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Things You Would Like to See? World Naval Ships Forums Archive


Things You Would Like to See?


Posts 1 to 50


Edit - now that the membership rate has increased, I have made this thread a sticky. To get this section of the forum started off, I would like to ask you all what it is that brings you to our site, and / or what you would like to see added to it in future. With so little time to spend on each section of the site, we can only physically add so many photos or so much information in any given time. So what is it that you would prefer us to spend our time on? Would love to hear your feedback. Thanks!

I think the site is excellent and thoroughly enjoy my quietrer moments posting stuff to you. I think if the access was a bit more obvious there might be more applicants. If you had not told me about it I might easily not have noticed. Good luck tim

Thanks for your input Tim. Obviously we could not make this site without people such as yourself making contributions. You have gone out of your way to contribute a large number of superb images, and for that we (who own and run the site) are very grateful, as I'm sure are our visitors. Here are the ways we have so far tried to get people in to this forum: 1. We placed a decent sized banner advert on every page of the original site at battleships-cruisers.co.uk 2. We are in the process of emailing all those people who originally sent in messages under the old system, to let them know that the forum exists. 3. We have sent out newsletters to all of our customers (from our commercial websites) which included small articles announcing this forum, as well as giving special offers with membership on some of our naval photos. 4. We have set up an online shop to make the purchasing of naval photos etc easier from our sites. Not only that, but the way the shop works allows very good placement on google and other search engines where people search for ship names - and of course we let these customers know about the forum. That said, we would love to spend all of our time on our naval sites, but its just not possible unfortunately, as we need to work on our commercial sites in order to fund these ones if you see what I mean. While there are numerous very good sites with technical specs and histories of the ships, we try to focus more on the crews of the ships where we can, and try to generate information that is useful for people trying to find out about relatives, while still providing photos and details of the ships they served on where we can. Of course, we are always open to suggestions on how to improve our sites - its just finding the time to implement those suggestions that can be difficult! :) Then of course there is the massive backlog of thousands of photos and articles which we still have to add to the site.

My grandfather and I also have pictures I would be willing to submit, however I am not sure what is in every picture

Hi Shelley If they are photos of ships you haven't got names for then put them on this forum. There's people who can help recognise them. I for one like to see different photos of old ships. You never know you might have some gems there that people have been looking for for years. All the best Alan

I think from looking at what initially brings people in search of information things like crew lists are quite high priority although actually, most people already know that their relative served in such and such a ship, the list only confirms it. Once they know for sure that someone was really in that ship they start to need to know if anyone remembers them, then it will be what he did, how he lived and what the ship was up to ni the time he served. Crew lists without the history as sterile data. To me, the most valuable of all is to collect the real memories of crew before nature takes them beyond our reach! tim

Would it be possible to have other categories in the main thread such as Australian/New Zealand/Argentinian/Chilean/Brazilian Navies rather than the Italian Navy which has had no hits at all as yet ? As this is a UK forum, they would be much more appropriate as we have allocated/sold many ex-RN vessels to these countries in the past - And still do. Rgds Rik

Oh, no, I have much material to include on the Italian Navy (especially WW1). Ok, it hasn't had any hits yet, but wait till I get my stuff out of the loft! I stumbled accidentally over this site, whilst browsing, but the first thing I found was a request from the relative of a survivor from my Grandfathers ship. Talk about complete co-incidence. Course, I'm hooked now! Regards

Video footage if possible.

