The Mariner's Mirror Podcast

From Merchant Navy to Drug Kingpin: The Inventor of the Drug Mothership

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 06:00:00 GMT

In this episode of the Mariner’s Mirror podcast, we explore the extraordinary life of Harold Derber — a British Merchant Navy veteran whose early training as a wireless operator during the Second World War set him on an unexpected and remarkable path. From the dangers of Atlantic convoys to the political turbulence of the Cold War, Derber’s story moves far beyond the bridge of a ship.

Derber would go on to become one of the pioneers of the modern drug trade, developing the concept of the “drug mothership” and operating a ghost fleet that supplied hundreds of tons of marijuana to post-war America. His journey took him from humble beginnings in Manchester to a violent end on the streets of Miami.

To uncover this fascinating story linking maritime history and true crime, Dr Sam Willis spoke with author David Tuch, whose debut book The Wireless Operator investigates Derber’s life in remarkable detail. Tuch also has a personal connection to the story — he is a descendant of the elusive smuggler himself.

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From Glasgow to the Cape: The Ships of the Clan Line

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 06:00:00 GMT

This episode continues our mini series on the history of the Clan Line, one of the most prominent and enduring British shipping companies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded by Charles Cayzer, the Clan Line became synonymous with reliability, global trade expansion and the professionalisation of British merchant shipping. At its peak, it had one of the largest merchant fleets in the world, forming a crucial part of Britain's maritime commercial power. These ships linked Britain to its colonies and trading partners across Africa, India, Australia and the Far East, moving everything from manufactured goods to raw materials.

This is the third in our series on the Clan Line. We've heard previously an overview of the company from Jamie Cayzer-Colvin, a descendant of Charles Cayzer, and now director of Caledonia Investments, which was born from the Cayzer family's shipping business. We've also traveled all over the country to find sailors who served on the Clan Line ships to hear their brilliantly entertaining stories of their time afloat.

This episode looks at the ships. One of the fascinating things about the ships of the Clan Line is that from sail to steam to motor ships, they continually adapted to advances in ship design and propulsion. The business was always an early adopter of efficient cargo handling and modern engineering standards influencing how liner companies manage global routes and logistics. This means that the ships of the Clan Line almost perfectly act as a mirror of merchant ship evolution, a microcosm of the shifting tides in maritime design over more than a century.

This episode takes us from London, where Dr Sam Willis explores some beautiful models of Clan Line ships with Simon Stevens, curator of ship models and small boats at the Royal Museums in Greenwich. Sam then heads to the Clyde estuary, to the shipyards where many of the Clan Line ships were built and speaks with speak with Vince Gillen, Inverclyde historian and writer.

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Murder, Modern Literature, and the Great Ocean Liner

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 06:00:00 GMT

In today’s episode, we leave the dockyards and engine rooms behind to step aboard the ocean liner as it appears not at sea, but on the page. From the gilded salons of Edwardian fiction to the psychological depths of modernist prose, ocean liners have long served as floating stages for human drama, capturing the hopes, tensions, and contradictions of the modern age. We explore how writers such as E.M. Forster, Noël Coward, Virginia Woolf, Katherine Mansfield, and Agatha Christie used these vast ships as microcosms of society—places where class, desire, ambition, and anxiety collided in close quarters. Christie’s fascination with liners, in particular, reveals how perfectly they lent themselves to closed-circle mysteries: isolated worlds where familiar social types gather, secrets simmer, and violence quietly waits beneath the surface. The conversation ranges from glamour and luxury to migration and the uneasy faith in progress that defined the early twentieth century. Ocean liners emerge as symbols of empire and innovation, but also of displacement, vulnerability, and transition—spaces where identities could shift and certainties dissolve. To find out more Dr Sam Willis is joined by the brilliant Professor Faye Hammill, whose work illuminates why these ships so powerfully shaped literary imagination, and why they continue to haunt it today.

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To The Edge of the World: One woman. One ship. One astonishing true story.

Mon, 16 Feb 2026 06:00:00 GMT

The true story of Mary Ann Patten, a nineteen-year-old woman who, in the summer of 1856, took command of a clipper ship and navigated it around Cape Horn. What drives someone to leave behind security, reputation, and the expectations of society to sail into the unknown? In this episode, we explore To The Edge of the World with author Tilar Mazzeo—a gripping true story of adventure, obsession, and the irresistible pull of the sea. We discuss the extraordinary life at the heart of this book: a woman who refused to accept the limits placed on her and instead chose a life defined by risk, freedom, and relentless determination. Through treacherous waters, isolation, and moments of triumph and despair, Mazzeo paints a vivid portrait of what it means to chase a dream when the world insists you shouldn’t. Her journey is as much an inner reckoning as it is a physical voyage to the farthest reaches of the globe. Along the way, we discuss the book’s rich historical context, the emotional costs of ambition, and the complicated line between courage and obsession. This episode asks big questions about independence, belonging, and why the call of adventure can be so powerful that it demands everything in return. Whether you’re drawn to true stories of exploration, fascinated by lives lived outside convention, or simply curious about what lies beyond the horizon, this conversation will take you right to the edge of the world—and what it means to live there.

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The Glenlee: A Survivor of the Seven Seas

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

This episode explores the fascinating history of the Glenlee, a tall ship built in Glasgow 1896 and restored by the Clyde Maritime Trust. Originally a cargo ship, the Glenlee survived fifteen voyages around Cape Horn and later served as a Spanish Navy training vessel during the fascist dictatorial rule of Francisco Franco. After being neglected, she was rescued and restored, showcasing Scotland's maritime heritage. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Lauren Henning, the Glenlee's learning and museum manager. They discuss the ship's construction, her role in various maritime adventures, links with Spain's fascist history, and her significance in Glasgow's maritime past. The conversation also highlights the ship's educational programs and the efforts to preserve its authenticity.

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The Naval Fiction Interviews: Katie Daysh, Hiram Nightingale and Arthur Courtney

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Dr Sam Willis meets Katie Daysh, author of the acclaimed Nightingale & Courtney series. Her novels—rich with atmosphere, character, and emotional depth—have quickly earned a devoted following, and today we explore the world she’s so vividly created. Katie shares the inspirations behind her central figures, Hiram Nightingale and Arthur Courtney, exploring their powerful bond, the tensions of command, and the inner battles that shape them. We discuss the themes that give her books their distinct voice: trauma and recovery, the complexity of leadership, class and expectation, forbidden love, and the search for identity in an unforgiving world. Her stories shine a light on voices often overlooked in naval fiction, adding layers of humanity and nuance. We also explore the fascinating historical setting of her work—the Royal Navy of the last quarter of the eighteenth century, a period of revolution and shifting social structures. It’s an age of empire and upheaval, where duty and desire collide and where every decision at sea could mean survival or disaster. Katie brings this era to life with meticulous historical detail and a modern sensitivity that makes the past feel immediate and enthralling.

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For Glory, Not Gold: Expeditions Through Arctic Lands 1818-1876

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 06:00:00 GMT

Hubert Sagnières studies, collects, and publishes works on early explorers and has himself completed numerous explorations: In 2024, he piloted a single-engine plane on a circumnavigation of the globe, honoring the centenary of the first around-the-world flight in 1924 by the Douglas “Chicago” aircraft. He has traveled in the Indonesian archipelago, visiting remote islands and has spent time with the Dayak tribes of Borneo and the Mentawai people of Siberut Island. He has completed over 20 expeditions to the Canadian Arctic, many in very harsh winter conditions and has explored many remote Arctic regions such as the shores of Baffin Island, Ellesmere Island, and Axel Heiberg Island. In this episode we discuss Hubert's latest book 'For Glory, Not Gold: Expeditions Through Arctic Lands 1818-1876', a remarkable volume which chronicles ten major Arctic expeditions undertaken between 1818 and 1875, following the bold journeys of explorers from the United States, England, Scotland, Ireland, and France. These seafaring pioneers ventured into the ice and the unknown in pursuit of the elusive Northwest Passage. Drawing from the original journals and travel narratives of figures such as Sir Edward Parry, Sir John Ross, Sir John Franklin, Joseph René Bellot, John Rae, Sir Francis Leopold McClintock, Elisha Kent Kane, Charles Francis Hall, and Sir George Nares—along with the legendary voyage of the HMS Investigator—the book offers an intimate, firsthand look at their extraordinary quests. It features illustrations, engravings, maps, and rare documents selected from the author’s own collection of historic works. More than a record of exploration, this volume reminds us that beyond the commercial ambitions tied to northern trade routes, the Arctic and the North Pole have long stirred the human imagination—calling forth the daring nineteenth-century expeditions of explorers driven by an unquenchable urge to discover new worlds.

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The Naval Fiction Interviews: Patrick O'Brian, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin

Mon, 05 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

In this episode, we explore the magic behind the Aubrey–Maturin novels—often hailed as the greatest naval fiction series ever written—and uncover what makes Patrick O’Brian’s storytelling so enduring, vivid, and beloved.

Dr Sam Willis speaks with Dean King, O’Brian’s acclaimed biographer and one of the foremost experts on the author’s life and work.

Together, we delve into the rich themes that define the books: the complex friendship between Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin; the interplay of duty, loyalty, and personal conscience; the transformative nature of life at sea; and the fine balance O’Brian strikes between high adventure and intimate human drama. We look at how he blends naval action with music, science, medicine, espionage, natural philosophy, and the deep emotional landscapes of his characters.

Dean also guides us through the thrilling and turbulent world of the Napoleonic Wars—an era of global conflict, revolutionary change, and unprecedented naval innovation. It’s a period bursting with dramatic sea battles, political intrigue, scientific discovery, and the human costs of empire, all rendered with O’Brian’s unmatched historical precision and wit.

Packed with insights into O’Brian’s craft, influences, and the real history behind the novels, this episode is a must-listen for long-time fans and newcomers alike.

We also speak with Peter Leech, who runs the hugely popular Patrick O'Brian Appreciation Society on Facebook, one of those rare online communities that genuinely reflects the spirit of the books it celebrates. It’s warm, knowledgeable, generous, and filled with people who love to share insights, nautical lore, historical tidbits, and favourite passages with genuine enthusiasm. The group balances deep expertise with a hugely welcoming approach, making it a place for newcomers just discovering Aubrey and Maturin while offering a treasure chest of scholarship, humour, and camaraderie for long-time readers...a finer crew of enthusiasts would be hard to find.

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The Naval Fiction Interviews: David Davies and Matthew Quinton

Tue, 23 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Dr Sam Willis continues our mini series on naval fiction, interviewing authors and finding out all about their naval creations. In this episode, we welcome David Davies, author of the acclaimed Matthew Quinton Journals, for an in-depth conversation about his Restoration-era naval hero and the richly layered world he sails through, one of the most fascinating and volatile eras in maritime history.

Davies explores the major themes at the heart of Matthew Quinton’s adventures: a young gentleman thrust into command before he’s ready; the fragile, treacherous world of Restoration politics; the tension between new scientific thinking and old superstitions; and the clash of class, privilege, and professional seamanship aboard a 17th-century man-of-war. From sea monsters and omens that sailors once believed in, to the early sparks of the Enlightenment reshaping navigation and natural philosophy, the series captures a navy and a nation on the brink of modernity.

We also dive into the challenges of writing naval fiction set in this extraordinary period: reconstructing a navy still reeling from civil war, capturing the chaos of early naval tactics, balancing historical accuracy with narrative pace, and bringing to life a world where honour and loyalty is never what it seems.

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The Naval Fiction Interviews: Julian Stockwin and Thomas Kydd

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 00:00:00 GMT

Dr Sam Willis introduces a new mini-series on naval fiction, featuring interviews with authors talking about their naval creations. In this episode, he meets Julian Stockwin, a renowned author known for his Thomas Kydd novels, which span 27 books and 23 years, culminating most recently in "Admiral". The books cover a huge array of history and themes, from brotherhood, friendship and loyalty to naval duty and professionalism, adventure, exploration and the maritime world of the great Age of Sail.

Stockwin shares his early love for the sea, influenced by his uncle's sailing experiences, and his transition from a career in computer design to writing. He describes the meticulous research process, the creation of characters, and the historical context of his stories. Stockwin also reveals plans for a new series featuring Harry Wilde, set in an earlier period but with similar themes of adventure.

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A Corsair's Meal: Maritime Malta 5

Fri, 28 Nov 2025 06:00:00 GMT

For the final episode in our mini series on the rich maritime history of Malta Dr Sam Willis and Daisy Turnbull find themselves out in a boat in Valletta’s grand harbour, and this time we’re being treated to a culinary extravaganza: a meal that would have been eaten by Maltese corsairs. The Matese corsairs were a major ingredient in Maltese maritime history and cultural identity, embodying the island’s strategic role at the crossroads of the Mediterranean. Operating from Malta under the Knights of St. John, Maltese corsairs defended Christian shipping, disrupted Ottoman and North African naval power, and contributed to the island’s economy through privateering. Their exploits shaped Malta’s seafaring identity, blending military duty with maritime entrepreneurship, and left a lasting legacy in the island’s naval traditions and coastal fortifications. In this episode we experience a unique slant on this tale and are treated to a feast laid on by Taste History, a venture operated by Heritage Malta which offers food from the age of the enlightenment. Taste History offers culinary experiences that bring historical food and menus back to life using archival documents (recipe books, kitchen inventories, butcher bills) plus archaeological discoveries to inspire and inform their dishes, all made from seasonal ingredients and prepared by professional chefs dedicated to the art and science of recreating historical meals. The meal is complete with a variety of wines whose existence is proven in historical documents. Sam and Daisy discuss the history of corsairs and the food they would have eaten with Liam Gauci from Heritage Malta.

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Island Fortress - Malta in World War 2: Maritime Malta 4

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 06:00:00 GMT

Continuing our mini series on the fascinating maritime history of Malta, we jump several centuries forward to the Second World War, in which Malta, an isolated rock in the middle of the Mediterranean, suddenly found itself at the very heart of the war. To the north the Italians were flexing their naval muscles; to the south the Germans had invaded North Africa; to the east and west ran a crucial maritime artery of global trade and military movement between Gibraltar and Suez. To find out more about Malta's strategic importance during World War II Dr Sam Willis visits the National War Museum in Fort St Elmo and speaks with Keith Gatt, curator of Malta's WWII history at Heritage Malta. They discuss how Malta's central Mediterranean location made it crucial for controlling sea lanes and interfering with Axis convoys. The island faced severe air and naval attacks, with over 6,000 tons of bombs dropped in April 1942 alone. Key events include the Taranto raid in 1940, the 10th submarine flotilla's operations, and the pivotal Operation Pedestal in August 1942. The discussion also highlights the human cost, with around 1,500 civilian casualties. Sam goes on to explore numerous artefacts recovered from the war with Curtis Callus, the museum's Assistant Curator.

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Seapower and The Knights of St John: Maritime Malta 3

Mon, 24 Nov 2025 06:00:00 GMT

The Order of St John was founded in the eleventh century in Jerusalem as a religious and military order dedicated to caring for sick and poor pilgrims in the Holy Land. How they ended up over 1000 miles away on an island in the middle of the Mediterranean, embedded in one of the greatest fortifications of the medieval world, is one of history's greatest maritime stories. In this episode, Dr Sam Willis and maritime historian Liam Gauci from Heritage Malta explore that history. They visit the Grand Master's Palace in Valletta and marvel at its armoury and frescoes depicting naval battles. They tell the story of how the Knights were granted Malta by Charles V in 1530, built a significant fleet and fortifications and then survived the Great Siege of 1565 when the Knights, outnumbered 40,000 to 12,000, successfully defended their island home against the Ottomans. The episode highlights the Knights' naval prowess, their influence on Mediterranean maritime history, and their contributions to Malta's social welfare.

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Shipwrecks of Malta: Maritime Malta 2

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 06:00:00 GMT

Malta’s strategic location at the centre of the Mediterranean, combined with its long maritime history, means that its sea-beds are rich with heritage. In this episode we explore Malta's astonishing underwater cultural heritage, managed by Heritage Malta.

Visiting the headquarters of Malta's Underwater Cultural Heritage Unit, Dr Sam Willis speaks with Maja Sausmeka, the Senior Principal Officer for Maritime Archaeology at Heritage Malta. They discuss in depth Gozo's Phoenician shipwreck, the oldest known in the Central Mediterranean, located at 110 meters off Gozo's coast. The wreck, dating back to the 7th century BC, contains amphorae, urns, and grinding stones. They discuss recent projects, including shallow water excavations in Salina Bay and deep water excavations of a range of sites, including a wealth of sunken ships and planes from the Second World War. The team uses 3D photogrammetry for documentation and aims to create a sonar map of Malta's entire seabed to protect and manage underwater heritage effectively. They discuss in detail the richness of Malta's underwater heritage and the ongoing challenges of protecting it.

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Valletta's Grand Harbour and the Rolex Middle Sea Race: Maritime Malta 1

Wed, 19 Nov 2025 06:00:00 GMT

This is the first episode in a new mini series on the rich and fascinating maritime history of Malta. The episode is recorded on a yacht in the centre of Valletta's historic Grand Harbour, at the opening of the Rolex Middle Sea Race, one of the world's most famous yacht races. Dr Sam Willis uncovers the history of the race and its magnificent historic surroundings with Liam Gauci from Heritage Malta, which safeguards Malta's many museums, historic sites and landmarks. They discuss the economic and strategic importance of the Grand Harbour, the fortified cities of Valletta and Birgu, and the mighty Fort St Elmo and Fort St Angelo. They explore the role of the Knights of St. John in shaping Malta's history. As the race gets underway with cannon fire from the historic battlements and the magnificent yachts sail past, they discuss the Rolex Middle Sea Race, which began in the 1960s in a fierce rivalry between British and Maltese sailors. It was designed as a major test of seamanship, the race starting and finishing in Valletta after a circumnavigation of Sicily, and all in the unstable weather of the Mediterranean Autumn.

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The Frozen Frontier: The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, 1902-04

Tue, 04 Nov 2025 06:00:00 GMT

Dr Sam Willis and archivist Zach Schieferstein discuss the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition of 1902-1904 led by William Spears Bruce. The expedition's vessel, the Scotia, was extensively rebuilt for polar exploration, featuring two laboratories and advanced scientific equipment. The Scotia established Omond House, the first permanent weather station in the South Orkney Islands, and collected foundational data on Antarctic seas. Despite challenges, the expedition made significant scientific contributions, including the first oceanographic exploration of the Weddell Sea. The Scotia later served as a weather ship and freighter before sinking in 1916. Sam and Zach met at the archives of Lloyd's Register to explore this fascinating history through a variety of important original documents.

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HMS Victory's Conservation

Wed, 22 Oct 2025 06:00:00 GMT

In this episode, Dr Sam Willis discusses the conservation of HMS Victory. As the flagship of Admiral Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar, Victory holds immense historical and cultural significance, but preserving her is proving to be a monumental challenge.

Simon Williams, who leads the ship’s conservation project 'HMS Victory: The Big Repair', shares the unexpected realities of working on the 260-year-old wooden vessel, including the discovery of extensive degradation. What began as a plan to replace six futtocks has grown into a massive effort to conserve 150 futtocks on the starboard side alone. With limited documentation from previous restorations, Simon explains how the team navigates risk management and decision-making in uncharted territory. Simon also discusses the delicate balance between public access and preservation, revealing how the team has had to repair structural elements while ensuring visitor safety and offering the public a rare opportunity to witness conservation in action. He reflects on the privilege of working on HMS Victory, and his fascination with the hidden stories embedded in the ship’s construction and maintenance. To ensure future generations can continue this work, the team is creating a detailed historical record of the conservation process - laying the foundation for informed maintenance and repair for years to come.

Carolina Sophie Henham also offers a fascinating glimpse into the daily realities of conservation work, from managing water ingress to battling persistent pests like the 'Death Watch' beetle, which is notoriously resistant to traditional treatments and particularly fond of oak, HMS Victory’s primary timber. Carolina explains the difficulty of treating infestations without compromising the ship’s structure, and shares insights into the team’s ongoing research into sustainable pest control methods. She also discusses the innovative approaches being explored to protect this historic vessel.

Tony Noon offers a behind-the-scenes tour of the conservation workshop at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth, revealing bays dedicated to tasks like laminating futtocks and carving ornate timbers. The space also houses materials and artefacts from other historic ships, showcasing the broader scope of maritime preservation. This episode offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at one of the most ambitious maritime conservation projects in recent years.

This episode is supported by the Society for Nautical Research, the Save The Victory Fund (STVF) and the Lloyd's Register Foundation.

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Where Nelson Died

Tue, 21 Oct 2025 06:00:00 GMT

In this commemorative episode of Mariner’s Mirror Podcast, host Dr Sam Willis marks the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar by exploring the exact location and circumstances of Admiral Lord Nelson’s death aboard HMS Victory on the 21st of October 1805. Joined by Andrew Baines, Executive Director of Museum Operations at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth, and Dr Dan O’Brien, historian of undertakers and funerals in Eighteenth Century England, the discussion unfolds on the very decks where history was made - the quarter deck where Nelson was shot, and the orlop deck where he died.

This episode offers a poignant reflection on the emotional weight that the decks of the Victory still retain. Baines observes how visitors respond to these spaces onboard the ship, noting the evolving significance and the solemn atmosphere on the flagship. The plaque on the quarter deck is polished every morning by the Royal Navy crew to commemorate Nelson's death. Once a functional part of the ship, the purpose of the orlop was forever transformed by the events of Trafalgar. O’Brien explores how this quiet, confined area has become a site of reverence - not only for Nelson’s final moments but also for the countless anonymous sailors who perished. These spaces onboard HMS Victory now stand as a powerful reminder of sacrifice, legacy, and the human cost of naval warfare.

Listeners are immersed in the chaos of battle on October 21, 1805, with vivid accounts of Nelson’s final moments, the ship’s damage, and the emotional impact on the crew. The episode also reflects on the significance of HMS Victory as a national memorial, contrasting it with Trafalgar Square and other public monuments. This is more than a retelling - it’s a journey into the heart of naval heritage, recorded on the ship that still carries Nelson’s legacy.

This episode is supported by the Society for Nautical Research, the Save The Victory Fund (STVF) and the Lloyd's Register Foundation.

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Lifeboats and Lessons: Memories of Safety at Sea

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 05:00:00 GMT

Studying the history of safety at sea reveals how hard-earned lessons from past tragedies have shaped the protections we rely on today. For centuries, seafaring was one of the most dangerous human activities. Shipwrecks, storms, fires, and collisions claimed countless lives, often because of poor ship design, inadequate training, or the absence of regulations. By understanding this history, we see how each disaster spurred reforms—from better lifeboats and signalling systems to international safety standards. Time and again, loss of life at sea prompted innovations in navigation, weather forecasting, and shipbuilding. Its a history that highlights the human dimension of maritime safety, reminding us of the bravery of sailors, the grief of families, and the persistence of campaigners who demanded change. An important aspect of this are the living memories of those who served at sea. In this episode Dr Sam Willis speaks to two sailors who served on merchant ships all over the world, to hear their remarkable stories.

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No More Napoleons: Britain and the Balance of Power

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 05:00:00 GMT

Dr Sam Willis meets Andrew Lambert to discuss his fantastic new book No More Napoleons. Lambert has reshaped how we think about Britain’s role in international politics from the 19th century onward and focuses on Britain’s determination to prevent the rise of any single, dominant continental power after the defeat of Napoleon. This strategic goal—maintaining a balance of power in Europe—guided British diplomacy, war-making, and alliances for more than a century. We hear about high politics, military strategy, and global history and discover how British leaders worked tirelessly to prevent new “Napoleons” from overturning the balance, whether in the form of Kaiser Wilhelm II’s Germany or later threats to European stability. The episode will leave you in no doubt that Britain was more than an imperial power, but a guardian of stability whose actions shaped Europe’s destiny as British politicians and military leaders pursued an enduring quest for peace through balance.

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In Search of the Clan Line Sailors

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This is the second episode in a mini series on the history of the Clan Line, one of Britain’s most distinctive and influential shipping companies. In this episode Dr Sam Willis travels the length and breadth of the UK to speak with sailors who served on Clan Line ships, to hear and preserve their memories of this most crucial time in global maritime history.

Founded in Glasgow in 1877 by Charles Cayzer, the line quickly grew into a vast fleet that connected Scotland with Africa, India, and beyond. What made it particularly interesting was its combination of commercial power and cultural identity: every ship bore a “Clan” name, giving the company a strong Scottish character that set it apart in the crowded world of British shipping.

The Clan Line was important because it played a crucial role in Britain’s imperial trade. Its ships carried goods such as jute, tea, and cotton, linking colonial economies to British markets. During both World Wars, the company’s vessels were vital to the Allied cause, transporting troops, supplies, and munitions—often at great risk from enemy submarines. Many were lost, but the service of its crews contributed directly to victory.

Beyond trade and war, the line symbolised the globalisation of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It represented Scotland’s industrial and maritime strength, while also reflecting the dangers and opportunities of long-distance shipping. Today, the Clan Line stands as a reminder of how shipping shaped commerce, conflict, and community.

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Ocean Empire: The Clan Line Legacy

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 05:00:00 GMT

The Clan Line was one of Britain’s most distinctive and influential shipping companies, leaving a lasting mark on maritime and economic history. Founded in Glasgow in 1877 by Charles Cayzer, the line quickly grew into a vast fleet that connected Scotland with Africa, India, and beyond. Famed for its combination of commercial power and cultural identity, every ship bore a “Clan” name, giving the company a strong Scottish character that set it apart in the crowded world of British shipping.

