Welcome to our new feature, Warship Wednesday. Each month we’ll be introducing a different Chatham built warship – the facts, the behind the scenes and never seen before photos from our collection. This month, we’re focusing on an important submarine that remains in our care today: HM Submarine Ocelot.   Built in No.7 Slip, Ocelot represents the last phase of shipbuilding at Chatham and she was the last Royal Navy warship built here. Launched in 1962, Ocelot was one of 57 ...

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On this day in 1964, our Historic Warship HM Submarine Ocelot was commissioned. What is a ship commissioning? When a ship is commissioned, there is normally an act or ceremony which declares the ship in active service. HM Submarine Ocelot Ocelot was the last submarine built for the Royal Navy at Chatham Dockyard and today you can still see her and go on board as part of your entry ticket to The Historic Dockyard Chatham. She was one of 57 submarines that were built here and served during the ...

Launched in 1962, HM Submarine Ocelot was the last Royal Navy warship built at Chatham. Equipped with a stealthy diesel electric engine Oberon class submarines such as Ocelot made for the perfect surveillance vessel and were selected to undertake missions in the deep waters of the world’s oceans – some of which remain top secret! Although the Ministry of Defence have yet to release in-depth papers regarding Ocelot’s service, we know that this remarkable vessel clocked up over 90,000 miles ...

With the Great British Summer you never know whether it’s going to rain or shine but what better way to cool off or shelter from a shower than aboard a historic warship or inside a vast, ¼ mile long working ropery – all part of The Historic Dockyard Chatham’s sensational summer adventures. Ready for fun with Doc Yard’s Summer Show? A day at the Dockyard lets younger visitors get hands on with history with free activities running throughout the school holidays. In an all-new interactive ...

Following on from the success of our first Warship Wednesday blog on HM Submarine Ocelot, we continue our series with a closer look at the Naval namesake of former Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill. The first of a new class of nuclear-powered attack submarines, HMS Churchill was launched by The Hon. Mrs Soames MBE, the youngest of Churchill’s five children, in 1968. Churchill is one of the few warships to have been given a title during the lifetime of her namesake.  As First Lord of ...

Did you know there was an insect class of Royal Naval ship? Or that Royal Naval crews sometimes took live animal mascots on their voyages? You might be surprised to hear that we a variety of objects in our collection that link to nature and animals. Read on to find out more. Royal Naval ships named after animals The Navy has a long history of naming ships after animals. To name a few, the Royal Navy’s early destroyers, from 1900 to 1910, nearly featured an entire zoo with names including F ...

After 36 years’ service, Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust’s Director of Heritage, Visitor Experience and Learning, Richard Holdsworth MBE, will retire from his role this summer. Richard entered the Museum profession in 1978 with Merseyside County Museums (now National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside). From 1979-85 he was a Museum Officer at the Imperial War Museum, before joining Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust as its first Curator in 1985. In his current position as Director of Heritage, ...

This week marks British Science Week – a perfect excuse for Doc Yard to pull on his lab coat, get back to his secret lab and create some fun kitchen experiments for you to try from home. Experiment 1: Raisin Submarines You will need :  1 clear glass / jar. Bottle of fizzy drink (transparent works best).  10 raisins/sultanas.  Method:  Pour the fizzy liquid into your glass or jar. Be careful not to over fill it. Leave a gap at the top. Add 10 raisins into the glass. The raisins ...

To celebrate ‘pretend to be a time traveller day’ we caught up with Vikkie from our Collections department. In our latest blog she talks about sharing an uncanny resemblance of herself in a photo she found in our collections. Vikkie also speaks about her family connections to the dockyard and, if she travelled back in time, what she thinks she might be doing at the ‘yard… Can you spot ‘Vikkie’ in this photo? Here I am today in 2020 in comparison – my colleague ...

Hey Wally fans! Once upon a time Wally embarked upon a fantastic journey through the tides of time. He stowed away on a sloop, snuck into a saloon coach and sailed through 400 years of maritime history. Not only can you use your best navigation skills to find his hiding places around the Dockyard this October, you can delve a little bit deeper with some of his behind the scenes adventures. There are hundreds of stories of search and find associated with the Dockyard for Wally-watchers to enjoy, ...

Chatham Historic Dockyard Trust is excited to announce it will be reopening The Historic Dockyard Chatham to visitors on Saturday, July 25th. The visitor attraction has been closed to the public since March as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Whilst the government took the decision to allow tourism businesses to reopen from the start of July, the Trust has taken careful steps to ensure the multi-use site can be operated within the current safety guidelines not just for visitors but its ...

Whether you’re looking for weekend plans with your other half or even wanting to escape the love, take a read on to see why visiting The Dockyard should top of your list for an alternative Valentines weekend… It’s not every day that you can be partners in crime and discover the mystery of the timbers of the Namur… the 90-gun ship was found beneath five layers of floor in the old Wheelwrights Shop in 1995. Learn about the era of the Age of Sail and be moved by the story of the †...