HMS Alliance star of new exhibitions at Royal Navy museum
Pristine on the outside and alive with sounds, voices and smells inside is Britain’s only World War 2-era submarine today unveiled after a £7m ‘refit’.
HMS Alliance, the jewel in the crown of the Royal Navy Submarine Museum in Gosport, has received the most extensive refurbishment in the 33 years she has been on display to the public.
From today they can see the boat again – just as she was in her heyday, ready for patrol with machinery humming, crew snoring, making pipes or taking her to periscope depth and with a stew bubbling away in the galley.
Before the restoration – funded by a mix of public donations and lottery money – the hull of the diesel submarine was in a poor state after more than three decades of exposure to the elements, and from pigeon droppings.
Over the past two and a half years, every inch of Alliance’s hull has been restored, repaired or replaced – and a jetty built beneath her so visitors to the museum can walk underneath for the first time, and her conservators can work more easily on the boat.
And inside every nut, bolt, cog has been removed, cleaned or restored, then replaced.
The attack periscope – previously stored in its well – has been restored and raised; it’s trained on shipping moving around in the Solent – just as any submariner would want it.
And the museum has also added what they call ‘soundscapes’ – from banter in the messdecks to taking Alliance to periscope depth have been created by a sound artist throughout the boat.
Also when it comes to enhancing the Alliance experience, staff have scoured eBay and made use of the generosity of enthusiasts and former submariners to root out not just ephemera from the late ’40s through to the ’60s, but also fittings, dials and kit not present before Alliance’s £7m revamp.
“It’s not about how Alliance works, but how she feels, what she was like to be aboard,” explained curator Bob Mealings who’s overseen the boat’s restoration.
“The sound system is phenomenal – very subtle, very atmospheric. It’s all part of making Alliance much more vivid.
“Everything you see has been cleaned, restored, re-painted, plus there’s a lot of new equipment. It has been hard – particularly working in a confined space, but the results are superb. It’s actually worked much better than we ever imagined.”
Among those privileged to look around the boat ahead of her re-opening former crewman CPO(ERA) Bill Handyside who served in Alliance from 1956-58 and hasn’t been aboard her in more than 50 years.
“I think she’s great – especially the sound effects, it really brings her back to life. They have got the spirit of Alliance right, right back to her early days. She’s just the same as when I was serving in her,” he said.
Also as part of the revamp, Hollywood actor and former Lovejoy star Ian McShane – who filmed an episode of his antiques comedy-drama at the museum 20 years ago – has added his voice to a new documentary film charting Alliance’s career. Before the boat’s restoration the museum attracted around 45,000 visitors a year. With the boat’s new look plus the fact that tourists can now buy a pass for all the naval museums on both sides of the harbour from 4 April (including a water bus link with the Historic Dockyard), museum staff are hopeful of upwards of 80,000 people a year visiting.
Alliance, which serves as a living memorial to all British submariners on eternal patrol, will be formally rededicated at a ceremony on 12 May attended by Prince William, who is patron of the restoration appeal.
HMS Alliance was one of three major new attractions at The National Museum of the Royal Navy which opened for the first time today.
Located within Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, home of the Royal Navy, the Museum today launched two new major exhibitions – ‘HMS Hear My Story’ - the new £4.5M permanent Babcock Galleries, as well as its first major temporary exhibition ‘Racing to War: The Royal Navy and 1914’.
HMS ‘Hear My Story’ – opening of the new £4.5m permanent galleries, is a dedicated exhibition, recounting the remarkable experiences of over 1,000 men and women in the Royal Navy over 100 years.
‘Racing to War: The Royal Navy and 1914’ – the Museum’s new major temporary exhibition devoted to the outbreak of the WWI, charting Britain’s naval history from its triumph in the Anglo-German naval arms race – is one of the several intertwined causes of the outbreak of WWI, illustrating how the Royal Navy was instrumental in the building of the Grand Fleet, to looking at influential personalities such as Sir John Fisher (First Sea Lord and considered one of the most important figures in British Naval history)
For the first time in British history, 100 years of naval life will be told by The National Museum of the Royal Navy (NMRN) covering a thousand stories from the men and women who served at sea over the last century.
The new galleries and exhibitions, as well as HMS Alliance will join the recently opened Mary Rose Museum as key UK visitor attractions showcasing the very best of the Royal Navy’s heritage through contemporary and interactive experiences for all the family, as well as history aficionados alike to enjoy.
Visitors to The National Museum of the Royal Navy will be able to visit all three new attractions with one ticket. The ticket also grants access to the entire Historic Dockyard, including the Mary Rose Museum, HMS Victory, HMS Warrior 1860, Action Stations, Harbour Tours and Explosion and the Museum of Naval Firepower.
