Michael Donnelly Later to become a docker, Michael Donnelly joined the Irish Citizen Army at a very young age and fought against British occupation in Ireland during the 1916 uprising as part of the Stephen’s Green Battalion. In May 1920, using…

After the end of ship building in Pembroke Dock in 1926, the RAF set up an air base for flying boats in the disused dockyard in 1930. In 1938, they introduced the famous Sunderland flying boats to the fleet. During the Second World War, Pembroke…

The MV Kerlogue, was part of the cobbled together Irish Merchant Fleet during the second world war. When other shipping was not available, the country used all sorts of ships on the high seas, some of which would barely be allowed on the water at…

The British Admiralty had several factors to consider when they thought about escorting the mail and rail steamers. For example, the steamers were capable of 21 knots, which was fast, and they could maintain a reasonable speed even in bad weather.…

Prime Minister David Lloyd George was aware that Britain’s manpower resources were dwindling. He had prioritised shipbuilding, tanks and aircraft production before army demands. The army wanted 1.25 million new entrants. Lloyd George was only…

Throughout the First World War, the UK imported significant amounts of food from the United States, Canada and through Gibraltar. The German naval command calculated that they could starve Britain into surrender and win the war with a five-month…