Cartoon strip first published in WARSHIPS International Fleet Review magazine in December 2012.

This strip finds our heroes [n.b. I have used ‘heroes’ in the literary sense, not in the courageous sense – don’t you think the word ‘hero’ is SO overworked these days. True heroes are the members of the civilian emergency services, together, of course, with Jack, Royal and Pongo, oh, and the Crabs, too.  I’d better start again:]  This strip finds our heroes working one of the 24 pounders on the upper deck of HMS Sardonique.

Ships’ guns were rated by the weight of their shot, these guns actually weighing nearly two and a half tons.  On the upper deck, it was more usual to find 18 pounder guns, but some French captures (such as the Old Barky Sarky) were strong enough to bear 24 pounders here.