Portsmouth Navy Days 2010 Delves Back Into the Archives for Social Media Campaign!
Followers of Portsmouth Historic Dockyard on Twitter, Flicker, Facebook and blogspot, will have been joining in with the excitement of the build-up to Navy Days, as previously unseen archives and modern day insights into life on one of the Navy’s newest Type 45 Destroyers, have been released over the last few weeks.
Programmes and posters from previous Navy Days, or Navy Weeks as they once were, have been collected by both The National Museum of the Royal Navy and the Portsmouth Royal Dockyard Historical Trust. They date back to 1928, with the 1st ever Navy Week being hosted in Portsmouth in 1927.
These covers have been posted weekly throughout social media channels and can also be seen on the official Navy Days website www.navydaysuk.co.uk.
The programme introduction for ‘Portsmouth Navy Week’ in 1928 explains that ‘The Week was held for the first time last year; it was only organised on a small scale, and was in the nature of an experiment, but in point of fact nearly 50,000 people visited the Dockyard, and more than £2,000 was obtained for the charities.’
It is fascinating to see the design change in the programme covers from the original basic drawings in the late 1920s, ornate paintings in the 1930s, to stylised 1950s covers with the strap line ‘See The Ships – Meet The Men’, and the photographic latter years.
In addition, British Pathé footage featuring Portsmouth Navy Days/Weeks dating back to the very first 1927 Navy Week has been posted. HMS Victory has featured very prominently since the beginning and this will continue this year, especially with the added interest from the 4th Plinth HMS Victory in a bottle, in Trafalgar Square.
An April Fools story was also posted featuring a genuine scale sailing model of HMS Victory, which sailed from No. 3 Basin and around the coastline, with a reduced crew of 18 naval officers.
Matthew Sheldon, Head of the Curatorial Department at the National Museum of the Royal Navy, found the evidence whilst researching the history of Navy Days and commented:
“The first reference I found came from a young officer’s journal kept onboard HMS Hood which said, ‘The entire Gunroom has had the good fortune to be appointed to the sailing model Victory, which is due to sail for a fortnight’s cruise.’ A certain amount of towing was required, but the ship then sailed as far as Dover, with the officer saying, ‘the greatest advantage gained in this fortnight is the unique experience of how a square-rigged ship – especially the old heavy bluff-bowed type - was handled’. I then turned the page and found these amazing pictures apparently showing the ship under sail.”
A selection of the archive programmes, pictures and extracts will be on display in the National Museum of the Royal Navy, at this year’s Navy Days taking place in Portsmouth 30th July – 1st August 2010.
Bringing followers up-to-date have also been weekly Wednesday postings on the Historic Dockyard blog. These postings have been made by Able Seaman Rob Foster onboard HMS Daring, one of the navy’s newest Type 45 destroyers which will be open to the public on the Saturday and Sunday of Navy Days. The blogs have been following the crew throughout their Operational Sea Training as they ensure the ship and her crew can do their job to a good standard and assess that they are safe to deploy anywhere in the world.
Comments throughout the campaign from followers include: Love it, love it, love it!!! - Stephanie, Good stuff! very ''britannia rules the waves''. I hadn''t seen that clip before either. - James, and Amazing picture (HMS Daring blog) – Lee.
Navy Days 2010 promises to be one of the most popular events on the South Coast this summer, featuring serving warships of the Royal Navy, ships of foreign navies, thrilling naval displays, historical re-enactments and the world-class attractions of Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, including HMS Victory and HMS Warrior 1860.
Further information, including ticket details, is available from the Navy Days website – www.navydaysuk.co.uk or by calling 023 9283 9766.
http://www.navydaysuk.co.uk/Historic-Navy%20Days.html
http://twitter.com/PompeyDockyard
www.facebook.com/historicdockyard
http://portsmouthhistoricdockyard.blogspot.com/
http://www.flickr.com/groups/historicdockyard/
