News
Look here for news of what the Society for Nautical Research (South) has been doing lately. To find out about forthcoming attractions see our Events page.
PLA Navy Surface Fleet
Our Annual General Meeting was followed by Alistair Feltham on The Chinese PLA Navy surface fleet from 1960 to 2030. His talk on the People’s Liberation Army surface navy [...]
Restoration of HMS Victory
Our October meeting began with Tony Noon who has worked for the NMRN for just over nine years, with the last two years specifically on the Restoration of HMS [...]
Southsea Coastal Scheme
There were enough of us to pack out the Southsea Coastal Scheme meeting room on one of the hottest days of the year. It got rather warm despite the open [...]
Institute of Naval Medicine Visit
There were enough of us to require two groups (morning and afternoon) for our Institute of Naval Medicine visit at Monckton House, Alverstoke. As a working military site, the [...]
We took a Hamble walk
We took a Hamble walk with the help of a knowledgeable local guide. This was on a blazing hot day at a recreation ground (formerly part of the airfield) [...]
Cold War and Train Ferries
Our May meeting, last of the spring/summer programme, featured the Cold War and train ferries. Dr Edward Hampshire is a historian at the Naval Historical Branch, Ministry of Defence; [...]
May 2023 Meeting
Our main speaker was Jacob Thomas-Llewellyn on PLUTO – a successful failure. His talk was excellent both for content and delivery and sparked lively discussion afterward. Jacob holds a BA in War, Peace and International Relations and a master’s degree in strategic studies and has recently completed doctoral studies with the Department of History at the University of Reading. He has been published by the Independent, the Conversation and the Royal Logistic Corps. He has also advised and been interviewed by Michael Buerk as part of the Channel 5 documentary, How Britain Won WW2.
John Bingeman’s talk went far beyond its nominal subject of Vasa’s Whipstaff Steering circa 1628, covering illustrations of his and Jane’s rare privilege of an internal inspection of the ship and the corrosive effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on iron – a conservation issue relevant to the Mary Rose. Again, a brisk conversation followed.
April 2023 Meeting
Roger Smith gave a fascinating talk on Shinano – the brief story of the Biggest Carrier of WW2. She was converted from the hull of the third Yamato-class battleship mid-build and had a short, profitless life, setting an unhappy record on the way when she was sunk just seventeen hours into her maiden voyage. Roger’s gripping, moment-by-moment account gave a real feeling of ‘being there’.
Continuing the Far East theme, Derek Nudd had the unenviable task of following Roger with a chat about WW2 Japanese language training in the Royal Navy. When war struck the Pacific and Indian Oceans too many linguists were trapped in newly occupied territories, leaving the Allies deaf to enemy intentions. The story of their efforts to catch up has its own interest and provoked a lively follow-on discussion.