The Clan Line played a crucial role in Britain’s growing imperial trade. Its ships carried goods such as jute, tea, and cotton, linking colonial economies to British markets. During both World Wars, the company’s vessels were vital to the Allied cause, transporting troops, supplies, and munitions—often at great risk from enemy submarines. Many were lost, but the service of its crews contributed directly to victory.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Jamie Cayzer-Colvin, direct descendent of Charles Cayzer who founded the company, and Susan Scott, the Cayzer family’s archivist who dug out some fabulous items to bring this great story to life.

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Nazi Midget Submarine: Seehund

Tue, 26 Aug 2025 05:00:00 GMT

Today we travel to the final months of the Second World War when the Germans began to develop midget submarines. The allies had crossed the channel and invaded Normandy in June 1944 and were slowly battling their away through France towards Germany. The Russians meanwhile were making huge advances in the east. German UBoats continued to fight in the Atlantic but by this period their potency had been blunted by new tactics and technology which had turned them from the feared hunters of the early years of the war to prey. It was at this moment that designs for midget submarines were finalised and construction begun, in a last and desperate throw of the dice in the under-sea naval war. To find out more Dr Sam Willis travelled to the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven to explore the Seehund, one of only a handful of these craft to still survive. Sam spoke with Nils Theinert, an expert on German submarines.

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Seapower Past & Present 7: South China

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 06:00:00 GMT

This episode forms part of a new strand of our podcast: Seapower Past and Present which explores seapower as it is understood and practised in the modern world whilst offering a historical perspective on the themes we explore. Each episode is chosen according to a theme or a location – a hotspot in the modern world where seapower has a major influence on geopolitics. So if you enjoy this episode do please seek out others in this strand – you will shortly be able to find episodes on economic warfare, critical national infrastructure, how technology is changing the nature of warfare at sea; and on hugely significant locations in the modern maritime world – the Black Sea, South China Sea, Middle East and Arctic.

To make this series come alive we’ve teamed up with the Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre. In each episode you will hear from at least one historian and from at least one practitioner, a member of the armed forces who has direct first hand, personal experience of the topic being discussed.

In this episode, Dr Sam Willis speaks to three guests at the Royal Naval Base in Portsmouth to help us understand seapower in the South China Sea. This region is rich in maritime history and diverse in its modern strategic concerns. To discuss this further, the podcast is joined by Dr Jennifer Sabourah-Till from Permanent Joint Headquarters, who commands joint and multinational military operations on behalf of the Ministry of Defence. Dr Matthew Heaslip, Senior Lecturer in Naval History at the University of Portsmouth, also joins to discuss the Royal Navy in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He provides expert knowledge on the use of gunboat diplomacy, amphibious operations and imperial policing in the South China Sea. Also joining Sam in this episode is Joe Reilly, a junior Warfare Officer in the Royal Navy who has previously spent time in the Asia-Pacific theatre on board the patrol vessel HMS Spey. Joe is also a Richmond Fellow with the Royal Navy Strategic Studies Centre.

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Who Should We Rescue? The Morals of Maritime Emergency

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This episode explores a subject of great contemporary interest and significance: the morals of behaviour at sea. What are the origins of the idea of a captain going down with his ship? When did it become expected to save anyone from shipwreck - regardless of their nationality, religion or status? Are we living in a world where the expected moral norms of seafaring are now changing? To find out more Dr Sam Willis travelled to the Center for Literary and Cultural Research in Berlin to meet three historians who have been working on this project for several years and have published a hugely interesting and important book: Moral Seascapes: On the Ethics and Aesthetics of Maritime Emergency. They explore some of the great maritime artists including Turner and Gericault; epoch-defining lifesaving technology; contemporary images of migration disaster and raise questions about the nature of the sea and seafaring that are as relevant today as they were centuries ago.

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Mapping the Atlantic: The Meteor Expedition, 1925

Tue, 05 Aug 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This episode explores the fascinating story of the German Atlantic expedition of 1925, in which the survey ship Meteor spent two years mapping the seafloor of the Atlantic as well as making other scientific discoveries which fundamentally changed the way that we think about the world. It’s a hugely important moment in oceanography and science as well as in the history of Europe - when Germany was trying desperately to recover from the economic disaster it faced in the aftermath of the First World War. German scientists crossed the Atlantic no fewer than fourteen times using the very latest echo-sounding technology to demonstrate that there was a ridge running top to bottom right down the centre of the Atlantic - which confirmed suspicions about how our world was formed via plate tectonics. The episode comes from the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven where a new exhibition on the Meteor expedition has just been launched. The exhibition cleverly places the scientific discoveries in a broad and dynamic context of political and economic strife, looking at the people involved in great detail as well as the scientific breakthroughs that they made. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Isabella Hodgson, curator of the new exhibition.

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Tales from the Cinque Ports: New Romney

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This episode continues our series on the Cinque Ports, an ancient confederation of towns in southeast England that provided ships and men to the crown in return for special powers and privileges. They have since become rightly dubbed as the cradle of the Royal Navy. This episode brings us to New Romney, one of the original five head ports. New Romney retains its deep maritime heritage and significance despite having lost its proximity to the sea when the Great Storm of 1287 dramatically altered the landscape and rerouted the River Rother.

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Seapower Past & Present 6: Black Sea

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 05:00:00 GMT

To make this series come alive we’ve teamed up with the Royal Navy Strategic Studies centre. In each episode you will hear from at least one historian and from at least one practitioner, a member of the armed forces who has direct first hand, personal experience of the topic being discussed.

This episode explores how seapower has been exercised in the Black Sea.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Basil Germond, Professor of International Security in the Department of Politics, Philosophy and Religion and Co-Director of the University research institute Security Lancaster. Commander Caroline Tucket provides a fascinating legal perspective on seapower in the Black Sea, in particular looking at the imposition of sanctions and the legal status of the wreck of the Russian warship Moskva, sunk in 2022. A serving naval officer, Caroline is also a member of Navy Legal. To provide an historical perspective Professor Andrew Lambert explores the history of naval operations in the Black Sea during the Crimean War (1835-6). Andrew Lambert is Laughton Professor of Naval History in the Department of War Studies at King's College, London.

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Sir John Ross's Arctic Exploration Ships

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This episode explores the career of the nineteenth-century Scottish naval officer and explorer Sir John Ross and focuses in particular on the vessels he took to on his voyages to the Arctic. These were the Isabella, a Hull-built merchantman of 385 tons; Victory, a side-wheel steamer with paddles that could be lifted away from the ice and was fitted with an experimental high-pressure boiler; and Felix, a schooner built in Ayr in 1849. Ross rose to fame for his achievements on these vessels - searching for the Northwest Passage, locating the Magnetic North Pole, and searching for the lost Franklin expedition. To find out more Dr Sam Willis visited the archives of Lloyd's Register and spoke with Max Wilson, senior archivist at the Lloyd's Register Foundation's Heritage and Education Centre.

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Seapower Past & Present 5: Technology

Tue, 01 Jul 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This episode explores the relationship between technology and sea power. In an age in which we read in the news about unmanned drones attacking warships at sea and the threat of hypersonic missiles it is particular important that we get to grips with the changes that are happening in our modern world and the historical pathway that has got us to this point.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Lieutenant Commander Kit Perry, a serving officer in the Royal Navy who is also studying for a PhD at King’s College in London. Kit’s expertise lies in how new weapon systems, which are underpinned by different types of technological advancements, will change naval warfare. We also hear from

Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History in the Department of War Studies at King's College and recent recipient of the Hattendorf Prize for Distinguished Original Research in Maritime History. As an example of technology dramatically altering naval warfare Andrew explores the development of precision fire on board HMS Excellent in 1850.

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Seapower Past & Present 4: Middle East

Tue, 24 Jun 2025 05:00:00 GMT

For this episode our host Dr Sam Willis is joined by Dr Ziya Meral Senior Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute and lecturer at the International oriental studies. He is an expert on global trends shaping defence and security, climate change and security, Turkey and Middle Eastern countries, and intersection of religion with global affairs. The second guest in this episode is Commander Edward Black of the Royal Navy. He is the First Sea Lord’s Visiting Fellow at Royal United Services. As a Mine Clearance Diving Officer Commander Black has served extensively abroad including Operational Tours in Afghanistan and Bahrain; Loan Service with the Royal Navy of Oman; as Defence Attaché in Mali and Deputy Defence Advisor in Kenya.

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The Last Seagoing Paddle Steamer: PS Waverley

Tue, 10 Jun 2025 05:00:00 GMT

The paddle steamer Waverley is one of the real treasures of the maritime world. The last surviving seagoing and passenger-carrying paddle steamer, she continues to this day to take day trippers on joyrides around our coast, her paddles churning up the sea as she goes. Built on the Clyde in 1946 she spent almost thirty years taking passengers up to Loch Long before being bought by the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society, a maritime heritage group with its own proud and important history. To find out more about the ship, her preservation and her summer cruises, Dr Sam Willis travelled up to Glasgow to sail from her contemporary berth in the city centre, yards from where she was built, to the west coast resort of Largs.

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Tales from the Cinque Ports: Tenterden

Wed, 04 Jun 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This episode continues our series on the Cinque Ports, an ancient confederation of towns in southeast England that provided ships and men to the crown in return for special powers and privileges. They have since become rightly dubbed as the cradle of the Royal Navy. This episode brings us to the lovely town of Tenterden, which joined the Cinque Ports confederation in 1449 supplying ships and men against French raiders. Nearby was the important port of Small Hythe, once a bustling and thriving shipbuilding centre before environmental change dramatically altered the landscape. Recent archaeological investigation has hinted at the scale of maritime industry that was once here, and a visit to Tenterden shows just how wealthy and significant this town once was.

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Seapower Past & Present 3: The Arctic

Tue, 27 May 2025 04:56:48 GMT

This episode forms part of a new strand of our podcast: Seapower Past and Present which explores seapower as it is understood and practised in the modern world whilst offering a historical perspective on the themes we explore. Each episode is chosen according to a theme or a location – a hotspot in the modern world where seapower has a major influence on geopolitics. So if you enjoy this episode do please seek out others in this strand – you will shortly be able to find episodes on economic warfare, critical national infrastructure, how technology is changing the nature of warfare at sea; and on hugely significant locations in the modern maritime world - the Black Sea, South China Sea, Middle East and Arctic.

This episode explores seapower in the Arctic, and how today’s unique balance of power and strategic concerns was born from its rich and fascinating history.

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Seapower Past & Present 2: Critical National Infrastructure

Tue, 20 May 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This episode forms part of a new strand of our podcast: Seapower Past and Present which explores seapower as it is understood and practised in the modern world whilst offering a historical perspective on the themes we explore. Each episode is chosen according to a theme or a location – a hotspot in the modern world where seapower has a major influence on geopolitics. So if you enjoy this episode do please seek out others in this strand – you will shortly be able to find episodes on economic warfare, critical national infrastructure, how technology is changing the nature of warfare at sea; and on hugely significant locations in the modern maritime world - the Black Sea, South China Sea, Middle East and Arctic.

This episode explores how and why maritime infrastructure is critical to our lives as we live them today. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Tim Edmunds, Professor of International Security at the university of Bristol and an advisor for the UK's National Strategy for Maritime Security, and Erin Bisset, infrastructure Superintendent at the Royal Naval Base in Portsmouth.

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Seapower Past & Present 1: Economic Warfare

Tue, 13 May 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This episode forms part of a new strand of our podcast: Seapower Past and Present which explores seapower as it is understood and practised in the modern world whilst offering a historical perspective on the themes we explore. Each episode is chosen according to a theme or a location – a hotspot in the modern world where seapower has a major influence on geopolitics. So if you enjoy this episode do please seek out others in this strand – you will shortly be able to find episodes on economic warfare, critical national infrastructure, how technology is changing the nature of warfare at sea; and on hugely significant locations in the modern maritime world - the Black Sea, South China Sea, Middle East and Arctic.

This episode explores economic warfare and how it relates to seapower. In a world in which we hear so much of sanctions being imposed on one country by another this is something that we all need to know about – not only to understand our modern world but also to understand how this particular aspect of it has been so clearly shaped by the past.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with three experts, each with their own unique knowledge and experience. Dr Anna Brinkman is Associate Professor in the history of strategy and international law at the University of Lincoln and director of the maritime studies centre located at Britannia Royal Naval College, and Commander Andrew Livsay spent 25 years as a Royal Naval warfare officer and is now working for the Ministry of Defence while completing a PhD at King’s College London.

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Tales From the Cinque Ports: Faversham

Tue, 06 May 2025 05:00:00 GMT

This episode continues our series on the Cinque Ports, an ancient confederation of maritime towns in southeast England that from the early Middle Ages provided ships and men to the crown in return for special powers and privileges. They have since become rightly dubbed as the cradle of the Royal Navy. Our first episode explored the Cinque Ports’ rich history and now we’re on the road, visiting these magnificent sites of maritime history to bring you their individual stories. It’s a world of castles, churches, creeks, cobbled lanes, docks and harbours.

This episode takes us to Faversham, nestled up the swale estuary in east Kent. Faversham was associated with the Cinque Ports from that group’s earliest days – we know that the town’s Barons were granted all the liberties of the ports as early as 1302. Today it is a fabulous place to enjoy maritime heritage: you can see the preservation of maritime skills and trades in creek-side sites and celebrate the restoration of historic ships & boats. All around are constant reminders that Faversham was a proud independent town and yet intimately linked with the Crown. To find out more Dr Sam Willis met up with past mayor, Trevor Martin, and Councillor Josh Rowlands, both brimming with stories of their town.

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The Bremen Cog: Maritime Germany 2

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 05:00:00 GMT

The Bremen Cog is a historical gem; the best-preserved medieval trading ship in the world. We know from her beautifully-preserved timbers that her construction dates from 1380, and her discovery dramatically unlocked a fascinating world not only of shipbuilding and seamanship but also of trade. This was a period in which trade routes and shipping were readying themselves for a great awakening that would lead to the making of the modern world.

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The Cinque Ports

Tue, 08 Apr 2025 11:27:21 GMT

This episode is the first of a series on the history of the Cinque Ports in which we bring you a mixture of fascinating history alongside a glimpse into contemporary life in these vibrant and ancient maritime towns.

In the eleventh century during the reign of Edward the Confessor, five ports in the south-east of England joined together into a confederation for mutual protection and trade privileges. Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich were the original five ports; they were subsequently joined by Lydd, Faversham, Folkestone, Deal, Tenterden, Margate and Ramsgate which became known as ‘Limbs’ of the Cinque Ports; and then Rye and Winchelsea, designated as ‘Ancient Towns’.

Not only did they help each other but they also helped the Crown: in return for providing men for the King’s ships they received significant municipal benefits. The nominal head of the Cinque Ports was given the title of ‘Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports’ and became one of the most influential people in the Kingdom. Over time the position has retained is significance and honour and has often been held by members of the Royal Family and Prime Ministers.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis explores the deep history of the Cinque Ports with archaeologist and historian Dr Andrew Richardson and also speaks with Sue Jones, former Mayor of Dover and twice Speaker of the Cinque Ports. We also bring you along for a very special day at the Royal Military School in Dover to witness the installation of the new Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Admiral Sir George Zambellas.

In subsequent episodes we will explore some of the individual towns to get a sense of their intriguing past and dynamic present.

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The Ocean and Us: Maritime Germany 1

Tue, 01 Apr 2025 07:39:06 GMT

A mini-series on the maritime history of Germany launches with a visit to the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven, which has recently launched a stand-out new permanent exhibition 'Ship Realms - The Ocean and Us.' Through the clever presentation of artefacts amongst immersive displays, the exhibition powerfully makes the point that, the more we know about the connection between ships, shipping and the oceans, the better we can assess how they will influence the future.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis took a tour of the new exhibition with the museum's Managing Director, Professor Ruth Schilling. We hear about the size and changing nature of the global fleet; how the shipbuilding industry and those who work in it has had a profound influence on shaping society; we hear about the importance of scientific research vessels and the competition for resources in the sea; there are sections on shipbuilding and propulsion, maritime networks and health.

The new exhibition will set a benchmark for maritime history and heritage for years to come and places the German Maritime Museum as one of the world's leading hubs of maritime heritage.

'Ships awaken longing and generate knowledge. They harness the forces of nature and change the world. There is no ship without teamwork: this applies to shipbuilding as well as to the crew on board. Ships demonstrate inventiveness and the joy of discovery. But they are also a means of and witness to the merciless exploitation of the earth - with irreversible consequences.'

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The Ship That Changed Shipbuilding: ss Fullagar

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 06:00:00 GMT

In 1920, in the Cammell, Laird & Co. shipyard in Birkenhead, a ship was built that would change the shipbuilding industry and shipyards forever. ss Fullagar was the world's first fully welded ocean-going ship. For generations, ships' iron and steel hulls had been held together with rivets, put in place by specialist teams of riveters. In 1920 electric arc-welding was not a new technology but hitherto had only been used for repair, rather than construction. Fullagar changed that forever, though the technology was adopted slowly. No longer would vast teams of highly skilled and well-paid riveters populate the dockyards. This was a moment when technology took away the livelihood of thousands and changed forever the techniques of shipbuilding and the culture of the shipyards. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Max Wilson, Senior Archivist of Lloyd’s Register Foundation, the maritime classification society that surveyed and classed Fullager, overseeing this novel design and pivotal moment in maritime history.

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I Sank the Lusitania: The War Diary of Kapitänleutnant Walther Schwieger, May 1915, Commander, U-20, 1915

Tue, 04 Mar 2025 06:00:00 GMT

This episode continues our work bringing you some of the finest original historical material, written by the people who were actually there.

Today we bring you the war diary of the U-boat commander Kapitänleutnant Walther Schwieger, commander of U-20, from May 1915, when he sank the transatlantic liner Lusitania, full of civilian passengers. 1193 people died.

On Friday 7th May 1915, Kapitänleutnant Schwieger found himself in the middle of a conundrum. Heading towards him was a large, four funnel ship. He knew that the British often commissioned four funnel warships as auxiliary cruisers. In his mind, his duty was clear, without warning, he loosed a torpedo, which hit the ship. After the first hit there was a subsequent large explosion, which resulted in the ship listing seriously, and eventually going under.

Schwieger seems to have been appalled by the result of his attack and recorded "It looks as if the ship will stay afloat only for a very short time. [I gave order to] dive to 25 metres (82 ft) and leave the area seawards. I couldn't have fired another torpedo into this mass of humans desperately trying to save themselves." It appears that only then did he appreciate that he had torpedoed the Lusitania, which, in his favour, was known to be a potential Armed Merchant Cruiser.

Schwieger was born in 1885 and in 1903 joined the Imperial German Navy aged 18. He chose the submarine service early and by 1912, he was appointed to command U-14 and was appointed to U-20 shortly after the outbreak of war. Allegedly, he had the reputation of shooting first and asking questions after. He was killed in U-88 on the 5th of September 1917, which probably hit a mine. During his wartime career, Schwieger captained three different submarines, on a total of 34 missions. He sank 49 ships, measuring 183,883 gross register tons (GRT).

The fallout from the torpedoing of the Lusitania was very serious. The US President Woodrow Wilson (determined to keep out of the European War) was seriously displeased at the death of American lives and as a result of his representations, Kaiser Wilhelm gave immediate instructions to cease the unrestricted submarine warfare campaign. The resumption in 1917 after the Battle of Jutland directly caused the American declaration of War in 1917.

Over the years, there have been many takes on the sinking of the Lusitania from conspiracy theories about Winston Churchill to hidden arms shipments. As always, the presentation of contemporary documents help us to understand the elements of history.

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How to Catch a Murderer At Sea: Dr Crippen and the SS Montrose

Thu, 20 Feb 2025 06:55:55 GMT

This episode links together one of the most important inventions in all of maritime technology with one of the most notorious murders in history. In 1910 Dr Hawly Crippen killed his wife Cora in their London home and buried her dismembered body under the floor of his basement. As the net closed in, Crippen ran and he sought his escape by sea, aboard the ss Montrose, a fairly run of the mill steamship, but crucially one that was equipped with the Italian engineer Guglielmo Marconi’s new and world-changing invention, wireless telegraphy. To put the necessary ingredients of this fabulous story in order, Dr Sam Willis travelled to the archives of the Lloyd’s Register Foundation to meet their head archivist, Max Wilson.

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Great Sea Fights: The Battle of the Nile, 1798

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 09:41:32 GMT

The Battle of the Nile of 1798 was one of the most important naval battles that has ever been fought. This episode presents an introduction explaining the context of the battle and is followed by a reading of an account written by Captain Samuel Hood of HMS Zealous. The battle was fought at a key moment of French expansion. The French army, led by Napoleon, had been landed in Egypt by a huge French flotilla, protected by a powerful naval force. A British squadron, led by Horatio Nelson, caught them at Aboukir Bay and inflicted a devastating defeat. The result was that Napoleon's army was stranded and Nelson's fame burned more brightly than ever.

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Predator of the Seas: The Slaveship That Fought for Emancipation

Fri, 17 Jan 2025 07:00:00 GMT

This is the extraordinary history of a single ship - a Baltimore clipper.

Once she was the Henriqueta, a slave ship; but subsequently she became the Black Joke, a hunter of slave ships.

In her former life she trafficked over 3000 captives across the Atlantic; in her new life she became the scourge of Spanish and Brazilian slavers.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with the maritime historian Stephen Taylor who has captured and explored this story in his latest excellent book ‘Predator of the Seas’

In the research to illuminate this ship’s curious double life Stephen has explored the lives and experiences of both slavers and abolitionists, captives and crew. We hear about the business of slavery in Africa and Brazil run by the Portuguese; the Royal Navy’s preventative squadron that purchased the ship in 1827 and turned her against her former masters; and about the British seamen and Liberian Kru.

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Kidnapped at Sea: The Tragic Story of David Henry White in the American Civil War

Thu, 09 Jan 2025 08:59:25 GMT

This episode presents an astonishing and tragic story from the American Civil War with great relevance to the present day.

It’s the story of a black teenager called David Henry White who comes from Delaware and has done all in his power to create a life for himself – he has signed onto a merchant ship for work with the prospects of pay and promotion. Life has different plans for him however. When war breaks out he finds himself crossing paths with the USS Alabama, a confederate commerce raider of immense power blazing a path of success. White’s ship is taken and he also is taken and forced to work on the confederate warship, captained by Raphael Semmes.

White works on board until his fate is sealed in battle and the Alabama sunk. Semmes survives but White does not. He drowns. After the war Semmes writes his memoirs which paint the world in which White lived and died a very different way to how it appeared in reality.

It's a story of the life and tragic death of a disempowered black boy, of an entitled racist naval officer, and of the profound and lasting power of written propaganda. After listening to this podcast you will burn with the light of the true historian, and never believe anything you read again without checking who wrote it, and more importantly WHY.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Andrew Sillen, author of the new book that unpicks this remarkable tale in the finest detail: Kidnapped at Sea.

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Secrets of the Great Ocean Liners

Thu, 02 Jan 2025 09:17:15 GMT

This episode explores one of the world’s greatest historical collections relating to the golden age of ocean liner travel. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with John Sayers, a man who has dedicated his life to creating the most wonderful collection. In the early 1950s John’s parents took him across the Atlantic on the Cunard Line’s RMS Franconia eastbound to the UK, and RMS Queen Elizabeth back westbound to America. Shortly after that he came across five souvenir ocean liner lapel pins at a Sunday morning antiques fair and from that moment on his career as a collector began. What started with lapel pins and then souvenir spoons and napkin rings soon moved onto ephemera - printed bits and pieces relating to everyday life on board ship - a crucial source of historic material that helps us reconstruct the lived experience of those aboard, both passengers and crew. That collection, which includes posters, tickets, brochures, sailing schedules, letters written on board, passenger lists, menus, advertising material (the list really is endless) – is now held in the John Johnson collection at the Bodleian Library in Oxford and to illustrate it John has written a fabulous new book: Secrets of the Great Ocean Liners.

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Indian Figureheads From the Royal Navy's Bombay Dockyard

Mon, 16 Dec 2024 05:00:24 GMT

Bombay, now Mumbai, was a major shipbuilding centre for the Royal Navy in the first half of the nineteenth century. The ships were magnificent, built from the famous Malabar teak and by the hands of a highly skilled Indian workforce. This episode explores that fascinating history through one particular aspect of a sailing warship’s construction: the figurehead. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Clare Hunt, a Senior Curator for the National Museum of the Royal Navy based at their site in Hartlepool. Clare has been charged with the care and management of HMS Trincomalee since 2016, a frigate built just after the end of the Napoleonic wars in Bombay dockyard.

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European Ship Surveyors in China, 1869-1918

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 05:30:20 GMT

In this episode we explore the fascinating history of Europeans working in the complex maritime world of China in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In particular we find out about ship surveyors working for the classification society Lloyd’s Register, and how those employees influenced the global perception of maritime safety and risk management. This group has never previously been studied so everything you hear in this episode is 'new' history that helps us understand not only the functioning of ship surveyors in China at that time but more broadly the encounter and connections between Imperial Britain and China, a meeting that was rapidly intensifying, socially, culturally and economically. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Corey Watson, from the Centre for Port Cities and Maritime Cultures at the University of Portsmouth.

