Youtube hearted comments of Ben Wilson (@benwilson6145).

  1. Let us not forget the British Merchant Navy men and women, for 6 years they were at war , they were exposed to enemy attack 24 hours a day for all the time except for a few days a month in a foreign port. Every night they could be torpedoed without warning. When the ship is sunk they are off wages, dead or alive. The casualty rate was over 27%, a higher loss than the Army, Royal Navy or Royal Air force.
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  2. Having worked with many of the 2W Dive Team and met several of the divers involved I feel confident at least some of the missing bars were recovered.
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  3. The 51st Highland Division managed to send there 25 pounders back as they were not with the BEF, but fighting alongside the French, The retreated to St Valerie but had sent the guns to Le Harve as they no longer had any ammunition for them. The 51st were captured at St Valerie.
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  4. Tiddles on HMS Argus must be photographed close to the bow. The Collision Regulations require that the Ships bell be placed in the fore part of the vessel. It is part of the regulations that on arrival in port a Derat certificate must be produced and a question answered if there is any evidence of rodent activity. The most famous of ships cats in the Royal Navy was surely "Trim" Mathew Flinders cat, sadly lost on Mauritius.
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  5. They failed to replace the High Commissioner for over 6 months. The Last PM to visit was Kevin Rudd. When it was apparent there was a problem they sent a secretary
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  6. For the last century plus most anchors are stowed either totally within or partially within the Hawse pipe. The Hawse pipe often had nozzles within it or just outside where water could be sprayed on to the Chain to clean it. With a clay bottom the chain can emerge looking like a tube and the anchor as a solid looking block. The clay must be washed off as if it goes into the chain lockers it can block the suction. The clay would laugh at buckets of water.
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  7. The small fuel lighter mentioned at 36 min was in fact the MV Ondina a Royal Dutch Tanker of 9070 Tonne. The ship had been damaged in an action with two Japanese Merchant Cruisers the Aikoku Maru and Hokoku Maru. The MV Ondina with assistance from the HMIS Bengal had sunk the Hokoku Maru was hit by a 4 inch shell from the MV Ondina causing the Long Lance Torpedo's to explode and eventually sink the ship. The Aikoku Maru shelled the MV Ondina causing fires to break out, The crew abandoned the tanker in lifeboats and were machine gunned by the Japanese. The HMIS Bengal having used all its shells sailed off. Aikoku Maru rescued the crew from the sunk sister Hokoku Maru and also sailed away. The survivors from the MV Ondina reboarded the tanker, put out the fires and sailed to Fremantle. The damaged MV Ondina could not be repaired but was used by Operation Potshot at Exmouth as a fuel depot for the submarines.
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  8. Anything he puts his hands on turns to gold?
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  9. Was he breathing? If so he was lying!
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  10. Marvel lous
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  11. Smiths Dock in Middlesboro built many more vessel types and did not build Fishing boats. The Whale Catcher were designed for service in Antarctica in 60 and 70 South, worse than the North Atlantic. Rolling is not a design defect, these were very good sea boats. Many were sold and became whale catchers.
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  12. If its a bendy banana the its a EU fault
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  13. Its not Edinboro, its Leith.
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  14. I think that your Irish and Scots friends do not think that the two countries may devolve from the UK , but that they will leave. I ask you why anyone would remain shackled to a bunch of incompetent, xenophobic, lying and corrupt Tories. The English voters have no problems and are happy to live in this state. Labour and the Liberals show no leadership.
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  15. I was Master on a ROV Support vessel undergoing trials after an extended refit in Malta Drydocks. Were were frequently asked to move out of the camera range to prevent us appearing in the film. When the trials were complete some of the crew were ashore where Oliver Reed was partying in a bar in the Gut. This was to be his last party sadly, and he died as no doubt how he had wished to.
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