An AuDHDer's journey through living history, heritage, learning and expression.
Bringing HMS Belfast to Communities
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I am proud to share that I have completed and delivered my first EVER living history workshop outside of my autism group as a session lasting at least 20 minutes (which again, I would like to bring these workshops to the younger age groups as part of their programme) or a brief 10-15 minute festival act.
It all started as a new year's goal!
Finding opportunities to deliver living history and costumed interpretation workshops in communities was one of my top aspirations for this year; the idea hit me last year after visiting Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and meeting a costumed interpreter acting as Jackie Fisher (father of the Dreadnoughts and known for the first use of OMG) when he served on HMS Warrior as Lieutenant, then meeting the volunteers at the Mary Rose Museum who were in period costume, then the inspiration hit me - how about I bring costumed interpretation and living history into my volunteering?
I was lucky to have the honour of providing some wartime entertainment at my autism group for the 80th anniversary for VE Day (read here) as well as performing an act as a sailor at a music festival last July which you can read more about here, but I was just starting out with people I know and with organisations and charities I am involved with.
Aim of This Workshop
First of all, my aim as a living historian and costumed interpreter is to deliver accessible, inclusive, immersive and interactive talks and workshops through community engagement and expressive arts.
We cannot physically pick up HMS Belfast from the Thames and take her places, that would be absurd! The aim of this workshop is to bring HMS Belfast for engagement with communities through living history, role play, period costume, objects and music for audiences of all ages and backgrounds (just like my other living history workshops, including my drag performances).
The workshop was an idea for community engagement with my volunteering at the Imperial War Museums, whereby the overall aim is engaging with audiences who cannot access museums. We go out to schools, care homes, hospitals, libraries and many other community organisations, as well as designing talks and workshops tailored to audience's needs.
Last Christmas, when I received the last volunteer newsletter of the year from Imperial War Museums, a volunteer had delivered a workshop at a care home as a trial, then inviting more volunteers along to develop the project. It started out as a couple of meetings to introduce the project and develop ideas, whereby myself and fellow volunteers on the project were from IWM London and Churchill War Rooms, but sadly not a lot of interest from the HMS Belfast volunteers, so I took the King's Shilling and discussed producing my own workshop.
In the first planning meeting, my original plan was to take it to my autism group where I could produce a visual timeline. Later, when sat in a coffee shop, as well as considering audience needs and attention spans, I thought why not make HMSB’s timeline a physical theatre sensory story?
When I did a work experience placement with a local SEND school in their performing arts department, sessions included a ‘sensory story’ where there would be a specific theme, such as an enchanted forest, space, under the sea or a safari. We would use tactile items like materials, silk scarves, parachutes, ribbons, bean bags (the handheld ones from primary school PE classes NOT the floor seating) and colourful, calm lighting, playing specific music matching the said theme, then comes the physical theatre side of it; posing as objects, movement, pretend play which may include props like hoops (again, a classic example of primary school PE equipment) and pretty much prancing around the studio.
I spent a lot of time in coffee shops planning and writing down my ideas on my iPad - my whiteboard app was filled with minds maps, lists, ideas, as well as a brief timeline. I thought I would need to do a ton of shopping at Hobbycraft or any other arts and crafts provider for materials; either paper crafts with fancy art pens for a visual timeline or haberdashery materials for the sensory story, or perhaps bringing my Northern Lights projector (specifically, holographic shimmery satin or blue sequin mesh for the sea, crunchy foil for ice and my Northern Lights lamp for the Arctic Convoy and Battle of North Cape segment). For action station sequences, my idea for an alternative to 6-inch shells would be foam tennis balls or soft play balls so no one gets hurt!
Suddenly, an opportunity came up to deliver a workshop for my drama group Quest Soul Theatre's Connection's Cafe; a creative arts cafe taking place once a month. Each cafe has a different theme and activity, ranging from creative wellbeing talks and workshops, to dance, to a performed reading of an extract from a play to choir performances, read more here.
