HMS Belfast Private Tours
Talks & Tours, HMS Belfast
Sailors and Royal Marines take a break from clearing ice from HMS Belfast’s upper decks. HMS Belfast spent most of 1943 in the waters of the Arctic, providing close-range heavy cover for the convoys taking supplies to the USSR.
Children of British and Commonwealth civilian internees are entertained at a party held on board HMS Belfast in Shanghai, October 1945. HMS Belfast helped evacuate survivors of Japanese prisoner of war and civilian internment camps in Shanghai.
HMS Belfast fires a salvo from her 6-inch guns at shore targets in North Korea, November 1951. HMS Belfast was amongst the first British ships to go into action off Korea, and patrolling and shore bombardments were her main duties.
HMS Belfast leaves Singapore in April 1962 at the end of her last foreign service commission. Following the Korean War, the need for a large peacetime navy dwindled, and in 1963 HMS Belfast was paid off into reserve for the last time.
HMS Belfast sails under Tower Bridge to take up her permanent mooring in the Pool of London, 15 October 1971. She became part of IWM in 1978.
Dry-docked in Tilbury, HMS Belfast undergoes preservation work on her hull, September 1982. IWM continues to preserve and restore the ship through its dedicated team of staff and volunteers, most recently replacing her masts in 2010.
The Queen and Princess Elizabeth talk to a camouflaged sniper during a visit to Airborne Forces. Princess Elizabeth carried out her first public engagement in 1943 aged 16. She accompanied the King and Queen on many of their tours around the UK.
Princess Elizabeth watching parachutists dropping in preparation for the Normandy Landings. On her visit to Airborne Forces in May 1944, Princess Elizabeth met airborne troops who would play a key role in the operation.
Princess Elizabeth (centre) with officers of the ATS Training Centre. Princess Elizabeth joined the ATS in 1945 at the age of 19. Her father was initially against her undertaking national service. However, Elizabeth persuaded him to change his mind.
After joining the ATS, Princess Elizabeth trained as a driver and mechanic with the rank of Second Subaltern. Five months later she was promoted to Junior Commander, which was the equivalent of Captain.
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth with Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret, and Winston Churchill, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. On VE day, the Royal Family appeared on the balcony at Buckingham Palace to acknowledge the crowds celebrating below.
Experience life below decks - sleep on board HMS Belfast in her restored 1950s mess decks.
Check our Terms and Conditions, and then reserve your night to 'Kip in a Ship'

Kip in a Ship is scheduled to re-open on 6 June 2012.
If you had a reservation from December 2011 to May 2012 that was cancelled due to the incident we will be contacting you soon with information about priority re-booking.
If you have a reservation for a visit from June to December 2012 you can expect your visit to go ahead as planned. We will contact you with a booking confirmation form approximately 8 weeks prior to your stay.
We plan to take new bookings for 2012 from 1 June 2012. Special arrangements apply during the London Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Bookings for 2013 will not be available until later in 2012.
UK schools and youth groups with children aged 8-18 can Kip in a Ship for up to three nights in unique, stimulating accommodation in the heart of London. Up to 52 children (26 boys and 26 girls for mixed-gender groups) can sleep in real sailor's bunks, accompanied by a maximum of six adults accommodated in two separate cabins.
For 2012 visits - £38 per person per night inclusive of VAT (special arrangements apply during the London Olympic and Paralympic Games). Breakfast is included in the price. The minimum party size you will be charged for is 20.
Use the online calendar on our booking site to select the night you would like to stay, and reserve Kip in a Ship for your group by paying a non-refundable £100 deposit by credit or debit card. You can only book one night at a time, so if you would like more than one night, simply repeat the booking process up to a maximum of three nights per group. We will ask you to complete a form with the full details of your group eight weeks prior to arrival.
Please read our Terms and Conditions carefully prior to booking.
We are not able to accept bookings from further education groups, families, individuals or overseas visitors.

From the World Wars to the Cold War, IWM gives teachers and students in UK schools everything they need to explore the course, causes and consequences of conflict from the First World War to today.
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