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Lozza
08-02-2010, 23:06
I really don't have the foggiest idea where to start with this, I keep coming back and coming back but I'm just at a blank!

Here’s The Puzzle then….

My mother was moving house and asked me ‘sort out’ Dad’s things. Lots of it has sentimental value, his old tools from his joinery days after leaving the Navy, a few books and some trinkets that caught his fancy at the time, but the most interesting thing was a tatty old notebook inscribed “Sam Elerry AB (Signaller RN)”.

Sam was my grandfather who I never knew, born in 1865 he spent most of his life at sea in the Royal Navy, first on square rigged ships and later on steam powered vessels, finally retiring to serve with a local shore battery on the South Coast. Whenever I asked Dad about him he just used to say he was an old ‘bunting tosser’ which I thought was a bit rude!

The book had lots of pen & ink sketches and columns and columns of numbers.

Towards the back was a loose sheet with what might have been a timetable of some sort. Not all the entries were legible and the handwriting suggested that Dad had re-written the times using the 24 hour clock.

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/2649/trains.jpg

http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/5883/dittybox.png



There are some additional hints as follows:

06:37 00:52 00:52 03:45 06:37 04:37 04:45 03:30 10:45 03:45 03:37 01:30 03:45 06:45 06:37 06:52 07:00 00:52 10:45 03:45 10:45 06:37 06:00 00:52 10:45 00:45 10:45 03:30 03:45 07:50 04:30 07:45 00:52 03:07 10:45 10:45 06:00 00:45 10:45 04:45 00:52




I've got as far as working out that a bunting tosser is an informal term used in the Royal Navy to describe the sailors who hoist signal flags, as such I'm guessing that the times are Tide times?.. but meh where do I go from there :dunno:

the final aim is to get a set of co ordinates in the form of degrees and minutes.

Fayshun
09-02-2010, 02:50
A ditty box is a personal portable locker issued to sailors.

And correct on bunting tosser being a signalman.

Where's the puzzle?

Lozza
09-02-2010, 09:14
Where's the puzzle?

Exactly my thoughts lol

somewhere in what I have posted is either Clues to lead you to the answer or the answer it's self.

I probably should have put this into the first post but the final aim is to get a set of co ordinates in the form of degrees and minutes.

vix
09-02-2010, 09:20
Is it for geocacheing? :D

All I can think is that there is some sort of pattern in the second grid, and you have to fill in those empty boxes. However, even matching the times to the ones which have names gets me nowhere :/

Pumpkinstew
09-02-2010, 14:36
I'm going to take a punt and suggest matching the times in the second image with the first letter of the destinations in the railway timetable.

Don't know if that leads anywhere since my lunchbreak has just finished.

Lozza
09-02-2010, 19:46
Is it for geocacheing? :D :D

This is all I can think about at the moment! still no further forward!

semi-pro waster
09-02-2010, 21:13
This might be spectacularly obvious to everyone else but the first table appears to coincide with ports that you could hit going round the bottom of Britain (inc Isle of Wight) from East to West - however this idea only works up to a point as the timings don't always gel, from some of them you might be able to work out the approximate speed of the boat, don't know if that would help you in any way though other than it might allow you to work out some of the missing ports if that is what it is meant to be.

Kitten
09-02-2010, 21:15
I'm really not sure what the question is...

/thick

Lozza
09-02-2010, 21:19
I'm really not sure what the question is...

/thick

me neither.. and I'm not sure that if the puzzle does get solved it will give the answer or merely be another clue

Mark
09-02-2010, 21:23
What's the significance of the 'handwriting suggested that Dad had re-written the times using the 24 hour clock.'

Given that the latest time is 10:45, were times re-written? Is this a red herring or something important?

Don't have any clues how to solve it btw - just noticed this inconsistency that no-one else had mentioned.

vix
10-02-2010, 08:21
I think it might be to let you know how to write the answer.

Lozza
10-02-2010, 10:44
What's the significance of the 'handwriting suggested that Dad had re-written the times using the 24 hour clock.'

Given that the latest time is 10:45, were times re-written? Is this a red herring or something important?

Don't have any clues how to solve it btw - just noticed this inconsistency that no-one else had mentioned.

I think this is adding to the confusion and is of no relevance.. the "times" as it were wouldn't have been written that way originally.

Last night I spent a few hours on this trying to figure it out and have deduced that the "times" are form of code... the instant thing springing to mind is the RN flag signal code. With some googling - Admiral Home Popham Telegraph signal book to be precise where numbered flags are raised and each set of numbers has a code word. so rather than being 06.52 it would have been 652. 652 having a code word of "project"

In which case the first table:
http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/2649/trains.jpg

Reads like this: (I'm not sure if the town names are relevant or not but have left them in, in capitals)

project foremast WORTHING land
advise PORTSMOUTH flank leak SOUTHAMPTON
alone gallant obstensible DOVER
beach (Umber) go preserve
beer gun RYDE private BEMBRIDGE
can LYMINGTON grapnel YARMOUTH recover
cartridge increase VENTNOR rebel
channel infantry royal HAMBLE
float kill GOSPORT admit

:dunno::confused:

I think it might be to let you know how to write the answer.

Still no closer!

Lozza
11-02-2010, 00:41
The above was indeed gobeldy gook... but on the right lines with flag signals

I did it I did it

:party1:


I had previously dismissed the solution due to over analysing it and being a little anal that the minutes 07/22/37/52 would not fit when indeed if you allowed a little leeway it all becomes clear :facepalm: