HMS Belfast: a survivor of Operation Neptune

1. HMS Belfast (C35) moored on the River Thames, London
(with Tower Bridge in the distance)

2. HMS Belfast (C35) from Tower Pier, River Thames, London
(with the lower part of the'Shard' behind)

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Introduction

During WW2 HMS Belfast (C35) was a Royal Navy cruiser, saw action on the Arctic convoys, took part in Operation Neptune (the seaborne element of Operation Overlord) and toward the end of the war was sent to the Far East shortly before the Japanese surrender. After decommissioning in 1963 HMS Belfast became a museum ship in 1971 since when she has been moored at London on the river Thames near Tower Bridge [Photographs No. 1 and 2]. Since 1978 she has been part of the 'museum family' of the Imperial War Museum.

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Oslo's annual Christmas gift to London

1. The 2014 Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree, London
[View from the National Gallery towards Whitehall] 

2. The Trafalgar Square Christmas Tree, London
[View looking towards the National Gallery] 

3. An annual gift from the city of Oslo since 1947
[Sign at the base of the Trafalgar Square Christmas tree]

4. St Martin's in the Fields 'Christmas Crib'
[Trafalgar Square, London (December 2014)]

 Season's Greetings for 2014

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The passage to Perpignan and beyond

1. Postcard from Perpignan (showing Le Castillet)

2. Perpignan: 'Le Patio' in the Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall)

3. Perpignan: the Place St Jean

4. 1945 newspaper cutting of Lt.-Cmndr. 'Pat O'Leary' 
(Speaking in front of the Porte de Paris, Lille, France)
[Perpignan was a key town for his WW2 escape line]

During the Second World War, for many escapees and evaders a passage to Perpignan was the last stepping stone to escape to freedom where they could join or rejoin the struggle against the Nazi Occupiers of N.W. Europe. It was not by any means an easy matter getting to Perpignan and beyond and most of the escapees and evaders needed the assistance of the Resistance networks to do so. Nor was it always a clear run for home if they were guided over the Pyrenees into Spain, where the Spanish authorities would often arrest them. 

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"Where have all the flowers gone?"

Floral tributes at the grave of L.A.C.W. Elizabeth Cowan
[Whitehaven Cemetery, Cumbria (November 2014)]

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A service of re-dedication and remembrance

1. The re-dedicated Normandy Veterans seat
St Nicholas' Church Gardens, Whitehaven, Cumbria
[Armistice Day anniversary, Tuesday 11 November 2014] 

2. "In memory of all who died in the Battle of Normandy 1944"
[The dedication of the N.V.A. West Cumbria Branch (No. 51)]

3. The N.V.A. plaque and tributes of remembrance
[Armistice Day anniversary, Tuesday 11 November 2014]

4. Poppy crosses placed in remembrance of loved ones
[The box contains sand from one of the Normandy beaches]

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"Missing" by Clara Bernhardt

The framed poem by Clara Berhardt
Displayed at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Museum
(Based at the wartime R.A.F. East Kirkby)

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A time to remember at Rheged, Cumbria

1. Entrance to the modern Rheged Discovery Centre
[Situated near Penrith, Cumbria]

2. Poster for a WW1 film about life on the home front
[Film compiled by the North West Film Archive]

3. Poster for a WW2 3-D film about "D-Day"
[Shown at Rheged, Cumbria (Sep. 2014 - Jan. 2015)] 

4. "Distant Dreams" by the artist Peter Lewis
[Part of Rheged's exhibition "The Art of Remembering"]

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