Hello All, from a new boy. Came across the site by accident only a few days ago. Am researching our village war memorials seeking to build biographies of each of our casualties from WW1 and WW2 (or any other for that matter, I already have one Boer War) and some detail of the ships/units in which they served or were attached at the time. Basic details I look for are confirmation that the casualty was on the ship, pictures of the ship, daily diary of events leading to incident involving casualty, CWGC record. The thing is, these details are not all in one place. National archives, museums, newspapers, shipmates/old comrades associations, interested groups or individualrs etc., but there is not one place that has it all. Surprised that my recent inquiries for naval information have not led to being pointed in this direction. I gather from the above that the site has had a recent re-launch of some description. As a newcomer may I be so bold as to suggest to 'advertise' yourself to the Royal British Legion, to the Federation of Family History Societies and similar organisations down to Branch Secretary level or whatever similar. One of the first things I have done in my research is to appeal to such organisations to get me going. Built in links to any similar Army or Airforce sites. I have recently obtained significant information from the rafcommands.com's magnificent contributors, without whom I could not have done my research. I get the early impression that this site has similar like-minded people with a vast array of knowledge. I have little knowledge of the military services but have been involved in family history research for some time and may be able to offer small hints or avenues that enquirers may follow. May I take the opportunity of thanking all of you who offer freely of your knowledge and time to ensure that they are not forgotten. Stewart McLoughlin

Thanks for your input Stewart, and everyone else that has contributed. You are right in saying that the site has had a relaunch of sorts. Our original site ([URL="http://www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk"]www.battleships-cruisers.co.uk[/URL]) is still going strong, but has limited search engine impact partly due to being a .co.uk site and various other factor we felt we could put right. However, the realistic opportunity to add a forum only came with making a new site, so we made essentially a duplicate of the original site which also housed this very forum, giving our visitors the opportunity to communicate with each other and not just through us. Our intention is to keep the old site alive and updated regularly as it stands, but move this site away from the original by way of the technology we use to 'make' the website. It will still hold the same information, but will be far easier to find what you are looking for. Anyway, I digress. We are always looking for suggestions on how to improve the site, whether we have the time and resources to implement them or not, and I will certainly look into some or all of the above suggestions.

Well, I would like to see "Spell Check", added. Also flags under the avatars of each member to show nationality. This mark of board does in fact support both of these. As an Australian I'd very much like to see an 'Australian ships and crews' section added to the list.

Just another thought. Is it possible to post in a separate part of the site, those major war memorials like Plymouth, Portsmouth, RNPS at Lowestoft etc. showing the names on each individual panel that are referred too on CWGC. Being a 'northerner' past Watford Gap it is somewhat difficult to get down to these memorials and with my research, I should like to enter a photo' of the particular panel. I visited the Menin Gate at Ypres, Belgium, this year and the Canadians are in the process of/completed this on 'the Gate' as a project. Don't know if they have got some funding for this. Maybe someone over here could consider likewise for our 'unburied'. I have no experience with H.M. Navy, or any other military for that matter, and wouldn't know how to start it off, maybe someone on the forum has connections. I was thinking on the level that anyone researching a casualty listed on a particular panel, could remotely access and download it. Many researchers of course would be overseas who can't possibly d-i-y it. There is the Runnymede Memorial for the Air Force of course, is there a memorial for the Army anywhere? Stewart McLoughlin

I am new to the site and can not decide of what I would like to see. I am overwhelmed with the multiude of areas to go to. I did not go looking for RN ships, I was checking my sons service in the USA Coast Guard which led me to this site, odd!!. I have quite a few photo's of my time in the RN of ships, shipmates, crews and places, that I am willing to donate to the site, if you would like them. I am not sure whether its better send by post or e-mail. I'm now 77 and seems a shame that they may disappear after I am gone. warbreck.

Warbeck, I'm sure the whole site would love to see what photo's you may have to share !! It's great of you to join our happy band of Naval enthusiasts and look forward to anything you may have to post. Can I ask that you scan any photo's in a large format (1024 pixels wide as minimum) so that we may all enjoy them to the fullest ? Rgds Rik

After being here awhile as an initial first-timer, now that any novelty has worn off a bit, I have noticed myself finding less material of personal interest, to me. This has caused me to re-rank the forum away from the upper-end of my priority sites menu. It has nothing to do with the site's quality nor with the valued opinions of the "regulars" here, and if anything, I feel there needs to be even more attention and visitorship--it's a fine venue! That said (well, [I]written[/I] anyway), the one rub that stands out for me, is the present mixing of ships' technical/historical topics with those of crew research. Threads beginning with the name of a ship in which I have a technical or historic interest always grab my attention, but quickly lose that interest when I find the topic crew-search related. I am sure the opposite applies, as well. I am not complaining about the site's purpose--crew and genealogical inquiries are a noble and vital service, in fact much higher on any scale of importance than "what-if" battle scenarios or the discussion of boiler pressures. Rather, I would like to see a clear separation of the categories, perhaps on the model of that found at the HMS Hood Association© website. I think such a division would better serve all interests.

