Unfortunately I live a heck of a way from Coventry Airport,

So do I, it is a 160 mile roundtrip for me. If you live in the UK, you’re not that far away. It’s only a small island.

It is a very poorly Shackleton… strange isn’t it how circumstance has caused it to linger far longer than some of the others?

It’s a bit of a local landmark now with some of the UN forces. I hope to have some more up to date pictures of it before long, as some friends are due to be in the area soon.

This…

http://jalopnik.com/5644267/building-a-diesel+powered-mercedes-station-wagon-drift-racer

The idea of an old car being driven like that just makes me grin from ear to ear. The engineering involved is pretty impressive too.

What a warm-hearted bunch you are.
Conned ? Out of a cup of tea he didn’t drink ? I must be more careful,I’m down a whole £1.15.
He never asked for money,which I wouldn’t have given him anyway,and my valuables are quite intact,thank you.
The pastor rang me yesterday evening to say that he hadn’t turned up at the shelter,but they know him there and he does have a tendency to bolt like a startled rabbit.Maybe he spent the night in his luxury accommodation behind the Wimpey Bar.
If I saw him I’d do the same again.Is it so hard to believe that perhaps some people are damaged and need a bit of help ?

Trust me… from your post, he does not sound to be what he makes himself out to be. It’s not hard to believe he was “damaged and in need of help” if his story rang right – but it doesn’t. I’ve had damaged guys… today my boss is meeting one more. He’s one of the unfortunate ones coming home in a box.

The fact that you went so far out of your way to help this fella (whoever he was) speaks volumes for you. If you see him again again try and get some details. Send them my way and I’ll try and get in contact with our Royal Engineers Association and RBL reps, see if they can help. Hows that?

Regards,

Ric

Bumbling through the town centre this afternoon a young man accosted me,probably attracted by my kind and motherly air ( yeah right ).
He wanted directions to a particular place,then it all came out – how he’d been beaten up and robbed of his money and phone,he’d been kicked in the ribs but the local walk-in centre had sent him away with ordinary painkillers and a heat patch,he’d gone to the police station about the assault but they’d just sent him away without helping.
He seemed a decent young chap,so I asked where he lived and he said that last night he’d slept on concrete under cardboard.He wasn’t asking for money at all,just directions.
I couldn’t leave him like that,so I phoned the pastor of my church,who’s also the chaplain of our local homeless shelter.He said if the chap could get to the shelter he’d meet him there and see what they could do.Then I arranged for my husband to give us a lift there.
I took him into the Wimpy Bar nearby and he just wanted a cup of tea,nothing to eat.Then he said he needed the toilet,so I directed him to the nearest public one as our Wimpy Bar doesn’t have one.He never came back ( and I’ve heard all the cracks about even being stood up by a homeless guy from Mr. Bee ).
You can guess the rest.This young man (36 ) was a soldier who’d served in Afghanistan.He’d come home in a C-130 wounded.Three of his mates,and he told me their names,came home in boxes.He was discharged from hospital in January,and had been told that he was liable to be recalled to service until he was 37.
The gang of men who beat him up were Asian,and they’d called him a baby-killer,despite him telling them that he was only an engineer.He kept saying to me over and over,” I’m not a baby-killer ! ” He’d tried to contact the local British Legion,but they’ve closed down their club.He’d tried the Territorial Army,but the sergeant had sent him away saying there was nothing they could do for him.
I looked everywhere for him,including the service area round the back of the Wimpy Bar where the staff said he’d been sleeping,but I just couldn’t find him.It breaks my heart to think that,while I’m sleeping in my warm bed tonight,this young man who’s served his country is probably out there alone and homeless.
So the question is,can anyone tell me who looks after former soldiers ? What could I have done for him ?

There’s a couple of bits in there that don’t sound quite right…

The RBL have shedloads of branches. They also have “Legionline” which is nationwide. If he can’t contact them, as an engineer, he should know about the Royal Engineers Association. A TA unit should have put him in contact with them if he was ex-forces. His local Armed Forces Careers Office would have done likewise.

How did the Asian lads know he was a soldier for starters?

If he’s on the reserve list that means he was okay when he left the hospital. It also means that he’s liable for recall for six years, not one. Why did he leave the Army? Or did he do a runner… like he did on you?

If he’s genuine he has my deepest sympathy. If not.. well.

Regards,

Ric

In the case of the Brittanic, they did learn.
Her watertight compartment bulkheads travelled the entire height of the ship and her expansion joints terminated with a circular end instead of a nice neat accute point. Thus ensuring the ship would not split at said joints.

Also the Olympic class ship was designed to operate on the cold North Atlantic, not warm tropical waters. The air system on board was not designed to cool the interior but to keep it warm. The Brittanic was running in warm waters in hot and humid conditions. The heat onboard is said to have been unbearable and the cause for many a death from exhaustion. So the windows HAD to be left open.

What sealed Britannics fate was simply a bit of bad luck timing.
She struck the mine that sunk her just as a shift change was happening below deck.
The doorways at each watertight bulkhead were left wide open to allow for the crew to move in and out.
The Captain then ordered full speed ahead and steer for the shallows, believing the watertight bulkheads would ultimately save them.
With the doors open, the bulkheads were useless.

Had she hit that mine just 5 minutes before or after, we’d be talking about a damaged Britannic, not a sunk one.

Interesting… I always thought it was something to do with airing the ship after carrying wounded.

I know that when the mine exploded it damaged the door controls for the bulkheads, as that would have given them the time to beach the ship… from memory she’s in about 300 feet of water in the Kea Channel?

Did they call for full astern on both the expanion engines, or just on the one side? You would think that full ahead on one and full astern on the other would have helped turn the thing.

Yet with all the knowledge gained from the loss of Titanic and subsequent revisions, the Brittanic still managed to go down as they left all the portholes open…