Writing Archives

Fables

Poetry

Balancing on the last nerve

is what we do

praying

that sanity

holds with

fabled glue

–

The screech in our ears

follows

for

all

our

lore

filled

years

George Edwin Southern was born on 2nd February 1882 in Ermington, Devon, and having worked as a farm labourer, then joined the Royal Navy as a Stoker 2nd Class (Devonport No.297525) with Vivid II from 13th June 1901, being rated as a Stoker whilst with Bulwark on 11th August 1902, and then advanced to Stoker 1st Class whilst with Isis on 1st July 1906. Advanced to Leading Stoker whilst with Indus on 5th February 1914, he was aboard the battleship Marlborough on the outbreak of the Great War when a part of the 1st Battle Squadron in the Grand Fleet. He was promoted to Stoker Petty Officer whilst aboard her on 1st November 1915, and was posted to Vivid II from 9th January 1916.

Posted to the light cruiser Cambrian from 19th July 1916, he then rejoined Vivid II from 8th September 1917, before joining the destroyer Bullfinch from 27th November 1917, but then joined Vivid II from 5th March 1918, before being posted to Wallington for service aboard the destroyer Sandfly from 20th March 1918, this vessel being then employed as a minelayer. Southern saw service aboard Sandfly for the rest of … Read the rest

HMS Furious

Research

HMS Furious was a modified Courageous-class battlecruiser built for the Royal Navy (RN) during the First World War. Designed to support the Baltic Project championed by the First Sea Lord, Lord Fisher, the ship was very lightly armoured and designed with a main battery of only two 18-inch (457 mm) guns. Furious was modified as an aircraft carrier while under construction. Her forward turret was removed and a flight deck was added in its place, such that aircraft had to manoeuvre around the superstructure to land. Later in the war, the ship had her rear turret removed and a second flight deck installed aft of the superstructure, but this was less than satisfactory due to air turbulence. Furious was briefly laid up after the war before she was reconstructed with a full-length flight deck in the early 1920s.

After her conversion, Furious was used extensively for trials of naval aircraft and later as a training carrier once the new armoured carriers like Ark Royal entered service in the late 1930s. During the early months of the Second World War, the carrier spent her time hunting for German raiders in the North Atlantic and escorting convoys. This changed dramatically … Read the rest