I was captivated when I first saw this photograph of HMS Marlborough at Grand Harbour, Valletta, Malta. The two Victorian-era warships dominate the image set against the grandeur of the appropriately named harbour. HMS Marlborough lies at anchor and displays to us her full broadside. The photograph was take in the early 1860s and is incredibly clear for such an early photograph depicting the days of the sailing navy. She was a First Rate battleship carrying 131 guns on three gun decks. Certainly a ship that projected power and one not to be messsed with! She was flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet
HMS Marlborough at Malta c. 1862 (Wikipedia)
Take a closer look and we noice a funnel. There's a sort of end of an era feel about this hybrid. She had a propellor, boiler and coal-fired steam engine as well as full masts and rigging. She was predominantly wooden. It was a time when sail and steam co-existed but the future was metal and steam. One is minded of that Turner painting of the aged HMS Temeraire, a veteran of Trafalgar, being towed by a steam tug to the breakers yard in 1838. The fighting Temeraire was a 98-gun ship of the line.
Marlbough was launched in July 1855. She was ordered as a sailing ship in 1850 but in 1852 was ordered to be converted into a steam and sail warship. Under steam she could sail at a speed of nearly twelve knots irrespective of wind direction. She was the flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet from 1858 to 1864. She was replaced by HMS Victoria and sailed to Portsmouth where she acted as a training ship and later a receiving ship. In 1904 she became an accommodation hulk with HMS Ariadne and HMS Acteon for the Torpedo Training School know as HMS Vernon at Portsmouth. In 1923 HMS Vernon became a shore establishment and the former HMS Marlborough which had been renamed Vernon II was sold for scrapping in 1924. While being towed to the breakers yard she capsized in heave seas and sunk with the loss of four lives.
The photograph below shows the old Marlborough then known as Vernon II hulked and used as an accommodation ship. Not as imposing as she was when serving with the Medierranean fleet and lying at anchor at Valletta but even as a hulk stripped of her mast and rigging and with the cluttered add-ons to her main deck - she still looks impressive. She still carries her head high and she avoided that final igmony of being broken up and instead found her own resting place in the English Channel.
Former HMS Marlborough (Vernon II) www.vernon link
Accommodation hulks: the former HMS Marlborough, Warrior and Donegal (Photo wwwVernon Link)
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I read your book about the Battle of Hong Kong a few days back, and there’s two questions I would like to inquire about the events of the battle.
ReplyDeleteMy first question is if the ADS was picketed and some of its shelters had been captured by the Japanese by midday on the 19th, wouldn’t it have been recaptured by the Royal Scots during their counterattack in the morning of the 20th as they got pretty close to the police knoll. However it doesn’t seem like there are any reports of fighting at the ADS as far as I know
2nd question: why did ‘A’ Company of the Royal Rifles not encounter any Japanese at the road junction of Repulse Bay Road on the 21st. It seems like in other previous and later events that the road junction was heavily defended by Japanese troops. Did they leave that place due to the amount of Canadian troops advancing up the road?
Good Morning: These are good questions and I'm not sure I have the answers. With regard to Q2 - The counter attack through Repulse Bay on 20 Dec got stuck trying to get through the road gap (Repulse Bay Road / Island Road). The Japanese took the junction early on 20 Dec. It is puzzling that A Coy was able to get through - I can only assume that at the time the junction was not guarded - the Japanese may have moved back up the hill towards Over Bays and the other residential houses nearby. Later they were back at that junction preventing units from the Ridge getting through. I think on Q1 the counter attacks were fixated on capturing the police post knoll. and bypassed D Coy shelters and the ADS shelters .The police post was recaptured briefly ........but the Shoji Butai was there in considerable force and as you know all the counterattacks failed. Philip
ReplyDeleteOh that makes sense. I initially thought that the Japanese at the road junction were scared off by the troop numbers of 'A' Company, but seeing as the Japanese ambushed the troops from the Ridge at the junction ( which was just a slight bit less than the troop numbers from 'A' Company, I agree with your theory.
ReplyDeleteAs far as I remember from reading your book, part of the Royal Scots's counterattack on WNC Gap advanced up Blue Pool Road and got very close to the police post. However by that time, one of the ADS shelters had been captured by the Japanese, and the other shelter ( where a bunch of medical staff were holding out) was being picketed and the Japanese tried to break their way in multiple times. Since the ADS shelter was located on the top of Blue Pool Road, and the Royal Scots must have passed it on their counterattack, I expected them to face small arms fire from the Japanese in or around the ADS. ( as far as I know, the Canadian troops in the D Coy shelters were frequently fired on by Japanese snipers on the roof of the ADS).
I have a lot of other inquiries on the Battle of Hong Kong( especially your book and the new one ). Is it fine if we communicate on Gmail?
yes please feel free to gmail (address on banner above).
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