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The Last Shantyman: The Remarkable Maritime Life of Stan Hugill

Mon, 18 Nov 2024 10:02:11 GMT

Stan Hugill was known in his lifetime as the ‘Last Working Shantyman’ and became a guardian of the tradition of maritime music. Stan had a colourful and eventful life. He spent 23 years at sea including a stint as the official shantyman on board the steel four-masted barque Garthpool, the last British commercial sailing ship. In the Second World War he worked as the helmsman on the ss Automedon which was sunk by a German auxiliary cruiser and led to Stan being held as a prisoner of war for four years. In later life he taught sailing skills in Wales and aboard the sail-training vessel Pamir. In these years Stan began to write down the shanties he had learned, authoring several books, recording several albums and regularly performing in public. He became something of a star in the British folk scene anchoring a BBC show Dance and Skylark in the 1960s ‘featuring The Spinners with Bosun Stan Hugill who welcomes friends and visitors aboard his old Sailing Barque.’ To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Mollie Carlyle, a historian of maritime music with an encyclopaedic knowledge of her own and an expert on Stan’s life.

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Merchants, Trawlers and Whalers: The Maritime History of Hull

Mon, 04 Nov 2024 09:08:08 GMT

In this episode we hear all about the rich and long maritime history of the English port of Hull. Dr Sam Willis spoke with Sam Wright, a tour guide of historic Hull as well as a researcher working on a PhD relating to the historical activities of the marine classification society Lloyd's Register in Hull. The port has more than 800 years of maritime history to explore with a fantastic amount of surviving artefacts, building and infrastructure from the nationally significant historic ship Arctic Corsair to the North End Shipyard and Spurn Lightship and the magnificent merchant’s home Blaydes House. Sam has been charting the relationship between Lloyd's Register and Hull, looking in particular at their interactions with the Wilson Line, one of Hull’s major maritime firms and its work on distant-water trawlers, one of Hull’s key maritime industries.

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The Royal Navy in the Cold War

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 14:49:32 GMT

During the Cold War years the Royal Navy faced some of its greatest challenges, both at sea confronting the increasingly capable and impressive Soviet Navy, and on shore when it faced policy crises that threatened the survival of much of the fleet. During this period the Navy had rarely been so focused on a single theatre of war - the Eastern Atlantic - but also rarely so politically vulnerable. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoked with Ed Hampshire, author of the fabulous new book – The Royal Navy in the Cold War Years, 1966-1990: Retreat and Revival. They discuss operations and confrontations at sea with Soviet ships and submarines; the Navy's role in the enormous NATO and Warsaw Pact naval exercises that acted out potential war scenarios; the development of advanced naval technologies to counter Soviet capabilities; policy-making controversies as the three British armed services fought for resources, including the controversial 1981 Nott Defense Review; and what life was like in the Cold War navy for ratings and officers.

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The Amazing History of Icebreakers

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 09:39:27 GMT

The ability to navigate in icy seas is one of the most important themes in the historical and contemporary story of human interaction with the sea. Over centuries of development ships are now able to operate safely in and amongst giant ice-islands or semi-submerged floes as deadly as any reef. Specialist vessels have been designed with strengthened hulls, unique bow designs and innovative propellers and rudders.

To find our more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Zach Schieferstein from Lloyd's Register Foundation's Heritage and Education Centre. Lloyd's Register has been classifying ships by originating and regulating rules regarding their design and construction since 1768. They have classed all types of vessels, from the largest bulk carriers to yachts and more specialist vessels such as high-speed ferries and - of course - icebreakers. Their vast archive is a goldmine for studying this type of craft. Sam and Zach discuss the historical development of icebreaker design and propulsion, the significance of the arctic and antarctic in geopolitics and the crucial role of Lloyd's Register in the evolution of icebreaker design and construction.

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Nelson's Pathfinders: A Forgotten Story in the Triumph of British Sea Power

Mon, 30 Sep 2024 09:23:02 GMT

Today we discover the remarkable story of how a handful of intrepid scientific navigators underpinned British naval dominance in the conflict with Napoleon.

During the Napoleonic Wars, more than twice as many British warships were lost to shipwreck than in battle. The Royal Navy’s fleets had to operate in unfamiliar seas and dangerous coastal waters, where navigational ignorance was as great a threat as enemy guns. If Britain was to win the war, improved intelligence was vital.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Michael Barritt about how they secured that intelligence. It is a story of how a cadre of specialist pathfinders led by Captain Thomas Hurd enabled Britain’s Hydrographic Office to meet this need. Sounding amongst hazards on the front line of conflict, alert for breaks in weather or onset of swell, these daring sailors gathered vital strategic data that would eventually secure the upper hand against Britain’s adversaries. And they did this around Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, honing a skill that revolutionised the British way of war at sea, ultimately securing a lasting naval dominance.

Michael Barritt is the former Hydrographer of the Navy, head of the Royal Navy’s hydrographic profession, and a successor to Captain Thomas Hurd.

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Black Mariners in the Royal Navy

Mon, 23 Sep 2024 12:49:22 GMT

Throughout the eighteenth century the Royal Navy was the largest employer of free black labour in a period when Britain was - at the same time - the largest trader in human lives across the Atlantic. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Steve Martin, expert on black British history and literature, and who works with museums, archives and the education sector to bring diverse histories to wider audiences. They discuss the origins of black mariners who ended up in the Royal Navy, their status, skillsets, and career trajectories, their settlement patterns and Black radical culture.

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The Spice Ports: Mapping the Origins of Global Sea Trade

Mon, 16 Sep 2024 08:22:19 GMT

We may think of globalism as a recent development but its origins date back to the fifteenth century and beyond, when seafarers pioneered routes across the oceans with the objectives of exploration, trade and proft. And what did they seek? Exotic spices: cloves, pepper, cinnamon, ginger. These spices brought together the European ports of Lisbon, London, Amsterdam and Venice, with Goa, Bombay, Malacca and Jakarta - and through those ports the Arab world and China.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Nicholas Nugent. Nicholas spent his career as a journalist with the BBC World Service and his spare time collecting a valuable archive of original maps, developing a passion for how the growth of the spice ports helped spread the exchange of global culture between east and west. His magnificent book, The Spice Ports: Mapping the Origins of the Global Sea Trade published by the British Library is out now.

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Portsmouth Historic Quarter and the SHE_SEES Exhibition

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 11:03:00 GMT

The SHE-SEES exhibition, hosted in partnership with the Lloyds Register Foundation, Portsmouth Historic Quarter and the University of Portsmouth, taps into archive materials from across the UK and Ireland to uncover the extensive history of trailblazing female voices in the maritime industry and aims to change the tide on diversity. Dr Sam Willis speaks with Hannah Prowse CEO of Portsmouth Historic Quarter as well as numerous people involved in the project including boatbuilder Betzy Shell, boatkeeper assistant Emily Ball and the historians George Ackers and Mel Bassett who worked on the background research bringing the historical voices to life.

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Eyewitness: Captain Avery and the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates

Tue, 27 Aug 2024 07:59:17 GMT

This year we are launching a new strand of the podcast on eyewitness testimony, in which we bring you the most extraordinary primary sources – history as told and written by the people who were actually there.

Today we start with one of the most atmospheric of all maritime sources, one that transports you directly back to the creaky decks of the age of sail – you can smell the tar in the rigging – you can almost taste the rum.

This excerpt on Captain Avery comes from A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates, which was published in 1724, exactly 300 years ago. It was a fascinating time in the publishing industry: a market in criminal biography already existed and the author of this book, Charles Johnson, hopped on board to bring to the world for the first time the adventures and crimes of pirates.

Fascinatingly, we don't have any idea who Johnson actually was. Many thousands of words have been written and suggestions made including that he was actually Daniel Defoe. What is certain is that whoever wrote the book knew his – or her – stuff. The account is brimming with detail and accuracy. The author undoubtedly spoke with people who had sailed with these pirates and knew their world intimately. And the year 1724, when this was published was the very peak of what became known as the 'Golden Age of Piracy'.

The book became hugely famous and public interest in pirates can be traced in a direct line right up to the twentieth century classics we know so well, such as Treasure Island, Peter Pan and Pirates of the Caribbean.

This particular chapter introduces Captain Avery, one of the worst of the worst. Born in the summer of 1659 he mysteriously disappeared in 1696 after an extraordinary life for which he was known by his contemporaries as 'The King of the Pirates.'

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Finmen: The Inuit Who Paddled 1200 Miles

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 08:47:52 GMT

It is a little known and extraordinary fact that over 300 years ago the Inuit made crossings from Greenland to the Orkney Isles and northern Scotland. The journey across the hostile North Atlantic is over 1200 miles. Their traditional craft were made of nothing more than skin, bone and driftwood. The literature of Scotland, particularly in relation to the Orkneys, describes individuals in small boats appearing around the coast between 1684 and 1701. The name given to these people by the chroniclers was 'Finmen'. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Norman Rogers, a keen kayaker and author of 'Searching for the Finmen' which explores in detail this remarkable event.

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Lifesavers: How Conflict Innovation Can Build a Better World

Mon, 22 Jul 2024 08:14:28 GMT

We find out about an exciting project run by the Imperial War Museum which explores how conflict has driven innovation in science and technology. Sponsored by Lloyd’s Register Foundation, the project aims to discover how conflict has accelerated innovation, and how this has impacted on the world we live in today. Science and technology are the key factors in influencing the course of modern conflict. On land, at sea and in the air, innovation in technology has played a key role in the course of conflict during the twentieth Century. Warfare accelerates technological innovation as part of the wider war effort, and this in turn has a significant impact on civilian society. As the Imperial War Museum is a world-renowned authority on conflict history, the project gives audiences the opportunity to change their understanding about war. With over one million items in the IWM collection, this project will offer a range of a wide range of intellectual and emotional experiences.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Rob Rumble, lead curator of the project. They examine and discuss a number of artefacts in the collection, including the Cavity Magnetron, which became the preferred source of very high frequency radio waves in various radars and communication devices and led to a massive growth in microwave radar technology; public safety posters which educated and encouraged the public use of antiseptic to prevent infections, as well as for the use of safety harnesses whilst working from height; an example of the 'Davis' Submarine escape apparatus, an early type of oxygen rebreather invented in 1910; a lifejacket for a child; lifeboat navigation maps; a buoyant light; plastic armour; and a type of valve employed in early airborne interception and air to surface vessel radar equipment.

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King of the Beggars: The Extraordinary Life of Billy Waters

Tue, 09 Jul 2024 13:17:17 GMT

Billy Waters was born into enslavement in 1770s New York, before becoming a sailor in the royal navy. After losing his leg in a fall from the rigging, the talented Waters became London’s most famous street performer, celebrated on stage and in print. Towards the end of his life he was elected 'King of the Beggars' by his peers. Waters died destitute in 1823 but his legend lived on for decades. To find out more about life as a black man in the Royal Navy and on the streets of Regency London, Dr Sam Willis spoke with Mary Shannon, author of the excellent new book Billy Waters Is Dancing.

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My Yacht Was Sunk by Killer Whales

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 10:58:11 GMT

Today we hear from Douglas Robertson. In 1971 Douglas’s father, Dougal, a retired merchant navy sailor turned Staffordshire dairy farmer, sold his farm and bought a yacht. He planned to sail around the world with his wife, daughter and three sons. Douglas was then sixteen and today casts his mind back to that fateful voyage. He recalls in great detail the purchase and preparations of the yacht Lucette, their trans-Atlantic voyage and continuing journey to the Pacific. It was there, hundreds of miles from anywhere, that their yacht was sunk by killer whales and the Robertson family were cast adrift. The story of their survival is astonishing.

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Shipwreck Survivors

Fri, 21 Jun 2024 08:18:17 GMT

We hear about an exciting project to save and record accounts of shipwreck survivors. The project's goal is to raise awareness and understanding of the experiences of those who have been unfortunate enough to experience shipwreck. This is crucially important at a time when familiarity with life at sea is diminishing and there is a noticeable absence of empathy for seafarers in distress - and yet, as a maritime nation, seafaring remains a huge part of our history and shipping is a growing industry that brings us ever more of our worldly needs. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Daniel Jamieson who is running the research project at the University of Plymouth. They discuss the long and fascinating history of shipwreck survivors' accounts before discussing the many interviewees who have already contributed to the project, providing eyewitness insights into a variety of contemporary and well known maritime disasters as well as far more personal stories of maritime disaster. The stories include Helen Cawley, who survived the sinking of the liner Lakonia in 1963 as a 14-year old; Sheelagh Lowes, stranded on Suwarrow of the Cook Islands in the South Pacific 1996 for 6 months, her yacht Short Time having been thrown on a reef; a number of survivors of the sinking of the liner Andrea Doria in 1956; Sara Hedrenius, who survived the sinking of the ferry Estonia in 1994 in the Baltic; and Ben “Skippy” Cummings whose vessel capsized and

sank on a reef off Antigua, four miles from the finish of his trans-Atlantic race.

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Sea Monsters Part 2: The Eyewitness Accounts

Mon, 10 Jun 2024 07:54:33 GMT

An entire episode dedicated to historical accounts of sea monsters! In the last episode we learned how sailors' encounters with sea monsters inform us of a changing world and link themes of religion and science with exploration of the natural world and safety at sea. In this episode we hear what they actually had to say, in their own voices. We hear about 'The Great Sea-Serpent' spotted from the decks of HMS Daedalus in 1848; the 'Anchertroll Horror' off West Africa of April 1871; a snake with a white mane seen in 1746 off Norway and a 'Devil-Fish' that swallowed a schooner east of Sri Lanka in 1874. The episode was put together with the help of Graham Faiella, maritime historian and author of 'Mysteries and Sea Monsters.'

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Sea Monsters Part 1: The Analysis

Mon, 27 May 2024 09:02:19 GMT

In this episode we hear about the extraordinary and long history of sailors coming across monsters from the deep. It’s a complex and fascinating topic intimately linked with the human experience of sea, but for historians it exists as a strand of knowledge and experience which runs alongside developing ideas of faith and developing understanding of science. It’s a topic that links superstition, myth and legend with the imagination – the imaginable and the unimaginable – and all experienced within the context of the age of reason and the scientific enlightenment. It’s a topic that will bring out the believer or the sceptic in you and in so doing will inspire you to learn a little more about the particular monster that inspires you because of what it tells us about the past.

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WW2 Battle Convoy: HG-76

Mon, 13 May 2024 10:19:23 GMT

In December 1941 HG-76 sailed from Gibraltar to Britain and was specially targeted by a wolfpack of U-boats whilst, in a rare example of German inter-service cooperation, the Luftwaffe pounced from French airfields. In Gibraltar and Spain, German intelligence agents had known every detail of HG-76 before it had even sailed.

Nonetheless, the convoy fought its way through. Improved radar and sonar gave the convoy's escorts an edge over their opponents, and the escort group was led by Commander Walker, an anti-submarine expert who had developed new, aggressive U-boat hunting tactics. The convoy was also accompanied by HMS Audacity, the Royal Navy's first escort carrier – a new type of warship purpose-built to defend convoys from enemy aircraft and U-boats.

Through seven days and nights of relentless attack, the convoy reached the safety of a British port for the loss of only two merchant ships. Its arrival was seen as the first real convoy victory of the war.

To find out more about this, one of the most dramatic maritime stories of the Second World War, Dr Sam Willis spoke with Angus Konstam, author of a new book 'The Convoy HG-76: Taking the Fight to Hitler's U-boats' that brings the story to life.

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Smugglers, Pirates and Terrorists: Maritime Crime and Security

Fri, 03 May 2024 08:46:53 GMT

Recent conflict in the Red Sea caused by Houthi attacks on commercial shipping has brought the subject of maritime crime and security into focus. In this episode Dr Sam Willis speaks with Christian Bueger, Professor of International Relations at the University of Copenhagen, Director of the SafeSeas Network for Maritime Security and author of the important new book Understanding Maritime Security. They discuss historical perspectives on maritime crime including smuggling, pirate attacks and terrorism and highlight just how significant maritime crime and security is to the modern world with over 80% of contemporary global trade transported by sea.

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The Dreadnought Hoax

Tue, 23 Apr 2024 08:46:31 GMT

The Dreadnought Hoax is one of the most fantastical events of all naval and maritime history. In 1910 four white English people – three men and one woman – pretended to be members of the Abyssinian royal family, complete with black face make up, false beards and magnificent robes, and were given a tour of HMS Dreadnought, the most powerful battleship ever built, the pride of the Royal Navy and the pride of the British Empire. The hoax worked like a dream. No-one suspected a thing. Even more remarkable, one of those people was none other than the young Virgina Woolf, yet to be married and take the name of Woolf and yet to amaze with world with her intellect and literary skill. It is a story that touches on questions of race, gender and empire; on credulity, outrage and humour; on cultural norms and expectations; and all wrapped in ideas about seapower. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Danell Jones, author of the excellent new book The Girl Prince: Virginia Woolf, Race and the Dreadnought Hoax.

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Vrak - The Museum of Wrecks, Stockholm.

Mon, 29 Jan 2024 05:25:02 GMT

In this episode we visit Vrak - The Museum of Wrecks in Stockholm. Nowhere else in the world are there as many well-preserved wooden wrecks as there are in the Baltic Sea. People have lived on the shores of the Baltic ever since the end of the Ice Age, where they have travelled, sailed, hunted and waged war, for millennia. The Baltic has special water conditions: it is cold and brackish and has low oxygen levels, which means there is no shipworm to destroy sunken timber. As a result, at the bottom of the Baltic is an exceptional collection of timber heritage sites, from the Stone Age to the Vikings and beyond. Vrak - The Museum of Wrecks is a contemporary museum designed to explore and share this heritage in innovative ways.

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The First Naval Architect: Fredrik Henrik af Chapman (1721-1808)

Mon, 22 Jan 2024 06:00:34 GMT

In this episode we explore the extraordinary life of Frerik Henrik Af Chapman, the man considered the grandfather of naval architecture. Born in Gothenburg in 1721 to immigrant English parents, his father served in the Swedish navy before becoming the manager of a shipyard in Gothenburg. His mother was the daughter of a London shipwright. Frerderik was therefore born into a life of ship design and construction and he was just ten when he designed his first vessel. By 23 he ran his own shipyard maintaining and repairing Swedish East Indiamen. This was a period when the science of shipbuilding reached new heights and Chapman, uniquely a mathematician and a shipwright, led the way. Mathematicians who studied shipbuilding lacked the practical skill to implement their own ideas; while shipwrights lacked the mathematical understanding. Frederik was the first person who combined those two skills. He made it possible to predetermine and assess mathematically different attributes of vessels such as stability and sailing qualities. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Jonas Hedberg, curator at Sweden’s National Maritime Museum in Stockholm.

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Sweden's National Maritime Museum

Mon, 15 Jan 2024 05:14:53 GMT

The third episode in our mini series on Maritime Sweden is a tour of Sweden's National Maritime Museum in Stockholm: Sjöhistoriska Museet. Listen in as Dr Sam Willis is guided around the museum by its curator, Jonas Hedberg. We hear about the founding of the purpose-built maritime museum in the 1930s; explore the extraordinary collection of ship models; artefacts including a magnificent figurehead from mid 1750s; stories of migrants to Sweden after the Second World War; a rail ferry that once transported Lenin across the Baltic; and a Swedish Royal Yacht from the eighteenth century.

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The Vikings in Arab Lands

Mon, 08 Jan 2024 06:00:30 GMT

One of the most fascinating aspects of Viking history is their voyages east, to Arab lands. Vikings from the geographical area that would become Sweden played an important role in the creation of the political entity known as Rus, and some Scandinavians travelled by river to Arab lands, where they traded slaves for dirhams, and to Constantinople, where they served as mercenaries. Many others who did not actually visit Arab lands met Arabs in Khazaria and Volga-Bulgaria, which were major trading hubs north of the Black Sea. Numerous fascinating sources survive from both the Greek and Arab world depicting far-traveling Swedes, some of which shed valuable light on their customs. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Viking historian Tore Skeie, author of The Wolf Age: The Vikings, the Anglo-Saxons and the Battle for the North Sea Empire.

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Swedish Naval Power 1500-present

Thu, 04 Jan 2024 06:00:30 GMT

This episode starts a new mini-series on the maritime history of Sweden, and we begin by exploring Sweden’s fascinating naval history over the last 500 years, and how Sweden’s modern defence thinking has been shaped by its past. Founded in 1522, the Swedish navy is one of the oldest continuous serving navies in the world and its complex history reflects the numerous geo-political changes that have affected the countries around the Baltic ever since. With a shifting map of allies, threats and foes, the Swedish navy has been a constant presence and a hotbed of maritime innovation; not least introducing the line of battle as a naval tactic in 1563 under Erik XIV, half a century before its widespread adoption by other European navies. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Fred Hocker, Director of Research at the Vasa Museum in Stockholm.

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Nelson and the Walrus

Mon, 25 Dec 2023 05:05:08 GMT

A special episode which explores the young 16 year-old midshipman Horatio Nelson's exploits on the Phipps' expedition in search of a Northeast Passage in 1773, in which he fought off a walrus. The episode is linked to an ongoing project run by St Paul's Cathedral and the University of York '50 Monuments in 50 Voices' which showcases thought-provoking, individual responses to 50 unique monuments at St Paul’s Cathedral from artists, writers, musicians, theologians and academics. Of all of those monuments, Nelson's tomb is the most significant. This episode presents an original piece of prose written by Dr Sam Willis inspired by Nelson's tomb and his exploits fighting off a walrus when he was a teenager. 'I Survived the Walrus' is written in Nelson's voice. It explores the myths that grew up around Nelson's life; the curious mixture of inner strength and physical frailty that characterised his life and exploits; and his ability to inspire and comfort.

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Great Maritime Innovations 2: Sea Charts

Mon, 18 Dec 2023 05:00:17 GMT

This episode looks at the fascinating history of sea charts, a subject crucial to the making of the modern world. The world took shape in our minds through the development of the sea chart, which in turn led to colonization, globalisation - a great mixing of the populations of the world that has created our diverse nations and complex history of today. It is often assumed that ships alone were the tools by which the sea became arteries of trade transport and conquest, but that is to overlook the sea chart as the indispensable instrument that made this happen.

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Great Maritime Innovations 1: The Stockless Anchor

Mon, 11 Dec 2023 05:00:00 GMT

This episode starts a new mini-series on maritime innovations, and we start with one of the most important: the stockless anchor. A Victorian innovation, the stockless anchor transformed seafaring, making it safer and simpler.

The stockless anchor was a simple but clever design which presented many advantages over traditional anchors. Previous anchors were fitted with a stock: a rod set at an angle to the flukes which dug into the seabed. That rod helped the flukes find the right orientation to bite.

This feature however, caused the anchor to be an awkward shape, requiring davits suspended over the bows to raise or lower them and prevent damage to the hull. The ship also needed an ‘anchor bed platform’ for storing the anchor when not in use.

The stockless anchor didn’t have that rod and the flukes simply pivoted against the main shank. This pivoting action helped the flukes bite and the lack of the stock meant that the anchor was easier to manoeuvre when raising or lowering and could be drawn up into the hawsehole for safe storage. Due to the simple geometrical design of the stockless anchor, it was also capable of free falling through water much faster when it was required.

As with all of the best technological inventions it was simple, manifestly a better design, and required someone with a touch of genius to think it up. That man was William Wastenys Smith. To find out more about this brilliant maritime innovation Dr Sam Willis spoke with William Wastenys Smith’s great-granddaughter, Trish Strachan. This episode includes a number of reports and thank-you letters from leading seamen in the 1880s, sent to Wastenys Smith commenting on the remarkable quality of his new invention.

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Freak Ships of the Nineteenth Century: SS Bessemer

Mon, 04 Dec 2023 05:20:47 GMT

This episode explores ss Bessemer (1874), known as the 'Swinging Saloon Ship.' An experimental cross-channel steamship, Bessemer was designed with a central saloon that moved on gymbals, to counteract the motion of the ship. It was designed to eliminate seasickness. The man behind the idea was the lifelong seasickness-sufferer Sir Henry Bessemer, an avid and successful inventor. He was already well known for transforming the way that steel was made, making it stronger and cheaper, advantages that transformed structural engineering. To find out how he fared when his great mind turned to the maritime world Dr Sam Willis spoke with Zach Schieferstein from the Lloyd's Register Heritage & Education Centre.

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Filming The World's Best Ship Models: Stockholm

Mon, 27 Nov 2023 05:00:43 GMT

This episode looks at Llloyd’s Register Foundation’s new project Maritime Innovation in Miniature which is one of the most exciting maritime heritage projects of recent years and a leader in terms of innovation in the maritime heritage field. The aim of the project is to film the world’s best ship models. They are removed from their protective glass cases and filmed in studio conditions with the very latest camera equipment. In particular, the ships are filmed using a macro probe lens, which offers a unique perspective and extreme close up shots. It allows the viewer to get up close and personal with the subject, whilst maintaining a bug-eyed wide angle image. This makes the models appear enormous - simply put, it's a way of bringing the ships themselves back to life.

