Visit to Imperial War Museum 13/01/2011
Life at Sea During World War
We had the opportunity to look at the damaged section of a war ship which had obviously been hit by a shell or torpedo and it was amazing to feel the thickness of the steel and jagged edges left behind by what must have been a terrible explosion. The Battle of Jutland was depicted in a very large portrait, and this showed injured seamen lying on the floor with medics attending to them. Some of the injuries appeared to be very severe and was an indication of the terrible dangers our seamen experienced every day whilst we were at war.
There was a mine which had been cut in half so that we could see how it was made up and how it operated. There were horns on the outside and if these came into contact with a vessel the glass file within the horn would break and release acid into the mine, and it would then be detonated. There were many photographs of young men and women seamen together with the medals they had won and at times very sad letter which had been written home by these young people who sadly did not themselves survive the war.
One of our group Ken Seaman is himself an ex Royal Navy man and he was able to explain how the Dicky was worn by the sailors as a part of their traditional uniform and he told us that they were originally designed to protect the rest of the seamen's uniform in the olden days when they had pigtails covered in tar which fell down the back of their shoulders. The curator who was explaining this particular part of the uniform to us had not been aware of this information and she assured us that it would enhance her future talks when showing people around the exhibition.
There was a huge shell on display and also a very large gun which would have been mounted on one of our battleships. The exhibition is very extensive and it would have taken us far longer than the time we had to fully explore it.
After the tour we went to the dining room and were served biscuits and hot drinks and had the opportunity to thank Charlotte, Caroline, and Helen for their vivid descriptions of the sections that they each individually took us through. Thanks to Mary and all of her volunteers we were able to make this visit to the museum and enjoy a lovely morning out.
We had the opportunity to look at the damaged section of a war ship which had obviously been hit by a shell or torpedo and it was amazing to feel the thickness of the steel and jagged edges left behind by what must have been a terrible explosion. The Battle of Jutland was depicted in a very large portrait, and this showed injured seamen lying on the floor with medics attending to them. Some of the injuries appeared to be very severe and was an indication of the terrible dangers our seamen experienced every day whilst we were at war.
There was a mine which had been cut in half so that we could see how it was made up and how it operated. There were horns on the outside and if these came into contact with a vessel the glass file within the horn would break and release acid into the mine, and it would then be detonated. There were many photographs of young men and women seamen together with the medals they had won and at times very sad letter which had been written home by these young people who sadly did not themselves survive the war.
One of our group Ken Seaman is himself an ex Royal Navy man and he was able to explain how the Dicky was worn by the sailors as a part of their traditional uniform and he told us that they were originally designed to protect the rest of the seamen's uniform in the olden days when they had pigtails covered in tar which fell down the back of their shoulders. The curator who was explaining this particular part of the uniform to us had not been aware of this information and she assured us that it would enhance her future talks when showing people around the exhibition.
There was a huge shell on display and also a very large gun which would have been mounted on one of our battleships. The exhibition is very extensive and it would have taken us far longer than the time we had to fully explore it.
After the tour we went to the dining room and were served biscuits and hot drinks and had the opportunity to thank Charlotte, Caroline, and Helen for their vivid descriptions of the sections that they each individually took us through. Thanks to Mary and all of her volunteers we were able to make this visit to the museum and enjoy a lovely morning out.
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