News - 2014

11:30 Tuesday 5 Aug 2014 Sue Pelling/CWLNational Museum of the Royal Navy supports commemorative day

The gun from HMS Lance which fired the first shot from sea. Also the Britannia Cup which is being contested in Class 0 today.

The gun that fired the first shot from sea 100 years ago today, from the Royal Navy aboard HMS Lance in the First World War, is now on display at the recently opened HMS – Hear my Story gallery at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

To mark the historic occasion of the First World War, a single cannon was fired from the Royal Yacht Squadron this morning while HMS Mersey sailed past.

A team from the National Museum of the Royal Navy was present in Cowes this morning, on day four of Aberdeen Asset Management Cowes Week, including Jane Hodgkins who was thrilled to have been very much involved in the organisation of the commemorative event.

“We identified that all the events coincided so it was obvious something needed to happen. People tend to think of it very much as trench war but the Navy were very much involved with dreadnoughts powering along to protect our land infantry, so order to try to make it obvious and mark the occasion at Aberdeen Asset Mangement Cowes Week. The Navy was able to secure an asset for us – HMS Mersey – and it all went extremely well.”

Chatting about the Hear My Story exhibition in the Naval Historic Dockyard, Hodgkins added: “The exhibition is a fantastic place to visit because it tells the story of the 100 years of the Navy including the First World War. So we have both Hear My Story and another exhibition called Racing To War, which talks about the first six months leading up to WW1 and six months into that. Most importantly we have the most amazing and phenomenal Gun from HMS Lance, which is really important to the exhibition because it was the gun that fired the very first shot of WW1 at sea, today – 5 August.”

The National Museum of the Royal Navy formed in 2009 is an amalgamation of six museums: HMS Victory and the museum in Portsmouth, the Royal Submarine Museum in Gosport and Explosion, the Royal Marines Museum in Eastney, and in Yeovilton the Fleet Air Arm Museum. It is a great place to visit for a thorough understanding of the Royal Nav. A new ‘all attractions’ ticket now available, which  grants one year, unlimited access. Tickets prices: children (£21), adult (£28), family of 2 adults/seniors and up to 3 children (£78.40).