HMS Thunder Child HMS Thunder Child HMS "Thunder Child" is a fictional ironclad torpedo ram of the Royal Navy, destroyed by Martian fighting-machines in H. G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" whilst protecting a refugee rescue fleet of civilian vessels. Torpedo rams were constructed in the 1870s and 1880s after the ramming and sinking of the "Re d'Italia" at the Battle of Lissa in 1866 by the Austrian flagship, "Ferdinand Max". Despite the Italian warship being stationary at the time, the successful attack influenced naval thinking for the next few decades. The result was specially designed low profile, fast, armoured vessels equipped
Sci-Fi on the Rock Apart from the media guest Q&A's, autographs and photo sessions, there are many other workshops during the festival, these change yearly but in the past have included: Making its first appearance at Sci-Fi on the Rock 2009, the Cantina is an informal concert/variety show held on one of the evenings of the festival. Performers opt to play Sci-Fi related music, known as Filk, but that is not always the case. The Cantina features performances by musicians involved with the festival, an open mic, and there is an improvised acting piece prepared that audience members are call upon to perform. The