HMS Vernon (shore establishment)
HMS Vernon was a shore establishment or "stone frigate" of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth. Vernon was established on 26 April 1876, as the Royal Navy's Torpedo Branch also known as the Torpedo School, named after the ship HMS Vernon which served as part of its floating base. After the First World War, HMS Vernon moved ashore, taking over the Gunwharf site, where it continued to operate until 1 April 1996, when the various elements comprising the establishment were split up and moved to different commands.
Lieutenant Commander Peter Scott, RNVR, operational officer at HMS Vernon, briefs motor torpedo boat officers before they set off on anti-E-boat patrols
Wrens in HMS Vernon, assembling the secret firing units of ground mines used in special operations to foil German minesweeping operations
Old HMS Vernon figurehead, preserved at Gunwharf Quays
Portsmouth is a port city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent. This means Portsmouth is the only English city not located primarily on the mainland. Located 74 miles (119 km) south-west of London, 50 miles (80 km) west of Brighton and Hove, and 22 miles (35 km) south-east of Southampton; Portsmouth is part of the South Hampshire conurbation. It is the most densely populated city in the United Kingdom, with a population last recorded at 208,100.
The Round Tower was built in 1418 to defend the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour.
View of Old Portsmouth from the Spinnaker Tower
HMS Warrior (launched in 1860) has been restored to its original Victorian condition.
George VI inspecting the crew of the HNoMS Draug in Portsmouth during the Second World War