General knowledge

OK, name these these two ships and where did you used to be able to find them moored together?

kidder wrote:Isn't there an alternative name for the 'Pin' Chas?
'Firkin' is a name for 9 gallons that brought much hilarity to us daft, youthful drinkers.

You're firkin well right! The principal Burton breweries (Bass, Ind Coope & Allsop, Marston) had 4½ gallon Pins and 9 gallon Firkins. I grew up with North Staffs cooperage (Parker's, Joules) so that's what stuck.



The Ships:

The nearer one looks remarkably like HMS Victory. T'other seems reminiscent of HMS Discovery, so that should be the Royal Dockyard in Portsmouth.

Wrong on all counts Chas!! Sorry!!

kidder wrote:
'Firkin' is a name for 9 gallons that brought much hilarity to us daft, youthful drinkers.

At school I used to know a girl whose surname was Firkin......I used to wonder why some people smirked at the mention of her name. We were very innocent in those days!!!!


Susie, Pete thinks that the two ships are the SS Great Britain and the clipper Cutty Sark and that they were moored together at Bristol some time ago.

One of the ships is right Joy, the Cutty Sark, the other is wrong and it is not Bristol

Come on you lot!! Or do you need a clue?

Yes please Susie!!

Well Joy, for the other boat you should look nearer to the part of the country you consider home


For the place, this was a port used sometimes by Queen Elizabeth 1 so it is very old but is no longer considered to be important

So QE I, I thought ... that's Tilbury ... but Tilbury is still working!

The next (much later) thought was "Greenhythe", which "Time Team" had a go at a few years ago because it had silted up and was reasonably well preserved. So I Go-ogled that +"cutty sark" and found the warship, which was HMS Worcester.

Well done Chas!!!

When I was a kiddy we lived at Greenhithe, which was then a small village, very quaint, none of the huge building which has now taken place, it was all very rural

Sadly I was too young to remember the Cutty Sark being there, I think they moved it in about 1951 and I was scarcely more than a babe then

But I clearly remember HMS Worcester. There was a kiddies playground on the old jetty and we used to go there to play on what would now be considered totally unsuitable play equipment. Moored opposite us was the Worcester and we often used to see cadets working on it or rowing out . It was a sad day when it was broken up. The sight was so iconic

Your turn Chas

Nice bit of info there Susie. I remember the Time Team programme too.

I missed the Time team programme!! Never mind I am sure it will be repeated as they all are!!

I'll keep up the nautical theme ....

Which ship in the Royal Navy Axillary Fleet carried the designation A00 (Indicating type and serial number. For example, HMS Belfast was C35, being the 36th Cruiser.)

Sorry, I haven't bothered digging out a picture .... but, why should I make things easy?

Britannia ??

Victory?

Crikey, Susie, that was quick!

Until it was retired into commercial hands, HMS Britannia was A00.

OK we will stay on the nautical theme, the merchant navy goes back a long way in our family.

This ship became very famous, maybe not for the right reasons in 1912 . What is its name and why did it become so well known. As an aside my grandfather was a crew member at the time in 1912

Is it Carpathia Susie? The ship that went to help Titanic when she hit the iceberg?

Very very warm but not hot

In that case Susie, it was the SS California which was also involved indirectly with the sinking of the Titanic.
Interesting that your grandfather was a member of the crew.

The Californian took two and a half hours to steam to the scene of the sinking which was taken as evidence to confirm that the Californian was at least
20 miles away. Other sources claim that the mystery ship was a sealer, Samson, which was fishing illegally in the area. The identification of the unknown vessel remains a mystery to this day.

- Liverpool Museum Maritime Archives

You have it John!!

Sadly I was about 4 when my grandfather died so I only have memories of my dad's recollections

.......errm, Jim mentioned the Californian first - I was just trying to muddy the waters

Sorry, well done Jim!! Your turn

A man travels by car to a destination 25 miles away. The journey was made between 7 and 9am, so the roads were congested and progress was slow. The journey took 75 minutes, which means that his average speed was 20 miles per hour. He took the same route on the return and traveling in the middle of the day made for a faster time. His return journey lasted just 25 minutes, meaning that his average speed for the return journey was 60 miles per hour.

What was his average speed for the two journeys combined?