KompetentKrew
Well-known member
BBC news today: D-Day historian hunts for secret Taunton and Bath chart makers
D-Day historian hunts for secret Taunton and Bath chart makers
- Thread starter KompetentKrew
- Start date
Concerto
Well-known member
Some years ago I obtained a copy of the Channel Handbook published in 1943. I thought it was for use by SOE agents, so nice to know it was intended for D-Day.
Laysula
Well-known member
My Uncle was a Landing craft commander on D day.His charts, coastal photos and medals are all displayed in the Maritime museum at Appledore.
Mister E
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My father was a landing craft comander as well.
Not sure of the date he landed.
So he would have used the charts as well.
I have never given the amount of charts needed for the landings before.
sarabande
Well-known member
I have a collection of charts dated 1943 to 1945 from my late FIL, who captained an MGB in WW2 in and around the Bristol Channel to prevent sneaky E-boats landing at Minehead.
They are all in the colours we now use in metric charts.
And I worked in the old Admiralty building in Bristol, which had a covert underground connection to St Victoria's Church across in the adjacent park, so that the staff could be evacuated safely.
They are all in the colours we now use in metric charts.
And I worked in the old Admiralty building in Bristol, which had a covert underground connection to St Victoria's Church across in the adjacent park, so that the staff could be evacuated safely.
Neeves
Well-known member
The charts would have been printed on letter press printing presses using engraved copper plates. The plates were engraved 'in reverse' (mirror images) by hand - the engravers thus wrote, engraved, all the names etc - backwards. Good calligraphy is a real art, engraving with scribe, by hand in as a mirror image..... ? When errors were found or changes necessary the copper was beaten out on the reverse, to raise the offending portion, the plate polished and then re-engraved.
I went round the Ordinance Survey offices and printing presses in the early '70s and they were still updating the copper plates by hand.
In the early 1980s letter press was still common in Asia, but being replaced by offset printing but the Letterpress machine of choice was a Heidelberg - I wonder what they used in the UK.
Times have changed, slightly.
Jonathan
I went round the Ordinance Survey offices and printing presses in the early '70s and they were still updating the copper plates by hand.
In the early 1980s letter press was still common in Asia, but being replaced by offset printing but the Letterpress machine of choice was a Heidelberg - I wonder what they used in the UK.
Times have changed, slightly.
Jonathan