This week 1,000 Royal Navy Medical Officer Journals were made available to the public at the British National Archives in Kew. The journals are revealing, if often disturbing by modern standards. From drunken mutinies to disease outbreaks to … Continue reading
Category Archives: History
Happy National Coffee Day! I don’t know who decided that today was National Coffee Day, nor even why we should necessarily be celebrating it. However, as a confirmed and happily contented coffee addict, perhaps this is a good time … Continue reading
An update on our post from last June on the SS Robin, an 1890 built steam coaster, the last of her kind and the oldest complete steamship in the world. She arrived in Tillbury last week aboard a a custom built pontoon barge in … Continue reading
The Australian Hospital Ship Centaur was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine off the coast of Queensland, Australia, on 14 May 1943. Of the 332 medical personnel and civilian crew aboard, 268 were killed. The exact position of the sunken ship … Continue reading
In light of the recent claims in Louise Patten’s new book, Good as Gold , which we posted about earlier this week, we are very pleased to welcome Tim Maltin, author of 101 Things You Thought You Knew About the Titanic…But Didn’t, as guest … Continue reading
In Good as Gold, a new book by Louise Patten, the granddaughter of the most senior surviving officer on the Titanic, reveals a long hidden family secret. She claims that an error in steering on the bridge of the Titanic led to the collision … Continue reading
Lanier W. Phillips, comedian Bill Cosby and former Washington Redskins star and the Dallas Cowboys’ first starting quarterback, Eddie LeBaron, were honored Wednesday with the U.S. Navy Memorial’s Lone Sailor award. I, of course, know Bill Cosby and as a … Continue reading
Ancestry.co.uk. has published, on-line records, held by National Archives of 19th Century prison ships providing a glimpse into the lives of the estimated 200,000 inmates. Prison ship records from 19th Century published The records outline the disease-ridden conditions on the “prison hulks”, created … Continue reading
“Lord Nelson’s love of bling may be the reason he was shot dead at the Battle of Trafalgar, a medal expert claimed yesterday.” Whether or not Nelson’s fondness for wearing his medals made him an easier target at Trafalgar, one of those … Continue reading
There was an amusing bit of bantering and ballyhooing about ship jargon in the New York Times yesterday. In an article about the remains of ship found in the excavation near the new World Trade Center (see our previous posts here) … Continue reading
An historic poster that originally sold for just a tuppence to celebrate Lord Nelson’s victory over the French and Spanish fleets at the Battle of Trafalgar went on the auction block this week. It was expected to fetch £40,000 but bids failed … Continue reading
An update to a previous post. An Inuit family says a box that was hidden for over 80 years in the Arctic contains documents linked to the doomed Franklin expedition and has just turned the box over to the the Canadian Conservation … Continue reading
Lieutenant-Commander Tony Bentley-Buckle, who died at the end of May at the age of 88, had a valiant and varied career in the Royal Navy during World War II. After the war, he established two shipping lines and an airline in Africa and competed … Continue reading
The Ocean Technology Foundation has been searching for John Paul Jones’ famous flagship, the Bonhomme Richard for the last five years. They now believe that they are closing in on the wreck. On this year’s expedition both the US and French Navies are joining … Continue reading
In July, we posted about a Baltic shipwreck on which divers found 30 bottles of champagne thought to pre-date the French Revolution. (see Baltic Bubbly – ‘World’s oldest champagne’) On subsequent dives, smaller bottles have been recovered which apparently contain … Continue reading
Happy Merchant Navy Day! In Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand today, September 3rd, is celebrated as Merchant Navy Day – an official day of remembrance of the sacrifices made by merchant mariners in war-time. In World War I and World War II, over 45, 000 … Continue reading
This can’t be good unless it is so bad that it is good. A new movie is coming out whose high concept pitch had to be, “It is Moby Dick but with dragons, instead of whales.” The trailer is below … Continue reading
Intriguing, if it turns out to be true. Czar’s gold treasure found on Baikal Lake bed The legendary gold treasure of Russia’s last Czar could have been found by Mir-2 mini submarine on the bed of the world’s deepest fresh … Continue reading
An intriguing article from the Independent. Elizabeth Wynne was Lord Nelson’s nurse following the loss of his arm. She left 40 volumes of diaries and was a witness to several key events of the 18th century. She married one of … Continue reading
On August 29th, 1776, George Washington faced certain defeat. Howe had been able to flank the Americans in Brooklyn, turning the Battle of Long Island into a rout. Washington was left with the remnants of his army on Brooklyn Heights, with the East River … Continue reading