The Mersey Ferry is a ferry service operating on the River Mersey in north west England, between Liverpool to the east and Birkenhead and Wallasey on the Wirral Peninsula to the west. Ferries have been used on this route since at least the 12th century, and continue to be popular for both local people and visitors.
Lieutenant-Commander Arthur Leyland Harrison, VC was an English Royal Navy officer, and World War I recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Vice-Admiral Alfred Francis Blakeney Carpenter, VC was a Royal Navy officer who was selected by his fellow officers and men to receive the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Admiral of the Fleet Roger John Brownlow Keyes, 1st Baron Keyes, was a British naval officer.
Daffodil is the common name for the plant genus Narcissus and any of its individual species.
The Zeebrugge Raid on 23 April 1918, was an attempt by the Royal Navy to block the Belgian port of Bruges-Zeebrugge. The British intended to sink obsolete ships in the canal entrance, to prevent German vessels from leaving port. The port was used by the Imperial German Navy as a base for U-boats and light shipping, which were a threat to Allied control of the English Channel and southern North Sea. Several attempts to close the Flanders ports by bombardment failed and Operation Hush, a 1917 plan to advance up the coast, proved abortive. As ship losses to U-boats increased, finding a way to close the ports became urgent and the Admiralty became more willing to consider a raid.
Captain Sir Harold George Campbell was a British sailor, civil servant and courtier who served as equerry to King George VI (1936–52) and then to Queen Elizabeth II 1952–54.
SS Royal Iris was a Mersey Ferryboat built in 1906 for Wallasey Corporation. She was built as Iris for service on the River Mersey. In 1918 she was requisitioned by the Royal Navy for action during the Zeebrugge Raid. She was renamed Royal Iris in recognition of her part in this action and returned to civilian duties. She was sold in 1931 and renamed Blarney in 1946. She was scrapped in December 1961.
The First Ostend Raid was the first of two attacks by the Royal Navy on the German-held port of Ostend during the late spring of 1918 during the First World War. Ostend was attacked in conjunction with the neighbouring harbour of Zeebrugge on 23 April in order to block the vital strategic port of Bruges, situated 6 mi inland and ideally sited to conduct raiding operations on the British coastline and shipping lanes. Bruges and its satellite ports were a vital part of the German plans in their war on Allied commerce (Handelskrieg) because Bruges was close to the troopship lanes across the English Channel and allowed much quicker access to the Western Approaches for the U-boat fleet than their bases in Germany.
The Second Ostend Raid was the later of two failed attempts made during the spring of 1918 by the United Kingdom's Royal Navy to block the channels leading to the Belgian port of Ostend as a part of its conflict with the German Empire during World War I. Due to the significant strategic advantages conferred by the Belgian ports, the Imperial German Navy had used Ostend as a base for the U-boat campaign during the Battle of the Atlantic since 1915.
HMS Vindictive was a British Arrogant-class cruiser built at Chatham Dockyard. She was launched on 9 December 1897 and completed in 1899. The vessel participated in the Zeebrugge Raid.
HMS Phoebe was an Admiralty M-class destroyer built for the Royal Navy during the First World War. She took part in the Zeebrugge Raid in 1918 and was sold for scrap in 1921.
The MVSnowdrop is a Mersey Ferry in operation on the River Mersey, England. From launch until a major refit in 2003, she was named MV Woodchurch.
MV Royal Daffodil was built in 1939 and scrapped in 1967. In the late 1950s and early to mid 1960s she was used for "no passport" trips to France, which enabled people to drink outside normal licensing hours as these did not apply at sea.
A number of Royal Navy ships have been named Daffodil.
The MVRoyal Iris is a twin screw, diesel-electric, Mersey Ferry. The vessel was built by William Denny & Brothers of Dumbarton and launched in December 1950, costing £256,000.
The Arrogant-class cruiser was a class of four protected cruisers built for the British Royal Navy at the end of the 1890s. One ship, HMS Gladiator, was lost following a collision with a merchant ship in 1908, while HMS Vindictive saw active service in the First World War, taking part in the Zeebrugge Raid in April 1918 before being sunk as a blockship during the Second Ostend Raid in May 1918.
HMS North Star was a Royal Navy Admiralty M-class destroyer constructed and then operational in the First World War. She was sunk in April 1918.
Alfred Edmund Godsal DSO, Croix de Guerre was a British officer of the Royal Navy who commanded HMS Brilliant in the First Ostend Raid on 23 April 1918. In the early hours of 10 May 1918 he was killed in action commanding HMS Vindictive during the Second Ostend Raid. This event is marked each year in Ostend as Vindictive Day.
Captain Russell Hamilton McBean DSO DSC was an officer in the Royal Navy and was one of the men who took part in the Raid on Kronstadt in August 1919.
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