Our final M33 film done, this was the scene in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard as the ship was unveiled to the public , 100 years after her arrival in Gallipoli, to use her big guns against Turkish forces resisting the Allied invasion. The bold plan by Winston Churchill to rush Turkey’s capital with a naval assault failed almost immediately; and after troop landings with appalling casualties and no real progress, the Allies withdrew within less than a year. The golden military rule “Never reinforce failure” had been ignored, at a terrible cost. But the commemoration/launch day was a complete success, with the M33 manned, a mini-drama about Gallipoli performed on her foc’sle, the unveiling of an detailed bronze plaque and a service of commemoration (picture) in the dock beneath her bows. And as for the reborn ship herself… see next blog!
Remembering the Gallipoli campaign
24 August 2015
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About Rob
Rob is a TV producer, reporter and camera operator with 30 years’ experience at the BBC, Channel 4 and ITN, in news, factual and documentary production. He is a four times award winner, whose awards include a coveted Royal Television Society award for his work on Channel 4 News. His association with The Maritime Foundation goes back to 1995, when he won the first Desmond Wettern Maritime Media Award for a series of reports that led to a major documentary on the loss of the bulk carrier Derbyshire.