HMS Royal George - Triumph and Tragedy. Part Two. On the 29th of August 1782, the greatest fleet ever assembled in British waters lay off Spithead. Apart from the two 100 gun ships of the line - HMS Royal George and HMS Victory, there were 50 warships, plus 300 merchant ships. In fear of desertions all shore leave was cancelled for the crew of the Royal George, with the exception of 60 marines. However, also aboard were 400 extra people who were crew families, merchants, and prostitutes. This was for the traditional 'Wedding Garland' which was the traditional farewell for the crew prior to sailing. All these extra people created an additional weight of 70 tons though. The Royal George was the flagship of Admiral Kempenfeldt However, Captain Waghorn decided against all advice to carry out a minor repair to a seacock which provided sea water to wash the gun decks after action. To do this repair entailed heeling the ship slightly so as to bring the seacock in question above the waterline. To achieve this, the cannons had to be moved to the other side of the ship so as to provide the required heel. Worse all the usual officers who would oversee such an operation were ashore - the Master, the Boatswain, and the Gunner. So nobody would be supervising the operation below decks. Even worse, Captain Waghorn ordered that the lower gun ports should stay open so as to quicken the loading of supplies. This again flew in the face of standard procedure which required the gunports to be CLOSED when heeling a ship.🤦‍♂️ The open gun ports were already only a foot above the water which was now starting to seep in. At 9am the cutter Lark started loading rum supplies through the open gun ports, and ominously rats and mice were seen leaving the Royal George and boarding the Lark. The weight of the barrels of rum was such that it caused water to flood in through the open gun ports. Seeing this, the ship's Carpenter rushed up to the officer of the watch - a Lieutenant Hollins Hollingbery, asking for the ship to be righted. This was snootily dismissed by Hollingbery. The Carpenter returned below to see things were now even worse. In despair he returned to the deck and again requested Lt. Hollingberry to right the ship. He was again dismissed this time with the words "Damn Sir! If you can manage the ship better than I, then you had better take command!" In despair, the Carpenter went straight to Captain Waghorn himself who actually listened, and sent the First Officer to investigate. Horrified by what he saw, the First Officer reported to Captain Waghorn who gave the order to right the ship. However, at that moment the ship started to capsize. In desperation men went below to move the guns but such was the angle, that even 18 men could not move a single gun. Water now poured in through the starboard gun ports killing the hundreds of men below - only 3 of whom would survive. Captain Waghorn ran to the cabin of Admiral Kempenfeldt to warn him but it was too late, the door was jammed and the Admiral drowned. Captain Waghorn jumped into the water but his son drowned. The Royal George heeled over to starboard then heeled over to port. Then she sank almost immediately leaving only her masts sticking out of the water. She had sunk completely upright. Of the 1200 people aboard, only 255 survived making this the greatest loss of life on a British sip prior to the Titanic. Of the lost 300 were women and 60 were children. People reported seeing the mast of the sunken Royal George completely decorated. The 'decorations' were in fact dead bodies. The ensuing cover up by the Royal Navy would be nothing short of breathtaking. Part Three to follow. @uk_sf_writer @TheNorskaPaul @offgriddesigner @MindInMotion93 @Raymond82310289 @GatesheadLad23 @GeorgeKedge @UkandNIbackup @AngelaTokell @scobjen @SammieJack3 @enochscowll @DeBarsham @loopzy78 @FkkkTheUN @CilComLFC

Nigel Farage compares illegal migration to someone breaking down a door to a house, forcibly entering, and then given free food and lodging by the householder. Blunt and oh so true.

