GBC programme on Operation Torch presented to North Carolina Museum of History

A programme by GBC on Operation Torch has been presented to the North Carolina Museum of History as part of the Gibraltar ‘Sister Cities’ visit to Raleigh. Garrison Library Director, Jennifer Ballantine Perera also gifted the Museum’s Director, Ken Howard with the presentation on Operation Torch used in 2004 for an exhibition to mark the Princess Royal’s visit to the Rock.

Operation Torch saw President Eisenhower living in Gibraltar during its planning stages.

And the museum reciprocated with copies of items in its collection which reference Gibraltar, as well as photos that tell a tale or two.

It showed the Gibraltar delegation photos of the CSS Sumter, the first steam cruiser of the Confederate States Navy during the American Civil War. Captured in Gibraltar by Union Navy warships, Sumter was decommissioned and sold in 1862 to a British Confederate merchant. Renamed ‘Gibraltar’, she successfully run the Union blockade in 1863 and survived the war.

Future collaborative projects have been discussed.

Books were also exchanged at the City of Raleigh Museum and the North Carolina State Archives.

The Gibraltar delegation was treated to unique glimpses of history at the Archive’s vaults, including a manuscript from King Charles II and an original letter by George Washington.