Yes, have to agree with DJ. Nothing worse than getting into a thread on a particular subject of interest only to see it morph into something not related, or even worse, 'politcal' debates. K

Maybe a 'looking for' section for those who simply wish to post about an ancestor or family member?

I can't help but think there's just about something here for everyone. Things seem to me to be working rather well right now. Those with an intense interest and knowledge are well catered for as are those who are only vaguely aware of the difference between "stern" and "bow"! Personally I'm very interested in the history angle. I've learned a lot since starting here. And as an army man have come to appreciate the naval side of things. As I see it, the thing most needed here is more active members!

[quote=DJBlackburn;6327]the one rub that stands out for me, is the present mixing of ships' technical/historical topics with those of crew research. [/quote] Interesting point. Just wanted to let you know I was reading all of these. How would you suggest a change would be made to fix this for you? Would we need to move all the existing threads too? Just curious for suggestions - the only way I could see to achieve this would be to essentially double the number of categories on the forum, one for crews and one for ships, then there are of course those that cross over. The reason for this site being perhaps more weighted to crews and relatives is probably historic. What I mean by that is that the original aim of the site was to have as many pages for individual ships as possible, allowing ex-crew and families to come on and see photos of that ship and the crew. This was borne, I believe, out of frustration that something like that was not readily available - for free - on the internet, at least not for many ships. There are sites that do the technical details of ships better than us, there are some that do historical details better, but I believe that we cater for something that a lot of other sites miss, I don't know what that is, but the amount of visitors we get certainly shows me there is something. Now that we have a forum things are changing a little because we attract all kinds of experts and novices. But it is the nature of the original site that creates the visitors to the forum, and I think this is the reason. Keep the ideas coming. :)

KC I agree with Herks Dont make the site to big and as for a thread, one for each ship, if it ever happened would make it enormous Like a few comments made already when a thread is opened lets keep it to what it was intended for,on a few of them people tend to drift off the chosen subject,which can be very annoying All in all a good informative site keep at it lads and lassies ROMFT:)

I think the advantage this site has compared to most I have visited is the whole balance of what is on offer here. I am convinced that a good range of Naval and related war-photographs will always be of great interest to a wide spectrum of visitors/posters. A lively discussion of Naval ship and related subjects does go hand in hand with interesting photographs. The few sites that do have more photographs than us tend to be just ship photographs one after the other [often recent photographs] - with no real historical interest and exchange of views around them... Then of course there is, as has been mentioned the original relative/crew/shipmate dimension from which this forum was conceived. Although we have expanded greatly from that - IMO it should never be forgotten. The number of posters here ready to try and help [often with scant thanks] people with their enquiries in this area, along with general requests for photo`s is impressive and will always be a draw for new people. Furthermore I believe even if the new visitor/member has not even got around to googling their enquiry - they should always be greeted with a helpful and friendly response. It will always stand the forum in good stead as well as being something we can all take a pride in... So in conclusion it is the overall mix of what we have to offer that is our greatest strength and what I believe will provide continual steady growth for the forseeable future. For proof of this one need look no further than in the results of the poll at the top of this thread. The percentages indicated clearly show this spread of interest...

I found this site by accident, through trying to help an enquirer on another site by googling her relative - Google led me here. I am already a member of other ex-servicemens' sites but this one seems to me to focus more on ships and people than statistics. I haven't had a chance to look it over thoroughly - probably never will because of it's variety - but I am intrigued by what I have found so far. Well done!

Thanks,Alick. Feedback such as yours is always of great interest.

