An interesting relic from the second world war lies 15 minutes walk down river from County Hall in the shape of HMS Belfast.

 

An interesting relic from the second world war lies 15 minutes walk down river from County Hall in the shape of HMS Belfast.

The Belfast was commissioned just before WW11 and served for much of the war escorting ships to Russia as well as taking part in important battles.

Today, nine decks of HMS Belfast are open to the public. Access to the ship is via a walkway which connects the quarterdeck with the pedestrianised footpath on the south bank of the River Thames. The Imperial War Museum's guidebook to HMS Belfast divides the ship into three broad sections entitled 'Life on board the ship' (including the mess decks, galley, laundry and sick bay), 'The inner workings' (including the engine room, boiler room and magazines) and 'Action stations' (including the bridge, operations room, gun direction platform and the main and secondary armament).

To emphasise the range of Belfast's armament, the forward six-inch guns of A and B Turrets could hit the London Gateway service area on the M1 motorway, some 12½ miles away on the outskirts of London.