In July 1950, Gosport and Portsmouth were rocked by two huge explosions, but was there more to the incident than meets the eye? Derek Fox investigates if Bedenham Pier was host to an accident or sabotage
On June 25, 1950, North Korean troops invaded South Korea. Two days later, the United States, alarmed at the possibility of regional Communist destabilisation, tabled a UN resolution for members to send forces to aid South Korea.
On June 28, units of the Royal Navy Far East Fleet based in Japan were placed under the command of US General Douglas MacArthur.
The aircraft carrier HMS Triumph, the cruiser Jamaica, destroyers Cossack and Consort, the RFA Wave Conqueror and the Australian frigate HMAS Shoalhaven left Japan and headed to Okinawa to refuel before sailing for Korea. After joining the carrier USS Valley Forge, the group attacked airfields at Pyongyang and Haeju on July 3. It was to be some weeks later that the first British and Commonwealth ground forces arrived, by which time Seoul had fallen and UN forces were steadily being pushed south.