Ship models are a hugely under-appreciated, under-valued and under-exploited resource for engaging large numbers of people with maritime history. The majority of museum-quality ship models exist in storage; those that are on display have little interpretation; few have any significant online presence at all; none have been preserved on film using modern techniques. These are exquisitely made 3D recreations of the world’s most technologically significant vessels, each with significant messages about changing maritime technology and the safety of seafarers.

The ships may no longer survive…but models of them do. This project acknowledges and celebrates that fact by bringing them to life with modern technology, in a way that respects and honours the art of the original model makers and the millions of hours of labour expended to create this unparalleled historical resource.

This episode looks in particular at the extraordinary models that were filmed in 2022 at the Swedish National Maritime Museum in Stockholm.

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The Royal Navy at the time of the Great Fire of London

Sun, 19 Nov 2023 07:00:13 GMT

The 1660s were a time of great turmoil in England. In 1666 the great fire of London had destroyed much of the country’s capital and just a year earlier the great plague had killed a fifth of the city’s population. In amongst this chaos the new King, Charles II, recently restored to the throne after the English Civil War, began to build an extraordinary navy. From the mid-seventeenth century onwards the capabilities of seapower dramatically and exponentially increased. European powers began to take up permanent positions in foreign countries laying the foundations for the subsequent colonialism that shaped the modern world. Whilst they vied for control of the new global trade that linked east with west, that rivalry led to some of the largest-scale fleet battles ever fought.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Richard Endsor, a world-renowned historian who has has dedicated his life to studying the structures and building processes of seventeenth century ships. Richard has written several award winning books including The Master Shipwright’s Secrets for which he was awarded the prestigious Anderson Medal for the best maritime book published in 2020.

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Maritime Scarborough

Mon, 13 Nov 2023 06:00:17 GMT

This episode looks at the extraordinary maritime history of Scarborough, a port town on the UK's northeastern coast. Famed for its medieval herring fair that features in Simon and Garfunkel's 1960s version of the traditional English ballad 'Scarborough Fair' it has a lesser known but significant maritime history. Once one of the largest shipbuilding ports in the country, Scarborough had no fewer than twelve yards on its seafront, with supporting rope and sailmaking businesses in the town. Scarborough-built ships have travelled the world encountering pirates and transporting convicts. The fame of the town attracted huge numbers of people from a variety of backgrounds: Scottish 'Herring Lasses' travelled down from the north to work in the booming North Sea herring industry, whilst rich gentleman travelled up from the south to catch enormous tuna and the town became Britain's first seaside resort. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Mark Veysey from the Scarborough Maritime Heritage Centre.

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The Titanic Inquiry 5: Annie Robinson

Mon, 06 Nov 2023 05:37:20 GMT

In this the final episode of our dramatisation of witness testimony from the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry, we hear from Annie Robinson. Annie was a First Class Stewardess and one of only three women interviewed at the inquiry. She was asleep when Titanic collided with the iceberg - and this was the second time she had been on a vessel that had collided with an iceberg. Annie led her charges to safety and escaped herself but was troubled for the rest of her life by her experience and ultimately committed suicide by jumping overboard another vessel just two years later.

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The Titanic Inquiry 4: Charles Lightoller

Mon, 30 Oct 2023 05:00:15 GMT

We continue our dramatisation of witness testimony given at the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry into the Titanic disaster. Today we hear from Charles Lightoller, Titanic's second officer and the most senior officer to survive the disaster. Lightoller is a fascinating character. By the age of 21 he had survived a shipwreck, a cyclone and a shipboard fire. Lightoller was a major focus for both the British and American inquiries. During the Wreck Commissioner’s Enquiry, Lightoller was called to the stand three times over the same number of days and was asked 2951 questions. His testimony is greatly detailed and provides numerous fascinating glimpses into the disaster and its aftermath.

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Great Sea Fights 11: Leyte Gulf

Mon, 23 Oct 2023 04:32:16 GMT

The battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 was the largest naval encounter in history and the most decisive naval battle of the Pacific War. By its end the Japanese navy had been eliminated as an effective fighting force and resorted to using suicide attacks.

The battle was a huge, sprawling affair - not one battle but in fact four separate naval battles - each with its own distinctive characteristics. To understand how it all fitted together requires a birds-eye view.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke to Mark Stille, retired Commander in the United States Navy and naval historian. Mark is the author of the new book Leyte Gulf: A New History of the World's Largest Sea Battle.

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Admiral Lord Nelson, Trafalgar and Heroic Death at Sea

Sat, 21 Oct 2023 04:00:59 GMT

On the anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar of 1805 we look at a question that is central to the legend that grew up around the events of October 1805. How did a naval officer end up with a state funeral with no precedent for someone who was not a member of the Royal Family? How was death perceived in the Royal Navy of the Age of Sail and why did a heroic death matter so much? To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Dr Dan O'Brien, Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for Death and Society, University of Bath.

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The Titanic Inquiry 3: Fred Barrett

Mon, 16 Oct 2023 04:00:46 GMT

In this, the second of our dramatisations of witness testimony given at the British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry into the Titanic disaster we hear from Fred Barrett, a stoker from Liverpool. Fred had been tasked with extinguishing a fire and was in one of the boiler rooms when the collision happened. If you are interested in what happened in the bowels of the ship during the sinking his testimony is one of the very best.

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The Titanic Inquiry 2: Lady Duff-Gordon

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 04:00:24 GMT

In this, the first of four dramatisations of witness testimony given at the British Titanic Inquiry of May 1912, we hear directly from Lady Duff Gordon. A First Class passenger, and one of only two passengers interviewed at the inquiry (the other being her husband), Lady Duff Gordon was also one of only three women to give testimony. Along with her husband, she was also one of only two witnesses to actually request to be interviewed. Lady Duff Gordon's perspective, therefore, is unusual and significant in many ways and makes for riveting listening, casting an entirely new light on the tragedy.

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The Titanic Inquiry 1: Introduction

Mon, 02 Oct 2023 04:00:14 GMT

The sinking of the Titanic in 1912 led immediately to two major inquiries: one in America and one in the UK. The testimony in these enquiries provides a fascinating and valuable glimpse into the tragedy from the words of the people themselves who experienced it. And yet only recently have these testimonies become freely accessible online, thanks to a heroic effort by numerous volunteers working for The Titanic Enquiry Project. In four subsequent episodes we are going to bring you dramatisations of a number of witness testimonies given at the UK British Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry. To set out the background of the project, in this episode Dr Sam Willis speaks with Robert Ottmers, one of the volunteers working on the project.

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The Rules and Regulations for Composite Ships

Mon, 25 Sep 2023 04:00:15 GMT

In the archives of the Lloyd's Register Foundation is a stunning hand-illustrated portfolio of the Rules of Composite Ships. These were a set of rules regulating the construction of this new type of vessel born of the industrial revolution. Half iron and half timber, these 'composite' ships transformed maritime capability whilst at the same time challenging existing knowledge of shipbuilding. The illustrated portfolio is the work of Harry Cornish, once Chief Ship Surveyor at Lloyd's Register, a marine classification society. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Max Wilson, archivist of the Lloyd's Register Foundation archives. They explore the Cornish drawings as well as the ship plans of several famous composite ships, including the most famous of them all - Cutty Sark.

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The Maritime Silk Road

Mon, 18 Sep 2023 06:00:38 GMT

This is episode six of our special mini-series on the maritime history of China and it looks at the Maritime Silk Road. This fascinating topic is far richer and deeper than the name implies. On the one hand we discover all about the ancient maritime trade route by which silk was transported abroad from China – but as you will discover it is far more complicated than that – and far more interesting as a result. It’s a topic that links Asia and Europe’s deep past with the present day and modern China’s strategic global ambitions. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Tansen Sen, Director of the Center for Global Asia and Professor of History, NYU Shanghai.

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Women Shipbuilders on the Clyde and Tyne

Mon, 11 Sep 2023 06:00:33 GMT

In this, the third of three dedicated episodes to women in maritime, Cecilia Rose speaks to Dr Nina Baker and Dr Antony Firth about women shipbuilders on the River Clyde and the River Tyne, as part of the ‘Rewriting Women into Maritime History’ project. Dr Nina Baker is an independent researcher who works on the history of women in engineering, focusing on the Clyde in Glasgow, whilst Dr Antony Firth, the head of Marine Strategy at Historic England, is organising an exhibition about women shipbuilders on the River Tyne. We learn more about these related research projects and how we can all get involved!

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'SHE_SEES': Women in Maritime 2

Mon, 04 Sep 2023 08:41:01 GMT

In this, the second of three episodes dedicated to women in the maritime world, we look at the Lloyd's Register Foundation's ‘Rewriting Women into Maritime History’ project through an artistic lens. Cecilia Rose speaks to Erna Janine - a London based textile artist specialising in Japanese Freestyle Weaving, and Emilie Sandy - a photographer and visual artist focusing on portraiture and storytelling. Their new joint venture, ‘SHE_SEES’, combines the mediums of textiles and photography to tell the stories of women involved in maritime industries today. We learn about how these women came to their respective professions and how they can inspire others.

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Rewriting Women into Maritime History

Tue, 29 Aug 2023 06:00:20 GMT

In this, the first of three dedicated episodes, we explore a new project designed to change our perceptions of the historical role of women in the maritime industry over the centuries. 'Rewriting Women into Maritime History' is run by the Lloyd's Register Foundation and brings together leading maritime organisations. One of the key aims of this project is to empower women by reframing the narrative of a predominantly masculine industry, and by promoting opportunities to encourage more women into the sector. To find out more, Cecilia Rose spoke with Helen Doe, a maritime historian and author who has published extensively on maritime subjects, including the role of women in the industry.

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HMS Poseidon: China's Secret Salvage of Britain's Lost Submarine

Sun, 20 Aug 2023 06:00:34 GMT

The British submarine HMS Poseidon sank off the Chinese coast during normal exercises in 1931 having struck a freighter. Just over half of her crew made it out of the hatches as she sank. Twenty-six remained trapped. Eight of those attempted to surface using an early form of diving equipment specifically designed for submarine escapes. Five of those survived and became national heroes. And then, at an unknown time in the subsequent years, the Chinese government secretly raised the wreck. To find out more about this remarkable story which takes us through themes of imperialism, international sea power, the development of submarine and diving technology and medical history, Dr Sam Willis spoke with historian Steen Schwankert. Editor and award-winning reporter with seventeen years of experience in Greater China, Steven is the Asia chapter chair of The Explorers Club, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and founder of SinoScuba, Beijing's first professional scuba-diving operator. Steven uncovered this story and spent many years researching it. He is the author of the book Poseidon: China's Secret Salvage of Britain's Lost Submarine.

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The Six: The Chinese Survivors of the Titanic Disaster

Mon, 14 Aug 2023 06:02:19 GMT

Of the 2,240 passengers and crew on board RMS Titanic on her fateful last journey, eight were Chinese, all travelling Third Class. Six of those eight survived, an exceptionally high survival rate for any given nationality. Remarkably, four escaped on the same lifeboat as the Titanic’s owner J. Bruce Ismay, while another was the last person rescued alive from the water. Those six men were forgotten by history until, in 2020, the film maker Arthur Jones and historian Steven Schwankert joined forces in a bid to track down those men in the historical records and tell their stories. Not only does the research itself tell a fabulous tale, but so too does the history they uncovered. For these Chinese men, surviving the Titanic disaster was not the end of their troubles – it was just the beginning. They faced deportations, slurs on their characters and racial condemnation. As research for the film progressed it became clear that almost nothing was known about these man in their subsequent years and that some may never even have told their families what they had experienced. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Arthur Jones, Director of The Six.

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The Maze Collection of Chinese Junks

Mon, 07 Aug 2023 06:00:40 GMT

In the stores of the London Science Museum is a highly significant collection of ship models of Chinese junks. They were commissioned by Sir Frederick Maze who worked as the Inspector General of the Chinese Maritime Customs Service from 1929-1943. Maze was a true Sinohpile and was particularly fascinated by Chinese maritime history. He lived in China at a time of rapid modernisation and could plainly see Chinese maritime traditions disappearing in front of his eyes. As a result he commissioned a series of ship models of Chinese junks and sampans, to be built in Hong Kong and Shanghai by expert Chinese shipwrights. They are an extraordinary collection and demonstrate a stunning variety of Chinese shipbuilding traditions and technology and details of daily life - down to the religious beliefs of the sailors. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Donna Brunero at the National University of Singapore, an expert on the maritime realm and port cities of Asia.

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The Chinese Shipwrecks of South East Asia

Mon, 31 Jul 2023 08:29:29 GMT

This episode continues our mini series on maritime China with an episode on Chinese shipwrecks found in Southeast Asia and what they tell us about the development of Chinese shipping and trade from the ninth century onwards. The wrecks include the ninth century Belitung wreck, twelfth century Flying Fish, thirteenth century Java Sea, fifteenth century Bakau wreck, and from the seventeenth century the Binh Thuan and Vung Tau Wrecks. Together they provide unmatched insights into world maritime engineering and innovation, industry and manufacturing in China, and a network of trade that linked China to the world beyond its shores. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Mike Flecker, one of the world's leading authorities on the development of Chinese shipbuilding and trade, and who led excavation teams on all of these wrecks.

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Zheng He and the Chinese Treasure Fleets

Tue, 25 Jul 2023 05:48:46 GMT

A Ming Dynasty court eunuch, a diplomat, an explorer, a mariner, a Muslim…Zeng He lived from the 1370s to around 1433 and achieved what many have since considered to be impossible.

Between 1405 and 1433 Zeng He commanded seven expeditionary voyages. He explored the East China Sea, South China Sea, up through the Straits of Malacca to the Bay of Bengal, around India and Sri Lanka to the Arabian sea, the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, and on to the east coast of Africa. He did this with enormous ships in enormous fleets. If you believe the sources some of this ships were almost twice as long as any wooden ship ever recorded. On the first voyage it is believed that there were no fewer than 265 ships in total, 62 of them being of the largest type, the 'Treasure Ships'. Historians believe these largest vessels had five or six masts and were up to 300 feet long - but that is the most conservative of estimates. There is very little physical evidence to prove any of this with the exception of one 36 foot-long rudder, a monstrous piece of timber that does suggest a ship of at least 300 feet in length.

Zeng He's seven voyages provide a fascinating foundation for historical debate and narrative. Here is an empire using seapower to reach out beyond its borders in a golden time of exploration which does not last. The scale of the fleets, the distance of the voyages, and the activities of the Chinese are all very much unsettled in the minds of modern historians. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Professor Tim Brook, a historian of China at the University of British Columbia.

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HMS Captain: Victorian Catastrophe

Mon, 17 Jul 2023 06:36:30 GMT

The story of HMS Captain is one of the most shocking in naval history. Laid down in 1867 and, unusually, partly funded by the public, she was one of the most innovative warships ever constructed.

She had a very low freeboard and two enormous rotating armoured gun turrets situated very close to the waterline in between the upper and lower decks. Turret ships were not a new invention but, hitherto, had only been used for coastal work: they were essentially floating iron rafts with an enormous rotating gun. With HMS Captain, for the first time we see that principle applied to a fully-rigged ocean going ship equipped with steam a engine and made of iron.

The designer, Captain Cowper Phipps Coles wanted a high-tech man-of-war which could go anywhere and sink anything. As with all turret ships, she was designed with a low freeboard but ended up with a lower freeboard than originally planned, and the vessel’s high centre of gravity made her dangerously unstable.

On the night of 6 September 1870, Captain was part of a combined fleet of the Channel and Mediterranean Squadrons of the Royal Navy, on manoeuvres in a diplomatic show of force, when a fierce gale knocked her down before the crew could cut loose her sails. Nearly the entire crew of some 500 officers and men went down with the ship, including her celebrated designer. Only eighteen men survived.

More English sailors were lost aboard HMS Captain than at the Battle of Trafalgar (1805) or at sea during the entire Crimean War (1853-55).

The loss of the Captain was a national catastrophe, touching Queen Victoria personally, and memorialised at St Paul’s Cathedral and Westminster Abbey.

The University of Wolverhampton have recently launched a project to find her wreck. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Howard Fuller, the man behind the new project.

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A Bronze Age Maritime Treasure: The Uluburun Ship

Mon, 10 Jul 2023 07:39:50 GMT

The Uluburun ship sank somewhere around 3,400 years ago near what is now Kas in Turkey and was discovered in 1982. The subsequent excavation was carried out at a time when underwater excavation was a new discipline and it had a profound change on the way both that we investigate underwater heritage and understand the ancient world. It still remains one of the oldest shipwrecks ever discovered and the wealth of knowledge provided by the wreck remains astonishing even to modern standards. To put its age into context, the period which it illuminates is 1000 years before Alexander the Great was born and it remains one of the best preserved Bronze Age sites of any description ever discovered. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Professor Micahel Scott, author of X Marks the Spot: The Story of Archaeology in Eight Extraordinary Discoveries.

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Castaways

Mon, 03 Jul 2023 07:22:31 GMT

An episode that revels in the extraordinary mix of adventure, horror, myth and fact that makes maritime history the BEST type of history! – We’re finding out about the history of castaways: of people set adrift on open boats, marooned by accident or even on purpose on isolated islands. This is the history of being abandoned; of being adrift; of being alone. Many never came back and are lost to history, a tiny dot vanishing on the horizon of the past, never to be seen again. Others did make it back to tell their story. This means that historians have been able to study castaways and their experiences and what a history it is…to find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with maritime historian Graham Faiella, author of 'Castaways: Adrift and Abandoned'.

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Aborigines and the Sea

Tue, 27 Jun 2023 09:01:19 GMT

Indigenous perspectives are a crucial and immensely valuable part of the broad narrative of Australian maritime history. Aboriginal people witnessed the arrival of Macassan, Dutch, French, English and American vessels as these people explored, sought out trepang and harvested whales. Some of their vessels were wrecked and their survivors arrived as ‘strangers on the shore’, interacting in a variety of ways with Indigenous peoples. These observations and experiences have been reflected in numerous rock art representations and there are also rock depictions of Aboriginal craft.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Mack Mcarthy who worked for many years as Inspector of Wrecks at the Australian Maritime Museum. Mack also headed the ‘Australian Contact Shipwrecks’ Program, an analysis of the interaction of Indigenous peoples with shipwreck survivors, and the study of Indigenous maritime depictions on the Western Australian coast.

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The First Cricket Tour to Australia and the ss Great Britain

Mon, 19 Jun 2023 09:26:53 GMT

In 1861 the engineering maritime marvel ss Great Britain was chosen to take the first ever English cricket team to Australia. The tour was the brainchild of Melbourne-based businessmen, the caterers and wine merchants Felix William Spiers and Christopher Pond who had failed to persuade Charles Dickens to conduct a lecture tour of Australia. With cricket’s popularity growing in Australia they invited a team of leading English cricketers to tour the country. They arrived in Melbourne to a rapturous welcome on December 23, and played their first game on January 1, 1862. A quarter of the city’s population watched the match. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Natalie Fey from the ss Great Britain to discuss the players who went over on the voyage, how they would have lived and trained on the boat; Victorian cricketing superstar EM Grace, who wrote a very detailed diary which shows his first impressions of Australia; and the ss Great Britain's new mini cricket exhibition which goes on display on the 16th June with newly acquired collection items.

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The Pearling Lugger Penguin

Thu, 15 Jun 2023 07:10:31 GMT

The pearling industry was one of northern Australia’s major industries of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The historic vessel Penguin was built in 1907 for for a pearling company based on Thursday Island in the Torres Strait. She is one of the few surviving pearling luggers to retain much of its original construction and layout, and the only Queensland-built lugger in a museum collection. It is also significant for its association with Japanese lugger builder Tsugitaro Furuta, one of Australia’s major lugger builders of the time; for its service during World War II; and finally for its service to the Dauan Island community. While we were recording the interview shipwrights restoring the hull discovered some beautiful oyster shells which were cleaned for us and shined for the first time in over a century.

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The Brisbane Dry Dock

Mon, 05 Jun 2023 07:13:56 GMT

Our mini-series on Maritime Asutralia continues with an episode dedicated to Brisbane's fabulous dry dock. The dock now sits in the grounds of the Queensland Maritime Museum on a bend on the south side of the Brisbane River and contains the magnificent historical vessel HMAS Diamantina, a river class frigate built in the 1940s, and the Carpentaria, a lightship built in 1917 which provided a crucial service warning mariners of dangerous shoal waters off Fraser Island and off the western approaches tot he Torres Strait. The dock itself, the third oldest in Australia, and built in 1876, offers a fascinating insight to Australian maritime history, and in particular shipbuilding and maritime trade in Queensland. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Russell Cobine, a retired shipwright with a lifetime of experience working in dry docks.

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Queensland Maritime Museum

Thu, 01 Jun 2023 07:39:51 GMT

Our mini-series on the maritime history of Australia continues with a tour of the Queensland Maritime Museum in Brisbane. Dr Sam Willis explores the museum with volunteers and local historical experts Kasper Kuiper and Keith Boulton. We explore the museum's extraordinary collection of ship models including the Orion (1934), Otranto (1925), Orcades (1947) all of the Orient Steam Navigation Company; immigration to Australia; wrecks off the coast of Queensland and the navigational dangers of the Great Barrier Reef; the Queensland Government's paddle ship Lucinda; the skiff Fury (1939) and the champion racing boat Estrellita (1951).

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The Hunt for Bismarck

Fri, 26 May 2023 08:47:53 GMT

The pursuit of Germany's most famous battleship is one of the most dramatic stories of the Second World War and one of the best tit-for-tat / an eye for an eye stories in history. It began with Bismarck sinking HMS Hood, pride of the Royal Navy, in May 1941 and ended three days later with Bismarck being hunted by sea and air by a huge British squadron until she was trapped and destroyed. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with naval historian Angus Konstam.

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Elizabeth II's Navy 1952-2022

Wed, 17 May 2023 08:59:15 GMT

The passing of the Queen in September has encouraged historians to shine a light on the era of her reign - the 70 years between 1952 and 2022 - an extraordinary period in which the world fundamentally changed several times over. One particularly revealing way to look at this period is through the experiences of the Royal Navy.

It’s quite a story. Throughout Elizabeth’s reign the Royal Navy changed beyond all recognition. In 1952 the UK was still a global and maritime superpower with a large empire. It had the second largest navy, the largest shipbuilding industry and the largest merchant fleet in the world. The vast networks of seaborne trade routes were policed by a navy of a size and versatility that it was able to engage independently in most foreseeable types of conflict.

Today, the UK’s superpower role is much diminished, and its empire has gone. The nation’s shipbuilding industry and merchant fleet are shadows of their former selves. This change all happened in the shadow of the Cold War and Cuban Missile Crisis, the Korean war, the Vietnam war, the Falkands war, and the Cod Wars - just to name a few of the significant international maritime events of that time.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with the maritime historian Paul Brown author of Elizabeth's Navy: Seventy Years of the Postwar Royal Navy

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Essex Heritage Work Boats

Thu, 11 May 2023 06:53:38 GMT

This episode explores the wonderful Essex coastline – for those of you not familiar with the geography of England, this is the beautiful area a little to the north and east of London.

We find out about boats built in Essex and the history of the boatbuilding infrastructure that created them, and in particular about 130 surviving vessels all built in Essex before 1965 that have somehow survived, many in the most surprising of ways. Some have assumed new roles for which they were never originally intended; others have been rescued from a rotting death on the shoreline and lovingly restored in sheds, up estuaries, on beaches all the way along the Essex coast. They vary from 80ft Thames Barges, three classes of Fishing Smacks to important pulling boats, skiffs and bumpkins.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Lyndon March, who helps run a community dedicated to preserving these wonderful craft and also to telling their story…you can find Essex Heritage Work Boats on Instagram @essexheritageowrkboats

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The Last Convict Ship: The Edwin Fox

Thu, 04 May 2023 09:56:11 GMT

The historic ship Edwin Fox has a remarkable history. Built in Calcutta in 1853, she is the only surviving ship that transported convicts to Australia; one of the world's oldest surviving merchant ships; she served as a troop ship in the Crimean War; carried indentured servants to the Caribbean from China and immigrants to New Zealand. She is now preserved in Picton, New Zealand. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Heather Fryer, a volunteer researcher at the Edwin Fox Maritime Museum.

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Death at Sea

Sat, 29 Apr 2023 07:30:51 GMT

With frequent headlines in the news highlighting the plight of refugees suffering shipwreck in the Mediterranean, death at sea is an important contemporary issue. This episode explores the historical context of death sea. The age of sail was a period of expedition and conflict where seafarers were increasingly important to the fortunes of the nation. Their work at sea was complicated with many unique hazards which brought them closer to death, whether their own or that of those around them. Accidents and military action were joined by the dangers of disease and nutrition that were amplified in the tightly enclosed world of a floating vessel. Death was another challenge for a crew to overcome and their success depended on.

A focus on the ways in which the dead were treated and remembered by those around remind them is a compelling window into the values of the seafaring community. What were the practical considerations of burying the dead at sea? How was the dead body prepared and disposed of? What was the importance of folklore and supernatural to the seafaring community? How were deaths at sea memorialised?

To find answers to all of these questions and many more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Dr Dan O'Brien, historian of undertakers and funerals in eighteenth century England with a particular interest in death at sea.

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Mary Celeste: The Mystery Explained

Fri, 21 Apr 2023 06:00:14 GMT

This episode looks at one of the greatest of all maritime mysteries – the extraordinary tale of the Mary Celeste.

