THE REVIEW - PAST TOPICS- 2009

• Spring 2009 (Vol 21.4)
  The Fleet in Being
  Roger Perkins looks at the concept of a fleet in being, a study of naval strategic philosophy from the early years of the 20th century to the clashes at sea during the Second World War.
  
  'Splendide Audax' - HMS Daring joins the fleet
  The most advanced warship in the world, HMS Daring, arrived at her new home port of Portsmouth in January 2009 to crowds along the seafront and a flypast. She is the seventh ship to bear this name and the motto 'Splendide Audax' - Finely Daring. This article describes the ship and her significance.
  
  'A Gallant Fellow who Lost One Arm'
  Richard Taylor, NHCRA secretary and a member of the Orders, Medals & Research Society, writes about the medals awarded to Victorian naval officer Joshua Hutchinson and sets out the story behind them. Joshua, who served in the Syrian campaign and later in the Crimea, was a hero who earned accolades from many senior officers, including one of Jane Austen's naval brothers.
  
  Other articles in this issue include 'Persian Gulf Patrol 1959', 'The Life and Times of HMS Loch Ruthven (K634)', 'Lieut Edward Gee RN - and the excitement of hunting on eBay', 'HMS Patrol and the East Coast Raids', 'Stoker Edgar Monk, a Jutland Casualty' and 'The Loss of HMS Montague - a very British demise'.
   

• Summer 2009 (Vol 22.1)
  Antarctic Gold: Chief Petty Officer Albert Balson, BEM*, DSM, RN
  In this illustrated article, Herbert Dartnell recounts the story of CPO Balson and in particular his part in the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-13. He also played a major part in the salvaging of 3,000 gold bars from the White Star liner Laurentic, sunk in 1917 off the Irish coast. He was awarded a bar to his BEM in 1941 for volunteering to dispose of an unexploded bomb lying under the depot ship HMS Sandhurst. Quite a man!
  
  The loss of the armed merchant cruiser Comorin
  The Review's editor, Robert Mullock-Morgans, gives the history of the Comorin up to the time she was lost when she caught fire in April 1941, her blazing hulk given a coup de grace by the destroyer Lincoln. The article includes a casualty list.
  
  HMS Lincoln - Service under five ensigns
  Britain received a fleet of fifty Lend-Lease destroyers to boost its escort flotillas during the Second World War. This is the exciting and immensely varied story of one them, the Lincoln (ex USS Yarnall), which went on to serve in the Royal Norwegian Navy, the Royal Canadian Navy and the Soviet navy.
  
  Among many other articles in this edition are: 'Royal Mail issues Royal Navy Uniforms stamps', 'Matron's Memories - the Gillingham naval orphans' home', 'The tragic Exercise TIGER: sixty-five years on', 'The Glatton Inquiry 1919', 'Lord Furness and the Swanley Orphans' and 'Postcard Personalities - Engineer Rear-Admiral John T Corner CB'.
   

• Autumn 2009 (Vol 22.2)
  The loss of HMS Falmouth 1916
  Brian Nicholls, an NHCRA member for many years, has written previously in The Review about his preoccupation with the story of the cruiser HMS Falmouth. Here he brings the story of his obsession up to date, focusing on the story behind the medals awarded to CPO Harry Ernest Fox, DSM, MM(Fr).
  
  HM Submarine L55 and her service to Mother Russia
  John Cordell tells the story of a British submarine sunk in a minefield in the Baltic in 1919. She was eventually raised and commissioned into the Soviet Navy in 1931, the last survivor of her class. She was used for training but was damaged in an accident in 1941. The author explains how her British crew has been remembered and gives a casualty list.
  
  The loss of HMS Neptune 1941
  The destruction of this cruiser off Libya in December 1941 remained classified until after the war, largely because of the huge loss of life and the circumstances surrounding her sinking. In linked articles extending to a total of ten pages, the editor recounts her story and that of her sole survivor, Petty Officer Norman Walton (1921-2005).
  
  Other articles in this edition include: 'HIJMS Okinoshima and the Voyage of the Damned', 'Fleet of the Black Legion: Invasion 1797', 'Percy Hutchison - an actor in uniform', 'HMS Sparrow - a fading reminder of the shortest war' and 'Germany's "Billy Ruffian" - the historic cruise of SMS Seeadler'.
   

• Winter 2009 (Vol 22.3)