Porthole from HMS Hood with memorial plaque to John Kelly
This small gallery is devoted to marine archaeology.
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During the First World War there was
a real threat to ships moored in Portland Harbour from torpedoes fired
from enemy submarines entering through the South entrance. In order to prevent this an old
battleship, HMS Hood was sunk across the entrance as a block ship. The late John
Kelly recovered many items from the wreck in over 40 years of diving, and a
collection of these is on display.
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"HMS Hood, 1891" by Michael J Hedley, 1974 |
An interesting display shows artefacts recovered from the wreck of the Earl of Abergavenny. Whilst seeking shelter during a storm in 1805, this East Indiaman ran aground on the Shambles. Re-floated, her Commander, John Wordsworth, tried to make the beach in Weymouth Bay but the pumps could not cope and the ship foundered with the loss of over 200 lives.
The full story of this catastrophe and the subsequent salvage, archaeological investigation and recording is available on a website and on CD. It is also available on computers in the Museum Resource Centre
The gallery also contains items recovered from the wreck of a Curtiss P40 Tomahawk, which crashed into the sea on 8th November 1941. It was being flown by Pilot Officer Harold Fraser English of 400 Squadron RCAF. He survived, only to be shot down on 13th December 1941, off the coast of Northern France.
