chosen remains something of a mystery but the popular story is that Reginald's handsome looks and fine jaw line meant that he was volunteered .?

Paul's father died in 1987 and only one member of his family ever knew about his connection with the statue. A casual remark by Paul's elder sister Mavis, led Annette Read to contact the museum Archivist George Malcolmson. The story began to unfold and after several years the couple have now managed to visit Gosport from their home in the Channel Islands to see the museum and the traditional home of the Royal Navy's Submarine Service.

After his visit to the RN Submarine Museum and tour of HMS Alliance, Paul Read said, ?Looking at the confined space my father must have worked and lived in, I can now finally understand why he always chose to work out doors when he left the Royal Navy?

Reginald Read had served with the Royal Navy Submarine Service throughout the war from1939 until he was discharged in 1947. He served on the submarine HMS Sealion (1940-1942) under the Command of the famous Captain Ben Bryant and HMS Sea Dog (1942) and HMS Varangian (1943-1944), HMS Uther 1944-1945) and HMS Storm (1945)

The sculpture was originally designed as part of the memorial installed in Westminster Abbey to commemorate the men of the Submarine Service of the Royal Navy, the Commandos, the Airborne Forces and Special Air Service. The World War II memorial was unveiled on May 21 st 1948 and Winston Churchill gave a speech at the unveiling and dedication service.

Anniversary of Submarine Sinking remembered in China and Gosport

9 June 2009 

At 12:12 today Tuesday June 9 , former Submariners and their families will be marking the loss of HMS Poseidon on site in Weihai, China and at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport . In China, there will be several British families who are related to crew members present at the observance alongside the Naval Attaché from Beijing, Captain RN and a submariner. In Gosport ex submariners and staff of the museum will be present. The short observance will be followed by laying of wreaths at both sites.

George Malcolmson, Archivist at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum said from China ? It is moving to take a moment to not only remember the loss of HMS Poseidon, but to acknowledge the fact that we are doing the same thousands of miles away in China on the spot where the accident took place?

The Royal Navy Submarine Museum was set up as the "submarine memorial complex" with a key objective to commemorate the thousands of submariners lost on active service, including both the wars and the many peacetime accidents. The Museum has an Area of Remembrance which is free for all to visit.

Submarine Museum Archivist aids

Time Team Research

27 May 2009 

George Malcolmson, Archivist at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport is helping the researchers from Channel 4's Time Team and Cranfield University to piece together the fascinating story of the patients and staff of Haslar Hospital in Gosport.

George has found a Victorian article detailing the hospitals past back to the time of Nelson and rare early photographs of staff, patients and views of the grounds of Haslar depicting the site where Time Team are filming the dig of the old burial grounds.

Many skeletons from patients of Nelson's navy have been recovered. One skeleton shows the breaks a sailor sustained falling from a great height, possibly the rigging or crows nest of a Nelsonian warship. This skeleton also shows that the sailor survived with his injuries for a couple of months, whilst being cared for at Haslar hospital.

Mr Peter Masters, Research Fellow at Cranfield University and Project Manager of the Archaeological Site at Haslar said, ? The photographs that George has shown us, many of which we have not seen before, will be very useful in helping us build up a picture of Haslar's fascinating past?

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the site where the Royal Navy Submarine Museum is situated today, provided the access for the wounded from the warships in Portsmouth Harbour. The wounded would be unloaded at the jetty and moved on wagons straight into the hospital. The tram lines for the wagons are still present throughout the museum site.

It is free for visitors to walk through the site to the waterfront.

PRINCE WILLIAM TO BE PATRON OF THE HMS ALLIANCE CONSERVATION APPEAL
11th June 2008

Prince William is to become Patron of the HMS Alliance Conservation Appeal. The patronage has been announced on the day The Prince will tour HMS Alliance during a visit to the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, Hampshire.