With this in mind, I kindly offered to take my workshop there.
When I had the first meeting with Quest Soul and IWM to introduce each other, I brought up the idea of the sensory and physical theatre inspired by HMSB's timeline. That morning, there had been a Connections Cafe held whereby I noticed those who regularly attend may have mobility issues or would prefer not to be gallivanting around a space.
We agreed we should keep it simple and stick to a visual timeline in the form of a visual presentation, so I got to work!
If you're still not sure what is meant by physical theatre, an example of a play using physical theatre techniques is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime performed by physical theatre company Frantic Assembly. Feel free to check out this BBC Bitesize page with a very useful explanation on physical theatre.
So there I was going through some physical material that either I own, (such as any books on HMSB) and I did consider visiting IWM's Research Room which I have done before to look at some physical objects that may inspire, as well as considering other collections; Royal Museums Greenwich's collection has photographs taken on HMSB pre-commissioning (view here) and a painted portrait of her last captain, Rear Admiral Morgan Morgan-Giles (pictured below under the Operation Seahorse section).
To keep things theatrical, I would have liked to include some audience participation and interaction (like in pantomime, immersive theatre or promenade theatre), but at the final briefing before the workshop, a fellow volunteer said it may not be ideal for our audience's needs as our session would be inclusive of those living with dementia and may not be receptive to it.
As well as my original ideas being to produce mock enlistment papers (then doing a Brecht's Mother Courage and demand they hand them to me as their Chief Petty Officer) for audiences to fill out and shouting out "Action Stations" when this audio played (I am now inspired to learn the bugle for future workshops and insight talks), the immersive pantomime-style audience participation would include HMSB's D-Day gunnery routine where I would split the audience into Port and Starboard and both teams would take turns to shout out each individual command in unison given when firing the guns, then together in unison, everybody will shout "FIRE" as the main command.
After making the agreed alterations to the presentation (which did include more coffee shop hopping), I was ready, apart from having little time to practice piping the 'still' and 'carry on', just to add to the theatrical side.
After a final mini-briefing with a volunteering officer for a final check and show them the alterations I made as recommended, then a few test runs for the bosun's call signals, I was ready to go!
Now this is the story of how I became a community theatre ambassador…
I began by introducing HMS Belfast, a Town-class light cruiser, as the ship going through a physical journey throughout her naval career, including her physical and historical features, such as her main armament, the 6-inch gun turrets, her propulsion of admiralty 3-drum boilers and steam turbine propelling her to 32 knots, carrying 2 Supermarine Walrus biplanes (despite being a Town-class light cruiser, NOT an aircraft carrier) as well as being the sister ship of HMS Edinburgh that sunk after being hit by a sneaky U-boat with Russian gold bars on board worth £1.5 million at the time.
Next was her launching at Harland and Wolff Shipyard at Belfast (same company that built the Titanic), followed by the very start of her naval career from her commissioning, right into the capturing of the German passenger liner the SS Cap Norte (disguised as a neutral Swedish vessel).
Next came the disastrous mining in the Firth of Forth putting her out of action for 3 years, then back in action for the Arctic Convoys, what Winston Churchill claimed to be "the worst journey in the world".
Heading home from the Russian port of Murmansk came the Battle of North Cape, in other words, the sinking of the German battleship Scharnhorst, which brings us to HMS Belfast's biggest battle honour, the D-Day landings; where she was part of Bombardment Force E off the coast of Juno and Gold beaches, which includes her supporting the Canadian troops from Juno Beach and firing over 5,000 rounds of ammunition.