On 4 December 1872, in the middle of the Atlantic near the Azores, the brigantine Dei Gratia chanced upon another brigantine. She was under sail but entirely silent, and it soon becomes clear that she was entirely deserted. She was called Mary Celeste.

Ever since - for over 150 years - the mystery of why the Mary Celeste was abandoned and what happened to the ten souls on board has spawned thousands of conjectures, conspiracy theories, fictions and fantasies; mostly myths made from fractured truths.

To find out more – and in a bid finally to unpick the myth from the reality, Dr Sam Willis spoke with maritime historian Graham Faiella, author of The Mysterious Case of the Mary Celeste: 150 Years of Myth and Mystique . They discuss her story from beginning to end – from her construction in the Bay of Fundy, through her life as a merchant ship, on to her final fateful voyage, and then to the remarkable enquiry that took place in Gibraltar, as British maritime authorities were the first to embrace the challenge of trying to understand what happened.

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Mozambique Island: Maritime Africa 6

Tue, 11 Apr 2023 08:41:48 GMT

We continue our mini-series on the maritime history of Africa with an exploration of the extraordinarily colourful history of Mozambique Island - a UNESCO World Heritage site complete with fortified city and historical links that take us back to the era of the Portuguese exploration of Africa in the fifteenth century. Vasco da Gama was the first European to arrive here in 1498 and returned in 1502 with Portuguese settlers, and it went on to become central in Portuguese plans to control trade in the Indian Ocean. The island of Mozambique was particularly valuable as the first safe harbour after ships had endured sailing around the Cape of Good Hope but still had many thousand of miles to go on their voyage to the east. Unsurprisingly the island has a significant history and heritage that links the African, Arabic and European worlds, and also is surrounded by very important shipwrecks. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Ricardo Duarte, an archaeologist based in Mozambique Island, where he develops research in shipwreck studies and Underwater Archaeological sites, supporting UNESCO efforts to protect this endangered heritage. Ricardo has also studied coastal sites linked to early urban development in Eastern Africa, and the history and social organisation of coastal societies and their relation with the sea.

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Ship-Model Maker Extraordinaire: Gerry Westenberg

Tue, 04 Apr 2023 07:34:19 GMT

The fourth episode on our mini-series on the maritime history of Australia takes us to Perth and the workshop of Gerry Westenberg. Gerry has been hand-crafting scale model ships for well over 50 years and has built more than 130 in that time. He started this lifelong job by trying to modify a 1/600 scale Airfix kit of HMS Ajax to be HMAS Perth...with mixed success. Over time he has improved his skills and found a scale that works for him – 1/192 - based on the Empirical scale of 1 inch to every 16 feet. Over the years Gerry has built ships such as RMS Queen Mary, a Roman bireme, an Egyptian Royal Barge, HMS Hood, HMAS Sydney I, II, III and IV, RY Britannia, and HMS Barham, to name but a few. He has had two exhibitions held at the Western Australian Maritime Museum in Fremantle, the first in 2019,

with the second held in 2021, whilst a third exhibition will commence on April 8th this year running for approximately 3 months. The centrepiece of Gerry's collection consists of over 40 Australian fighting ships tracing all major classes from the inception of the RAN to today’s modern fleet. To find out more Dr Sam Willis visited Gerry at his workshop.

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William Dampier and HMS Roebuck

Fri, 31 Mar 2023 07:48:43 GMT

This is the third episode in our mini series on the maritime history of Australia. In episode one we learned about the arrival of the Dutch in Australia; in episode twp we learned about the Dutch ship Duyfken, the first European ship to land men on the Australian mainland; and today we’re moving on in time to hear about William Dampier and his ship HMS Roebuck. Dampier is an extraordinary character. A natural scientist, explorer and pirate, Dampier was the first Englishman to explore any part of Australia as well as the first person to circumnavigate the world three times. Dampier was born in 1651 and died in 1715, and so he lived in this fascinating period in English history in the aftermath of the execution of Charles I and at a time of giant leaps in maritime capabilities. The world was changing at intense speed. Dampier began life in the merchant navy, joined the Royal Navy, fought against the Dutch, joined the buccaneer Bartholomew Sharp’s crew’ and sailed around the world, all the while keeping a diary that would become one of the most important and popular travel narratives of the period. He was then given a ship, HMS Roebuck, and a mission to explore the east coast of New Holland, the land we now know as Australia. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with historian and archaeologist Dr Mac MCarthy – the man who actually tracked down and found HMS Roebuck.

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The Duyfken

Tue, 28 Mar 2023 13:54:24 GMT

In this the second episode in our mini-series exploring the maritime history of Australia we hear all about the Duyfken - the small dutch ship which, in 1606, is credited as being the first vessel on board of which a European crew first sighted the Australian mainland. To find out more about this ship and this crucial moment in time in global history, and also about the replica of the Duyfken that was built in Fremantle in 1999, Dr Sam Willis spoke with Graeme Cocks, a founding member of the Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation, and subsequently its Project Director, Graham was responsible for the launch and final fit out of the replica and also for the history-making Chevron 2000 Duyfken Expedition to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Queensland, as well as the VOC 2002 Duyfken Voyage from Sydney to Indonesia and The Netherlands. This was the longest age of discovery replica ship voyage ever completed. Graham is the author of a book to be released later this year titled Through Darkest Seas which documents the building of the Duyfken replica and tells the story of the ship’s voyages through Indonesia and around the world.

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The Dutch Discovery of Australia

Mon, 27 Mar 2023 07:56:48 GMT

This is the first episode of a new mini-series on the maritime history of Australia. We begin in the port of Fremantle, Western Australia, at the Western Australian Shipwrecks Museum to learn about the long and fascinating history of the Dutch in Australia. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Elly Spillekom, who worked as the coordinator of the Duyfken 1606 Replica Foundation, is a volunteer at the Shipwrecks Museum and a curator of the Dutch Australian Foundation. As Sam and Elly explore the museum we hear the story of how and why the Dutch were the first Europeans to sight Australia on board the Duyfken in 1606; how they went on to explore the coast; and why so many of the Dutch ships that followed the Duyfken were wrecked off Western Australia.

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Maritime Special Forces 2: Combat Divers

Mon, 20 Mar 2023 07:11:54 GMT

This is the second episode of a two-part mini-series on the history of maritime special forces. In this episode we explore the history of combat divers - an elite within an elite.

Combat divers must pass selection twice – firstly into their chosen elite military unit before passing a specialist combat diving qualification. Units are extremely small; they use specialist kit and vehicles; their work is dangerous and lonely; and their operations are cloaked in secrecy. Their history is rich and fascinating and runs from the Second World War to the present day, as so powerfully shown in the recent attack on the Russian Nordstream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea. As their kit and equipment has constantly evolved, so has the nature of their work and their capabilities. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with former Royal Marines Commando Michael G. Welham, a man with extensive military and commercial diving experience and author of the recent ‘Combat Divers: An illustrated history of special forces divers’. Sam and Mike discuss the Second World War roots of combat divers working in Grand Harbour, Malta to protect allied shipping; managing risk underwater; navigation underwater; equipment and weapons; the use of marine mammals in underwater warfare; and a variety of operations that highlight the changing challenges of special forces divers over time including the actions of Soviet Spetsnaz divers in Swedish territorial waters during the Cold War.

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Maritime Special Forces 1: The SBS

Mon, 13 Mar 2023 06:17:12 GMT

This is the first episode of a two-part mini-series on the history of maritime special forces. In this episode we hear about the Second World War origins, development and early history of the SBS - the 'Special Boat Service'. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Saul David, a military historian given unprecedented access to the archives of the SBS for his book - SBS - Silent Warriors: The Authorised Wartime History. Founded in the dark days of 1940, Britain's Special Boat Service was the world's first maritime special operations unit. It started as an inexperienced and small outfit that leaned heavily on the courage and enthusiasm of volunteers but went on to change the course of the war. Its operational inventiveness has served as a model for special forces ever since. Their assignments were some of the most challenging of the war. Feted by history they have gone on to become legendary military operations. The SBS operated globally: in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, the Channel and the Far East. Operating with flimsy canoes and armed with close-combat weapons - often nothing more than knives, pistols and their bare hands - these men operated repeatedly and successfully deep behind enemy lines. They landed secret agents, destroyed enemy infrastructure, attacked enemy shipping, spread uncertainty and fear and paved the way of some of the most important large-scale operations of the war, including D-Day.

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Navigation in the Middle Ages

Sun, 05 Mar 2023 02:21:39 GMT

The subject of navigation in the Middle Ages is fundamental to maritime history as it lays the foundation for the exploration, migration, global trade and international wars that followed. It is also a fascinating and multi-faceted topic; one which takes us out into the deep oceans where issues of wind, current, tide and depth are all influential, but also up into the sky where the sun, moon, planet and stars help us find out where we are and WHEN we are: the history of navigation is intimately linked with the question of time at sea. To find out more, Dr Sam Willis spoke with Dr Seb Falk from Girton College, Cambridge, an historian who specialises in the history of astronomy, navigation and mathematics from their ancient origins to modern developments. For Seb the Middle Ages were a time of wonder. They gave us the first universities, the first eyeglasses and the first mechanical clocks as medieval thinkers sought to understand the world around them, from the passing of the seasons to the stars in the sky. Seb is the author of an important recent book: The Light Ages: A Medieval Journey of Discovery.

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The Maritime History of Time

Tue, 28 Feb 2023 11:30:09 GMT

The history of time and how it relates to the maritime world is one of the most significant chapters in global history. The question of time is nothing less than the question of civilisation; the question of us. Time itself has been harnessed, politicised and weaponised; clocks have been used to wield power, make money, govern and control; to exchange knowledge and even beliefs. For the maritime world, the history of time takes us from some of the most ingenious inventors and scientists the world has ever seen to the spread of empires around the globe. To find our more Dr Sam Willis spoke with David Rooney, an expert on the history of timekeeping and civilisation who has worked as the Curator of Timekeeping at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich and is the author of ‘About Time: A History of Civilisation in Twelve Clocks.’

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When Hitler Scrapped His Navy

Mon, 20 Feb 2023 06:05:19 GMT

Hitler's relationship with his navy is one of the most intriguing topics of the naval history of the Second World War. Hitler was the Commander-in-Chief of all German armed forces - including the Kriegsmarine - and yet he was a man with no experience or understanding of seapower. The result was a strange and fractious relationship with his navy which was ill equipped, poorly manned and, more importantly poorly understood by the Nazi leadership. The relationship soured to such an extent that, in 1942 after an Allied convoy successfully made it to Russia in the dead of winter, Hitler publicly and furiously denounced the navy and demanded that all heavy German warships should be scrapped. This relationship presents a fascinating conundrum at the very heart of the otherwise formidable Nazi war machine and to consider it helps us understand the broader role of the impact of seapower on the course and ultimate outcome of the Second World War, and it also helps us understand Hitler as a man and as a political and military leader. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Hitler biographer Professor Frank McDonough.

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Maritime Disasters: HMS Gloucester

Sat, 11 Feb 2023 10:51:37 GMT

We continue our mini series on maritime disasters with HMS Gloucester a British warship lost in the spring of 1682 off the Norfolk coast. It’s quite a story: here is a ship with an impressive career that takes us from her end on that sandbar in Norfolk all the way to the British presence in the Caribbean during the Cromwellian Commonwealth – a key moment in global history. Her later career was intricately linked with the troubled history of the Stuart monarchy and when she sank one of those on board was none other than James Stuart, the future James II.

The wreck was recently discovered off Norfolk and to find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Dr Benjamin Redding - Senior Research Associate on the Gloucester Project at the University of East Anglia. Together with Professor Claire Jowitt, he is writing a cradle-to-grave history of this most historically and culturally significant seventeenth century warship.

This episode continues our mini series on maritime disasters: if you haven’t heard any of these so far do please check them out – we have covered so many extraordinary stories including the shocking wreck of the mighty Vasa in the seventeenth century, that magnificent ship that sank on its maiden voyage within sight of shore; the ss Waratah, a huge passenger liner that simply vanished in 1909; Preussen, the enormous and only five-masted full-rigged merchant ship ever built which sank in the English channel in 1910; the early submarine the HL Hunley which holds the record for the vessel being sunk the most times….and so much more! I should add here that we are also working on a future episode on the wreck of the Batavia – a dutch vessel which ran aground off western Australia in the summer of 1629 leading to one of the most appalling horror stories in all of history let alone all of maritime history…

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Fishermen Vs U-Boats

Mon, 06 Feb 2023 06:05:16 GMT

During the First and Second World Wars British fishing trawlers were turned into the Royal Naval Patrol Reserve to help clear the seas of mines and even take on the deadly U-Boats. They became known as 'Harry Tate’s Navy' - a nod towards the celebrity comedian known for his bungling of everyday tasks and slipshod approach to life. Taking this wry criticism on the chin the fishermen-turned naval personnel embraced it and Harry Tate's Navy became a byword for exceptional resource fullness and courage in the face of appalling difficulty and danger. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with the historian and journalist Rose George who is currently working on a major new study of the history of the fishing industry.

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Shipbuilding at Barrow-in-Furness

Mon, 30 Jan 2023 09:39:08 GMT

This episode was recorded at the fabulous Dockyard Museum in Barrow-in-Furness during the filming of their magnificent collection of ship models for the Lloyds Register Foundation's project 'Maritime Innovation In Miniature'. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century Barrow experienced one of the fastest and most extraordinary transformations in history when it changed from a small farm to one one of the largest and most successful shipbuilding centres in the world in just a handful of years. Dr Sam Willis speaks with John Irving, Barrow local and premises manager at the Dockyard Museum to find out more about the history of Barrow and about their extraordinary collection of ship models, two of which are now immortalised in super high-definition video - HMS Vengeance, one of Queen Victoria's most important battleships and RMS Orion, a passenger liner from the 1930s that transformed our expectation of comfort and safety at sea.

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Iconic Ships 19: HMS Agamemnon - Nelson's Favourite Ship

Mon, 23 Jan 2023 06:08:34 GMT

Our series on Iconic Ships continues with one of the most battle-honoured ships of Nelson's Navy: HMS Agamemnon. Today we got back to those days of the wooden walls to hear about this 64-gun Third Rate that saw service in the American Revolutionary War, the French Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic War. She fought in many of the major naval battles of those conflicts and had a reputation as being Nelson’s favourite ship. After a remarkably eventful career her working life ended in 1809 when she was wrecked off the River Plate on the coast of Uruguay. The location of the wreck has been known since the early 1990s but in recent months has become the focus of efforts to preserve it, as the wreck is threatened by erosion, treasure hunters and ship worm decay.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Mary Montagu-Scott, director of the museum in the historic shipbuilding village of Buckler’s Hard on the Beaulieu River in Hampshire, where HMS Agamemnon was built. Mary has always had a passion for maritime heritage, the sea, and sailing. She is currently active in maritime archaeology, keeping boatbuilding skills alive and as a trustee to the National Museum of the Royal Navy, HMS Victory, HMS Medusa and is commodore of her local yacht club. Mary's dream is to dive on the wreck of HMS Agamemnon, built in Bucklers Hard in 1781, and to see this great ship's story brought to life again on the original slipways.

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Maritime Africa 5: The World Heritage Sites of Songo Mnara and Kilwa Kisiwani

Mon, 16 Jan 2023 20:00:04 GMT

We continue our mini-series on maritime Africa with an episode on Songo Mnara and Kilwa, two significant maritime settlements on the Swahili Coast. In the previous episode we heard how the Swahili coast of east Africa is particularly rich in its maritime cultural heritage and trading past, where African and Arabic cultures have mixed for centuries across the Indian Ocean. In this episode we investigate two locations in great depth, both Swahili stone towns that made their place in global maritime history. Dr Sam Willis spoke with Mercy Mbogelah, who manages the ruins of both sites for UNESCO World Heritage.

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Maritime Africa 4: The Swahili Coast

Wed, 04 Jan 2023 12:51:37 GMT

We continue our mini-series on maritime Africa with an episode on the Swahili coast – a fascinating part of east Africa particularly rich in its maritime cultural heritage and trading past. The Swahili coast is distinctive for its mixture of African and Arabic cultures and the way that the two have been bound together by maritime trade across the Indian Ocean. There is also clear Chinese influence here as well, reflecting historic maritime trade routes thousands of miles longer and which date back to the Middle Ages. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Dr Stephanie Wynne- Jones form the University of York. Her work in Africa explores the deep links between people, landscapes, history and material culture and she has directed a series of excavation and survey projects in eastern Africa, including a study of early towns on Zanzibar and large-scale excavations at the World Heritage Swahili town of Songo Mnara – which we will find out more about in an upcoming episode.

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Victory at Sea in WW2

Thu, 22 Dec 2022 07:50:37 GMT

In this episode Dr Sam Willis speaks with Professor Paul Kennedy about the fundamental change in the balance of naval power and the strategic landscape that occurred in the Second World War. By the end of the war, the Italian, German, Japanese and French navies had been all but eliminated; the era of the big-gunned surface vessel ended; and America had risen as an economic and military power larger than anything that world had ever seen before. Paul Kennedy is the J. Richardson Dilworth professor of British History at Yale most well known for his 1976 book The Rise and Fall of British Naval Mastery. In this episode Paul brings his sweeping insights to the question of seapower in World War Two.

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Freak Ships of the Nineteenth Century IV: The Cleopatra

Wed, 14 Dec 2022 05:00:22 GMT

Freak Ships of the Nineteenth Century is the title of a pamphlet written in 1966 by J. Guthrie, then an employee of the maritime classification society Lloyds Register. It was written for private circulation amongst the staff. Guthrie realised that, as the premier classification society Lloyds Register were able to produce a very good technical description of vessels, often directly from plans, reports and records of conventional ships. But this left a gap in their knowledge - 'But what of the unorthodox ships, the rebels from tradition: those monsters and freaks of the nautical world which, throughout the whole of the 19th century attained transient fame (or notoriety) before disappearing from the scene for ever?'. Guthrie's pamphlet aimed to answer that question by exploring some of the most radical nautical designs of the nineteenth century.

This episode, the last of four, looks at the unique iron vessel that was designed and built to bring 'Cleopatra's Needle' - a 3500 year-old, 224-ton, 21-metre high ancient Egyptian obelisk made of granite - from Alexandria to London, where it still can be seen on the banks of the Thames at Embankment. This is the remarkable story of how it got there.

For the Egyptians, obelisks were sacred objects for the sun god, Ra; it’s thought that the shape symbolised a single ray of sun. They were placed in pairs at the entrances of temples, so that the first and last light of day touched their peaks. The obelisk that became known as Cleopatra’s needle was made around 1450 BC, in Heliopolis in what is now a part of Cairo. It was moved to Alexandria by the Romans in 12 BC, where it remained, lying on a beach, for almost two millennia.

But in 1819, to commemorate Horatio Nelson’s great naval victory over Napoleon in 1798 at the battle of the Nile, the Sultan of Egypt presented the obelisk to the government of Great Britain….but with no suggestion as to how the British might claim their reward. In Ebay terms – this was ‘collection only’. Unsurprisingly, The obelisk stayed where it was.

Fifty-eight years later a Scottish traveller and soldier in the British army, James Alexander, heard of the story and became interested in the challenge that Cleopatra’s needle posed to a mighty maritime Empire. He convinced a wealthy and philanthropic businessman, William Wilson, to fund a project to move the 224-ton granite obelisk, 3000 miles to London – a seemingly impossible task. Enter John Dixon, a talented and energetic civil engineer from Durham, who had made his name building the first railway in China. Dixon’s solution was to make a pre-fabricated iron vessel in London; take it in pieces to Alexandria and assemble it around the obelisk. The iron tube with the obelisk nestling inside, would then be towed back to London. The journey was nearly a disaster...

To go with this audio episode we have created a video animation which explains the history of the needle, the design of the Cleopatra, and her fraught journey to London.

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How to Map the Ocean Floor: The Challenger Expedition 1872-1876

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 08:18:52 GMT

On 7 December 1872 the Challenger expedition set sail from Sheerness. It’s purpose was conceived just two years earlier, in 1870, by Charles Wyville Thomson Professor of Natural History at Edinburgh University. Thomson had managed to persuade the Royal Society of London to ask the British Government to furnish one of Her Majesty's ships for a prolonged voyage of exploration across the oceans of the globe….a voyage of deep-sea exploration, unique for its scale of ambition and scope. Their job was to do nothing les than map the ocean floor and search for life in the abyss.

This remarkable expedition was made possible by extraordinary technological and scientific developments, international co-operation on an unprecedented scale and also large-scale co-operation between civilians and naval personnel. Its results did nothing less than change the way that we think about the maritime world.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke the with Erika jones, Curator of Navigation and Oceanography at Royal Museums Greenwich. Erika's work focuses not only on the Challenger expedition but more broadly on nineteenth-century science and the development of modern oceanography.

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Freak Ships of the Nineteenth Century III: Cigar Ships

Thu, 01 Dec 2022 08:10:43 GMT

This episode, the third of four, is on 'Cigar Ships', which, as Guthrie drily notes: 'in this context refers to the shape of the vessel, not her cargo, and this group of steamers represents the railwayman's approach to naval architecture' as they were conceived by the Winans brothers who came from a family of brilliant and wealthy railroad engineers. Their first cigar vessel was built at Baltimore in 1858.

To get a modern historian’s perspective on these extraordinary ships Dr Sam Willis with Stephen McLoughlin, a naval historian of immense knowledge of the period and the many maritime innovations it produced.

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Maritime Africa 3: African Whaling

Wed, 23 Nov 2022 05:00:03 GMT

Our third episode dedicated to the maritime history of Africa. We find out about indigenous African whaling; European and American exploitation of African waters; the numerous uses to which whale products were put both in Africa and abroad; the written and the archaeological evidence available for the study of whaling in Africa. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoked with Dr. Lynn Harris who has worked as a maritime historian and underwater archaeologist for over 40 years in South Africa, Namibia, Costa Rica, North and South Carolina and is currently employed as a Professor at the Program of Maritime Studies at East Carolina University. We also hear from Lindsay Wentzel, a third-year master’s student in East Carolina University's Program in Maritime Studies.

If you haven’t heard our previous two episodes on the maritime history of Africa please go and find them in the back catalogue – the first is on the history of indigenous African canoemen and the second on the desolate and vengeful skeleton coast of Namibia, home to thousands of shipwrecks from centuries of maritime trade, war and exploration passing Namibia’s coast.

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Maritime Africa 2: The Skeleton Coast of Namibia

Wed, 16 Nov 2022 08:30:19 GMT

The skeleton coast of Namibia is one of the most iconic maritime locations on earth. Here the fearsome Namib desert runs right to the sea. Over the centuries the sand dunes have grown and the shoreline has moved further away as the desert reclaims the sea. The coastline itself is formidably dangerous. Plagued by shallow sandbars, fog and treacherous currents, thousands of ships are known to have wrecked here from the earliest period of European exploration of the African coast. The result is an extraordinary collection of shipwrecks surrounded by desert. To help understand the rich history of this extraordinary place Dr Sam Willis spoke with Eliot Mowa, a lecturer at the University of Namibia with an expertise in maritime history and the maritime culture of Namibia.

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Iconic Ships 19: Preussen

Sun, 06 Nov 2022 07:43:35 GMT

Preussen was a marvel of a ship. A steel-hulled, five-masted, ship-rigged sailing ship built in 1902 and named after the German kingdom of Prussia.

Until the launch of Royal Clipper in 2000, a sail cruise liner, Preussen was the only five-masted full-rigged ship ever built and carried six square sails on each mast.

Not only did she have a fascinating career at a time when the sun was setting on the great clipper ships, she also had a fascinating and abrupt end in 1910, and ended up wrecked in the English Channel near Dover. Parts of her hull can still be seen today.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Frank Scott, a retired naval aviator and qualified square rig ship-master, who commanded various square riggers ranging from 80 to 800 gross tonnes. In his long sail training career Frank served in fourteen square riggers, under seven different national flags.

This podcast goes alongside an animation of the Preussen's rigging plan which can be seen on the Mariner's Mirror Pod's YouTube Channel.

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Maritime Africa: African Canoemen

Fri, 28 Oct 2022 07:23:02 GMT

This begins a handful of episodes that will explore the maritime history of Africa. We begin with the fascinating story of African canoemen.

African indigenous seafaring canoemen operated as middlemen between European traders and the coastal estuaries, rivers and land of West Africa. The topography of the coast often necessitated their involvement in trade because it was variably rocky, broken by sandbars and shallow waters, or treacherous in other ways to large sailing ships. Canoemen allowed access to trade by using surfboats that could surmount the waves on the coast in ways European boats could not. They often were hired as navigators and pilots on European ships or worked as menial labourers or ordinary seamen on European ships. Canoemen also frequently came alongside European ships to board them and trade goods or enslaved people. As a result, when Europeans began to build trading entrepots, such as Elmina Castle in Ghana, Monrovia in Liberia, or Cap Verde in Senegal, they hired canoemen to contract out trade.

To find out more about this little-known aspect of African maritime history Dr Sam Willis spoke with Megan Cructcher, a PhD Student in the Nautical Archaeology Program at Texas A&M University who is looking into the roles, identities, and material culture of these canoemen in West African maritime history, especially during the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries.

