Heritage and Nostalgia - Portsmouth News

NOSTALGIA: When Portsmouth really knew how to push the boat out

Last Monday I published a photograph showing HMS Belfast bearing camouflage paint which I called razzle-dazzle. It was a Second World War picture.

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What the Dickens? Portsmouth-born writer’s table could vanish from the UK

A STUDY table used by one of the world’s greatest authors – who was born in Portsmouth – could be leaving UK shores.

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NOSTALGIA: Trams and trolley buses ruled the chaos in Guildhall Square

I never tire of seeing photographs of Guildhall Square before it was pedestrianised in the 1970s, changing the city centre forever. This is a transitional scene before the end of trams and the introduction of trolley buses.

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NOSTALGIA: Trams and trolley buses ruled the chaos in Guildhall Square

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NOSTALGIA: Plea to old HMS Ganges boys

Over the years I have written a lot about the boys’ training establishment HMS Ganges at Shotley Point near Ipswich.

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No scene at Chidren's Corner, Southsea, would be complete without a photo of the miniature railway.

NOSTALGIA: Who remembers Children’s Corner at Southsea?

With all the warm weather we have been having I am sure many adults who remember Children’s Corner will miss taking their grandchildren to this much-missed area on Southsea seafront. It was where the Blue Reef Aquarium is now.

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Fort Cumberland in Eastney. Picture: Paul Jacobs

Open day for public at historical Fort Cumberland

AN OPEN day will be taking place at a historical fort in Portsmouth this weekend.

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HMS Belfast in disguise. Picture: Mike Nolan Collection.

NOSTALGIA: ‘Razzle dazzle’ makeovers to confuse U-boat commanders

To counteract U-boat attacks during the Second World War someone came up with the bright idea of painting ships with camouflage, and what some superb ideas they came up with.

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You might have thought the Invincible class carriers were big, but HMS illustrious is dwarfed alongside HMS Queen Elizabeth. Picture: Mike Nolan Collection.

NOSTALGIA: Queen Elizabeth v Invincible – now you can see the scale

Remember when the first Invincible class aircraft carrier arrived in Portsmouth, some time about 1980/1981?

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10 things you’ll remember if you grew up in Portsmouth

From mudlarks to red and white buses, Portsmouth has always been an exciting city to grow up in.

Portsmouth

A badly disabled sailor selling Nelson souvenirs on Southsea seafront, possibly in 1905.

NOSTALGIA: Nelson souvenirs for sale from one-armed Portsmouth sailor

My colleague Barry Cox thinks this fascinating photograph was taken in 1905, about Trafalgar Day time and therefore a century after the battle. As you can see, the people are gathered around HMS Victory’s anchor along Southsea seafront.

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Broken down on the hill. A different angle to Tuesdays photograph and we can see the RAC/AA man attending the car on the left. Picture: Barry Cox Collection

NOSTALGIA: Breakdown or accident on Portsdown Hill?

The picture above is a follow-up to the one I used on Tuesday this week in which a car has broken down on a relatively deserted Portsdown Hill, just below the top.

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HMS Nelson entering Portsmouth Harbour before 1936. The tram gives us the date clue.

NOSTALGIA: The mighty Royal Navy dwarfing Old Portsmouth

These two photographs are real locations of course but the view of HMS Queen Elizabeth passing the Square Tower and Hot Walls is a superimposed shot put together by Paul Costen of Waterlooville.

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Tattoos from Karen Storey (left) and Denise Springthorpe

We asked readers for their best tattoo pictures to celebrate National Tattoo Day

WHEN Denise Springthorpe was very ill with ulcerated colitis, she didn't think she was going to pull through.

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Where troops were stationed before the D Day landings.

NOSTALGIA: Where troops were hidden before D-Day

In the last fortnight or so I have mentioned American troops billeted in the area during and after the Second World War.

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Finlays newsagent on Portsmouth Town station concourse in the 1920s

NOSTALGIA: Marching to the skirl of pipes in Old Portsmouth

Last week I published a then and now view looking south through Waterlooville and made a horrible mistake.

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Southwick: Judging by the blackout black and white bands on the post on the left, this picture was taken during the Second World War.

NOSTALGIA: Put that light out! Zebra posts kept wartime drivers on road

Approaching the summit of Portsdown Hill from Cosham we see what might be a Bugatti sports car passing over the tram lines of the Horndean Light Railway.The rails disappear into the distance on a reserved track to the west of London Road.

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Waterlooville when it was simply just Waterloo. Here we're looking south through the village. Wadhams and Michelin are still with us of course. Picture: Barry Cox Collection

NOSTALGIA: Waterloo before the Ville was added

My colleague Barry Cox has been to the auctions again and let me loose on the photographs he has bought for his vast collection. These three pictures are some of many you will enjoy in coming weeks.

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Senior conservator Diana McCormack with the unfurled Trafalgar Sail Picture: Habibur Rahman

Iconic Trafalgar Sail is unfurled at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard for rare public display

IT HAS lain unseen for the past six years - but now HMS Victory’s iconic Trafalgar Sail, complete with 90 shot holes, is to go on show to the public

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The tug Irishman, lost in Langstone Harbour in 1941.

NOSTALGIA: Are you related to those lost in harbour wartime tug disaster?

You may well remember that last week I published some photographs of models made by David Barber of cinemas/picture houses that once proliferated all over the city.

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