What's new in our collections?

People often ask us where we get the objects in our collections. Most of our new objects come as donations from members of the public. We are always grateful for people's generosity and this page will feature a selection of objects which we receive through the year.

If you have something you think would we would like, please call our Collections and Galleries Manager, Alex Patterson on 01634 823848 to discuss your object and whether the Historic Dockyard would be the best home for it.

This month’s object takes us back to 1991 and reminds us that despite the adventures at sea and in port that we hear from many of our submariner visitors, HM Submarine Ocelot was a fighting vessel at a dangerous time in our recent history.

“Survive to Fight” was issued to all service personnel as a guide to the procedures to be followed during a Chemical, Biological or even Nuclear attack. This copy was found aboard HMS Ocelot and is from the second edition which was issued in 1990. The booklet was updated in 1990 because a new protective suit and respirator (gas mask) were issued to soldiers and sailors for the first Gulf War (also known as Operation Desert Storm). When the Iraqi army invaded the neighbouring country of Kuwait, an alliance of countries from the Americas, Europe and the Middle East sent troops and ships to repel them. Because of intelligence reports and an earlier chemical attack by the Iraqi government on Iraqi Kurds, fears of a Nuclear, Biological or Chemical attack were taken very seriously.

The booklet is broken down into “Tasks” which range from how to tell if a Chemical attack is taking place to how to eat and drink while wearing a protective suit. The task shown here is how to treat someone who has been affected by a nerve-agent in a chemical attack. Sailors were issued with an injector pen containing Atropine to counter act the effects of any nerve agents. Unfortunately, Atropine is very dangerous if not used at the right time which made the chapter on recognising a chemical attack all the more important.

Although HMS Ocelot was not directly involved in the Gulf War in 1991, the booklet brings home the seriousness of the situation faced by many naval personnel at that time.

Donor: Unknown. Found aboard HMS Ocelot