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HMS Victory - An Audio Tour Part 3: The Weather Deck and Visitor Book

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 06:17:58 GMT

This is Part 3 of a three-part special audio tour of HMS Victory, Horatio Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and a First Rate ship of the line which, by 1805, had already acquired a significant history. This, the final episode, looks at everything open to the elements – the weather deck, quarter deck, poop deck and forecastle and includes a look through HMS Victory's remarkable visitor book, signed by dignitaries for generations, including the late Queen Elizabeth, her mother and her sister. The first episode explored the lowest two decks, the hold and the orlop deck, both below waterline; and the second episode looked at the gun decks where the sailors lived and fought Victory’s 104 guns. Dr Sam Willis was taken on a tour of Victory by Tony Noon, one of HMS Victory's tour guides, and by Rosey Thornber, Principal Heritage Advisor for HMS Victory.

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HMS Victory - An Audio Tour Part 2: The Gundecks

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 06:17:45 GMT

This is Part 2 of a three-part special audio tour of HMS Victory, Horatio Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and a First Rate ship of the line which, by 1805, had already acquired a significant history. This, the second episode, looks at the gun decks where the sailors lived and fought Victory’s 104 guns; the first episode looked at the lowest two decks, the hold and the orlop deck; and episode three will look at everything open to the elements – the weather deck, quarter deck, poop deck and forecastle. Dr Sam Willis was taken on a tour of Victory by Tony Noon, one of HMS Victory's tour guides, and by Rosey Thornber, Principal Heritage Advisor for HMS Victory.

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HMS Victory - An Audio Tour Part 1: The Hold

Fri, 21 Oct 2022 06:16:57 GMT

This is Part 1 of a three-part special audio tour of HMS Victory, Horatio Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 and a First Rate ship of the line which, by 1805, had already acquired a significant history. This, the first episode, looks at the lowest two decks, the hold and the orlop deck, both below waterline; the second episode will look at the gun decks where the sailors lived and fought Victory’s 104 guns; and episode three will look at everything open to the elements – the weather deck, quarter deck, poop deck and forecastle. Dr Sam Willis was taken on a tour of Victory by Tony Noon, one of HMS Victory's tour guides, and by Rosey Thornber, Principal Heritage Advisor for HMS Victory.

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Fishwives!

Mon, 10 Oct 2022 05:10:51 GMT

Fishwives were a remarkable group of women who were involved with the British fishing trade and made a name or themselves for being particularly loud and outspoken, and became a byword for hardiness and industry. Dr Sam Willis spoke to the historian and journalist Rose George who is currently working on a big research project looking at fishing communities around the world and has become fascinated by the fishwives, in particular on their profound impact on British politics. It's a story of technology, economics, shipwreck, survival, frustration, wealth, poverty and, of course, fishing.

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Maritime Disasters: SS Waratah - The Ship That Disappeared

Mon, 03 Oct 2022 10:36:48 GMT

The SS Waratah was a passenger and cargo steamship built in 1908 for the Blue Anchor Line, a British shipping company operating between the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia between 1870 and 1910. On only her second voyage, on a leg of the journey from Durban to Cape Town in the summer of 1909, this enormous ship of 9,339 tons, with the capacity to carry over 1000 passengers, simply vanished. Locating the wreck has defied the efforts of numerous explorers, archaeologists, historians and adventurers ever since. To find out more about this ship, and to look at her plans and the written records of her design, construction and reports into her loss, Dr Sam Willis visited the archives of the Lloyds Register Foundation and spoke with Max Wilson.

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Great Sea Fights 10: Salamis

Mon, 26 Sep 2022 12:31:51 GMT

On 26 September 480 BC one of the most historically significant naval battles in history was fought between an alliance of Greek city states and the mighty Persian empire: the battle of Salamis.

Prior to the battle the second Persian invasion of Greece had seen convincing wins for the Persians at the battles of Thermopylae and Artemisium. The Greek victory at Salamis became a turning point as the depleted alliance of Greek city states finally thwarted the seemingly unstoppable Persian king, Xerxes. Within a year, two further Greek successes put an end to any Persian attempt to conquer the Greek mainland.

The Persian empire was immensely strong, was able to absorb the naval and manpower losses suffered at Salamis and continued to flourish for another 150 years, but the Greek victory had a profound impact on the sense of Greek national identity and the ideology of freedom. It also ensured that Greek culture would continue to flourish - and thus lay the foundations of philosophy, science, personal freedom and democracy that many societies around the world know and value today.

To find out more about this battle which can claim to be one of the most significant in history, Dr Sam Willis spoke with the military historian and expert on the ancient world, Jeffrey Cox.

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The Magellan Myth Uncovered

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 10:01:13 GMT

On 20 September 1519 the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan left Spain and headed westwards on a voyage that would subsequently echo through the centuries as the first circumnavigation of the earth. The riches of Asia were first tasted by the Portuguese in the late 1490s but the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas reserved for Portugal the eastern-bound maritime routes to Asia. It thus became commercially imperative for the Spanish to find a western-route to Asia, and in particular to the riches of the Spice Islands in the south western Pacific where nutmeg, mace and cloves were to be exclusively discovered. Magellan's subsequent voyage is both well known and poorly understood. For centuries, Ferdinand Magellan has been celebrated as a hero: a noble adventurer who circumnavigated the globe in an extraordinary feat of human bravery; a paragon of daring and chivalry. Magellan, in fact, did not attempt – much less accomplish – a journey around the globe, and in his own lifetime the explorer was actually abhorred as a traitor, reviled as a tyrant and dismissed as a failure. His real ambitions were in fact, focused less on circumnavigating the world or cornering the global spice market and more on exploiting Filipino gold. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke to the brilliant historian who has made this case and untangled the myths that made Magellan a hero, Felipe Fernandez Armesto. Felipe occupies the William P. Reynolds Chair at the University of Notre Dame, where he is a professor of history and, concurrently, of classics and of the history and philosophy of science.

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Freak Ships of the Nineteenth Century II: Circular Ships

Wed, 14 Sep 2022 05:00:36 GMT

This episode, the second of four, looks at the circular ships, usually associated with the Russian Vice-Admiral Popov, that came to be known as Popovkas. First built in 1873, these vessels were designed for the defence of Russia's shallow Black Sea coasts. With a limited draught of just thirteen feet, these vessels were nonetheless heavily armed and armoured. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with the naval historian Stephen Mclaughlin.

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Freak Ships of the Nineteenth Century I: Monitors

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 05:00:49 GMT

Freak Ships of the Nineteenth Century is the title of a pamphlet written in 1966 by J Guthrie, then an employee of the maritime classification society Lloyds Register. It was written for private circulation amongst the staff. Guthrie realised that, as the premier classification society Lloyds Register were able to produce a very good technical description, often directltly from plans, reports and records of conventional ships. But this left a gap in their knowledge - 'But what of the unorthodox ships, the rebels from tradition: those monsters and freaks of the nautical world which, throughout the whole of the 19th century attained transient fame (or notoriety) before disappearing from the scene for ever?'. Guthrie's pamphlet aimed to answer that question by exploring some of the most radical nautical designs of the nineteenth century. This episode, the first of four, looks at Monitors, a vessel type named after the original ship Monitor, built by the Union Navy in 1861 during the American Civil War. She led to an entire class of vessels all of which shared her curious design: an ironclad warship designed to float only just above the surface, with a single turret, to present as small a target as possible. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Andrew Choong Han Lin, a curator at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London.

Subsequent episodes will look at circular ships, cigar ships and the unique Cleopatra, an iron vessel designed and constructed for the sole purpose of bringing an ancient Egyptian obelisk to London from Alexandria.

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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner II: The Lessons From The Past

Thu, 01 Sep 2022 05:00:46 GMT

This is the second episode dedicated to that maritime masterpiece of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.

The first episode is a fabulous new reading of the poem with a specially-commissioned composition and soundscape designed to enthral the listener with the poem's weird, ethereal, supernatural glory.

This episode explores the text by crossing the boundaries between history and science, land and sea, past and present. Dr Sam Willis speaks with John Spicer, Professor of Marine Zoology at the School of Biological & Marine Sciences, at the University of Plymouth. John argues hat the poem could teach us a lesson or two about the way we treat our environment today.

In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner a sailor kills an albatross, which sets off a chain of events that fundamentally alter the sailor's world. Similarly, today we live in a world in which humankind is increasingly out of kilter withe natural world. The world is changing; it is transitioning. We are grieving for our climate. In particular there are numerous ways in which we have irrevocably altered the marine environment. The ocean's temperature is increasing and it is becoming more acidic. Through our activities that have impacted biodiversity we have set in motion what some scientists consider the greatest extinction of life in its history. Coleridge would not recognise the world in which we live after successive and relentless generations of technical and industrial revolutions, and yet his poem is oddly prophetic.

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The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Tue, 30 Aug 2022 14:06:11 GMT

This is the first of two episodes dedicated to that magical piece of prose so beloved by all with an interest in the sea – Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, first published in 1798. Many know of it, some have read it but few people have actually heard it in full, and listening to this masterpiece is the best way of appreciating its full maritime and supernatural glory.

This episode therefore presents The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, in full. It is also a traditionally masculine poem, written by a man and usually read or performed by a man, usually an English man – so to help appreciate this story through a different lens, the story is read today by the wonderfully talented Elaine Kingston – who you are soon to discover, is a Scottish Woman. To bring the story to life we have also commissioned the multi-talented composer Jamie Whyte to create an original work that combines music and sound effects. The combination of Elaine's reading and Jamie's soundscape creates a dramatic new interpretation of this poem.

Coleridge’s story begins at a wedding party where a man is accosted by a grizzly old sailor, beady of eye, who begins to unravel his own history. We hear how he sailed from his home harbour south, and is trapped in ice at the South Pole. They manage to break free and the sailors credit their salvation to an albatross; but the mariner then shoots the bird with a crossbow. Although, initially, it seems like a good move for these superstitious folk, things start to go horribly wrong and the murderer of the albatross is blamed. The sailor is forced to hang the carcass round his neck and over time becomes more appreciative of the natural world - which redeems him.

The text is dramatic and haunting and Coleridge explores numerous themes and sub-themes. It defies any single interpretation but you will certainly hear themes of retribution, punishment, guilt, curse and fear.

Part 2 of this episode features an interview with Professor John Spicer, Professor of Marine Zoology at the School of Biological & Marine Sciences at the University of Plymouth, who believes that the poem could teach us a lesson or two about the way we treat our environment today.

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The Golden Age of Piracy

Wed, 24 Aug 2022 07:35:30 GMT

Scholars debate the period when pirates actually ruled the waves - and the answer certainly depends on the location in question - but by general consensus it was all over by 1730 and it had begun some 80 years earlier, around 1650. The Golden Age of Piracy had been born in this crucial period when European maritime powers were flexing their muscles and starting to project naval power beyond the horizon. As empires grew so did the quantity and quality of trade and the seas became littered with merchantmen carrying indescribable wealth across the oceans. And yet this was a time when the maritime geographies of the new empires was imperfectly known, and when navigation was still as much guesswork as it was a science - this was the period immediately before the means to calculate longitude accurately had been discovered. The result was that ships carried this trade at predictable times of year, on predictable routes, in locations that were impossible to police adequately. Although European naval powers did create naval bases in the tropics, it was a slow process and one with many pitfalls. At the same time thousands of young men were learning how to sail and how to fight in a near endless series of maritime wars. The result? A period of piracy so intense and colourful that it still lives on today in myth, legend, and increasingly detailed and accurate histories. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with pirate historian Dr Jamie Goodall.

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Maritime Disasters: Vasa

Wed, 10 Aug 2022 05:00:50 GMT

Our mini-series on Maritime Disasters continues with the Vasa, the mighty flagship of the Swedish king, Gustavus Adolphus. Built between 1626 and 1628 Vasa was the pinnacle of Swedish artistic and scientific achievement. She was the most sophisticated warship ever built in Sweden, built at a time when Swedish seapower was on the rise. By the mid 1620s Sweden had become a major player in the naval and maritime make up of northern Europe and Gustavus Adolphus had established himself as a king with muscle and intent. Thousands came to the waterside in Stockholm to watch the maiden voyage of this most prestigious ship, and thousands watched in disbelief as she rolled over and sank. Salvaged in 1961 with all of her secrets intact Vasa is now one of the world's most important museum ships and a time-capsule of seventeenth century maritime and royal power. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Dr Fred Hocker, Director of Research at the Vasa museum in Stockholm.

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Maritime Disasters: HMS Guardian

Tue, 02 Aug 2022 08:08:55 GMT

Our Maritime Disasters mini series continues with the shocking, and scarcely believable tale, of HMS Guardian. In 1789 this 44-gun 2-decked ship of the Royal Navy was sent to the British colony in Australia under the guidance of the brilliant Captain Edward Riou. She was chock-full of convicts, livestock and provisions for the colony when she left England, and then re-stocked with provisions when the half-way point was safely reached at the Cape of Good Hope. Water was always a problem on such long journeys and any captain took advantage of a source of fresh water whenever it was discovered. Icebergs were such a source of fresh water, but approaching them was always fraught with danger, especially in the Atlantic hundreds of miles off the coast of South Africa when the weather could suddenly change....what happened next has been described as 'almost without parallel' in all of maritime history.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Dr Margaret Schotte, professor of Early Modern History in York's Department of History whose book Sailing School: Navigating Science and Skill, 1550-1800 investigates how early modern sailors developed mathematical and technical expertise in the age of exploration and the print revolution - expertise that helped people like Edward Riou cope if it just so happened that their ship was horrendously damaged by an iceberg miles from home....

This episode includes a rendition of the song "The Forecastle Sailor, Or The Guardian Frigate" by the historian Seb Falk, most likely the first ever recording of the song.

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The H.L. Hunley

Sun, 31 Jul 2022 08:25:41 GMT

Our maritime disasters series continues with the anniversary of the first successful underwater trials in 1863 of the Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley.

Shortly after the Hunley’s first trials in late July 1863 she sank during another test run, killing five of her eight crew. She was raised but then sank again in October killing all eight of her crew including Horace Hunley, the vessel’s designer, before sinking for the last time in 1864, again killing all of her crew.

The story of the Hunley is remarkable - it’s one of those stories that you can return to time and again. The early submarine pioneers were exploring an environment as dangerous as the early space pioneers and did so willingly.

Why did these people willingly get inside an iron tube that was built to operate underwater at a time when the science of operating vessels underwater was not properly understood? Why did they continue to do so when the vessel repeatedly demonstrated it was dangerous?

To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Michael Scafuri, senior archaeologist at the Warren Lasch Conservation Center in North Charleston South Carolina, today the home of the Hunley, as she was raised from the depths in 2000 with all of her secrets perfectly preserved.

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The Wreck of the Andrea Doria Part 3: The Wreck

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 06:23:42 GMT

We continue our mini series on maritime disasters with the third part of our episode on the wreck of the magnificent Italian passenger liner the Andrea Doria. Launched in 1953 as a means to rebuild Italy's reputation and status on the world stage after the Second World War she enjoyed a splendid career for just three years before she sank in 1956 after a horrific collision off the coast of Massachusetts.To find out more about the wreck of the vessel itself Dr Sam Willis spoke with the underwater explorer John Moyer who has has dived over 120 times on the Andrea Doria wreck, one of the most dangerous wrecks in the world.

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The Wreck of the Andrea Doria Part 2: The Eyewitness Accounts

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 07:09:48 GMT

This episode continues our mini series on maritime disasters and our investigation into the wreck, in the summer of 1956, of the Italian passenger liner, Andrea Doria. This episode includes eyewitness accounts from Linda Hardberger and Mike Stoller. Linda is now 80 and lives in San Antonio Texas – she has been a teacher, librarian, museum curator and is a mother and in spite of her terrible experience on the Andrea Doria has been boating for 40 years. Mike Stoller is now 89, lives in California and is one half of the songwriting team Lieber and Stoller – who wrote, among many other hits, Hound Dog, Jailhouse Rock and Stand by Me. The Andrea Doria was built in the 1950s, born from Italy’s bruised pride after the Second World War, and seen as a way to put Italy back on the map as a major player in the world of transatlantic travel. She became a hugely important ship for the Italian nation, a true icon of Italian culture and history. Launched in 1953 to great fanfare and fitted with the most exquisite Italian art, she enjoyed a successful career – though cut far too short by the events of July 1956.

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The Wreck of the Andrea Doria Part 1: The Events

Mon, 25 Jul 2022 06:50:16 GMT

We continue our mini series on maritime disasters with the extraordinary tale of the Andrea Doria, a magnificent Italian passenger liner lost off the coast of Massachusetts in 1956 when she was rammed by another liner. The Andrea Doria was built in the 1950s, born from Italy’s bruised pride after the Second World War, and seen as a way to put Italy back on the map as a major player in the world of transatlantic travel. She became a hugely important ship for the Italian nation, a true icon of Italian culture and history. Launched in 1953 to great fanfare and fitted with the most exquisite Italian art, she enjoyed a successful career – though cut far too short by the events of July 1956. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Pierette Simpson who, as a child, witnessed those terrible events and has since dedicated her life to sharing the story of the Andrea Doria so that it is never forgotten. Pierette is the author of Alive on the Andrea Doria!: The Greatest Sea Rescue in History and the award-winning docufilm Andrea Doria: Are the Passengers Saved?

This episode is Part 1 of 3. Part 2 will include two more eyewitness accounts including an interview with Mike Stoller of the legendary songwriting team Lieber & Stoller who wrote hits for Elvis and Ben E. King. Part 3 will be focussed on the wreck itself and includes an interview with marine explorer John Moyer.

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Iconic Ships 18: Sutton Hoo

Wed, 20 Jul 2022 15:10:06 GMT

We continue our mini-series on Iconic Ships by looking at the magnificent Sutton Hoo ship - placed inside the burial mound of an Anglo-Saxon king in the seventh century in what proved to be the richest intact medieval grave ever discovered. The riches of the tomb are now on display in the British Museum and a fantastic new project is underway to recreate the vessel itself which did not survive the centuries, though enough evidence of it did to allow us to understand and recreate it in detail. This was a crucial period in maritime history in northern Europe when, in the aftermath of Roman occupation but prior to the Viking invasions, the maritime cultures developed their own tradition of sailing and oared craft. And yet it is a period about which we know very little indeed. This project is set to transform our understanding of Dark Age seapower. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Tim Kirk, Master Shipwright of the project, and a man who knows more about the Sutton Hoo ship than anyone else alive...

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Iconic Ships 17: Henry V's Grace Dieu

Thu, 14 Jul 2022 07:13:36 GMT

In this episode we head much further back in time than we have ever dared before for an Iconic Ship…to find out about Henry V’s ship Grace Dieu, launched in 1418. And what a ship she was...

Henry only reigned for ten years but in those years he worked harder than any of his predecessors to build a navy designed to destroy French seapower. His ships were not just barges designed for transporting armies to France, but great warships built for prestige and power. It is during Henry V’s time as king that one of the finest of all medieval warships, Grace Dieu, was constructed. Contemporary descriptions marvelled at its size, and modern historians were cynical until her wreck in the River Hamble near Southampton was surveyed. These investigations proved that her mainmast was 200ft tall: she was nearly three times larger than Henry VIII’s Mary Rose which was built nearly a century later, and no warship that rivalled her for size was built for another 200 years.

To find out more about this remarkable feat of construction and the vision to attempt something apparently impossible, Dr Sam Willis spoke with Susan Rose, a legend in the world of medieval maritime and naval history.

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Iconic Ships 16: SS United States

Sun, 03 Jul 2022 07:01:18 GMT

Our 'Iconic Ships' series continues with the magnificent SS United States, published on the 70th anniversary of her maiden voyage. Launched in June 1951 she was the last remaining American superliner from the golden age of transatlantic travel and was built specifically to break the transatlantic speed record. On her maiden voyage she made the transatlantic run in just three and a half days. To this day, she still holds the trans-Atlantic speed record: no other passenger ship has crossed the Atlantic faster in either direction. Not only built for speed, her design was also innovative for a number of different reasons, all of which are crucial in the history of ship design, and in particular in the history of safety in passenger ships, at a time when America was wrestling with Russia on the world stage. With lessons having been learned from the Second World War, in this period passenger ships were designed in a way that made them easily convertible into troopships. Her designer William Francis Gibbs famously summed up his achievement: 'You can’t set her on fire, you can’t sink her, and you can’t catch her.' The SS United States has remarkably survived the years and today sits at Pier 82 on the Delaware River in Philadelphia while money is raised and plans set in place to preserve her for future generations. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Susan Gibbs, granddaughter of William Frances Gibbs, the ship's visionary designer and President of the SS United States Conservancy, the body dedicated to her preservation.

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Maritime Innovation 1: The Propeller

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 07:43:51 GMT

The first of a new mini-series on maritime innovations, we look at the history of the propeller. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Joanna Mathers, Head of Collections at the SS Great Britain Trust in Bristol. This episode was inspired by the discovery of an unusual design for a propeller in the collections of the Lloyds Register Foundation: the 'De Bay Propellor' invented in 1876. Of a very unusual design which involved two interlocking propellers, the De Bay propellor was just one of numerous attempts to improve the propeller in the nineteenth century. To make sense of this we have created an animation of the propeller which can be seen on our YouTube Channel and also a short animation on the general history of propellers. In this podcast episode we find out all about the transition from sail to steam, from paddle wheels to propellers, and all of the problems face by maritime engineers and the solutions that they proposed. A particular focus is paid to the ss Great Britain, the iron-hilled, steam-driven passenger liner designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in the 1840s, because of its important position in the history of marine propulsion.

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Maritime Motherhood Part 2: Hannah Davison's Scrapbook

Sat, 25 Jun 2022 11:00:00 GMT

Part two of our special episode looking at the remarkable life of Hannah Davison, wife of Captain Davison of the steel barque Alice A. Leigh/Rewa and mother to six children. The Davison family were something of a maritime Von Trapp family, and wherever they arrived in port they appeared in the local newspapers. Hannah carefully kept any newspaper cuttings that mentioned her family and her exploits. The stories included how the vessel survived a typhoon, was nearly torpedoed by a German U-Boat when the First World War broke out, births, deaths and illnesses of her children. There are also recipes for the kids and some of their drawings. The scrapbook now survives in the collections of the New Zealand Maritime Museum/Hui te Ananui a Tang-aroa. Check out our YouTube page for a video exploring the life of the ship and the Davison family.

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Maritime Motherhood Part 1: The Davison Family and the Alice A. Leigh/Rewa

Sat, 25 Jun 2022 06:41:12 GMT

Join us for the fantastic story of Hannah Davison who gave birth to six children on board the barque Alice A. Leigh (renamed Rewa in 1921), a steel barque which sailed the world between 1889-1930. The largest vessel ever built at Whitehaven in Cumbria, this four masted barque plied the world's sailing routes with a variety of cargo before joining a New Zealand wool merchant's fleet in 1921. Her story is particularly rich because of the family of Captain Davison who lived aboard. His wife Hannah was mother to their six children and kept a detailed scrapbook of their lives. Their large maritime family was well known and featured regularly in local newspapers. The scrapbook now survives in the collections of the New Zealand Maritime Museum/Hui te Ananui a Tang-aroa. Check out our YouTube page for a video exploring the life of the ship and the Davison family. Finally, damaged by a storm, the Alice A. Leigh/Rewa was sunk as a breakwater in Hauraki Gulf, Aukland, New Zealand where her semi-submerged wreck can still be easily seen and provides a tourist attraction for snorkelers and divers.

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Dressed to Kill: A History of Naval Uniform

Wed, 15 Jun 2022 07:13:02 GMT

What did people wear in naval battles and why? The adoption, style and development of naval uniform is a hugely significant subject - one which helps us understand not only the development of the navy as a fighting body but also the forging of national identities, gendered identities and notions of social hierarchy. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Dr Amy Miller, Curator of Decorative Arts and Material Culture at Royal Museums Greenwich. Amy has used the remarkable and extensive collections at the National Maritime Museum, along with personal papers, diaries, fiction and period artefacts to help us understand these wonderful garments in their social and economic contexts in her book Dressed to Kill: British Naval Uniform, Masculinity and Contemporary Fashions, 1748–1857.

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Maritime Disasters: Empress of Ireland

Sun, 29 May 2022 07:14:20 GMT

On 29 May 1914, the magnificent passenger liner Empress of Ireland sank in the St Lawrence River with the loss of over a thousand people. A full two years after the Titanic disaster, this was a vessel with adequate lifeboats and watertight compartments, and yet she foundered in just fourteen minutes after a collision with a Norwegian collier - ss Storstad - which punched an enormous hole into her side allowing 60,000 gallons of water in. More passengers died in this tragedy than eitherTitanic or Lusitania, both of which have featured in our Maritime Disasters series. She was one of the first two passenger liners built especially for the Canadian Pacific Line’s growing emigrant trade from Liverpool to Canada, her sister ship being the Empress of Britain and they provided a weekly service for emigrants, starting in the Spring of 1906. With so many years of service behind her the Empress of Ireland has an important position in the history of thousands of Canadians today. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Dan Conlin, curator at the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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Great Sea Fights: The Battle of Solebay, 1672

Sat, 28 May 2022 07:36:55 GMT

Our Great Sea Fights series continues on the 350th anniversary of the Battle of Solebay, fought between the Dutch and the allied English and French off the eat coast of England, and one of the hardest-fought battles of the Age of Sail. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Dr David Davies, historian and author of the Journals of Matthew Quinton, a series of historical novels set in the seventeenth century navy.

