On the 17th of January 1775, English Captain James Cook landed at Possession Bay in South Georgia Island. While his vessel HMS Resolution sat at anchor in the bay, Cook went ashore, hoisted the British flag and performed the ceremony of taking possession of the island, in the name of King George III and his heirs.
Nicknamed 'the silent service', nuclear submarines are used to patrol the oceans and seas – armed with numerous weapons and capable of spending months underwater. However, one question has been grappled with for decades. What do you do with a nuclear submarine when it has gone out of service?
Monday, January 17th was South Georgia Possession Day, marking 247 years since the first landing on the island was made by Captain James Cook. The British explorer was on his second world voyage aboard HMS Resolution.
Pobjoy Mint has issued the first 50-penny coin on behalf of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands government. The new coin features the HMS Resolution, the ship that was captained by James Cook.
Events across the UK will celebrate the 50 years of dedication of submariners on the longest operation ever carried out by British armed forces. No mission has been longer – or more important – than the nuclear deterrent patrols performed around the clock by the Royal Navy over the past half-century.