Daily Event for January 1, 2010


Hello and Happy 2010!! I know none of us really believed we would live this long, but we did! I hope the coming days will be filled with joy, happiness and prosperity for you and your family. The past year for me has been one I will not soon forget for many reasons. As you know I had a little tumble which slowed me down for some time, but I am doing better now and will continue to in the future.

For MaritimeQuest it was also quite a year, I don't keep track of how much new material I add, I don't really even know how many pages the site has, somewhere around 8,000 at last check. I had no idea that it would get so large in such a short time, and while I do all the actual work on the site myself, I wanted everyone to know that there are many other people who make a great contribution to the site as well.

If you have never developed a website you may not know just how much research goes into it, for every hour I work on the pages for the site it takes three or four hours of research and preparation of material. In some cases it may take two or three hours just to write a single caption to a photo, this is rare, but it happens more than one might think.

Even with all my resources I don't have access to all the information that might be necessary, this is where the MaritimeQuest "team" comes in. I am very fortunate to have the help of a number around the world who have been invaluable in providing material and information for the site. Many people pop in and out, but there is a team of hardcore regulars who go to a great deal of trouble for me and I wanted to recognize them.

Phil Heydon in England is one of the most dedicated members of the team and a great friend. He spends a great deal of time and money scanning photos and sending packages to and fro all over the whole of England for me. It is unknown to me how many hours he has spent at the scanner or ringing up someone who will contribute some photos or working on the details of some event or another, and I also have no idea how much of his own money he has spent (because he won't tell me) sending photos and DVD's all over the world. Without Phil a lot of material would be out of my reach and unavailable to MaritimeQuest. He also travels about the countryside taking many photos for the site. I can not understate how much what he has done is appreciated by me. Thanks Phil!!

Robert Edmonds also of England, long since retired from the MOD, faces a number of special challenges which take an enormous amount of his time. What little free time he has could be spent feeding the pigeons or reading a good book or puttering in the garden, but instead he runs around London taking photos, lurks around the National Archives digging through musty old papers and calling in favours from old friends. He has made a number of trips to places like Southampton and Gosport just to name two, for the express purpose of getting photos that were requested by me. He has even drafted his family into the service of MaritimeQuest, right down to his grandson!! So here is a big thank you to Robert and his family!!

Peter Williams of Sydney, Australia has been a regular and prolific contributor to MaritimeQuest for several years. He works near Sydney Harbour and spends many a lunch hour eating on the run because he saw some ship to photograph for MaritimeQuest. Even if the ship has been there before and is shown on the site he takes the opportunity to get some new shots from different angles when he could just let it pass. He has covered Sydney's Memorials as well on his lunch hour or his way home from work. He is not one to let an opportunity pass, even on vacation he stops for a few snaps of various memorials or ships in the area. I have not had the time to publish all the photos he has taken, but I can assure you that I could make another website with just the photos he has sent. Thanks Peter!

Fred Branyan in Pennsylvania has been a great help over the years with issues regarding the U.S. Navy and USS Hornet in particular. I can always count of him to provide answers for the numerous questions I have regarding Navy regs. and procedures. Here is a big salute to you my friend!!

Another large section on MaritimeQuest is the pages for HMS Amethyst, HMS Consort and HMS Concord, several people are due recognition for these. K. Stewart Hett (Amethyst) is always willing to answer emails from people asking questions and has not faltered once with a quick and detailed reply. William Leitch (Consort) also always on the ball and willing to provide information and material for the site. Derek Hodgson (Concord) a third willing hand who helps to sort out the many questions received. Three cheers for you fellows!!

Hugo Sochi in Argentina has been a huge help providing dozens if not hundreds of photos for MaritimeQuest. He has spent untold numbers of hours scanning and uploading gigabytes of photos, all of which would be out of reach without his help. He has also uncovered a number of never before published photos from private collections which he has scanned and sent. We have spent some number of hours sending emails or talking on the phone just so we can get the details correct. Muchas gracias Hugo!!

Michel Guyot in France, an artist, has allowed MaritimeQuest to be the first to publish a number of his paintings and continues to add his newest works as soon as they are done. It is an honor and privilege to have been chosen for such a task, Un gran merci Michel!

Don Kindell from Ohio and Gordon Smith from Scotland have provided a number of fine details, especially regarding casualties of the Royal Navy. Neither of them have ever failed to come through when needed. Thanks guys!!

Vladimir Tarnovski in Croatia takes the time to photograph what he can for MaritimeQuest. He also provides valuable information when requested. He has been an ongoing friend and contributor and his efforts are much appreciated. Mnogobrojan hvala Vladimir!!

I would be remiss not mentioning many others who have also contributed to the ongoing progress of MaritimeQuest; Peter Woodward (U.K.) Markus Titsch (Germany), Martin Scobie (U.K.) Anne Owen (Australia), Robert W. Green (U.K.), Patrick Langrishe (U.K.), Fred Frankville (U.S.A.), Clyde George (U.S.A.), Gen. Enrique R. Dick (Argentina), Gururaj (Raj) Das (India), Charlie Chivers (U.K.), Alex Cap (U.K.), Roy Thomas (U.S.A.), Ingo Bauernfeind (Germany), and my dear friend John Asmussen (Denmark).  All of these people and more have helped to make MaritimeQuest the quality website it has become, I thank you all and all the others who over the years have contributed to the site, without your kind help so much would have been lost.

Best wishes to all in 2010,
Michael W. Pocock
(webmaster)
© 2010 Michael W. Pocock
MaritimeQuest.com