This was a fascinating and important period of naval history when so much was still being learned about how to actually fight at sea in broadside-armed ships, and in particular in enormous fleets: in this battle the Dutch had 75 ships and over 20,000 men and they took on a combined fleet of 93 ships and over 34000 men – that’s 108 MORE ships than fought at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. It is also an unusual example of the English actually co-operating – or at least trying to – with the French.

The battle was fought during the third Anglo-Dutch war, a prolonged period of intense commercial rivalry between European powers which had begun some twenty years before hand with the First Anglo-Dutch war in 1652. By 1672 both sides had landed mighty blows but the Dutch and English engines of war that were producing ships and keeping them at sea was now working as well as it ever had, and to complicate matters the French now had a formidable fleet of their own.

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The U-Boat War: 1939-1945

Tue, 24 May 2022 05:58:45 GMT

On 24 May 1945 the Supreme Commander of the German Navy, Admiral Karl Dönitz recorded the following words in his War Diary:

‘Wolf Pack operations against convoys in the North Atlantic, the main theatre of operations and at the same time the theatre in which air cover was strongest, were no longer possible. They could only be resumed if we succeeded in radically increasing the fighting power of the U-boats. That was the logical conclusion to which I came and I accordingly withdrew the boats from the North Atlantic. We had lost the Battle of the Atlantic.’

In this episode Dr Sam Willis speaks with U-boat historian Lawrence Paterson to find out how the U-boat shaped the global nature of the Second World War. The U-boat war was not confined to the Atlantic but fought in the Baltic, Mediterranean and in every other sea save for the Southern Ocean. It was a truly global conflict. Overstretched and undersupplied, it was this global nature of the U-boat role that ultimately doomed the campaign from the very start. Lawrence helps reset the mythology of the Battle of the Atlantic within the wider context of the war itself, analysing the chaotic German military and industrial mismanagement that occurred in all the theatres and hamstrung brilliant commanders and crews.

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The Feejee Mermaid

Thu, 19 May 2022 05:12:37 GMT

In this episode we continue looking at folklore, myths and legends relating to the sea by investigating the story of the Feejee Mermaid, an extraordinary tale of a 'real' mermaid that was discovered in Japan in 1822, purchased by a collector and displayed in London to the grotesque fascination of thousands of people. Dr Sam Willis speaks with Béatrice Laurent, Professor of Victorian Studies at the Université Bordeaux Montaigne in France. They discuss the reasons why people believe in mermaids in the nineteenth century and how the discovery of mermaids fitted in with religious and scientific thought at the time.

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Mermaids and Sirens

Wed, 18 May 2022 07:07:22 GMT

Folklore, myths and legends relating to the sea have existed for as long as humans have been travelling by sea. The alien nature of the marine environment, the almost inconceivable scale of the oceans, the power of the sea, and the extraordinary richness in the ocean’s biodiversity has led to the creation and development of the most fabulous legends.

And one of the most important of those legends concerns women and the sea – women in the form of mermaids and sirens – both subtly different creatures: the mermaid having the torso of a woman and the tail of fish; a siren being a creature that first appears in Greek mythology, who lured sailors to shipwreck and death with their enchanting voices. Their appearance was different and although written descriptions are few and far between, they are depicted in art as birds flying over the sea and ships, but with the heads of women.

Such a rich story is culturally rather complicated. To find out more Eirwen Abborley-Watton spoke with Cecilia Rose a PhD Student at the university of Exeter whose work focuses on mermaids and sirens as figures of indeterminate gender in the art and poetry of the late Victorian Era and how these figures may still be used as symbols for transgender and non-binary communities today.

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The Lusitania Disaster: Part 4 The Exhibition

Sun, 08 May 2022 08:40:08 GMT

Part 4 of our special min-series on the Lusitania disaster. Dr Sam Willis meets Lusitania historian Peter Kelly and together they explore some of their favourite items in the Lusitania exhibition at the Merseyside Maritime Museum. They discuss two different ships linked with the Lusitania story - the Falaba, a passenger ship of Liverpool's Elder Dempster line sunk by a German U-Boat off the southern coast of Ireland a matter of weeks before the Lusitania disaster; and the Carmania, a Cunard line Atlantic liner like the Lusitania. But unlike the Lusitania the Carmania was converted into an armed ship and went on to sink an armed German merchant cruiser in Bermuda. Sam and Peter also discuss Peter's project researching the biographies of all of those on board Lusitania on her last voyage and also the extraordinary satirical medallions made in Germany to commemorate the sinking.

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The Lusitania Disaster: Part 3 The Ship and the Sinking

Sat, 07 May 2022 18:13:24 GMT

Part 3 of our mini-series on the Lusitania tragedy when, in May 1915 the Cunard passenger liner Lusitania was torpedoed 16 miles off the coast of Ireland, leading the deaths of over 1100 men, women and children. This episode looks at the general history of the ship, the reasons behind her construction, and the reasons behind her destruction. The episode puts the Lusitania sinking in the context of early twentieth century shipbuilding and of the First World War. To find out more Dr Sam Willis travelled to Liverpool on the day of the Lusitania memorial service, held on Albert dock where one of the Lusitania's propellers survives, and spoke with Peter Kelly, a historian researching the biographies of every single passenger on board the ship on her fateful voyage.

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The Lusitania Disaster: Part 2 The Eyewitness Accounts

Sat, 07 May 2022 05:17:57 GMT

This is the second episode in our Lusitania Disaster Special in which we explore the sinking of the Lusitania by a German U-Boat in May 1915, which ended in the death of over 1900 people. In this episode we hear three fascinating eyewitness accounts: The 18 year-old lookout Leslie Morton describes how he lost his brother when the torpedo struck, scrambled for his life and ended up trawling the morgues in Queenstown for his brother's corpse; we hear from Grace French, a 24 year-old dressmaker from Scotland making her way back home who was taking the air with a young man she had taken a shine to when the torpedo tore her future apart; and the English nurse Alice Lines, travelling with her American employers to look after their children. When the torpedo struck Alice found herself as far away from safety as possible - she was inside, downstairs, with a five year old and a seven year old she had to save as well as herself.

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The Lusitania Disaster: Part 1 An Introduction to the Eyewitness Accounts

Sat, 07 May 2022 04:20:46 GMT

This episode forms part of our mini series on the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915 - that terrible event when the enormous Cunard passenger liner was sunk off the coast of Ireland by a German U-Boat killing 1193 people. To find out more Dr Sam Willis speaks with Anthony Richards from London's Imperial War Museum. Anthony is an expert on eyewitness testimony and on the sinking of the Lusitania. They discuss the exciting purchase at auction by the Imperial War Museum of numerous accounts of the disaster, and what they can tell us about this defining moment in the First World War, and in the history of all disasters at sea.

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Ultimate Ship Models 2: The Great Eastern

Sat, 30 Apr 2022 15:10:12 GMT

The second of a new mini-series on ship models. Dr Sam Willis explores the extraordinary model of the SS Great Eastern held in the collections of the National Maritime Museum in London.

The Great Eastern, designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was one of the most remarkable ships ever built.

She was the largest ship ever built – by an enormous margin.

measuring 692 feet(211m) and 17,274 tons gross she was almost twice as long as any ship that had ever been built.

Her registered tonnage was six times more than any ship ever built and in an age of the most extraordinarily rapid technological development her size was not actually surpassed until the launching of the Oceanic of 701 feet (214m) in 1899 and in tonnage by the Celtic of 21,035 tons gross in 1901.

She was the largest passenger ship ever built and could carry 4,000 passengers - seven times more than ever before. A figure not surpassed until 1913 by the German ship SS Imperator.

She was the first ships to carry three different methods of propulsion – screw, paddle and sail.

She was a pioneer in the laying of subsea telegraphic cables – laying the first successful Trans-Atlantic cable to USA.

For the video check out the Mariner's Mirror YOUTUBE channel!

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Robinson Crusoe / Alexander Selkirk

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 05:49:30 GMT

We explore the astonishing intertwined tales of both Robinson Crusoe and Alexander Selkirk, two men marooned on a desert island, one in fiction, one in real life.

Robinson Crusoe was a novel published in 1719 by Daniel Defoe – that supposedly came from the pen of Crusoe himself – and told the story of how he was marooned and spent 28 years on a deserted island in the Caribbean. The book was enormously successful and is widely considered to be the beginning of realistic fiction as a genre – Crusoe’s tale was entirely plausible at a time when ships were regularly sailing from the northern hemisphere to the tropics; when ships were regularly getting wrecked; when pirates were regularly attacking them; when there was still so much to discover about the world’s geography; when the idea of a sailor finding himself accidentally or deliberately abandoned on a desert island made perfect sense.

Crusoe’s story was based on a true story – the story of one Alexander Selkirk, a Scottish mariner who found himself castaway on a remote Pacific island for four years and four months a decade before Defoe wrote Robinson Crusoe. Selkirk is a fascinating character – and his history is absorbing, regardless of the fact that he found himself marooned. He was involved in buccaneering and privateering, he rounded the horn and sailed in the pacific where he attacked Spanish ships and towns – and it was here, on an island known as Mas al Tierra, 400 miles off the coast of Chile, that Selkirk chose to be marooned.

To find out more about these two brilliant stories, the way that Defoe intertwined them, and the way that we now believe they are intertwined, Dr Sam Willis spoke with Professor Andrew Lambert, Laughton Professor of Naval History in the Department of War Studies at King's College. In 2010 Lambert joined a German expedition to Mas al Tierra – now known as Robinson Crusoe Island, The expedition focused on the relationship between the fictional character of Crusoe, the real character of Selkirk, and the development of British global strategy that culminated in the arrival of Commodore George Anson’s naval expedition in 1741.

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Iconic Ships 15: Carpathia

Mon, 18 Apr 2022 05:10:49 GMT

Carpathia is the vessel that earned her historical fame by coming to the rescue of the stricken Titanic in April 1912. She is often glossed over in the history books but Carpathia herself was a remarkable ship with a fascinating history, and one that also ends in disaster with the vessel at the bottom of the Atlantic. Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger ship, launched in 1908. Her dramatic story is one of innovation, competition, immigration, courage, shipwreck and war. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Dr Jay Ludowyke an author and academic who teaches writing at the University of the Sunshine Coast and the University of Queensland and the author of Carpathia: The extraordinary story of the ship that rescued the survivors of the Titanic.

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Titanic's Anchors

Fri, 15 Apr 2022 04:22:23 GMT

In April 1912, the Titanic - the largest vessel in the world, and the largest man-made moving object that had by then been created - struck an iceberg, split in half and sank in the middle of the Atlantic, taking with her around 1500 souls. Her early demise meant that one of her most important pieces of safety equipment - her anchors - were never used as intended. In this fascinating episode Dr Sam Willis speaks with Clare Weston from the Black Country Living Museum about the fabrication of Titanic's anchors and the crucial role that Britain's industrial heartland played in creating a powerful maritime economy and empire.

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The Search for the Northwest Passage

Mon, 11 Apr 2022 07:33:46 GMT

In the Arctic there is a sea route which passes from the Atlantic to the Pacific. It passes up the west coast of Greenland into baffin bay before taking a sharp left turn through a maze of islands that lie off the northern coast of Canada. Once through these islands the route passes to the north of Alaska and then through the narrow straits between Russia and Alaska into the Bering Sea and from there to the Pacific. This 'Northwest Passage', the fabled northern route linking East with West, was not successfully navigated until 1906 by Roald Amundsen. Today we talk about the four centuries of exploration before then, when European maritime powers and private companies attempted to find a route to the Pacific and to map to their attempts. It's a story of exceptional courage, perseverance, folly, competition, greed and culture-clash. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Dr Katie Parker, a historian specialising in Pacific history, the history of the book and the map, and the history of empires in the long-eighteenth century.

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Madness At Sea - A History

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 07:35:12 GMT

Those of you who have spent any time at sea will know how the unique conditions of being afloat can fundamentally change the way that you think and how you experience the world. It will come as no surprise that there have been occasions in history when humans have been pushed to their absolute limits and their minds have cracked; when a firm grasp on reality has catastrophically failed in a sudden a violent shock, or when doubts and anxiety have crept in like water through a tiny hole the hull of ship, unnoticeable until its weight has become too heavy to ignore and impossible to fix.

Dr Sam Willis explores the troubling history of madness at sea, a fascinating topic that allows us to range freely across the oceans of history, exploring a variety of stories that highlight different aspects of how the maritime environment has affected the mental health of sailors in the past. It's a story of loneliness, hallucinations, psychopaths, endurance and the limits of the human mind. It takes us to the adventures of ancient mythical seafarers, to the age of exploration and global maritime empires, to world wars fought at sea, to the challenges of modern racing and the dangerous pleasures of sailing for fun...

Sam speaks with the author and sailor Nic Compton whose book 'Off the Deep End' explores this theme as never before. Do NOT listen to this episode on your own on a boat, and be certain that safety at sea starts - and ends - in the mind.

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Ultimate Ship Models 1: HMS Royal George

Tue, 29 Mar 2022 05:00:17 GMT

The first of a new mini-series on ship models. Dr Sam Willis explores the extraordinary model of HMS Royal George held in the collections of the National Maritime Museum in London. The Royal George is widely considered to be one of the finest eighteenth-century ship models ever made. It was made for the King in the 1770s, as a means of encouraging George III to take an interest in the Royal Navy and some of the finest artists in the kingdom worked on it, resulting in a model that not only showcased the power of a First Rate ship of the line, but also the artistic ingenuity and skill in the kingdom. The ship modelled is the First Rate Royal George, launched in 1756, at the time the largest ship in the world, that would have had a crew in excess of 800 and was armed with 100 guns. The Royal George played a significant role in the Seven Years War (1756-63) and the war of American Independence (1775-1783) but sank at her mooring near Portsmouth in August 1782 in one of history's worst maritime disasters. More than 900 souls died, including 300 women and 60 children visiting the crew.

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Iconic Ships 14: The San Juan, 1563

Tue, 22 Mar 2022 06:31:34 GMT

The San Juan was a basque whaling ship that sank in Labrador in 1565, and was rediscovered in 1978.

In the autumn of 1565 several Basque whaling ships were anchored in a remote bay of Labrador, opposite the island of Newfoundland. It was the end of the whaling season, and hundreds of sailors were hurrying up to complete their ships’ cargo of oil barrels. Some were flensing the blubber off the dead whales, some working in the rendering ovens while others were taking the oil barrels on board. All that frantic industrial activity was happening in the wilderness, decades before any Europeans would establish the first colonies of the country that we now call Canada.

In October a fierce storm hit that unprotected, barren coast. Under the strain of the hurricane-force wind, the anchor cables of one of the ships, the 200-tonne San Juan, gave in. To the despair of her crew members, the ship went adrift and ran aground on the small island that closed the bay. We can imagine the titanic efforts the crew members undertook in order to save the ships; nevertheless, the San Juan started sinking very near the shore, at about 10 m depth. The captain ordered to save as many victuals as possible and as much of the ship’s gear, and the crew members managed to save their belongings before the ship sank with nearly one thousand oil barrels on board.

The ship and its associated artefacts were rediscovered in 1978 and subsequently excavated, and have transformed what we know about seafaring in general and of course whaling in particular in that hugely important era where European seafarers were just beginning to stretch their reach across the Atlantic. The San Juan is now being recreated by hand and with the utmost care and attention to historical accuracy in the northern Spanish port of Pasaia To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Saul Hoffmann, an Italian shipwright who has worked on the ship, and Cindy Gibbons, the Cultural Resource Management Advisor of the Western Newfoundland and Labrador Field Unit, and a qualified witness of the impact in Red Bay of the discovery of the San Juan,

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Great Sea Fights 9: The Egadi Islands 241 BC

Thu, 10 Mar 2022 05:00:21 GMT

The battle of the Egadi Islands - or the Aegates - is one of the most significant naval battles of the ancient world. On 10 March 241 BC the mighty naval powers of Rome and Carthage met off the coast of Sicily. The Carthaginian fleet was ambushed by the Romans in a well-planned and brilliantly executed trap leading to a decisive Roman victory. This was the battle that ended the mighty First Punic War which had dominated both Roman and Carthaginian history for two generations; it marked a turning point in the histories of both empires; it was the moment that marked Rome as having the potential to be far more than a local power in the Mediterranean; and it is the ONLY naval battle that archaeologists have managed to identify. The finds raised from the seabed across this enormous battle site are unique and astonishing. To find out more Dr Sam Willis speaks with Peter Campbell, an archaeologist who has been involved in the project to survey and excavate the battle site for many years.

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The Vikings

Tue, 08 Mar 2022 05:00:14 GMT

One of the most fascinating periods in all of maritime history is the Viking Age. From around 700 CE and for the next 700 years, Vikings spread out from Scandinavia, reshaped Europe and influenced lands far beyond. It's a story of ingenious maritime engineering, astonishing navigation, fierce battles, culture clashes, trade, language and the rise and fall of a complex society. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Tore Ske, one of Norway’s most acclaimed historians. Tore has written several prize-winning and bestselling works of medieval history that challenge a traditional nation-oriented historical narrative. His latest book - The Wolf Age: The Vikings, the Anglo-Saxons and the Battle for the North Sea Empire is a bestseller in Norway, won the prestigious Sverre Steen award and is the first of Tore’s books to be translated into English. Tore is a man with a gift for bringing to life the backstabbing, plotting, bribery and warfare of this period and for helping you think about the whole Viking era in a new way.

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The East India Company

Fri, 25 Feb 2022 07:49:08 GMT

In this episode Dr Sam Willis and the multi winning historian William Dalrymple discuss the extraordinary story of the East India Company's dominance of India. It is still too easily assumed that the British conquered India through imperial conquest but the reality is even more shocking and relevant to the present day - because India was subdued not by a government, but by a private enterprise with global reach - a business, almost entirely unregulated, and controlled from a small office in London. How did a private enterprise come to control an entire subcontinent? How does maritime trade and seapower fit into this picture? The East India company was born out of Tudor seafarers, explorers and pirates. By 1803 it had its own navy, an army of 200,000 men, and had subdued or directly seized India - and it had done so in less than fifty years. It's a story of global trade in spice, textiles and tea; of shipbuilding, British-Indian warfare, British-European warfare, politics, law and terrifying amounts of murder, and it is a key moment in the shaping of the modern world.

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The Hunt for Shackleton's Endurance

Thu, 17 Feb 2022 11:02:17 GMT

In one of the most remarkable maritime history stories of recent years, a team of scientists and explorers are getting closer than ever before to finding the Endurance, the ship that Ernest Shackleton took on his 1914 Imperial Trans-Antarctic expedition. An expedition is currently in the Weddell Sea, less than two miles from the last known position of the Endurance and have released an underwater vehicle to scan the sea bed. To find out more, Dr Sam Willis interviewed David Mearns, a professional shipwreck hunter famed for discovering HMS Hood, about the remarkable story that led to Shackleton's ship being crushed by the ice; the challenges faced in identifying its location; and what it would mean if the ship is finally found.

The story of the Endurance is one of the most remarkable in the history of exploration. Shackleton and his 27 men became ice bound on the Endurance in February 1915, having spotted land just days before. Eight months later, having survived the antarctic winter, the ship was crushed and sank. The men camped on the ice and drifted northwards for six months before taking to the sea in the Endurance's small boats as the ice melted. In five days of sailing in open boats, they made it to Elephant Island and set up camp. Ten days later Shackleton and five others set sail once again in one of the small open boats to undertake an 800-mile journey to South Georgia. Two weeks later, having survived the worst weather the south Atlantic could throw at them, they arrived in South Georgia. Three of them then crossed an uncharted mountain range in a 36-hour hike to reach the settlement of Stromness, where they began to plan the rescue of the three members of the crew left around the coast on South Georgia, and the 21 left behind on Elephant Island. It took three separate attempts on three separate vessels to reach the camp on Elephant Island but eventually they were rescued, three months after Shackleton had left. Not a single man died.

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The Battle of Guadalcanal, 1942

Mon, 07 Feb 2022 05:06:50 GMT

The naval battle of Guadalcanal was one of the most intense and dramatic naval battles of the war, and with with far-reaching strategic consequences. It is the winter of 1942, a year after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour which brought America into the war. Guadalcanal is the largest of the Solomons Islands, found to the north west of Australia.

In the months after the attack on Pearl Harbour the Japanese had been immensely successful; they had driven the Americans out of the Philippines, the British out of Malaya, the Dutch out of the East Indies. The Japanese had then began to expand westwards in an attempt to build a defensive ring around their conquests and threaten the lines of communication from the United States to Australia and new Zealand. They reached Guadalcanal in May 1942 and invaded.

Three months later, the Americans responded with an invasion fo their own, their first amphibious landing of the war and, crucially, captured the airfield newly constructed by the Japanese. The following six months was spent in a desperate battle trying to hold it against relentless waves of Japanese attacks. The battle reached a crisis point in November with a concerted effort from the Japanese to bombard the airfield from the sea and a corresponding American naval effort to drive the Japanese ships away. They were successful and by February of 1943 the Japanese had evacuated the island, an immensely challenging operation, brilliantly executed.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis speaks with the historian Jeffrey Cox.

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How to Become a Naval Officer: Part 1 The U.S. Naval War College, Rhode Island

Tue, 25 Jan 2022 05:00:51 GMT

This week we are exploring the history of how to become a naval officer, with particular focus on the American experience and the foundation of the Naval War College in Rhode Island. Established in 1884 the U.S. Naval War College offered professional study for naval officers and now offers advanced courses of professional study for all services, U.S. government agencies and departments, and international navies.

In our modern world media interest on naval power tends to be directed towards materiel rather than personnel: recent news stories, for example, have focussed on the USS Nevada, armed with no fewer than 20 Trident II strategic nuclear missiles recently surfacing at the American naval base in Guam in the Pacific – a clear demonstration of strength or in the official wording - of ‘readiness and commitment’ - towards China and North Korea. We do not hear, however, about the personnel wielding this naval power. No news stories ran a feature saying that a particularly successful or maverick or reliable naval officer had been sent to Guam; all we hear about is the submarine.

This is notably different to the way that naval power appears in history, as it is dominated by personalities, whether it is the American Chester Nimitz in the Pacific theatre of the Second World War, one of his great rivals the Japanese Chuichi Nagumo, the British Beatty and Jellicoe, in the First World War, Horatio Nelson, John Paul Jones, Francis Drake, …and so on.

So how does the US Navy try to guarantee the competence of the men who lead their fleet now - and how did they do it in the past? To help me find out more I spoke with Dr Evan Wilson, Assistant Professor in the John B. Hattendorf Center for Maritime Historical Research at the U.S. Naval War College in Rhode Island.

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The Titanic

Mon, 17 Jan 2022 02:45:07 GMT

Dr Sam Willis speaks with Don Lynch, a historian who has spoken to more survivors of the Titanic than anyone else alive and was the official historian for James Cameron's 1997 film Titanic. Sam and Don discuss a number of issues including the concept of ‘women and children first’ and how that actually worked in practice. They also discuss unresolved historical issues relating to the history of the Titanic. This episode is made to go alongside a remarkable new 3D model of the Titanic that has been built using the original plans for the ship and allows us to explore the Titanic in great depth and with great accuracy. The video can be found on the Mariner's Mirror Podcast YouTube Channel.

Laid down in March 1909 she was launched a little over two years later and completed just under a year after that, on 2 April 1912. Her size was immense: at 882 feet 9 inches long, she was the largest moveable man made object on earth. This was a major engineering challenge and it revolutionised shipbuilding. No one had ever tried to build a ship the size of the Titanic or her sister ships Olympic and Britannic, ever before.

It took an entire year to put the Titanic’s frames in place. She was built with 2000 hull plates mostly 6ft wide and 30ft long, weighing up to three tons. The hull was held together with over three million iron and steel rivets.

The radio room with the latest Marconi radio equipment was located on the boat deck, as close to the top of the ship as possible to keep the feed line to the antennae short. The transmitter was the most powerful at sea able to contact either New York or London from the centre of the Atlantic.

The First Class accommodation was high up in the ship away from the noise of the machinery. The suites were lavishly decorated in styles of different historical periods. The largest had their own private section of deck.

The Third Class accommodation was split between either end of the ship in the lower decks. Single men were in the bow and single women and families were in the stern where they were subjected to the noise and vibrations of the engine and propellers.

The 20 lifeboats were carried on the uppermost deck but 32 more, featured in the original design were never put in place, to create space for the wealthy to exercise. This meant that the Titanic only had sufficient lifeboats for 33% of her passengers.

At 11.40 on 15 April 1912, the Titanic was 370 miles south of Newfoundland, in 12,500 feet of water – nearly two and a half miles, travelling just under her top speed of just under ten metres per second, when an iceberg was spotted by the lookout.

He telephoned the bridge with the words ‘Iceberg right ahead’. It was 100 ft tall, the size of an eight-story building, and with no light to reflect it, the iceberg appeared almost black. The order was given hard to starboard, to turn the ship to port but she struck on the starboard side, tearing as many as six different holes in her hull, all along the lines of her hull plates, suggesting that the rivets snapped off.

