HMS NEPTUNE SAILS FROM PORTSMOUTH, 1911

HMS NEPTUNE was Portsmouth built and Portsmouth manned and was completed in January 1911, only two years after she had first been laid down. She is seen here in the winter of 1911 when barely 6 months old; and as flagship of the First Division Home Fleet she is wearing the St George Cross of Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman GCVO KCB. In command is Captain Charles de Bartolome RN who had recently commanded the world’s first battlecruiser to enter service, HMS INDOMITABLE. In the background of this very wintry painting is HMS VICTORY, the flagship of the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Sir Arthur Moore GCB GCVO CMG; and to the left is a protected cruiser.