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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

HMS Lion


pete-c

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Spotted whilst watching afternoon telly this week.

During a recent episode of Father Brown, on BBC 1, I spied the following inscription on a garden bench two of the characters were sitting on.

'HMS Lion 1914-18'

Could this have been constructed from timber taken from the ship during the process of breaking-up? Or could this piece of furniture have been in situ on the vessel immediately following the 14-18 War?

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More likely to have been installed as a memorial I would have thought.

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Thanks sJ. I must admit that was my initial thought.

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Not much call for garden benches on a battle cruiser, I think!

Ron

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Thanks sJ. I must admit that was my initial thought.

Any idea what town the scene was filmed in? It might have been affiliated with LION.

sJ

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Hi 6 of the crew of HMS Lion are buried in South Queensferry Cemetery close to the Forth Rail Bridge.I take it she was involved at Jutland?

Mary.

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Hi 6 of the crew of HMS Lion are buried in South Queensferry Cemetery close to the Forth Rail Bridge.I take it she was involved at Jutland?

Mary.

Very much so !

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90 men lost in one action at Jutland,would the 6 in South Queensferry maybe have died on returning to Rosyth,i take it the others would have been buried at sea if there was anything left of them?

Mary.

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i take it the others would have been buried at sea if there was anything left of them?

Mary.

I don't know how much remained of the magazine- and shell-room crews who died when LION's gun turret blew up - the flames reached the mast-head according to some accounts.

sJ

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Any idea what town the scene was filmed in? It might have been affiliated with LION.

sJ

Unfortunately not, but I believe the series is filmed in and around the Cotswolds. The bench in question appeared to be in the garden of a private residence, so it may well be a memorial to a family member. I may give the Beeb a call to see if they have any more details.

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The bench in question appeared to be in the garden of a private residence, so it may well be a memorial to a family member.

Or bought second-hand by the house owner or the BBC props department....

Wet blanket? moi? ;)

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Spotted whilst watching afternoon telly this week.

During a recent episode of Father Brown, on BBC 1, I spied the following inscription on a garden bench two of the characters were sitting on.

'HMS Lion 1914-18'

Could this have been constructed from timber taken from the ship during the process of breaking-up? Or could this piece of furniture have been in situ on the vessel immediately following the 14-18 War?

There was a firm, Hughes Bolckow from Blyth, who scrapped ships with a sideline buisness in turning the deck planks into garden furniture, inkstands, walking sticks, matchstick holders, etc.

They scrapped Lion and occasionally you do see this furniture about ebay, etc.The funiture usually has a little square plastic or brass plaque underneath but it tends to have the 3 battles listed on the plaque.

Or it could be a customised piece made from her decks?

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90 men lost in one action at Jutland,would the 6 in South Queensferry maybe have died on returning to Rosyth,i take it the others would have been buried at sea if there was anything left of them?

Mary.

Yes maybe. Anyone who died at sea (Jutland) was buried at sea on the way home. The '6 in Queensferry'? There was about 5 from Jutland who died-or-wounds in hospital ashore but some where transferred to hospitals away from the Forth such as Plymouth. So the others may be from the accidents or illness?

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Or bought second-hand by the house owner or the BBC props department....

Wet blanket? moi? ;)

The word cynical had not even entered my head :thumbsup:

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Yes maybe. Anyone who died at sea (Jutland) was buried at sea on the way home. The '6 in Queensferry'? There was about 5 from Jutland who died-or-wounds in hospital ashore but some where transferred to hospitals away from the Forth such as Plymouth. So the others may be from the accidents or illness?

My husband did say the dates of their deaths were all different so maybe them being in hospital would explain that. There is one chap buried in Rosskeen in Invergordon

Mary.

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  • 1 year later...

Saw the programme repeated just now. The inscription was "ex-HMS Lion" so presumably it came from the scrapping by Hughes Bolckow. The only reservation is that this was engraved in the wood, rather than a brass plate as mentioned by TeeCeeCee

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This Hughes-Bolckow label is on a wooden bowl I own but would probably not be suitable on a garden bench exposed to the elements:

 

13701223_985903864855659_629535741515721

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On 03/02/2017 at 15:49, Phil Hollington said:

Saw the programme repeated just now. The inscription was "ex-HMS Lion" so presumably it came from the scrapping by Hughes Bolckow. The only reservation is that this was engraved in the wood, rather than a brass plate as mentioned by TeeCeeCee

 

 When 'ex-' is used like that, I've always understood that it means it's from or related to... my Chambers has a meaning of 'Ex-' as 'Out of'..

while Dictionary.com has ex- as 'a prefix meaning “out of,” “from,”'

 

But, while it could be the post-war cruiser, it sounds like is the battlecruiser. I've not seen any photos of a bench upon her, like in the image of Hood, but it may have been on her decks or maybe inside?

 

p.s. In the centre of the photo of Hood, just aft of the boat crutches, is that a canoe?

Edited by TeeCeeCee
Adding dictionary sentence.
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9 hours ago, TeeCeeCee said:

 

p.s. In the centre of the photo of Hood, just aft of the boat crutches, is that a canoe?

 

Isn't it one of those collapsible lifeboats, like in 'A Night To Remember' ?

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10 hours ago, TeeCeeCee said:

 

 When 'ex-' is used like that, I've always understood that it means it's from or related to... my Chambers has a meaning of 'Ex-' as 'Out of'..

while Dictionary.com has ex- as 'a prefix meaning “out of,” “from,”'

 

I've always used it in the sense of "out f"

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TeeCeeCee, could it be a painting punt?  These were used to paint near the waterline.

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On ‎03‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 16:36, Falloden said:

Garden bench on the deck of HMS Hood, bottom left of the photo !

IMG_0002_1024x586_.jpg

 

Definately wouldn't want to be seated there when that gun was fired!  That 'canoe' shaped object is curious isn't it - can't think what it could be.  Certainly not big enough, or indeed the right shape to be a  painting punt.

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On 05/02/2017 at 10:02, MikB said:

 

Isn't it one of those collapsible lifeboats, like in 'A Night To Remember' ?

Or just a canoe for recreational purposes.

Edited by healdav
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3 hours ago, healdav said:

Or just a canoe for recreational purposes.

 

Having mixed with a few Naval types over the years, I was under the impression that once off the liberty boat, 'recreation' meant the consumption of varying types of falling-down water - rather than bobbing about on it! 

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