After spending the remainder of the Second World War supporting the allies to fight the Japanese, HMS Belfast then served in the Korean War with the UN forces as part of a maritime blockade against communist North Korea and targeting enemy railway lines, communication systems, roads and military bases. A US Navy admiral was so impressed by the accuracy of her guns firing over 8,000 shells throughout the conflict, he called her "that straight shootin' ship" - I cannot tell if this alliteration is intentional or not! 😆
I had to address HMSB's Roll of Honour which includes Leading Steward Lau So from Hong Kong, who was the only crew member to be killed in action aboard the ship; he was fatally wounded by a North Korean shell that hit the ship. Leading stewards would oversee meals and meetings among senior officers.
(Side note - the other names on HMS Belfast's Roll of Honour are people died ashore whilst serving on the ship. Lau So's name is at the very bottom under the names of the two serving Royal Marines. The top name is 2nd Class Painter Henry Stanton who died from injuries after the mining).
Lau So had a traditional RN funeral held on board the ship and was buried on an island off the coast of Korea, following Chinese custom to be buried on land. There is a photo of his funeral service being held on the ship, as well as a photo of his grave that are on display on the ship, but unfortunately IWM has not digitised the images for online viewing.
Late last year, Lau So's grandson, Lawrence Fong came to visit the ship with his family and made a remarkable discovery! IWM researchers later confirmed that it was indeed Fong’s grandfather that served on the ship. Lau So's daughter (Fong’s mother) was very young when he was killed. Click here to learn more.
Then came her last commission of global peacekeeping exercises and collaboration with other international navies as a symbol of diplomacy; helping to build bridges from the consequences of conflict, explore historic landmarks and markets, honouring cultural differences as well as aid in the recovery and resilience from previous conflicts. Next, sadly came HMSB's decomissioning, where she was anchored in Fareham Creek in Portsmouth as an accommodation ship for the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve; awaiting her fate of the scrapyard.
In 1967, Imperial War Museum began acquiring a naval object for their collection and were looking at preserving HMS Belfast, so this led to...
Operation Seahorse
The HMS Belfast trust was set up with IWM, headed by her last captain, Rear Admiral Sir Morgan Morgan-Giles (pictured below at the rank of Commander), who was also serving as an MP for Winchester. After fighting passionately for HMSB's case after the government refused to preserve her, the case was finally won in a late-night parliamentary debate, which then Belfast was towed from Portsmouth, to the Pool of London (the area of the Thames near the Tower of London and Tower Bridge, where the wharves once stood), her new permanent home!
I linked the below video to a QR code that went into a handout I made which sadly did not get printed, as well as being presented by Rear Admiral Morgan Morgan-Giles (yes, Morgan was his first name as well as the first part of his double-barrelled surname).
This story of Operation Seahorse is beautifully emotive - do excuse me while I grab a whole tub of ice cream and sob!! 🍨
I discovered some HMSB poppy wreaths in a little boat at the National Maritime Museum Cornwall in Falmouth when I visited in October 2021 (around Trafalgar Day, as well as 50 years since becoming a museum), where I tried to find out more on a recent visit; I asked staff and volunteers if they knew anything, but sadly no answer.
I then began to research more on Morgan-Giles to aid my presentation for the last commission and Operation Seahorse segment; there I learnt the Morgan-Giles family were yacht and boat builders, which inspired Morgan-Giles himself to join the Royal Navy. They sadly are no longer in business and only operate an archive that offers registry of vessels. Find out more the about Morgan-Giles Archive here.
The boat on display at Falmouth was built at the Morgan-Giles shipyard, which clearly explains the connection with HMSB, as well as the said boat being Pip Emma; she is ADORABLE!!! 🥰 Don't you just want to scoop her up? 😍
This brings us to 21st October 1971 (Trafalgar Day) where HMS Belfast is officially opened to the public and given special permission to fly the white ensign despite being decommissioned. Since HMSB being towed from Portsmouth and opening on Trafalgar Day, HMSB was the second RN ship to become a museum since HMS Victory, the flagship of Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson. With her grand opening as a museum ship on Trafalgar Day 1971, HMS Victory kept a watchful eye and was Belfast's guardian angel. Read my Trafalgar Day blog here - HMS Belfast shows the flags of Nelson's signal every Trafalgar Day.
