After days of cloudless sky, a gentle woolen carpet has fallen over the city. After being in Bristol for close to 20 months now, today I finally manage to set foot upon the SS Great Britain. While the experience with the Great Great Great Old Lady will have to wait for another day, I will recount one of the highlights of today's visit.
I have the good fortune to see soldier re-enactors from the Crimean War. SS Great Britain has served as a troopship during the war for these impressive soldiers. Their striking red coats are not the best stealth suits, but they certainly looks intimidating, especially when worn by a company of Goliath.
This is our passionate storyteller and the tale today mostly concerned the
Battle of Alma, the greatest action as seen by this particular company.
To watch the men fire their riffle at such close range was quite an experience. The sound of the shots were deafening and these thunderous roars sent many younger children crying and clinging onto their parents for dear life. The rifles were also quite smoky post-fired and I can imagine how the visibility on the battlefield will be when hundreds and thousands of these went off at once.
From a higher vantage point... it must be quite a surprise for the passengers on the passing ferries and boats
According to our guide, the British troops (who are volunteers rather than conscripts), exceled at marksmanship. With such weaponary and skills, they can fire 3 times per minute and with deadly accuracy too, from a considerable distance. Like medieval archers having competition, so these infantrymen was encouraged to compete to be the best shooters. These were the top 2 for this morning's demonstration.
And this is the bullet, which I believe is a
Minié ball. These cylindrical leads were truly designed to kill. They pack enough punch to inflict terrible wounds and have no problem shattering bones. Limbs hit by these will need to be amputated, even with today's medical advancement. We were also told that the bullet can easily penetrate a few bodies, which wasn't surprising at all considering us being mostly watery meat-bags.
After the performances, we were invited to visit the soldier's camp.
The cooking apparatus from which the re-enactors had their meal.
The tent they lived in was so small that it is a wonder how they fit so many men of considerable statures sleeping inside.
And the personal artifacts of individual soldiers, (not all soldiers have all of these).
This has been a very enlightening and entertaining experience about English military history.
More about the ship soon.
I have the good fortune to see soldier re-enactors from the Crimean War. SS Great Britain has served as a troopship during the war for these impressive soldiers. Their striking red coats are not the best stealth suits, but they certainly looks intimidating, especially when worn by a company of Goliath.
This is our passionate storyteller and the tale today mostly concerned the Battle of Alma, the greatest action as seen by this particular company.
To watch the men fire their riffle at such close range was quite an experience. The sound of the shots were deafening and these thunderous roars sent many younger children crying and clinging onto their parents for dear life. The rifles were also quite smoky post-fired and I can imagine how the visibility on the battlefield will be when hundreds and thousands of these went off at once.
From a higher vantage point... it must be quite a surprise for the passengers on the passing ferries and boats
According to our guide, the British troops (who are volunteers rather than conscripts), exceled at marksmanship. With such weaponary and skills, they can fire 3 times per minute and with deadly accuracy too, from a considerable distance. Like medieval archers having competition, so these infantrymen was encouraged to compete to be the best shooters. These were the top 2 for this morning's demonstration.
And this is the bullet, which I believe is a Minié ball. These cylindrical leads were truly designed to kill. They pack enough punch to inflict terrible wounds and have no problem shattering bones. Limbs hit by these will need to be amputated, even with today's medical advancement. We were also told that the bullet can easily penetrate a few bodies, which wasn't surprising at all considering us being mostly watery meat-bags.
After the performances, we were invited to visit the soldier's camp.
The cooking apparatus from which the re-enactors had their meal.
The tent they lived in was so small that it is a wonder how they fit so many men of considerable statures sleeping inside.
And the personal artifacts of individual soldiers, (not all soldiers have all of these).
This has been a very enlightening and entertaining experience about English military history.
More about the ship soon.
No comments:
Post a Comment