I for one look forward to requests from people, Whether or not they are ex Navy. It is interesting to see what input our members make to these requests. I have an fair few books on the First and second world wars. I am also a member of a WW1 forum and like to help answer requests there also. It does keep me away from the television. Thats a good thing and it also keeps my mind active, My body isnt so hot nowadays but keeping the mind going is stopping me go Ga.Ga!. I think this site is first rate.More power to your elbow. Cheers. Stan

I would like to see more crew photos of Victorian era ships posted from those members that might have this type of photos in their collections. Dont see many of them, but some are still around. & the idea Sailor floated of having flag of each member's nationalty posted is a good one as well, Bryan (Canada)

I would like that too. Especially from the days of sail. However there are obvious problems re age and limitations of photography at the time. And, here I am rambling, there wasn't a huge amount of activity for the navy in the 19th century of a war-like nature. Most British fighting seems to have been done on land. That is of course AFTER Napoleon! But one area this forum has almost nothing on - is the role of the RN in the Crimean war. If you can add to that, I for one would be most interested. Re flags - when you create your avatar, why not stick the Maple Leaf in it as well?

He doesn`t need to Herk - his avatar is the emblem of the Royal Canadian Navy...

[quote=astraltrader;9050]He doesn`t need to Herk - his avatar is the emblem of the Royal Canadian Navy...[/quote] I should have said - his signature.

How would you like to see this many sailors in one place again.:eek::eek::eek:;)
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Reading through the comments so far I think it’s worth adding that a forum is only as good as its members! Personally since I joined this site, (having been told about it by a friend), I have not only found it fascinating, but the members are both friendly and knowledgeable, and I enjoy participating where I can. I have noticed that the majority of members are based in the UK, and therefore have easy access to the actual places of historical interest being mentioned and discussed, but for those of us in more remote parts of the world, forums like this one provide not only information, but also contacts. Some of who are even prepared to go that extra mile to help out when it comes to information or even a particular photograph, if It’s of something near to where they are based. This is invaluable as a research aid and would not be available without the forum; therefore the growth of this forum doesn’t necessarily lie in the UK. It is an asset to anyone anywhere in the world with an interest in the Navy, no matter which country they belong to. In the short time I have been visiting, it is obvious that this forum is growing from strength to strength, so when it comes to my suggestion for how to improve the site I can only quote something I have found to be true on many an occasion, which is: “IF IT AIN’T BROKE DON’T TRY AND FIX IT!” Wombat, (James).

Moderator I can't really comment on things I would like to see as I am a recent recruit, however the info I needed was supplied in rapid time and in great detail that would probably have taken ages via other routes or websites, I still have lots of your site to explore and lots more info to obtain so maybe I will have a worthwhile comment at some later date, in the meantime thanks for a great site and for assistance received so far. Seasons Greetings to all your contributors and visitors "Be England what she will, for all her ills she is my country still" Jame Patience :)

James - I am glad that you found the forum of great interest and its members knowledgeable and helpful. We look forward to your return! Wombat - [also James!]-I am sure your comments will be appreciated by everybody here...

I have only very recently joined this site but I am very impressed, both with the pictures and the quality of the users. In a very short time I have had cause to thank some of your members for their comments and assistance as I 'settle in'. This site has a good 'feel' to it and I look forward to being a member.

Thank you for those remarks Beca, it's great to get some positive feedback it makes it all the more worth while. ! Regards, Bob.

Have just trawled through this thread and the general opinion seems to be that the forum is developing in a manner that appeals to most members. I guess there will always be topics that we consider are not covered but surely if this is the case start a THREAD!! My general impression of the site is that we have a large number of members with a certain amount of expertise who are prepared to share their knowledge and collections. Personally I have acquired more information in the last few months than ever before. The difference between other sites and this one is topics do not degenerate into slanging matches or `black-cat` situations. The lack of bad manners and bad language is refreshing and due to the superb organisation by the moderators. Take from the forum what you wish but do try and contribute a little as well. Regards Gerry

Thanks Gerry - and excellent suggestions. Long may this site remain free from as you say the unfriendliness and unpleasantness found on other sites. Thank you.

