Submarine Centre

28/05/2026

From the Centre Archives. We have conducted many interviews with Submariners both retired and still on active service. Here is a shortened version of one we did with Harry Melling on the occasion of his 100th birthday!

Harry Melling (1920–2021) was Britain’s oldest known World War II veteran submariner. Hailing from Wigan, he served in the Mediterranean and around Africa on HMS Osiris.

Service:
Operated in the highly dangerous Mediterranean theatre during WWII, taking part in missions that supported the Allied invasion of Sicily.

Deployments:
Because the Mediterranean was heavily contested, his submarine journeyed all the way around the southern tip of Africa to dock in Kenya.

Centenarian:
He celebrated his 100th birthday in lockdown in April 2020, widely celebrated by the Royal Navy and local communities.

After a traumatic home invasion in 2017, the UK Submarine Service and the local veteran community rallied around him, raising funds for him and his family to attend the National Submarine War Memorial ceremonies in London.

He became an iconic, beloved figure at Royal Navy remembrance events, frequently attending with his great-nephew, Matthew Melling (known as "The Wigan Runner").

Harry passed away in September 2021 at the age of 101.

Would you like to see more of these interviews? Let us know in the comments below.

26/05/2026

Hi Folks. Everyone, and we mean EVERYONE, has been asking what the music is at the end of our new show, X-Craft Dive Deep.

It's a track called RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP by Producer, Musician and Ex Submariner Andy Dingley (Circles). When we first heard it we knew it was a perfect ending to the story we wanted to tell. Andy kindly allowed us to use it and its haunting lyrics and atmosphere fitted perfectly. There are links below to the song and Andy's other work.

You can listen to the song on Spotify here:
https://open.spotify.com/track/6qm5lWqugq6OvP3zWyRrBD

On Facebook here
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=25146089775055947

And on Youtube here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7poUq5kOts&list=RDh7poUq5kOts&start_radio=1

We think this song should be the Anthem of the Submariners!

25/05/2026

Over the weekend, we were visited by Captain Michael Setzer (German Navy Retd), and his wife. He is the current president of the German Submarine Association.

He's visiting Scotland to attend the International Submariners Association meeting, taking place this year in Edinburgh. After the show, Capt Setzer told us that his father was an officer on the Tirpitz, where he was in charge of Turret C onboard. It was great to hear that they enjoyed their visit to the Centre.

15/05/2026

Some very happy visitors!

12/05/2026

The roof garden that have been growing out of the top of the building for a while now had become a bit of an institution (and a running joke) here at the centre, but it was decided that enough was enough and they had to go! A huge thanks to Joe from Easy Access for sorting it out! https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581526361127

11/05/2026

It was lovely having Jane Helm and her husband Bill visit the centre today to see the new show. Jane’s father Sub-Lt Robert Aitken took part in Operation Source, the World War II midget submarine attack on the Battleship Tirpitz. He was a diver aboard X7, one of the few X-Craft that managed to breach the ships defences and lay its side charges underneath the Battleship Churchill nicknamed ‘The Beast’, which was anchored deep in the fjords of Norway. This daring attack plays a major part in our New show X-CRAFT DIVE DEEP, Showing daily at the centre. It’s always nice when family members of the heroes whose story we are telling come to visit and is always special because it doesn’t happen very often.

09/05/2026

The song , "Run Silent Run Deep " by Andy Dingley ( Circles) that is at the end of the presentation unfortunately at the moment isn't available in the centres gift shop, it is however available on Amazon Music to download. Check out Run Silent, Run Deep by Andy Dingley (Circles) on Amazon Music

On Amazon Music

08/05/2026

REOPENING FOR 2026!
Hey folks. Well, after a longer than we thought winter closure, The Submarine Centre will be reopening this SUNDAY 10th of MAY to the general public! We are really excited to be throwing open our doors again, where you can see a REAL X-CRAFT SUBMARINE, and where we will be presenting our latest 360 show X-CRAFT - DIVE DEEP as our main 2026 presentation.

X-CRAFT 'DIVE DEEP' is the story of the innovators and pioneers that led the way in the development of the submarines we know today. Submarines didn't start big, they started small and with each generation, from the days of Alexander the Great onwards, milestones in technology and understanding gathered momentum. This presentation recounts the lives and often tragic ends of the ingenious inventors that made it all possible.​

Why not come along and visit this truly unique, and award winning visitor experience! We are sure you find it Exciting, Engrossing and entertaining.

Showings are at 10:30am, 11:30am, 1:30pm 2:30pm and 3:30pm. We ask that visitors arrive 15 minutes before each showing.

We will also be showing our original show X51 STICKLEBACK daily at 12:30 from the 14th of May.

We are open 10am to 4pm daily except Wednesday.

We look forward to welcoming you soon!

04/02/2026

The D-Day numbers Hollywood won't show you. Britain's role in Operation Overlord was far bigger than most people realize.

While American beaches like Omaha grab the spotlight, the full picture of D-Day reveals a predominantly British-led operation. The Royal Navy commanded the entire naval operation under Admiral Bertram Ramsay, deploying 892 warships compared to America's 200. British and Canadian forces assaulted three of the five beaches (Gold, Juno, and Sword), while Americans took Utah and Omaha.

The air campaign tells an even more striking story. Of the 11,590 Allied aircraft involved, RAF and Commonwealth squadrons flew the majority of sorties, providing crucial air superiority and bombing runs that crippled German communications. British intelligence, through Ultra codebreaking at Bletchley Park, fed Eisenhower the information that made the invasion possible.
Supreme Commander Eisenhower may have been American, but his three service commanders were all British. Ground forces commander General Bernard Montgomery, Naval commander Admiral Ramsay, and Air Chief Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory formed the operational leadership. Britain had been at war for five years by this point, bringing hard-won experience to the planning table.

The logistics reveal the deepest commitment. Britain provided the Mulberry harbours, those ingenious artificial ports that sustained the invasion. British factories produced much of the specialized equipment, from modified tanks to landing craft. This wasn't just American might saving Europe. It was a truly Allied effort, with Britain carrying the lion's share.

24/01/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1JdosWFuW6/?mibextid=wwXIfr

When Hollywood rewrote history, an entire nation fought back. The U-571 controversy revealed how easily blockbusters can erase real heroes.

The HMS Bulldog operation in May 1941 was a remarkable feat of naval courage. British sailors, led by Sub-Lieutenant David Balme, boarded the damaged German submarine U-110 in the North Atlantic while it was still a potential death trap. They recovered the Enigma machine and codebooks that would prove invaluable to the codebreakers at Bletchley Park.

This happened seven months before Pearl Harbor brought America into the war. Yet the 2000 film U-571 reimagined the entire operation with American heroes, completely omitting the British contribution. Veterans who had actually served in the dangerous Atlantic convoys were understandably outraged to see their comrades' bravery attributed to another nation.

The parliamentary condemnation wasn't just political theater. It highlighted a genuine concern about how popular culture shapes historical understanding. For many viewers, especially younger generations, a Hollywood blockbuster becomes their primary source of historical knowledge. When that source is fundamentally inaccurate, it does a disservice to those who actually lived and died in these events.

The controversy did lead to some positive outcomes. It sparked wider discussions about historical accuracy in cinema and prompted the filmmakers to acknowledge the British contribution in later statements. But the damage to historical memory had already been done for millions who saw the film and never learned the real story.