After commissioning, Belfast joined the Home Fleet. Dad was with her from before her commissioning and oversaw the installation and testing of her ASDIC equipment. Dad recalled that, when on patrol in the Northern approaches, heavy ice would accumulate on the superstucture of the Belfast, and they would have to go out onto the slippery, and rolling decks, in the bitter cold, to chip it away. During these patrols they also captured two merchant ships on the same day, the Cap Norte , just north of Iceland, and the Tai Yin.

The Belfast was based at Scapa Flow when the German submarine U-47 slipped in and sank the battleship Royal Oak , on the night of October 13th. U-47 was, at one point, actually heading directly towards HMS Belfast, but turned away before making visual contact with her. George witnessed the explosions from Royal Oak and described them as looking like a fireworks display.

Just before 11:00am on the morning of November 21, during gunnery practice in the Firth of Forth, Belfast activated a German magnetic mine, believed to have been set by the submarine U-21 a few days earlier, breaking her keel, flooding her centre section, distorting the hull, knocking out her main engines and injuring 21 of her crew. After being towed to port and inspected it was determined that her back had been broken, requiring extensive repair.

Ironically, while serving on board the destroyer HMS Hero, in the Mediterranean during the Spanish Civil War, dad photographed the German Submarine U-26 (the picture above). The commander on board, Werner Hartmann, was later to command U-21 when, in the Firth of Forth, it laid the magnetic mines which damaged the cruiser Belfast. One of the crew members was Gunther Prien who later commanded U-47 when it sank the Royal Oak at Scapa Flow and almost discovered the Belfast.

Dad recalled being tossed against the ceiling after Belfast, lifted by the explosion, settled back into the water. He received a cut through one eyebrow while others were severely injured by falling equipment, paint and oil drums etc. The following photograph was taken by one of dad's friends as Belfast was being towed back to port after this incident.

Following temporary repairs at Rosyth and a rebuild at Devonport, she was recommissioned in 1942. Belfast spent much of the next year or so on Russian convoys. It was during one of these operations in December 1942 that she played a major part in the sinking of the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst.

In 1945 Belfast underwent further modification but was too late to participate in the war with Japan. She did, however, participate in the Korean war in 1950-52, later being placed in reserve status. In 1971 the government agreed to release her for preservation as a museum.