Finally in 1978, Imperial War Museum gained full custody of HMS Belfast; since then she has been towed to Tilbury in 1982 for work on her propellers, then again in 1999, she was towed back to Portsmouth for full conservation work.
From 2002, HMS Belfast has hosted Kip in a Shipsleepovers for scout groups, schools and youth groups as part of their learning program, as well as still serving as a training vessel to City of London Sea Cadets that meet on board twice a week.
I finished by raising a toast Royal Navy style (with whatever drink my audience had as I would NOT be allowed to play rum bosun by handing out a tot of rum and call an "up spirits") to HMS Belfast, her battle honours, naval career and a living memorial for future generations. 🍻
The full presentation is videoed below, so please feel free to watch! I apologise in advance for my West Country accent delivering a line from a shipwright from Devonport DESPITE the fact I had practised it!! (I sadly was never taught accents in drama school)!!
Animal Friends: Frankenstein's Corner 🐾
Frankenstein, the ship's cat, was a great help to me too; it was great to have him as a puppet figure with the theatrical side of things. I fantasise that we are just like Sabrina and Salem. 🐈⬛🐾
Frankenstein was the ship's cat on board HMS Belfast; he had his own hammock made specially for him by the sailmaker which he didn't have to share, unlike the rest of the crew. Cats are known for their rodent catching skills and natural hunting instincts, which would keep down the mice and rats aboard the ship. Rodents like mice or rats would cause all sorts of issues; spreading disease, chewing important supplies like electric cables or ropes or stealing food. Most importantly, animals on board ships, especially cats, also served as mascots which also raised morale and served as a loyal companion to sailors as comfort.
⚠ Trigger Warning: Severe mental illness discussed in following paragraphs:
Frankenstein played a small but important part in bringing the story of HMS Belfast to life; in late 2023, I returned to volunteering at IWM after working at my previous job for 5 years. When I explored the familiar galleries of IWM, it hit me!
It triggered intense feelings of grief as I missed volunteering at IWM so much, even though it felt so good to be back. I felt guilty for not having the time or capacity to continue volunteering whilst I was working that job. It was almost Christmas time and I noticed a cat felt tree decoration wearing a sailor's hat and collar, which was Frankenstein the cat.
I was not coping in the following days after my revisit; I felt extremely low. I uncontrollably burst into tears. I felt lonely. I needed a companion, but did not want to be perceived as 'clingy' after previous relationship issues. My inner child was screaming for some wartime living history role play. I suddenly remembered the story of HMS Belfast's previous feline mascots and their tragic stories where I still experienced uncontrollable crying spells (more on them later on and giving a further trigger warning about their story) I just wanted to give them a cuddle and tell them I'm sorry for what happened to them.
End of trigger warning content.
How did I learn to cope? After being inspired by a friend's Bluey figure she takes on adventures, photographs it and posts it on Instagram, I thought I would buy myself a Frankenstein plushie and made him an Instagram account: @captain_frankie_c35.
As cats served as mascots aboard naval ships and raised morale, as well as being mouse and rat catchers, Frankenstein made a fantastic feature for this workshop. It is clear that HMS Belfast would have had an animal mascot for every commission throughout the ship's career - keep reading to find out!
Using my Frankenstein plushie as a puppet and sidekick added to the theatrical element by bringing animal mascots to life which can also be a super delightful element by being a key focus point or symbolism. Realistically speaking, the real Frankenstein is sadly no longer here, as cats can live up to 15 years and of course, taking a real animal to perform on stage is extremely cruel and unethical. If you think about War Horse on stage, of course, Joey the horse, being the main character with the story centered around him, is portrayed as a human-embodied puppet, as he wouldn't be visually centred well as a hand puppet.
