A friend showed me this picture a little while ago. I found the story behind it very interesting.
In 1901 the then Prince George (later George V) went on a lengthy Colonial tour on the ship HMS Ophir. The trip took in both Canada and Australia. In Australia he attended the opening ceremony of the first federal parliament. He was away for some 6 months.
He both left from, and returned to, Portsmouth and both occasions were extravagant affairs.
To coincide with the homecoming a huge "Welcome Home" sign was installed in the rigging of HMS Victory. The letters were each 8 feet high.
What makes it especially interesting is that the sign was lit by electricity - when electricity was still something of a novelty. The current was supplied by dynamos on board 2 vessels, the Magnet and Seahorse which were moored alongside HMS Victory.
A gentleman named Harry Price who was a petty officer on HMS Ophir produced an illustrated diary of the whole trip and many years later it was published in facsimile form. That is where this picture of Victory was taken from.
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