The Dreadnought Hoaxers in Abyssinian regalia; Virginia Woolf is the bearded figure on the far left

The Dreadnought Hoax was a practical joke pulled by Horace de Vere Cole in 1910. Cole tricked the Royal Navy into showing their flagship, the warship H.M.S. Dreadnought to a supposed delegation of Abyssinian royals. The 1913 Dreadnought hoax This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The 1913 Dreadnought hoax This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... A popular practical joke is to completely block someones doorway while he/she is in the room. ... William Horace de Vere Cole (May 5, 1881–February 25, 1936) was a British eccentric prankster. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... A flagship is the ship used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships. ... The sixth HMS Dreadnought of the British Royal Navy was the first battleship to have a uniform main battery, rather than having a secondary battery of smaller guns. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

The hoax involved Cole and five friends—writer Virginia Woolf (then Stephen), her brother Adrian Stephen, Guy Ridley, Anthony Buxton and artist Duncan Grant—who dressed up with darkened skin and turbans. The disguise's main limitation was that the "royals" could not eat anything or their make-up would be ruined. Adrian Stephen took the role of "interpreter". The operation cost Cole £4000. A hoax is an attempt to trick an audience into believing that something false is real. ... Virginia Woolf (née Stephen) (25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941) was a British author who is considered to be one of the foremost modernist/feminist literary figures of the twentieth century. ... Self Portrait, 1920, National Gallery of Scotland. ... A Sikh man wearing a turban The turban (Arabic: ‎, ‘imāmä; Turkish: tülbent; Persian: دلبنت, dulband) is a headdress, of Asian origin, consisting of a long scarf wound round the head or an inner hat. ... GBP redirects here. ...

On February 10, 1910 the trick began. Cole had an accomplice send a telegram to HMS Dreadnought which was then moored in Weymouth. The message said that the ship must be prepared for the visit of a group of princes from Abyssinia and was purportedly signed by Foreign Office Under-secretary Sir Charles Hardinge. February 10 is the 41st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ... Telegraphy (from the Greek words tele = far away and grapho = write) is the long distance transmission of written messages without physical transport of letters, originally over wire. ... Weymouth Promenade in 1993 Weymouth is a coastal town in Dorset, England. ... The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom abroad. ... Charles Hardinge, 1st Baron Hardinge of Penshurst (20 June 1858 - 2 August 1944) was a British diplomat and statesman who served as Viceroy of India from 1910 to 1916. ...

Cole with his entourage went to London's Paddington station where Cole claimed that he was "Herbert Cholmondely" of the UK Foreign Office and demanded a special train to Weymouth. The stationmaster arranged a VIP coach. For other uses, see London (disambiguation). ... Paddington Station, March 2005 during rush hour Paddington station or London Paddington station is a major National Rail and London Underground station complex in the Paddington area of London. ... The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is the United Kingdom government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom abroad. ...

In Weymouth, the navy welcomed the princes with an honor guard. Unfortunately, nobody had found an Abyssinian flag, so the navy proceeded to use that of Zanzibar and to play Zanzibar's national anthem. Their visitors did not appear to notice. Map of Zanzibars main island Zanzibar (IPA pronunciation: ), as used today, is the collective name for two East African islands off mainland Tanzania: Unguja (also called Zanzibar) and Pemba. ... A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that is evoking and eulogizing the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nations government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people. ...

The group inspected the fleet. They distributed cards printed in Swahili and talked with each other in a broken Latin. To show their appreciation, they yelled "bunga bunga". They asked for prayer mats and bestowed fake military honours on some of the officers. One officer familiar with both Cole and Virginia Stephen failed to recognize either one, possibly because he heard the interpreter's strong German accent and was worried in case a German spy came onboard. Swahili (also called Kiswahili; see Kiswahili for a discussion of the nomenclature) is an agglutinative Bantu language widely spoken in East Africa. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... A prayer mat or prayer rug, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name, sajada, is a piece of fabric (often decorated) used by Muslims during their five daily prayers (Salat). ...

When they were on the train, Anthony Buxton sneezed and blew off his false whiskers, but managed to stick them back before anyone noticed. Cole told a train conductor that he could serve royals lunch only with white gloves. This was, of course, to avoid the problem with the make-up. This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...

In London, they revealed the ruse by sending a letter and a group photo to the Daily Mirror. The Royal Navy briefly became an object of ridicule and demanded that Cole be arrested. However, Cole and his compatriots had not broken any law. The Navy sent two officers to cane Cole as a punishment—but Cole countered that it was they who should be caned because they had been fooled in the first place. Alternate newspaper: The Daily Mirror (Australia) The Daily Mirror is a popular British tabloid daily newspaper. ... Law (from the late Old English lagu of probable North Germanic origin) in politics and jurisprudence, is a set of rules or norms of conduct which mandate, forbid or permit specified relationships among people and organizations, intended to provide methods for ensuring the impartial treatment of such people, and provide... Rattan cane Caning is a physical punishment (see that article for generalities and alternatives) consisting of a beating with a cane, generally applied on the bare or clad buttocks (see spanking), shoulders, hand(s) (palm, rarely knuckles) or even the soles of the feet (see falaka). ... Punishment is the practice of imposing something unpleasant on a subject as a response to some unwanted behavior or disobedience that the subject has displayed. ...

Reference to this hoax can be read in V. Woolf's Short Stories (see "A Society" for more details).