Quiz Night

Last Friday, we held a quiz night at Monkton Priory Church Hall. These events are always popular and, having the good fortune to have the support of several good cooks, the buffet is first class. People are always so generous in contributing to the buffet and raffle and a big thank you to all. Congratulations to the winning team 'Golden Girls' - Liz Jenkins, Pat Hearn, Sue Clode, June Hearn - pictured here with quizmaster, Pauline Jenkins.

Portsmouth

Last week, my husband Stuart and I went off in our motor caravan to Portsmouth, primarily to visit the Historic Dockyard to see the new Mary Rose Gallery (all the publicity had announced its opening in 2012). However, we were disappointed to find that the opening has been delayed until next year! Never mind, there is plenty to see and, for those of you who have never visited Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, a great experience awaits. For it is home to a former Pembroke old resident - the Warrior. Remembering her as a hulk on the side of the Cleddau, hardly worth a second glance, and seeing her now looking magnificent in the harbour, all I could think was wow, what a transformation!.

The Warrior

Just to give you some background. She was launched on December 29, 1860, the result of a vigorous campaign led by Prince Albert to urge that the Admiralty restore Britain's naval prestige in the face of a growing French threat. "The war preparations of the French are immense; ours despicable ...what have we got to meet this new engine of war?" reportedly stormed a furious Prince Albert. Following this, the new First Lord of the Admiralty Sir John Pakington, launched a scheme to build the ultimate deterrent. The construction of the Warrior, the world's first iron-hulled battleship was the result.

The Black Snake

The Warrior instantly made all other warships obsolete and could be described as the world's first modern battleship. She combined for the first time an iron hull, a steam engine and armour plating, although sails were still needed - 4,580 square metres of them. Burning 11 tonnes of coal an hour at full speed, Warrior had a steaming range of no more than 2,000 miles, which was not, for example, enough to cross the Atlantic. As a result, long passages were made under sail with steam used for manoeuvring. But she could out gun and out run any existing battleship and her long sleek lines made them all look old fashioned. Napoleon III described her as "a black snake amongst rabbits": his ambitions had been thwarted.

Pembroke connections

Warrior served with the Channel Fleet until 1875 making at least two visits to the Milford Haven Waterway. In 1862, with HM ships Revenge, Emerald and Chanticleer she was at the port for the launch of the ironclad Prince Consort at Pembroke Dockyard. In September 1869, she sailed to the Haven to join the Channel Squadron for a cruise to Lisbon.

Although she provided the Royal Navy with a warship which was unsurpassed for some years, by 1880 she herself was largely obsolete. By 1875, Britain had built a further 22 armour plated iron battleships. The latest had no sails and could steam three times further than Warrior without refuelling. During those years of supremacy however, she never had to fire a shot in anger. Perhaps that is the true measure of her success.

Warrior consigned to Llanion

Between 1871-83, after a refit, Warrior became part of the Reserve Fleet. She was then withdrawn from seagoing service to become a forgotten and neglected hulk. In 1904, unwanted even for scrap she became part of the floating torpedo training establishment in Portsmouth harbour: to add insult to injury she was renamed Vernon III - her grand name was transferred to an armoured cruiser being constructed at Pembroke Dockyard. Eventually, she was converted to an oil fuel pontoon hulk and arrived at Pembroke Dock in March 1929 after a two-day passage under tow from Portsmouth. She was to remain at the Admiralty's Llanion Oil Fuel Depot for the next 50 years, officially known as Oil Fuel Hulk C77. This may have seemed an ignominious fate for one of the greatest ships ever built, but it did protect her from the scrapyard until restoration became possible: she was the only remaining Victorian battleship.

Restoration

On August 29, 1979, Warrior once more took to the seas. Many will remember that day when she was towed from Llanion making that last journey up the Haven to Hartlepool for restoration by the Warrior Preservation Trust. After eight years of rebuilding at a cost of £7 million, she was returned to her 1861 condition. In June 1987, she returned to Portsmouth to take her place alongside those other celebrated ships of our Maritime History, the Mary Rose and the HMS Victory.

In good hands

I cannot help thinking of her as 'our Warrior' - many regret her leaving and have fond memories. But seeing her proudly floating in Portsmouth Dockyard, it is a fitting end to her story. The restoration has been amazing. So what if the canons are plastic: to all appearances she appears just as she was in her heyday. Apparently the restorers were aided in their work by the discovery of the journals of a midshipman named Henry Murray who joined the Warrior in 1861 at the age of 14. He drew plans of the ships decks showing all equipment in position!

There are all sorts of facts and stories as you wander around the ship, pacing along the gundeck, trying to imagine what life must have been like there for the 600 men who lived and worked there. The ship's company was divided into 34 messes, each with 18 men squashed into the area between two guns, crammed around the simple mess tables at mealtimes and sleeping in their hammocks slung above, 28 inches apart! A much more comfortable life was experienced in the captain's cabin and the officers mess, while down below in the engine rooms and hold, life could not have been very pleasant at all.

The restoration has been magnificent job. Chatting about our memories of the Warrior to the volunteers who man the ship, we were assured that yes, 'our' Warrior is in very good hands. People come to see her from all over the world - what a pity the authorities here fail to recognise the huge economic benefits of heritage. Just think what a difference a restored Warrior could have made to Pembroke Dock!

Warrior Memories

Many people remember the Warrior - if you would like to contact me perhaps we could put together a page of memories?

Contact

If you have any stories or photographs for this column, please contact me, Linda Asman, on 01646 622428, email [email protected]">[email protected] and visit our website www,pembrokeandmonkonhistory

Next event

On Saturday, November 3, we have our monthly coffee morning and exhibition from 10.30 - 1. I shall be giving a presentation about our Heritage Lottery supported project: 'Through My Eyes - a Community History of Pembroke and Monkton.' All are welcome and entry is free.