I can only applaud the "Sailor" a spell checker would be perfect, some of the posts really need one. And the Flag to denote nationality is great. As a lot of ex RN are joining the Australian and New Zealand Navies, an Australian ships and crews section would not be amiss. Baz

There is a spell checker (it's the abc/tick logo near the top right when you reply to a post). Also, a section for the Australian ships and crews was added many moons ago. You will note that despite this 'The Sailor' chose to leave the forum, again many moons ago.

Greetings KC, I stand corrected, with knuckles rapped. Many apologies. Baz. :( :(

As much of RN A - I class destroyers as possible (in prewar guise):D:D

Alick, Not related to this thread but, I like your moving White Ensign. Would you please post, On the Correct thread of course , how it's done? I'd like to do one for the NZ Ensign. I'm sure others would like to know as well. Thanks, Dagwood.:D

Dagwood, I must confess that I copied it, long ago, from another website - dunno where, though. I think the best place to post an enquiry is in the Shore Leave section in AVATARS. Someone more technical than I will help, I'm sure. Sorry I can't be more helpful. Best wishes

Thanks Alick, Will try on site you recommended. Dagwood.

Well having read the afore going comments I can see numorus points that need to be addressed 1/ if like me you are what is refered to nowdays as dyslexic[ just read some of my threads] I would love to have spell check onboard...I Know it is there but how to download it would be usefull as I have tried three times without any luck. 2/ I found this site by accicdent but I am so glad I did...the knowledge is staggering and the help ,modesty ,friendship , humour, and tech' assistance is nothing short of wonderful...ask Astral leader about the information on Gato subs CGRET recently supplied me 3/ I think the jobs that your moderators perform IS your lifeline to reality as they are so good and on the button they must live on this site ! 4/ it would be churlish to single any individuels out ....but they know who they are .........as I go out of my way to say so. I may be your worst nightmare as a member of this Forum ..but the Knowledge and help is unbelievable...AND FACTUAL..which is more important to me as I have had a gut full of self decleared know alls who know J.S.when compared to these guys Take a bow [excuss pun] you have dma well earnt it shipmates I'll go quitely know...my stokers need me.....

Nice comments! Concerning a spell checker: if you use Mozilla's Firefox, there is an excellent addon dictionary. When loaded, it checks your typing immediately. You don't have to ask for a check. The dictionary exists in several forms, English, Australian etc.

G'day All,just wanted to add my two bob's worth.Recently joined and I can honestly say that I really look forward to trawling throught whatever is available.The input from everyone is both informative and very knowledgeable the scope of subjects is first rate. When I have a scanner which is operable I hope I can make more contributions with photos etc.I have been a warship 'nut' for as long as I can remember,and this site is,for me,manna from Heaven. Rule Britannia, Sid

Thanks Herk , Thanks for the tip ref spelling and help on this site..... You see [B]KC[/B] You ask a question and its answered. What ever you pay these guys It is [B]not[/B] enough {Did I do that right lads....don't forget me in the Wardroom}

You are right Ivor - it is not enough!!

As time passes and one develops a personnel comfort zone...and becomes interactive with a group of members ...a bond develops which is both constructive and leads to a spin off of additional information which for the most part is amusing and enlightening Whilst a large section off the "Hands" are Ex Navy and could be forgiven for being a little dulled by repetition of a subject matter.....from my view point I find the banter a refreshing and provocative ingredient that stimulates further discussion and greater knowledge of the subject matter. I am not privy to the forums operational infrastructure but I feel that perhaps some latitude would be in order here to promote a greater understanding of the subject being discussed Is there not room therefore to extend some explanation of the formats frame work to enable its development By way of example and explanation to my point ...I submit to you the thread currently running on "Poems and words of the Navel Man" which in addition to showing a good example of the written work's of skilled individual's , it has also provoked exchanges of information that have stirred up memories in others who did not go there to "speak" but to "read" It seems a shame that this thread is to be terminated soon and that the work done by "Baz" would appear to be going unrecognised with no means of extending its valued passage.......... I am sorry if my comments seem out of place or disrespectful but as a researcher myself I have found the "Banter" encouraging and educational




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