Last week I wrote about Bristol. The city I consider my home. Its only fitting that I write now about Portsmouth, and leaving my city of birth.
I’ve not been in to the city itself for many years. At best I’d stop off at my Dad and step-Mum’s house for a few days. It was odd to actually go for a walk along the seafront as I used to do as a child. Back before moving to Bristol with my Mum and step-Dad. It was odd, but reassuring all the same.
Bristol will remain my home in my hearts, due to the formative years spent as a teen, young adult, and into adulthood. But Portsmouth will always retain a special place. It was here that I formed my interest in the Navy (something that would lead me to spend an enjoyable year in the Bristol URNU), but also of sailing and the sea. Even if I never pursued the latter much, I wish I had pursued more of the opportunities I’d had.
When asked what I wanted to do when I visited, immediately my thoughts went to things I had done before. I was eager to cement the memories of them in my mind before the journey ahead. The Historic Dockyards – home of HMS Warrior and HMS Victory. (the former the first Iron-hulled warship of the Royal Navy and where my father remarried, the latter the flagship of Admiral Lord Nelson at the battle of Trafalgar, and the worlds oldest warship still in commission). The D-Day experience – a museum dedicated to the lives and efforts of those that worked to make the largest seaborne invasion in history possible. It was between these two.
(I like my history)
We settled on the D-Day experience and walked along the seafront. From the Hotwalls, by clarence pier, and past the cenotaph. There was a lot that drew me back to when I was a kid. But also a lot had changed in the intervening years. The biggest difference was the seafront rejuvenation project that is underway, but also the inclusion of LCT7074 in front of the D-Day experience.
The museum itself had been restored recently, on the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings. I found that whilst I missed the old layout (watching a black and white film set to ‘Mars, the Bringer of War’ from Holst’s Planets suite sets an engaging tone), it was more accessible, and more personable. More about the experiences of all those involved in the project, not just the landings themselves. Ending the exhibit was the Overlord Embroidery. A work reminiscent of the Bayeux tapestry, which ironically represents the last major naval invasion of England, from the very beaches we reclaimed.
All this is to say that the more things change, the more things stay the same. Home is messy and can be multiple things at once. And soon I will have a new home, and make new memories that if I tried to re-tread and recreate in years down the line, will likely have a very similar experience.
Next stop, Tokyo!