Lincoln Clarke, chief executive of Portsmouth Historic Dockyard said: “Portsmouth is the home of the Royal Navy, and it is fitting that we will be commemorating the centenary of the Great War, as well as celebrating 100 years of naval history in our new galleries. The opening of the ‘HMS Hear My Story’ and ‘Racing to War‘ exhibitions, as well as the restoration of HMS Alliance, are testament to the National Museum of the Royal Navy’s dedication to preserving the Royal Navy’s astonishing historical heritage and legacy. This major launch follows last year’s opening of the Mary Rose Museum, which to date has welcomed over 400,000 visitors. We look forward to continuing to welcome visitors from across the world”.
HMS Hear My Story - the Museum’s new permanent galleries
One hundred years, 1,000 stories, one Royal Navy. For the first time, the exhibition will tell the unknown and undiscovered stories from the ordinary men, women and ships that have shaped the Navy’s astonishing history over the last 100 years. Over a thousand stories will be told, bringing visitors closer than ever before to the real Royal Navy. Highlights will include the 4-inch gun from HMS Lance, which fired the first British shot of the First World War on 5 August 1914, unpublished love letters from a serving Chief Stoker dating back to the First World War, the first public display of Admiral Crutchley’s WW1 Victoria Cross medal, oral testimonies from the sailor survivor from HMS Hood, to the D-Day landings and beyond, as well as the damaged motorbike of a suicide bomber from Afghanistan.
‘Racing to War: The Royal Navy and 1914’
Devoted entirely to the First World War, the collection will reveal for the first-time unknown stories from the Royal Navy in the lead-up to the outbreak, with unique objects and art specifically curated for the exhibition, such as Lieutenant Vere Sidney Harmsworth’s sword that he used in combat. It will chart Britain’s naval history from its triumph in the Anglo-German naval arms race - one of the several intertwined causes of the outbreak of the WWI, to illustrating how the Royal Navy was instrumental in the building of the Grand Fleet. The exhibition will also address influential personalities such as Admiral Sir John Fisher, who transformed the Navy of the Victorian age into a military machine capable of maintaining Britain’s naval supremacy in the First World War. He is considered one of the most important figures in British Naval history.
A rare collection of twentieth century paintings, many on display for the first time, will depict scenes of the Royal Navy in battle and the aftermath of fierce fighting at sea – including ‘The Wounded Lion’ by artist William Wyllie, as well as propaganda posters such as ‘Remember Scarborough’.
Matthew Sheldon, head of Strategic Development at The National Museum of the Royal Navy, said: “Through the exhibitions ‘HMS Hear My Story’ and ‘Racing to War: The Royal Navy and 1914’, we’ll be telling the undiscovered stories from the ordinary men, women and ships which have shaped the Royal Navy’s astonishing history over the century of greatest change. Housed in the country's most significant naval storehouse from the Georgian period, the state-of-the-art interactive displays and exhibitions will bring the collections alive and into the 21st century for everyone to discover”.
Duncan Redford, Senior Research Fellow at The National Museum of the Royal Navy, said: “The Royal Navy’s legacy since 1900 is fascinating, both during war and peace. It has been a privilege to help give a real insight into the lives of the men and women who have served our country throughout the last century. From today, visitors to The National Museum of the Royal Navy and in particular its new temporary exhibition ‘Racing to War’, will be able to discover the real Royal Navy, its prowess in the build-up and during the First World War as well as its thousands of untold stories”.
HMS Alliance – the only surviving WWII era submarine now ‘patrol ready’
Based at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum, part of The National Museum of the Royal Navy, HMS Alliance is be ‘patrol ready’ as she opens her hatches following the major £7 million conservation and restoration project.
A visit onboard HMS Alliance will begin with a brand new “Alliance” film narrated by British Hollywood star Ian McShane, specially commissioned to support this project highlighting life on board from WWII through the Cold War until the 1970s and serving as a memorial to 5,300 British submariners.
With new dressing, lighting, noises and even smells inside the submarine, as if the crew have just gone ashore, the visitor will take a time journey through every decade of the submarine’s service from the 1940s to the 1970s. Visitors will also be able to peer through the working periscopes to view Portsmouth Harbour, and meet submariners who will tell their own personal stories of working beneath the waves.
Chris Munns, director at the Royal Navy Submarine Museum said: “ A visit onboard HMS Alliance will assault all the senses and really bring to life what it is like to work and live on a submarine. We are very proud of HMS Alliance and delighted that she has been saved for future generations”
Stuart McLeod, head of Heritage Lottery Fund South East England, said: “We are delighted to have made a significant contribution to the creation of the new gallery spaces and to the restoration of HMS Alliance. These revitalised attractions will provide enhanced opportunities for learning and help to engage new audiences from throughout the UK and abroad.”
