Celebrations planned for HMS Belfast’s 80th birthday
STORIES and rare documents revealing life serving aboard HMS Belfast are being shared to mark the 80th anniversary of the historic warship’s launch.
Setting sail from the slipway on St Patrick’s Day 1938, it was only the second warship built by Harland & Wolff in the city it takes its name from since the end of the First World War, and cost almost £2.2m to build.
The oldest surviving Second World War veteran of HMS Belfast, John Harrison, has described the dangers of serving at sea, facing German magnetic mines and treacherous Arctic conditions.
His insights are being shared ahead of the 80th anniversary weekend, March 17-18, when visitors will have a chance to meet surviving veterans from HMS Belfast, explore the ship moored near Tower Bridge on the Thames in London, and take part in free nautical-themed activities.
HMS Belfast was involved in the Arctic convoys between the Allies and the Soviet Union, played a leading role in D-Day, helped liberate internment camps in the Far East in 1945, and operated during the Korean War.
By 1971, the ship was on the verge of being scrapped, but the Belfast Trust stepped in to save the vessel, docking it in London and opening it to the public. It was taken over by the Imperial War Museum in 1978.
Mr Harrison (104), who served as an ordnance artificer on HMS Belfast in the Second World War, described the dangerous conditions in the Arctic, including narrowly avoiding being swept overboard while trying to get to his gun turret. “I came to these big waves coming over, and I dashed to my turret, grabbed the turret door,” he said.
“Another one came over, my legs went up with the water, and my hand was actually frozen onto the turret handle, otherwise I’d have gone over the side with it. I had to massage my hand when the wave’s gone to get my hand off it, open the turret door and get in.
“That was a scary moment.”