Hatch, the world's oldest sea dog.
She may have been a mongrel, but in the finest tradition of seafaring, this dog went down with her ship. There she rested on the seabed for four and a half centuries. This unfortunate hound was on board King Henry VIII's flagship MARY ROSE when the illfated warship sank, when a gust of wind healed her over as she was about to do battle against a French invading fleet. The dog, now preserved as an almost complete canine skeleton, acquired her name when divers discovered her remains near the sliding door of the carpenter's cabin.
Experts believe the dog was between 18 months and two years old and earned her keep as the ship's rat catcher. Tudor seafarers did not take cats on board, as it was believed felines brought bad luck. Among the many artifacts brought to the surface were several rat skeletons. The reconstructed dog skeleton will go on display along with other objects recovered from the wreck.
The MARY ROSE sank on July 19, 1545 to the bottom of the Solent. The flag ship of the English fleet was preparing to engage an invating French fleet when a gust of wind healed her so far over to her open gun ports, that she was not able to recover upright. After 34 years at sea and three wars, the MARY ROSE was regarded as invincible. With anti-boarding nets covering her waist, the sinking ship became a death trap for 500 crewmen. Only a handful of survivors that were stationed in her rigging managed to escape drowning. King Henry VIII, sitting on shore with his courtiers, watched in horror as his favorite warship went to the bottom. The MARY ROSE was named after the King's sister and the Tudor red rose emblem.
The recovered remains of the MARY ROSE are to be on permanent display at a special dry dock at Portsmouth. The ship was brought to the surface in 1982. Only a fractionof the 19,000 artefacts discovered in the 11 year excavation are now on public display. In the future, the Mary Rose Trust has an ambitious L35 million museum project that is scheduled to be completed in time for the London Olympics in 2012. The museum will reunite the great ship with her treasures in the Portsmith Historic Dockyard. The rat catcher Hatch, will be the official mascot of the Mary Rose 500 Public Appeal, which is seeking 500 individuals to come on board and symbolically become the "new crew" after pledging L 500 in funding for the museum.
Montani semper liberi ! Happy modeling to all and every one of you.
Crackers 