HISTORIC AND MODERN GALLERIES
The historic and
modern Galleries trace the history of submarines and men.
In the Galleries you can see fascinating displays and read the stories that lie behind the exhibits.
There are personal items, keepsakes and memorabilia of the men of the Submarine Service from its birth to the present day. Examples are ditty boxes taken by men on patrol in WW1, a bottle of Whisky and a Cake won in pub raffles but never collected because the sailors who bought the winning tickets never returned from patrol, rugs made in POW camp, and so on.
Amongst its ships' relics, the museum has the Captains Cabin, Periscopes, and Steering and Hydroplanes Console from HMS Conqueror, individual Submarine badges, mascots, honours boards, and ornamental lifebelts. The Museum has a significant collection of Jolly Rogers, the emblem of the Submarine Service.
Also on display are a representative collection of uniforms of all ranks and rates: including accessories such as caps, cocked hats, epaulettes, swords, dirks, and world wide submarine insignia
There are a number
of hands-on exhibits including the Rolls Royce display showing how nuclear fission
drives today's submarines.
Ships Badges
You will see many badges during your tour. The badge is very closely associated with the name of the submarine, and usually carries with it a motto that reflects the character of the ship. A good example is that which belonged to HMS Thermopylae, a WWII generation T-Class submarine. Her badge consists of a lion, a strange association with an underwater warship! Or is it? In fact the Lion is the statue which stands over the Pass of Thermopylae in Greece. It was here in 480 BC that 200 Spartan soldiers defended to the last man this crucial position in the face of thousands of invading Persian soldiers. When the message was passed by Xerxes, the Persian king, that his arrows would darken the sun, the Spartans responded that they would fight in the shade. It should be no surprise that these words were adopted as the submarine's highly appropriate motto, and in the 1960s a number of the ship's company actually made the pilgrimage to the Pass.
The staff will be very happy to explain the significance of any badge that catches your eye.
