The wardroom of HMS Nelson (no, it's NOT a ship!). I stayed in a "cabin" here for my 5 days in Portsmouth.
Another angle. During the days, I toured the historic dockyard and conducted research. Downstairs, the Anteroom was a good place to take in the news and sip tea, and upstairs a Billiards room was the lounging point for the RN personnel in residence.
Gate to HMS Nelson, lying between the wardroom and the other facilities. I imagine in earlier days, a wall around it made it more functional than the decorative purpose it now serves.
HMS Warrior... the world's first all-iron armored ship.
HMS Victory. The state of preservation of these ships is wonderful.
Ship's wheels aboard HMS Warrior
Captain's cabin HMS Warrior
Captain's cabin, HMS Warrior.
HMS Warrior. They did not permit photos in HMS Victory
Upper level of lobby in HMS Nelson. The silver plate under the portrait of Nelson is a silver serving dish he gave to a captain. There were several such Nelson relics throughout the building.
A second view of that landing.
The wardroom at HMS Excellent, the facility on Whale Island. The dining room and bar are on the ground floor, with cabins for accomodation on the floors above.
A view of the Quarterdeck of HMS Excellent (the wardroom is to my left). Fisher Hall, where I gave my presentation is within. Whale Island used to be a swampy islet and very unpleasant, but it has a great campus now, having narrowly escaped closure in recent budget constrictions. The RN is lucky to keep it, and Fleet Command Headquarters resides in a fancy new building so this might foretell a long continued presence.
Mills room in the Quarterdeck, adjacent to Fisher Hall. This room always had a great many photos on the walls, but a person at HMS Excellent had laid out photos of those Saint Barbara Association members who would be attending, along with their gunnery qualifying scorebooks.
Landing in wardroom of HMS Excellent. The artwork is really nice in these places. This is on the second floor, looking backward toward the groundfloor lobby.
Percy Scott, the father of modern naval gunnery, in a portrait on the landing to second floor of HMS Excellent wardroom.
The dining hall in HMS Excellent, taken from the approximate vantage point of there I sat, two seats to the right of the ceremonial seat back in center foreground, where RAdm Snelson sat.
The members of the association gather in the bar prior to dinner. With drinks going for under 1 pound, it was easy to enjoy the company of the gunners from many eras. Cdr Barrand is in the foreground at the extreme right. I glimpse the younger association members Simon and Nigel just beyond, and an assortment of masters of the ballistic art provides a nice backdrop.
An after-dinner photo with Lord Fisher and Rear Admiral Snelson gathered under a portrait of Jellicoe. In the lower left is Rear Admiral Bass. After dinner, the company toasted the Queen and the President of the United States, and I offered an irreverent appreciation of port as Lord Fisher filled me in on Chairman Snelson's nautical reference (5MB MP3 file).
An after-dinner photo with Captain RP Dannreuther.