Apparently, during the Second World War, HMS Belfast had three cats; Frankenstein being one of them, yet the names of the other two cats are not known. I discovered this through a Facebook group post, Cats in the Navy. I messaged the creator of the post to find out where they got the information from, and one thing they mentioned to me resonated intensely: in some older editions of the HMS Belfast IWM guidebook, they stated that the ship had those three cats on board in her wartime career, as well as a rule for visitors being not to pick up the on-board cats when she became a museum ship. If you keep reading, you'll see some photos of a tabby cat and a tuxedo cat; Frankenstein could have been any of those, including a photo of a cat in the 1950's, and other animal mascots.
Animals serving on ships in the Royal Navy was banned in 1975.
IWM believes Frankenstein to be a tuxedo cat, from realistic mannequin in the hammock in the mess decks and in the potato store being black and white, as well as the Frankenstein plushies being black and white, yet IWM still interprets Frankenstein to be a tabby, using one of the below photos that is part of their collection, claiming it could 'possibly' be called Frankenstein.
Why that cat was named Frankenstein still remains a mystery. Some believe it could be his looks (as in he could have looked very cranky), or maybe that he moved in a zombie-like manner around the ship. He is too adorable to be a zombie-ish cat, he's so cute!! 😍🐈🐾
Pictured below is a film still from the IWM film archive; Frankenstein is believed to be this particular cat, as interpreted through the toy in the hammock in the Arctic Mess Deck, the toy in the potato store (possibly his favourite place to hide and catch mice and rats) and the plushies sold in the gift shop.
In the 1950's (possibly during the Korean War?) HMSB had a cat named Tojo, named after HMSB's connection with Japan (pictured below).
Tiger the dog was HMSB's mascot also in the early 1950's (possibly during the Korean War) - scanned from the HMS Belfast Pocket Manual.
Jenny the cat, who served as chief mouser in 1997 on the ship that became very frightened after a fox had gotten onto the ship via the gangway.
⚠ Trigger Warning: Pet Loss and Animal Abuse
I also got to introduce HMSB's other mascots; Olga the reindeer, who was gifted by the Russian Admiralty in 1943 as a mark of diplomacy during the Arctic convoys. Olga the reindeer was kept in the hangar where the Supermarine Walrus biplane was once stored after being removed in HMSB's 1942 refit. During the Battle of North Cape, Olga became very frightened and distressed by the noise that she could not be calmed, so she had to be put to sleep.
Captain Ellison (served July 1946-October 1947) had a pet mongoose who mysteriously disappeared somewhere on the ship when a terrible smell spread throughout the ship and the crew had to search for a dead mongoose.
Lastly, there were two cats adopted from Battersea in 2007, Oscar and Kilo, their story is very sad; Oscar went missing from the ship and never returned, while Kilo died following an incident involving a member of the public. The ship has not had ship's mascots since.
What Have I Learnt From This?
Know Your Audience
Audiences can be very diverse; even if you have a plan, it is useful to know your audience so you can adapt the workshop according to their needs. In my case, my workshops and talks are inclusive, but you want to make sure the audience's needs are met for engagement levels.
Be Prepared to Change Your Original Ideas and Make Alterations
Feel free to express your plans and ideas to the group or organisation the workshop is being delivered to; whether that would be a school, care home, scout group, youth club, community group, library or cadet unit, some audiences may not respond to certain approaches, particularly when you encourage audience participation.
The Connections Cafe is inclusive for those living with dementia and their caregivers, which means some audience members may have attention differences or may not engage receptively. Alterations and changes to original plans should accord to an audience's sensory differences, levels of attention, mobility needs, levels of simplicity, emotional needs and engagement levels.
Test the Technology and Equipment Beforehand
Try some dry runs (run through any screen presentations or materials without pausing) to see how it flows with the whole session; this can help you decide on any changes or alternatives to the delivery, as well as testing if any output equipment, like projectors, TV screens or speakers are compatible with your devices, then find ways around what does not work for effective delivery of the session, as well as knowing what the group or organisation's venue can give you.
