Talk - History and Development of the Devonport Naval Base

Ray O'Donnell is giving a talk on the history and development of the Devonport Naval Base at the Plymouth Proprietary Library on Wednesday 8 July, from 14:00 to 15:00. O'Donnell is a volunteer with the Devonport Naval Heritage Centre, and he'll be taking the dockyard's story from its earliest days right up to the present.

He's broken the talk into three distinct periods of development, so you'll get a sense of how the site grew in stages rather than all at once. It starts with the very first surveying and the royal authorisation that got the whole thing off the ground, and from there it follows the dockyard through its subsequent expansions until it reaches the state it's in today. If you've spent any time around the water in Plymouth, you've seen the scale of the place; this is a chance to hear how it actually came together.

It's a straightforward, hour-long session, so it's easy to fit into a weekday afternoon. The talk is open to anyone with an interest in naval history, maritime heritage, or just the local story of Plymouth, and it's aimed at a general audience rather than specialists.

The library is at St Barnabas Terrace, PL1 5NN, and you can reach them on 01752 659907. Entry is £5 for members and £8 for non-members. If you want to be sure of a seat, you'll need to contact the library at least 24 hours in advance; otherwise, you can just turn up on the day. The talk runs from 14:00 to 15:00 on Wednesday 8 July.