Wessex Poems and Other Verses Wessex Poems and Other Verses Wessex Poems and Other Verses (often referred to simply as "Wessex Poems") is a collection of fifty-one poems set against the bleak and forbidding Dorset landscape by English writer Thomas Hardy. It was first published in 1898 by New York: Harper, , and contained a number of illustrations by the author himself. The collection met a broadly hostile reception, critics being accustomed to Hardy as a (controversial) writer of prose alone. Hardy himself was taken aback by the failure to recognise his dry humour, as in the (slightly bawdy) 'Bride-Night Fire'. On a more personal
Westland Wessex ships and its intention to purchase roughly 30 for anti-submarine patrols, casualty evacuations, and fleet communications duties. The RAN formally accepted the first two of 27 Wessex helicopters in September 1963; 817 Squadron was the first to operate the type; the Wessex and its dunking sonar array quickly proved to be the most effective anti-submarine platform as yet seen in the RAN. The Wessex was a major operational shift for the Fleet Air Arm, enabling the RAN to proceed with the conversion of the aircraft carrier HMAS "Melbourne" as an anti-submarine platform. In typical carrier operations, a Wessex would be