Don't Overload People With Information
How much information you are giving your audience to process can sometimes become too much; too much information can make audience members bored, frustrated, uninterested and will make them disengage.
It can be exciting to share knowledge and passion, but you don't want to keep going on as you will need to stick to a time frame, so you don't keep your audience for too long. Some audience members will want to get straight to the point rather than listen to a long story leading up to a point.
History Can Be Communicated Through More Than Words
Once again, keep your simplicity of your workshop accordingly, but rather than just vocal presentation, use props. In this case, other IWM volunteers who co-led this workshop brought some objects, ranging from an air raid warden's tin Brodie helmet and handheld lamp, to a gas rattle, to a child's pair of shoes, to a ration book, which also included some photos, including this interesting photo of a cow being painted with white stripes on during blackouts:
A Little Theatricality Can Help People Remember Historical Information
Drama and history go hand-in-hand; thinking about the costumed interpreters on board HMS Warrior, and at the Mary Rose Museum and the London Dungeon, not only is this an amazing example of venue-specific, immersive and promenade theatre, and of course, they're actors!
Costumed interpretation and living history can enhance the visitor experience of museums, historic houses or any heritage sites; including living history sites such as the Kent Life Heritage Farm or the Black Country Living Museum through interaction by answering questions from the character's historical period's perspective, storytelling and demonstrating daily life in a historical setting.
Audiences learn and engage in many different ways, so learning off pen and paper, or even listening to a talk may not be for everybody. Many people can be practical, hands-on learners which gives the interaction through living history, period costume and objects its utmost importance.
Some theatre companies deliver Theatre in Education (TIE); a theatre style performed for schools, youth clubs and other young people's settings which are interactive, participatory, research-based, encourage effective learning and delivers a message or lesson through storytelling. Many TIE companies deliver history performances for early years and primary school-aged children; check out this intriguing article from the Historical Association and History Through Drama who list some theatre companies who perform history-based shows for schools.
A practical, hand-on approach to history can also create unforgettable memories, especially when it is made to be fun and playful.
Feedback From Fellow Volunteers (and Your Audience's) is Invaluable
When volunteering officers at IWM gave myself and some fellow volunteers a briefing for this workshop, I gave my fellow volunteers who would be accompanying me a brief run through of my presentation.
They thought my idea of using theatrical techniques was great, yet considering our audience's needs we thought we would leave out the pantomime-style audience participation, taking on board we may have people with dementia in our audience.
A fellow volunteer said that at a previous IWM community outreach workshop in a care home, one audience member felt like they were being lectured. When it comes to words, make it fun and silly, yet be more casual and conversational, no audience will want to engage with someone who is too serious or patronising, so it is best to read the room. That fellow volunteer suggested that pantomime-style audience participation, interaction or singing sea shanties might be ideal for events that are family-inclusive, such as at festivals (where I could do a drag performance).
After the workshop, we learned of some fantastic feedback from our audience; I delivered an informative and immersive visual timeline about HMS Belfast and shared stories of life aboard the ship and it got lots of conversations going with my fellow volunteers in the Hands-On History segment of this workshop.
A local community podcast host even recorded a brief clip as part of their next episode, and other audience members who ran businesses wanted to chat to me after. Us IWM volunteers have recently been invited to deliver to other groups, including at Bermondsey Street Family Festival, which was centred around HMS Belfast.
Main Takeaway
Going back to the point of providing access to communities who have difficulties accessing museums, we can bring the knowledge and insight to them, as well as some objects communities can see up close and personal. IWM's Hands-on History programme is still in its early days of going out to communities, yet the idea of this is to encourage learning outside the classroom and look at different interpretations.
Some people cannot afford to visit museums and galleries; despite the majority of museums in London being free of charge (including IWM, yet other IWM branches will charge a cost for entry, such as tickets for HMS Belfast or IWM Duxford), costs can include travel, particularly for schools and other young people's groups. Schools may be charged to visit for a school trip, which may also include coach fees; some parents may not be able to afford this cost for their child to go on a school trip. Workshops delivered to communities take the issue of cost affordability away from schools, families and community groups.
I like to give back by sharing knowledge, as well as showing people items I love, which included the Hands-on History objects. For inclusive and immersive workshops, multi-sensory participation, including object handling diversifies perception and learning styles, as traditional methods such as reading and writing about history in classroom settings is not affirming for everyone; I personally enjoy learning history by watching period dramas, war films, visiting museums, shopping at vintage and antique shops, as well as visiting living history museums or immersive galleries and exhibitions, most of which inspired me to be a living historian and costumed interpreter. In other words, I am not an academic kind of person!
Click any of the links below to learn about school and group bookings for any of the following:
I would like to finish by giving my deepest gratitude to Quest Soul Theatre, Radfield Home Care and the McCarthy Stone Foundation for offering me this wonderful opportunity and for making me an ambassador for Quest Soul Theatre. I would be most delighted to host another workshop in the future.
What Happens Next?
Running this workshop has been an absolute pleasure and would love to do it again, whether it would be as a volunteer at the IWM sites (including the ship) or as part of the community outreach, or as a freelancer delivering it independently with another organisation.
This next part of the project I would like to introduce has been in the works over the last 18 months, but I would like to announce Operation Chief Mouser where I will be writing a children's picture book, inclusive of all ages and audiences about Frankenstein, HMS Belfast's cat mascot.
Watch this space- there will be further posts coming soon! 🐱
During a gym workout session when taking a brisk walk on the treadmill, I received a WhatApp message from my father saying his colleague is doing a research project on an abandoned RAF and US Army Air Force (USSAF) airfield in Essex, and is inviting me along on the project. I met with my father's colleague soon after; he explained the history of the airfield on how it was one of the airfield for the Americans during Britain's alliance during the Second World War, then the RAF came in later. Despite being operational for only two years, the airfield also played a part on D-Day with the Glider Pilot Regiment, then onto Operation Market Garden (Battle of Arnhem), followed by the Rhine Crossing (Operation Varsity). A month later after holidaying and day trips, I booked myself into Imperial War Museum's research facility and requested to look at Bruce Stait's book, Rivenhall: An Essex Airfield and some documents to see what I could learn about the airfield. I then bought ...
I stepped out of Portsmouth Harbour train station one freezing cold Saturday afternoon in January this year. I was slowly making my way to my hotel and stopped to admire how beautiful HMS Warrior looked against the winter sunset over the harbour, so I sat down on a bench to bring myself out of anxiety about getting lost, shutting down or dissociating and losing awareness of my surroundings and into the present. After a moment, I noticed an obelisk with HMS Royal Oak inscribed on it; I quickly learnt it was a memorial commemorating the 85th anniversary of the sinking of HMS Royal Oak. I knew I had to take some photos for some volunteering. (This memorial will be discussed in a future post - watch this space!) 😀 The reason I was visiting Portsmouth was because I am a board member at the National Museum of the Royal Navy and our board was encouraged to visit for branding reasons. After spending a couple of hours chilling in my hotel room by video-calling family to let them know ...
You may have heard of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman and South Park's Mr Hanky, now get ready for... Squiffy the Christmas Spitfire! I bought this spitfire plush decoration from Imperial War Museum for the Christmas tree, whilst decorating it, I flew it around and knew I had to name it. The name Squiffy came from the Monty Python RAF Pilot sketch, as this word is suited well when pronounced by a stereotypical RAF pilot! Happy Christmas! 🎄 Do you have a special character you associate with Christmas or what is your favourite holiday activity? Please share it with me! I would love to wish all my friends, family, colleagues and fellow living historians/reenactors/costumed interpreters a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous 2026!
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