HMS Royal George - Triumph and Tragedy. The Royal George was laid down in 1746. Packing 100 guns on 3 levels, she was the first of a modern line of ships at that time which would also include HMS Victory. She took 10 years to build. Originally named the Royal Anne, this was then changed to the Royal George in a nod to the monarch at that time. She was launched in 1756 and gave the Royal Navy the status of having the largest warship afloat at the time. She joined the Channel Fleet and saw her first action in the Raid on Rochefort in 1759. She then took part in the of the blockade of the French fleet at Brest. She became Admiral Sir Edward Hawke's flagship in early November 1759. Admiral Hawke commanded the fleet from Royal George at the Battle of Quiberon Bayon 20 November 1759, where she sank the 74 gun French ship of the line Superbe. However, when peace arrived in 1762, because of the cost of crewing and provisioning this massive ship, she was laid up and her crew paid off. While laid up in Plymouth, she was extensively overhauled in over 3 years. The lay up continued until 1778 when the American War of Independence saw her refitted for active service. She again joined the Channel Fleet and would eventually become the flagship of Vice Admiral Sir John Lockhart Ross. The Royal George took part in the capture of the Spanish Caracas convoy on 8 January 1780, the Battle of Cape St. Vincent on 16 January, and then the successful relief of Gibraltar three days later. Royal George returned to Britain with the rest of the fleet, and had her hull coppered in April 1780 (coppering the hull improved both speed and manoeuvrability. She returned to service that summer, serving with the Channel Fleet. On 28 August 1782, Royal George had joined with Admiral Howe's fleet. The ships were anchored at Spithead and taking on supplies. No one would have guessed that this magnificent ship of the line would be about to experience a disaster of literally Titanic dimensions... @uk_sf_writer @TheNorskaPaul @offgriddesigner @MindInMotion93 @Raymond82310289 @GatesheadLad23 @GeorgeKedge @AngelaTokell @scobjen @SammieJack3 @enochscowll @DeBarsham @loopzy78 @FkkkTheUN @CilComLFC

More fool you for believing in and propagating the Climate Scam then. Try getting over the fact that a trace gas which comprises 0.01% of the atmosphere WON’T be causing Climate Armageddon. Climate Change is not a scientific fact but is a piece of political chicanery.🤨

A nice walk this afternoon on the Kent coast. The weather is starting to get a little chillier now though.

You seriously have to wonder if Kemi and Rupert are sharing a bottle of champagne over just how their joint operation is spiking Reform?🤔 Unfortunately for them, Reform voters wont return to the Tories. However, the Restore leadership are duping their members on an industrial scale. For example, look how Charlie EU Downes sneers at the Restore membership from his true home - the TORY Carlton Club.🤨 xitter.cf/DaveKent101/status/211…

This is so wrong. WE should not have to cover the energy bills of those who can't pay/ won't pay.😡 "Keith Anderson said that debts from household gas and electricity bills will hit at least £7bn next year, forcing suppliers to recoup more costs from those who are able to pay." telegraph.co.uk/business/202…

Frankly Reform's pledge to prioritise raising the Income Tax threshold before cutting IHT will play better with the voters frankly. The Tories also have a credibility problem with what they say and what they do.🤨 Badenoch: I’ll scrap inheritance tax on family homes telegraph.co.uk/politics/202…

An overjoyed Zack Polanski has just unveiled the new Green Party manifesto. “From the River to the Sea…”

Andy Burnham sings for YOU.🤣 Music and backing vocals from ‘Hard Labour’

Spare us the crocodile tears, Andy Burnham. The bloke is an utter liar and once again is targeting pensioners because very simply most of them don’t vote Labour (I wonder why?🤔). Scrapping the Triple Lock will ONLY save around £600 million per annum. Burnham’s social care proposals will cost around £18 billion per annum, yet Burnham claims this latest attack on pensioners is needed to pay for it.🤔 Burnham’s proposed Death Tax on all estates will raise around the £18 billion needed. So why this latest attack on pensioners, claiming it is needed for social care?🤔🤔🤔 Yet look at what Burnham COULD HAVE CUT instead, without raising taxes OR robbing pensioners: Reinstating the 2 child benefit limit would save around £3 billion annually. Foreigners claiming benefits account for £12 billion annually. UK Foreign Aid totals around £7.2 billion annually. Keir Starmer’s aborted cuts to PIP would have saved £5 billion annually. Not a dickie bird on Defence either.🤦🏼‍♂️ God I detest Burnham and the Labour rabble around him.🤨

Really? 🤔 Please provide evidence to back up your claim, Mr Hodges…

Lefties on here wonder why I repeatedly refer to this LABOUR government as both useless and dangerous?🤔 Well here is a perfect example. The local government minister - Jim McMahon defended the upcoming tourist tax but admitted the government had carried out NO ASSESSMENT of its effect on the country and the economy.🤦‍♂️ 100,000 people have already lost their jobs in Hospitality under this LABOUR government. Now thousands more are at risk because of yet another LABOUR tax.🤨 So I say yet again - LABOUR 2026 are the most useless and dangerous government of all time.