Littlehampton cadets view the ‘brilliant’ Mary Rose

Members of TS Implacable, pictured on their special preview of the new Mary Rose Museum

Officers and cadets from TS Implacable joined other NTC divisions at one of the preview days before the museum’s official opening at the end of last month.

They were invited by Rear Admiral John Lippiett, chief executive of the Mary Rose Trust, who is also the Patron of the NTC and has supported the organisation for many years.

Stuart Ginnaw, commanding officer of TS Implacable, said after the visit: “The cadets and officers thoroughly enjoyed themselves and thought the new museum and its layout was ‘brilliant’, to quote one of our youngest cadets.”

The museum opened more than 30 years after the Mary Rose was lifted from the seabed off Portsmouth, an event watched live by millions on the television. The wrech was discovered by divers in 1971.

The hull of the magnificent Tudor vessel had to be sprayed with a mixture of water and wax for many years, until its timbers were stabilised.

The new museum, in Portsmouth’s Naval Dockyard, also features 19,000 artefacts from the Mary Rose, including cutlery and crockery, longbows, and the skeleton of the ship’s dog, Hatch.