HMS BELFAST

Indeed Graham, and only by pure fluke, if Gambia's 6 inch triple turret had been in better condition then the IWM representatives would have left Portsmouth with an agreement to acquire Gambia's turret, as planned. There was no intention to take a whole ship.

by all means Graham post away.

the full story of the eventful day is recorded in a short UK Gov book about Belfast which was published when the IWM took ownership. It stated that the IWM representatives departed Gambia feeling rather dejected as they realised that the Gun turret was not as an attractive project as first thought, lots of corrosion and damage etc. The naval hosts took them to lunch onboard the Base reserve HQ ship (Belfast) to discuss their findings. Once onboard Belfast they found her still manned, warm and in excellent condition albeit she was mothballed and running on shore power only. During lunch the discussions expanded from simply selecting a suitable gun turret from Gambia to acquiring the whole of Belfast,. Who ever the naval hosts were they clearly did a Stirling job in sowing the seeds and promoting the ship. the rest is history.

I thought Sheffield ( one of my Dads old ships) was a favourite too?
Though I did visit HMS Belfast with him before he crossed the bar. Fond memories for me ( and him I suspect)