Old Photos, a window to the past.

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Yadda

Soldato
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I've been looking through some pictures I was left by an old friend who recently died. He served as a Royal Navy Officer, Fleet Air Arm, for many years and I can't stop looking through them. I plan on making some decent scans before passing the originals on to the Royal Navy museum for archiving or whatever.

I thought I'd share a couple here, I'm sure he wouldn't mind. (The quality of the actual prints is amazing and these snaps don't really do them justice.)

Anyone else have any similar old prints?


Aboard HMS Eagle. Note on the back reads "Flight Deck Officer. Seeing a Gannet off":


FDO by Box with a button, on Flickr


HMS Eagle escorting a tanker. Note on the back reads "Esso Spain. Our Doc went aboard, March '66, Mozambique Channel."


Esso by Box with a button, on Flickr


HMS Triumph, complete with Seafires. This one hung on his wall.


Triumph by Box with a button, on Flickr
 
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Not sure if you're just increasing your posts count (you seem to be posting "nice pics!" type comments to a few threads, including some old ones where the pics have been removed) but on the off chance that your comment is genuine, thanks.
 
Schizo said:
Cànt beat some good old black and white phots,they have a great look and meaning,please share some more.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I agree, there's something about them, isn't there? These were taken by the ship's photographer on a medium or large format camera. The quality is astonishing, although the exposure is out on a couple of the more "action" shots, such as an aircraft landing for example. :)

I'm reluctant to post too many of them because some have an official stamp on the back stating they cannot be distributed without permission but I'll have another look through them later and see what I can find.

Edit:

Here are some more which don't have the stamp on the back, and one of the stamp itself.

reliant by Box with a button, on Flickr


berwick by Box with a button, on Flickr


buccaneer by Box with a button, on Flickr


820 by Box with a button, on Flickr


cambrian by Box with a button, on Flickr


pt by Box with a button, on Flickr


Crown Copyright by Box with a button, on Flickr
 
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Yes, lots of history. He was an interesting chap and never short of a story or ten over some beers and a few tots of rum. :) I'll miss the old boy.

Thanks again.

Edit:

The Reliant, pictured above, was a supply ship. One of the old chap's school friends happened to be serving on the Reliant when he was on the Eagle. I remember him telling me that when the Eagle was being replenished in some distant ocean, he invited him on board one evening for a few drinks. :)

You can see the Reliant supplying the Eagle in this film from 1966 (and it tells you how much rum and beer they got through :D).

 
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I had a suprise delivery today. A bottle of dark navy rum, well over half way through, on the ground, just over the fence. Hmm.

The old's chap's son had left it there. They'd been over to sort out the necessary. It was his old man's last bottle and as he lives abroad and can't take it back with him, thought I'd like a few tots.

Here's a snap, along with another of the prints he had on his wall, the one he was most proud of serving aboard: the Ark Royal's sister ship, HMS Eagle.

rum.jpg
 
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