HMS Bulwark visits.

1 June 2008

HMS Bulwark arrived in Dover Harbour last night about 6pm. It disgorged a cargo of lethal looking assault craft which immediately headed towards the beach in menacing fashion. Of course this was all in the spirit of spectacle and good fun. In fact they carried a cargo of charity cyclists as I understand it. Unfortunately, as you can see from the picture above, it was witnessed by relatively very few people. Alas this was another interesting/fascinating event in Dover that passed off relatively un-noticed. This was followed by a parachute jump by 7 Red Devils spewing red smoke as they came to earth, or more accurately straight into the sea for a watery baptism. All entirely worth seeing but witnessed by a few in the know and some bemused visitors.

If it had not been for Paul 'Scotchie' Wells and Cllr Nigel Collor I wouldnt have known about it either..so thanks to them. More info and pictures from Scotchie in a Forum thread. See menu on left.

Just in....pictures from our top man Phil Eyden.

 

The spectacular Red Devils from the Parachute Regiment gliding earthwards in glorious style. What a sight it was..falling a huge distance. Necks of the few were strained upwards to watch as they fell slowly to earth in hugely entertaining style. But alas!..nobody much on hand to see it all, save for a sprinkling of lonely souls on the forlorn beach.

 

Here we see the lethal looking Landing Craft heading for shore after leaving the mothership.

 

The Landing Craft had a somewhat benign payload this time however, so all was well. The citizens of fair Dover were not under any kind of attack. A cargo of charity cyclists on an altogether more genteel fund raising mission were shimmied ashore.

Another very interesting shot just in from Phil Eyden again and this time it shows the jocularity and fun to be had on the day. A great occasion, enjoyed only by the informed few of course, as we said earlier. But here we see two hearty lads, probably military personel, minus a leg in both cases but clearly having some good fun as they come on shore on Dover Beach. It is amazing what they are achieving with artifical limbs nowadays and that's just great. We even have Olympic runners now with artifical limbs. Good luck to them all.

 

The picture below shows HMS Bulwark lanquishing in the harbour during the event.

• Guest 648 wrote:
  Im on the Events group I dont recall this being discussed Was it on the Festival of Dover web site.I see Nigel was there with DDC badge I dont recall any DDC councillors being notified?We only wear badges when on official duty??Nigel doesnt post on here any more so I shall tackle him tomorrow at cabinet.Cllr Scales is the Tourism Chap
• sheila amos, dover wrote:
  This was announced on Radio Kent in the morning, that was the first I heard about it, shame really I think had people known it would have had a good reception
  Sheila
• Guest 644 wrote:
  It really was a heck of a good show. The six landing craft and the Royal Navy's latest assault ship were impressive enough, let alone the Red Devils. Was this the first such parachute drop on Dover in recent memory? I don't recall any others. The landing craft were reminscent of D-Day, albeit hi-viz jackets may not have been much in evidence in June 44.
  
  Whoever was responsible for not advertising this really needs their bottom kicked hard. It was quite simply embarrassing to watch such a display with about a hundred people, most of which chanced on the event and rang their friends. I believe Nigel extended apologies to the RN chaps in charge.
• Guest 660 wrote:
  first I heard of it was here as well Sue,never heard a thing at DDC
• howard mcsweeney., dover wrote:
  yet again our betters are found wanting.
  will there be a formal apology to the military and us townsfolk?
  i somehow doubt it.
• Buddy G, Dover wrote:
  WOW! pity I missed it, but was up in Sutton, surely a visit by the RN and the Red Devils would have been more widely publicised!
  
  Up at the Drop Redoubt today - marvellous time - superb displays.
• Guest 656 wrote:
  This has got to be addrressed, those responsible for publicizing this event need to be taken to task, this seems to be an ongoing major problem in Dover, Publicity is the key.
• Guest 656 wrote:
  Great pictures there Phil, you have captured some fantastic shots which we all missed due to the lack of publicity.
• Guest 673 wrote:
  It is a popular misconception that the Royal Navy amphibious assault ship HMS “Bulwark” entered Dover on 31st May 2008 and sent her landing craft onto the beach to land three hundred innocent cyclists on a charity bike ride and that no notice was given of this event and that the great majority of Dovorians were unaware that it was happening.
  
  This is, of course, preposterous. Who could possibly believe that a major British warship could conduct a beach landing in the middle of Dover with nobody being any the wiser? The truth is very different and the full story of what really happened on that fateful day can only now be told.
  
  The Russian Navy is back in the ascendant, the Cold War is a dim memory and Russia’s new-found wealth through exploiting oil and gas reserves has funded a huge new warship building programme. The latest developments in Stealth technology pale before their new invention, the ability to morph a warship to represent another of their choosing.
  
  To test their new invention and to lay the groundwork for future conquest, they decided to mount an exploratory raid on Dover, a crucial target in any future war, boasting as it does the busiest ferry port in Europe. They correctly reasoned that few would know they were coming, few would know when they were here, and few would care when they had gone.
  
  With the garrison withdrawn, the only defence that Dover could muster was a reconstituted Home Guard. By good fortune, a last minute warning filtered through from a double agent code-named doverpast and there was just sufficient time hastily to man the defences. There are empty places at the dinner tables of Dover tonight and smoke still rises from the shattered seafront but we have weathered the storm and can hold our heads high.
  
  Our intrepid front-line war correspondent braved the hail of shot and shell and lived to tell the story of that epic encounter in dramatic words and pictures on a local fotopic website. For anti-spam reasons no url’s are allowed on Dover Forum comments but anybody seeking further enlightenment may care to Google for “ships in the port of dover” and check out the Russian Raid and HMS Bulwark collections.
• Guest 641 wrote:
  So there we have it, the Russian Navy and tough assault troops being given the same 'bloody nose' that met the shock wave of German stormtroopers who tried to take Dover by the Dour back door in 1940, thank gawd for the Home Guard.
  Could it have been the little known, but specially trained in all types of undercover warfare 'Forumites' that took on the 'Red Tidal Wave' as they stormed the Churchill Hotel, was it our Phil & Nigel who led the final attack on the beaches? If they did there was no mention in dispatches or in The White Horse that evening, we salute you boys whoever you are.
• Guest 640 wrote:
  Fantastic Ed as ever - Good to see you back with us.
• Guest 656 wrote:
  Ed, that was extremely amusing and so well written, Glad to see you back on board.