HMS BELFAST

HMS BELFAST
by Richard Johnstone-Bryden.

One of a series of books titled 'Seaforth Historic Ships', now provides the legendary ship and London landmark, HMS Belfast, a place in the spotlight. 

A return trip to London is long overdue and when that day does finally come, visiting HMS Belfast is at the top of my list. 
So what better than to have a book that not only provides the ship's fascinating history, but would also be a great companion to take on that visit.

Almost A4 in size and at over 120 pages, this glossy publication instantly has a look of quality.
The opening section on the ship's history provides a fascinating account of its service, both home and abroad. The story continues post-service with how it was saved from the scrapyard to become an attraction for millions of visitors. 

The book then moves on to provide almost 100 pages of high quality coloured photos covering parts of the ship, on every deck.
As very much a novice reader on all things Navy, I found the captions accompanying each photo really helpful in explaining what I was looking at. Both educating and a useful insight into what to expect on my visit.

The final chapter looks at the Belfast's conservation, taking a fascinating look at the work done behind the scenes and to what work will hopefully be completed in the near future.
It was interesting to learn how any missing parts have been able to be taken from other ships who sadly went on to be scrapped.
So somewhere aboard the Belfast a part of those ships now lives on aboard this fabulous historic landmark.

This paperback edition is available now and published by Seaforth Publishing. 
I thank Seaforth for this review copy.




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