Tribute to greatest naval dockyard in the world... and its workforce

In the age of fighting sail, Portsmouth dockyard was responsible for building well in excess of 200 warships. This was the launch of HMS Victoria in November 1859. Like her sister ship Marlborough, she was converted to steam power. Pictures: Philip MacDougall/Amberley.

Functioning in a naval capacity since 1495, although more active as a dockyard from the Victorian period, few other places have such a prominent place in Britain’s naval history.

The dockyard is the oldest that the Royal Navy has and boasts one of the oldest dry docks in the world; today it features as a major tourist attraction.

In this new book, Philip MacDougall uses his fascinating collection of images to display the incredible recent history of the dockyard.

The interior of the New Lock Shipwrights Shop while under construction in 1915.

Starting with the Victorian dockyard, he looks at the mighty HMS Dreadnought, which was built at the dockyard, as well as taking the reader on a tour of the yard and describing its naval role.

This includes the hugely popular Navy Weeks in the 1920s and ’30s , the forerunner to Navy Days.

Moving forward through the decades, Philip considers the impact of the two world wars, as well as the Cold War, before finishing the story in the present day.

n Portsmouth Dockyard Through Time by Philip MacDougall is published by Amberley at £14.99.