Portsmouth
Nelson’s Last Walk
Nelson’s last walk on English took him through the streets of Portsmouth from his breakfast at the George Hotel to the awaiting barge and HMS Victory. People were moved to tears at the sight of their hero.
Read MoreHampshire Trade Tokens
Hampshire trade tokens were issued in the C17th and C18th when there was little small coinage to be had in Britain. Which places in Hampshire issued them and what did they look like?
Read MoreWilliam Wyllie Maritime Artist
William Wyllie was one of Britain’s greatest maritime artists and for a while. lived in the Tower House in Old Portsmouth, the harbour unfolding before him.
Read More1950’s Racing Chart of the Solent
1950’s Racing Chart of the Solent A chance find in a charity shop today turned up a racing chart of Solent and Spithead, how appropriate on the first day of the ‘America’s Cup’ hosted in Portsmouth for the first time in 164 years. Not being a sailor the chart is full of mysteries for me. The…
Read MoreD-Day from Liphook to Southwick and Southampton WW2
Hampshire was full of troops equipment and there was a sense of a huge buildup, the population had been drilled on security but speculation was growing something ‘BIG’ was going to happen. What was it like for the residents of Hampshire as finally these massive resources and numbers of troops mobilised for the big push? Something “BIG” was going to happen but when? One of a series of posts marking Hampshire and its role and experience of the run-up to D-Day.
Read MoreThe Story of William Johnson Powder Monkey
The story of William Johnson, a powder monkey who became an able seaman and who served his country. He died in a workhouse but gave his early years to the Royal Navy and was remembered by them.
Read MoreMarc Brunel in Portsmouth
The incredible engineers, the Brunels, father and son are in-extrinsically linked to Portsmouth through deed and birth Marc Isambard Brunel was a frenchman who fled the French Revolution and in 1793, fled to America and became chief engineer of New York City. By 1799 he had married Sophia Kingdom and they had three children, Sophia,…
Read MoreThe Pompey Pals
In WWI Portsmouth was able to raise two battalions of ‘Pompey Pals’ the 14th and 15th Hampshire Regiment. Many enlisted at Fratton Park, home of Portsmouth Football Club. How must it have felt to these men of Portsmouth, many of whom would be fervent Pompey supporters, to enter the gates of Fratton Park, not to join the fray of a football game but to enter the affray of war?
Read MoreJohn Pounds Altruist and Teacher
John Pounds shoe maker, teacher and altruist lived and worked in Old Portsmouth in the early C19th and the inspiration for the ragged school movement.
Read MoreQuebec House Old Portsmouth
Quebec House in Old Portsmouth Hampshire, is an old bathing house built in 1754 and rich with history.
Read MoreD-Day Window Portsmouth Cathedral
The D-Day window in Portsmouth Cathedral was installed in 1956 as a memorial to Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsey who commanded the seaborne forces at Normandy in 1944.
Read MorePortsmouth Remembers D-Day
Thousands of people came to Portsmouth to remember the 156,000 Allied troops who left the shores of southern England, launching themselves into the choppy sea of the Solent before landing on the beaches of Normandy in northern France at the start of a major offensive against the Germans.
Read MoreThe FA Cup in Hampshire
The FA Cup was won by Portsmouth in 1939 and found a home in the county of Hampshire for the duration of WWII
Read MoreD-Day Gathering
Making ready for Overlord in Hampshire, with troops massing on the South Coast, Eisenhower moving into Southwick House and Admiral Ramsay running Neptune from Southwick Fort. Who was in your area around the time of Mid-May to 6th June there was lots of hearsay but has your village or town got a story to tell?
Read MoreHampshire and the Mulberry Harbour
Hampshire played a vital role in many aspects of Operation Overlord, not least in the design, development and deployment of the Mulberry Harbour.
Read MoreThe Link between Hampshire and New Hampshire
What links Hampshire England and its name sake New Hampshire in the United States of America? A wander through the streets of Portsmouth provides the clue.
Read MoreCharles Dickens Statue Porstmouth
The Charles Dickens Statue Guildhall Square Portsmouth was unveiled on 7th February 2014, two hundred years after his birth in the city of Portsmouth.
Read MoreBaptismal Font Porchester
Hampshire baptismal fonts consist of many marvelous Norman examples. The baptismal font at Porchester St Marys, is an unusual example of a round font, carved with intricate symbols.
Read MorePortsmouth Harbour
The fortifications of Portsmouth Harbour still look immensely commanding when seen from the deck of one of the many ferries that sail in and out of the harbour on a daily basis.
Read MoreThe Point Portsmouth
The Point Portsmouth consists of just a few acres around the camber in Old Portsmouth but is bursting with history and character at every step The Point is also known as the Spice Island, the origins of its name lost in the dim past. Maybe it referred to the smell of spices being unloaded or…
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