6.
July 9, 2008
Subject: Is this a young Queen Elizabeth on Vanguard?

I have found the attached photo in amongst some of my late father's paperwork and I would very much like to
find out about it. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Sarah Shorter

My father Peter Medhurst was a Stoker on board the HMS Vanguard as well as the Grey Goose, Victory, Alaunia, Mauritius and Bold Pathfinder in the late '40s and early 50's.  He past away August 2007 and would love to hear from anyone who remembers him or was was on these ships at this time.

Linda
Adelaide South Australia

4.
Dec. 10, 2007

I am sending this on behalf of a friend who's father served on the HMS Vanguard. His name was Peter Medhurst and he was a CPO Stoker (so I'm led to believe). As his daughter Linda has just lost her father Peter and her mother in a period of 2 months she is very interested to hear from anyone who can remember Peter or has photos of him.

Peter also served on the HMS Gray Goose but we don't know if this was prior to or after serving on the Vanguard. If anyone can assist it would be greatly appreciated as unfortunately a lot of early family photos
were misplaced when Peter and his wife Beryl immigrated to Australia.

Best Regards,
Jock Pflanz
Largs North, South Australia

3.
Oct. 30, 2007

I'm searching for people who knew Cook LSI B. Grimshaw (Brian) he was with the Vanguard from Mar 1957 - Aug 1958. He is about to turn 70 and I want to surprise him with stories, pictures and contacts. Thank you.

Kind Regards,
Samantha Massey

2.
Oct. 18, 2007

My name is Sorella Dyer and I was christened on this ship in October 1956 whilst my father was serving on her. I have been trying to locate the ships bell as I have been told my name alongside a baby boy who was christened at the same time as I was had our names etched in the bell as we were the last to be christened on this ship. Is this true are there any others after us?

A great site. I will be back!!

Regards,
Sorella

1.
Jan. 9, 2007

As a mature adult who has over the years collected a vast amount of material on all the world's different class's of Battleship and in particular ships that have been commissioned into the service of the Royal Navy, I do remember in the summer of 196O being at Portsmouth and going round the harbour looking at various
warships, and in particular, albeit at a distance, our last battleship - HMS Vanguard.

I think it is a matter of national shame and disappointment that HMS Vanguard was not preserved as a national monument in a permanent weatherproof dry dock basin in Portsmouth or Plymouth as a tribute to the heavy engineering/gun manufacture/mountings and shipbuilding skills of our great 193O's/196O's privately owned shipyards - Vickers Armstrong, Camell Laird, and John Brown & Co.etc: If not the 'Vanguard' at least one of the four ships of the ' K G V' class. Such a vessel would have been very useful to Sir John Nott during the Falklands War in 1982 as the Vanguard if placed in Reserve and mothballed and possibly could have been re-activated for military service.

Do you know if any of the commercial shipyards or the Imperial War Museum in London have any 16 mm Black & White film of the ships being constructed on the slipways before launching or during final fitting out. Did the Admiralty produce any detailed film of the ships as completed fully manned in the immediate 1945 / 1946' postwar period. The only photos/film that most people have access to now are static black and white photos of the ships in harbour or at sea or while being scrapped at Faslane/Gareloch between 1957 and 196O:

If the Americans can preserve so many of their heavy warships - why can't we ? after all HMS Belfast in the Pool of London is a tidler !!

Any comments would be most welcome.

Best Regards.
Brian Shepheard:
Middlesex, England