Water poured in at seven tons per second, fifteen times faster than it could be pumped out. The hull was divided into sixteen watertight compartments but they did not extend all the way up to the top of the ship, so the water flooded into each one at a time, as the bow began to sink. Within 45 minutes, 1500 tons of water were in the front section of the ship, and she snapped in half. Each section hit the seabed with such force that it created an enormous debris field, the stern burying itself fifteen metres below the sea bed. 1534 lost their lives.

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The UK's Historic Ships and HMS Medusa

Mon, 20 Dec 2021 08:18:48 GMT

Dr Sam Willis explores the fascinating history of the UK’s historic fleet – the historic vessels that survive in the UK. Many are afloat but there are also ships on slipways, in sheds, hidden in creeks, dismantled in boxes, forgotten on canals... To find out more Sam speaks with Hannah Cunliffe, Director of National Historic Ships UK. a government funded, independent organisation which gives objective advice to UK governments and local authorities, funding bodies, and the historic ships sector on all matters relating to historic vessels in the UK. Sam and Hannah met on board HMS Medusa in Portsmouth, a fine example of one of the UK's historic ships that was saved and is meticulously cared for for future generations to enjoy. Medusa is a Harbour Defence Motor Launch (HDML), built in 1943, and the last surviving vessel to have been at Omaha beach on DDay.

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Pearl Harbor

Tue, 07 Dec 2021 06:50:27 GMT

We explore the extraordinary story of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, on 7 December 1941.

To find out more Dr Sam Willis speaks with Mark Stille, a retired commander in the US Navy, who studied at the Naval War College and has recently finished a 40-year career working in the intelligence community, with tours on the faculty at the Naval War College, the Joint Staff and US naval ships; he is also the author of numerous works focussing on naval history.

This episode is designed to sit alongside the most fabulous 3D animation exploring the Shokaku - one of the Japanese carriers involved in the attack. The full video can be seen on the Mariner’s Mirror podcasts’s Youtube and Facebook pages with shorter clips on Twitter and Instagram.

Pearl Harbor was a surprise attack, launched by the Japanese against the American naval base in Hawaii, before the formal declaration of war between the two nations. The Japanese goal was nothing less than to destroy the American pacific fleet. From six aircraft carriers, The Japanese launched hundreds of aircraft in two waves. Less than two hours later the Japanese had crippled or destroyed nearly 20 American ships and more than 300 airplanes. Dry docks and airfields were also destroyed. 2,403 sailors, soldiers and civilians were killed.

Importantly, however, the Japanese actually failed in their goal to cripple the Pacific Fleet. By the 1940s, battleships were no longer the most important vessel in the navy as they had been in the previous war: Aircraft carriers and seaborne airpower had now changed that nature of seapower and all of the American Pacific Fleet’s carriers were away from the base on December 7 and escaped destruction.

Moreover, for the the first time in years of discussion and debate about America entering the war, popular opinion now dramatically swung towards joining the fight. The following day America declared war on Japan, and three days later, on Germany.

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Iconic Ships 13: Thermopylae

Mon, 06 Dec 2021 10:16:24 GMT

In this episode we hear about Thermopylae, one of the most magnificent clipper-ships ever built, and some claim the finest of them all. In 1879, before her second wool voyage from Australia, the Sydney Morning Herald eulogised: 'The fastest and handsomest ship in the world is now lying at the Circular Quay loading for London, and those who take pleasure in seeing a rare specimen of naval architecture should avail themselves of the opportunity of doing so. Of course, we allude to the Thermopylæ, the celebrated Aberdeen clipper. [The] Thermopylæ has all the appearance of a yacht, and yet she carries a good cargo, is a beautiful sea boat, and stands up to her canvas well.'

Built in Aberdeen and commissioned in 1868, but long over-shadowed in public recognition by her rival, Cutty Sark (a ship built specifically to out-pace her in the China tea trade but only once succeeded in so doing), Thermopylæ lives on as arguably the finest all-round clipper of them all.

Clipper ships like Thermopylae were astonishing to behold, and were the culmination of centuries of refinements in sailing technology that led to some of the most beautiful and fastest merchant ships ever built. They revolutionised global trade tearing around the seas carrying tea, wool, luxury goods, and of course people as this era of migration changed the populations and economies of the world forever. Their heyday was short lived, however, as increasingly efficient steam engines and railways changed the way that goods were transported – all over again.

To find out more, Dr Sam Willis speaks with Captain Peter King. Peter recently retired from the merchant shipping industry after over 62 years of continuous service in a wide range of maritime disciplines. In the 1980s, while serving as Managing Director of one of the Christian Salvesen group companies in Aberdeen, he developed an interest in the George Thompson Jnr’s Aberdeen-based shipping enterprise leading to his researching and publishing the first definitive history of Thermopylæ.

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Iconic Ships 12: HMS Barham

Thu, 25 Nov 2021 07:06:35 GMT

In this, episode 12 of our 'Iconic Ships' series we discover the story behind one of the most remarkable pieces of footage to come out of the Second World War: the battleship HMS Barham capsizing and exploding having been torpedoed by a U-Boat on 25 November 1941. HMS Barham was a Queen Elizabeth-class battleship, She enjoyed a lengthy career, serving in both the First World War and Second World War. Her role in the Second World War was largely focussed on the complex Mediterranean theatre at a time when the French navy and Italian navy both posed significant threats to the British. To find out more Sam Willis speaks with Dr Philip Weir, a historian who specialises in the Royal Navy in the early twentieth century. He has written for the Navy Records Society, History Today and Time and has contributed to television and radio programmes, including the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are. Philip is also a Titan in the world of maritime and naval history on Social Media and can be followed on Twitter @navalhistorian

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The Maritime History of Wales 5: The Welsh U-Boat Project 1914-1918

Sun, 21 Nov 2021 09:22:52 GMT

In this our final episode dedicated to the maritime history of Wales, Eirwen Abberley Watton finds out about a project which has been documenting and reconstructing First World War stories from the Welsh coast. The project focuses not only on unearthing and recording shipwrecks such as the U-Boats from the war, but also on the the lives of communities and families affected by the war. To find out more Eirwen speaks with Dr Michael Roberts, a marine geologist and research fellow at the Centre for Applied Marine Sciences, School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University. Michael's recent research in collaboration with Bournemouth University has focussed on using multibeam sonar data in combination with historical archives/collections to identify offshore Irish Sea shipwreck sites. Between 2016-19, in collaboration with the Royal Commission and Nautical Archaeology Society, Michael led the Bangor team in contributing to the development and delivery of the HLF funded U-Boat project Wales 1914-18, which placed major emphasis on linking maritime collections held by local maritime museums and private individuals with larger national records and archives.

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The Maritime History of Wales 4: Locating Welsh Shipwrecks

Sat, 20 Nov 2021 08:32:17 GMT

In this our fourth episode dedicated to the maritime history of Wales, Eirwen Abberley Watton finds out about the work of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historic Monuments of Wales who research and record Wales’ history from the tip of Snowdon to the depths of the Welsh coastline. Today we discuss their collaboration with the Lloyds Register Foundation in their hunt for Welsh shipwrecks.

There are many processes involved in the discovery and collection of maritime history, which has been revolutionised thanks to the advancement of technology and the unending curiosity of the Welsh public – many old wrecks are still appearing due to constantly changing tides, and being discovered by surprised dog walkers.

Lloyd’s Register’s records are crucial in filling in the gaps when unearthing a ship’s story and matching new finds to existing knowledge.

Eirwen speaks with Dr Julian Whitewright, the Senior Maritime Investigator at the Royal Commission for the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Julian is responsible for overseeing the maritime archaeological parts of the National Monuments Record within Wales, as well as advising on marine planning for offshore development. Julian joined the Royal Commission in June 2021 having previously worked in the Centre for Maritime Archaeology at the University of Southampton. His archaeological interests cover all boats and ships from the earliest remains to the 20th century but he has a particular love of small craft and is a keen sailor and rower. He lives in Pembrokeshire, a short distance from the sea.

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The Maritime History of Wales 3: The Bronze Bell Wreck

Thu, 18 Nov 2021 08:30:16 GMT

In this our third episode on the maritime history of Wales we find out about the mysterious 'Bronze Bell' wreck, an early eighteenth-century wreck c.1700, discovered off the coast of Tal-y-Bont, Cerdigion, in 1978. The wreck is very distinctive due to the 65 tonnes of Carrera marble and heavy armaments found on board, as well as the bronze bell for which it was named. The wreck has been investigated as part of the Welsh Climate Change and Coastal Heritage project: 'CHERISH'.

To find out more Eirwen Abberley-Watton spoke with Dr Julian Whitewright and Alison James. Julian is the Senior Maritime Investigator at the Royal Commission for the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales. Julian is responsible for overseeing the maritime archaeological parts of the National Monuments Record within Wales, as well as advising on marine planning for offshore development. He works closely with colleagues from CHERISH, and his archaeological interests cover all boats and ships from the earliest remains to the 20th century. Alison is a Director and Project Manager at MSDS Marine with extensive experience in the management of historic shipwreck sites, volunteer involvement, community engagement and education initiatives. This summer she has been managing work on the Bronze Bell wreck on behalf of MSDS Marine for a project funded by CHERISH, including a recent dive on the site.

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The Maritime History of Wales 2: The Newport Medieval Ship

Wed, 17 Nov 2021 06:53:47 GMT

In this, our second episode on the maritime history of Wales, Eirwen Abberley Watton speaks with Dr Toby Jones about a medieval ship that was discovered in the city of Newport in 2002, unearthed by chance during the construction of the Riverfront Arts Centre. The find provoked a huge response from the archaeological and local community who campaigned for funding so that it could be fully excavated. The ship turned out to be an exceptionally rare rind - a clinker built ship from the 15th century whose hull has been beautifully preserved in the mud of the RIver Usk along with several hundred objects including seeds, shoes, cork and coins, allowing historians and archaeologists to recreate the Atlantic world of the Newport Ship. To find out more Eirwen speaks with Dr. Toby Jones, a nautical archaeologist and the curator of the Newport Medieval Ship. Toby has worked on several other projects around the world, including the Red River Wreck in Oklahoma, the Aber Wrac’h I wreck in Brittany and the Mica shipwreck in the Gulf of Mexico. He has also participated in shipwreck surveys along the southern coast of Cyprus and in the Algarve in Portugal.

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The Maritime History of Wales 1: The Porth Felen Anchor Stock

Mon, 15 Nov 2021 05:25:35 GMT

This is the first episode of our new series about the maritime history of Wales. Our Welsh presenter Eirwen Abberley Watton finds out about the Porth Felen anchor-stock, a unique find for British waters for its age: the Porth Felen anchor stock is believed to be Roman.

It was found in the Bardsey Sound off the coast of the Llyn peninsula in the north of Wales in 1974, a very dangerous (but beautiful) stretch of coast. An anchor-stock is a beam of wood or iron placed at the upper end of the shank of an anchor - transversely to the plane of the arms - and it serves to keep the anchor from lying flat on the seabed.

To find out more Eirwen speaks with Jake Davies, a Welsh based diver and marine biologist with a passion for sharing the underwater marine environment off the Welsh coast. As a diver he's not just interested in marine life but the history and stories that lie beneath the welsh coast. Jake has recently led a series of dives looking for extra evidence relating to the anchor stock

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Coffin Ships and The Plimsoll Line

Tue, 02 Nov 2021 07:27:49 GMT

In this episode Dr Sam Willis explores the troubling history of safety at sea. In the eighteenth century seafaring was a very dangerous business indeed: not only were navigation and safety systems limited but unscrupulous owners of merchant ships would deliberately send ships to sea over-laden, but with enormous insurance raised on the vessel. These became known as ‘Coffin Ships’. To make matters worse, sailors who had signed up for a voyage but then refused to sail in such vessels could be sent to prison. Appalled by such public flouting of responsibility one man - Samuel Plimsoll - took it upon himself to reform safety at sea, taking on the entire maritime establishment. Plimsoll eventually succeeded, but only after numerous knock-backs from politicians in the grip of maritime merchant interest. His solution to the problem, the ‘Plimsoll Line’ - being a safe load-line marked on the hull of a ship - changed seafaring forever and also marked a significant moment in popular democracy when the will of the British public – in this case for the protection of their mariners – was heard. To find out more, Sam speaks with Nicolette Jones, author of the multiple-award winning book ‘The Plimsoll Sensation: The Great Campaign to Save Lives at Sea.’

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Iconic Ships 11: HMS Warrior

Tue, 26 Oct 2021 06:41:11 GMT

In this episode Dr Sam Willis explores HMS Warrior, one of the most groundbreaking ships in the history of naval power. An iron-framed, iron-clad single-gundeck warship, launched in 1860 HMS Warrior defied categorisation and changed the way that seapower was both wielded and imagined. She was built in a period of intense rivalry between Britain and France when technology was advancing so rapidly that innovations existed alongside an entirely realistic fear that new inventions would undermine Britain’s existing naval supremacy. In this period steam would replace sail for propulsion; iron and then steel would replace wood for construction; exploding shells would replace solid iron shot for armament and they would be fired from rifled, breech loading guns that could fire further than could ever have been imagined. Warrior had more firepower than two standard wood ships of the line. Remarkably, Warrior still survives: she was decommissioned from active service in 1882, but survived being scrapped. In 1979 the ship was rescued for preservation having served as a fuelling pontoon in South Wales for 50 years. She can now be visited in all of her glory at the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth: a most remarkable warship – a technological innovation in the business of war, but which never fired a single shot in anger: and the two were linked: warrior was so superior to any other warship at the time of its construction that its supremacy never had to be challenged in battle: she was the ultimate naval deterrent. To find out more, Sam speaks with Jeremy Michell, Senior Curator: Maritime Technologies at the National Maritime Museum in London.

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The Battle of Trafalgar Special, Part III: HMS Pickle

Fri, 22 Oct 2021 08:35:40 GMT

In this, a joining-together of our Great Sea Fights and Iconic Ships series we feature HMS Pickle, the small topsail schooner that was chosen to sail as swiftly as possible back to England with news of the British success at the battle of Trafalgar, and also with the tragic news of the death of the British fleet’s commander, Horatio Nelson. The story of how the battle dispatches made it all the way to London from Cape Trafalgar off the coast of Spain is quite remarkable, and is told brilliantly by Kathy Brown, Director of the Trafalgar Way – the overland route taken by the pickle’s commander, Richard Lapenotiere.

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The Battle of Trafalgar Special, Part II: Nelson's Wounds

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 06:16:23 GMT

Dr Sam Willis explores the many wounds that Nelson received in his life, as well as his fatal wound received at the Battle of Trafalgar. Sam speaks with Michael Crumplin, a retired consultant general and upper gastro-intestinal surgeon and Honrary Curator and Archivist at the Royal College of Surgeons of England. Nelson was so damaged by a life of naval service it has been calculated that he would have received a total degree of disablement at 140% if assessed for war pension today: his right eye was damaged by flying earth at siege of Corsica in 1794; he developed a ‘fist-sized’ hernia when hit by flying timber at the battle of St Vincent in 1797; his arm was amputated after being hit by a musket ball at Tenerife, also in 1797; his forehead head was struck so hard, and cut so badly by flying debris at the battle of the Nile in 1798 that he thought he was gong to die. And then, at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 he was shot by a French marksman, the ball breaking his spine and puncturing a lung.

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The Battle of Trafalgar Special, Part I: The Eyewitness Accounts

Thu, 21 Oct 2021 06:08:09 GMT

Dr Sam Willis explores the Battle of Trafalgar through two eyewitness accounts, both from the decks of the Royal Sovereign, the flagship of Cuthbert Collingwood. Bringing a new perspective to the battle of Trafalgar is challenging, but many forget that, with Nelson receiving his fatal wound early in the action, command of the battle fell to his great friend, Vice Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood on board the Royal Sovereign; in fact the battle dispatches written in the aftermath of the battle of Trafalgar are unique for fleet battles in the French revolution and Napoleonic wars because none of the letters is written by the fleet’s commander-in-chief – Nelson – because he died. This episode presents a reading of Collingwood’s private journal for the day of the battle of Trafalgar and five subsequent days in which the fleet was torn apart by one of the most ferocious storms in living memory; and also a reading of the logbook kept by one of the Royal Sovereign’s officers, Lieutenant, J. Simmond.

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Iconic Ships 10: Ark Royal

Thu, 14 Oct 2021 06:47:09 GMT

Today we are merging this month's theme on airpower with one of our running series – on iconic ships - in which we ask the curator of an existing historic ship to make the case for their ship being iconic or we ask a historian to make the case for a long-lost ship being iconic. Today we are certainly in the 'long-lost category' as the vessel in question - the carrier HMS Ark Royal - was torpedoed and sunk off Gibraltar in 13 November 1941.

HMS Ark Royal, launched in 1937, represented a breakthrough in the design of aircraft carriers and she went on to serve in crucial theatres at the beginning of World War Two that redefined the nature of air power at sea, being involved in U-Boat hunting, convoy protection, the key naval campaigns in Norway, Italy and Malta and the hunt of the German battleship Bismarck.

To find out more about this extraordinary ship Dr Sam Willis spoke with Matthew Willis, a writer of naval and aviation history. Matt has written numerous titles on the British Fleet Air Arm in the Second World War and interwar period, as well as a biography of 1940s test pilot Duncan Menzies, and runs the website NavalAirHistory.com.

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How to Drive an Aircraft Carrier

Tue, 12 Oct 2021 07:04:09 GMT

In this, the first of several episodes on the maritime history of airpower, Dr Sam Willis meets three Royal Naval flag officers to discuss the complexities and challenges of commanding and operating aircraft carriers. Sam's guests are Vice Admiral Jerry Kydd, the current Fleet Commander of the Royal Navy, who served as the very first commanding officer of the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, launched in 2014 and the largest and most powerful vessel ever constructed for the Royal Navy; Rear Admiral David Snelson, who served in the Royal Navy between 1969 to 2006 on both Ark Royal 4 and Ark Royal 5, and was the Commander Maritime

Forces and Task Group Commander for Royal Naval forces in the second Gulf War of 2003; and Rear Admiral Roy Clare who commanded HMS Invincible 25 years ago, seeing operations in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Arabian Sea and The Gulf, with Fleet Air Arm and Royal Air Force squadrons embarked. They discuss a commander's responsibilities with regard to aviation and airspace; the thorny issues of logistics, and how to manage fuel, food and spare parts; the formidable challenges of engineering both in terms of air engineering and weapons engineering, including radars, radios and satellite comms; the challenge of commanding people, of training and handing on skills; and the issues of Task Group command - how does a carrier fit into a Task Group? Does the captain of a carrier also act as the Commander of a task Group?

These remarkable insights from the recent (and sometimes very recent) past help us understand the development and use of carriers and airpower from its inception in the first quarter of the twentieth century until today.

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The Maritime History of World War 2

Thu, 07 Oct 2021 07:23:30 GMT

This week we are exploring the maritime history of the Second World War with Professor Evan Mawdsley. For many years Evan was Professor of International History at the University of Glasgow. His recent book ‘The War for the Sea: The Maritime History of World War 2’ has recently won the prestigious Anderson Medal, awarded each year by the Society for Nautical Research for an outstanding book on maritime history. Evan traces events at sea from the first U-boat operations in 1939 to the surrender of Japan. He argues that the Allied counterattack involved not just decisive sea battles, but a long struggle to control shipping arteries and move armies across the sea. Covering all the major actions in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, as well as those in the narrow seas, this book interweaves for the first time the endeavours of the maritime forces of the British Empire, the United States, Germany, and Japan, as well as those of France, Italy, and Russia. In this episode Dr Sam Willis spoke with Evan to find out more about his exciting work which challenges our existing understanding of the war.

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Iconic Ships 9: RMS Mauretania

Tue, 28 Sep 2021 04:17:07 GMT

This episode explores the fascinating history of RMS Mauretania, which was launched in 1906 and transformed shipbuilding and the expectations of passengers travelling on trans-Atlantic liners. After the launch of Mauretania, sea-travel and the maritime world was never the same again.

To find out more, Dr Sam Willis met with Max Wilson of the Lloyds Register Foundation to explore their archives. The Lloyds Register archives is the best place to go to explore the history of many ships, but particularly something as ground breaking as Mauretania because Lloyds were responsible for certifying the safety of the vessel – this means that there is a whole host of magnificent material to see there, letters, record books, ship plans, technical drawings - all of which reveal the ship and the achievements of her designers and builders in the most magnificent detail.

This episode is part of the 'Iconic Ships' series which features history's most iconic ships - including the Mary Rose, the Mayflower, HMS Hood, HMS Ark Royal, Titanic, USS Constitution, HMS Bellerophon (The Billy Ruffian), HMS Belfast, the Cutty Sark and the ss Great Britain, with many more to come! The video was filmed - so you can watch below to see some of the images we discuss.

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Iconic Ships 8: The SS Great Britain

Thu, 23 Sep 2021 06:43:22 GMT

Dr Sam Willis meets the team at the ss Great Britain in Bristol to discover why she deserves the title 'Iconic'. Designed by Isambard Kingdom Brunel and launched in 1843 she was to be a luxurious passenger ship the likes of which the world had never seen. The largest vessel afloat; the longest in the world; made of iron rather than timber; fitted with a steam engine of 1000 hp, the most powerful ever used at sea; driven with a propeller rather than paddle wheels, the proven and established technology; she was also fitted with six masts: it’s not surprising that, at her launch she was described as ‘the greatest experiment since creation’. Left to rot in the Falkland islands after a remarkable and varied career, the ss Great Britain was brought back to Bristol, to the very dock in which she was built, where she has been conserved for the public to enjoy and learn about her extraordinary history. Sam speaks with Joanna Thomas, the ss Great Britain's Maritime Curator, and Nicola Grahamslaw, the ship’s conservation engineer to find out more.

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Ships' Figureheads Revealed

Wed, 15 Sep 2021 08:28:17 GMT

In this episode we explore the fascinating history of ships' figureheads. Why did shipbuilders begin to place carvings of humans and animals on the bows of their ships in the sixteenth century? And why did this practice stop 300 years later? Dr Sam Willis meets Rear Admiral David Pulvertaft, an expert on figureheads, to find our more about these remarkable carvings and to consider a number of examples that exist worldwide.

To go alongside this episode we have created an extraordinary video using artificial intelligence and digital artistry to bring the figureheads to life, showing the real people that inspired the carvers.

This has been a bit of a hit and miss process with a number of failures but we have had success with eleven – and they are fabulous. When the known examples of figureheads are considered as a whole it is immediately striking how diverse are the people depicted. Although the societies that made these figureheads were dominated by white men, the figureheads show a huge range of people – both men and women and from a huge variety of indigenous populations. One of the impacts of this is a powerful reminder of the colonial activities that many of these ships would have taken part in including the buying and selling of humans in the slave trade and the appropriation of vast tracts of land occupied by indigenous peoples.

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Is Britain still a Global Power?

Mon, 06 Sep 2021 07:15:37 GMT

As a follow up to our recent interview with The First Sea Lord exploring the Royal Navy in the modern world, today we look at the the broader question: Is Britain still a global power? Globalisation is a topic that sits at the heart of maritime and naval history. We are all now hugely interconnected - whether it's transportation under normal circumstances, the economy, society, social media, our health - no country can be entirely isolated from the rest of the world. But when we talk about 'Global Britain' there's an assumption of global power. What do we mean by Global Britain now and what did it mean in the past? How has our history helped position Britain in the world today? What is the biggest threat to Britain's security today? What is Britain's relationship with NATO? How does Britain fit into the new world order emerging economically, politically and military in the Indo-Pacific? All of this can only be understood through the lense of history - with an understanding of the age of Empire, the end of the Second World War, the Cold War and now Brexit. Dr Sam Willis speaks with Dr Jane Harrold, lecturer in Strategic Studies as part of the Dartmouth Centre for Seapower and Strategy at the University of Plymouth.

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The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin

Thu, 02 Sep 2021 07:33:40 GMT

Dr Sam Willis meets with the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin to discuss the many challenges the Royal Navy faces exercising sea power in the modern world.

They discuss life on a modern warship; how the sea provides prosperity, security and stability; exercising seapower hand in hand with a Government's policies; G7 and NATO; 'Global Britain' and Britain's overseas territories; the Gulf of Guinea and the Ukraine; the Rule of law, Exclusive Economic Zones; the nuclear deterrent; the new technology of the new aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales; the challenges of providing manpower for the navy; drone technology and naval power; and the role of history and tradition in the Royal Navy.

To see a video of this interview check out the Mariner's Mirror Podcast's YouTube Channel.

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The Sunken Archaeology of Malta and the Virtual Museum 'Underwater Malta'

Wed, 25 Aug 2021 07:49:37 GMT

The underwater heritage around Malta is one of the richest collections of maritime archaeology in the world. The quality of preservation is outstanding as well as the number of sites, and yet they are inaccessible to so many of us. Not only do you need to be able to dive to see these sites, but for most of them you need to be able to dive very, very deep and that is only possible for a tiny fraction with the requisite skill, experience, knowledge, equipment, support...and lets not forget courage.

One man has decided that this is not acceptable. Professor Timmy Gambin from the University of Malta has realised his vision for making this deep underwater heritage accessible by creating a virtual underwater museum: 'The Virtual Museum – Underwater Malta' at www.underwatermalta.org This online platform created by an international team of divers, photographers, archaeologists and computer programmers, brings Malta's underwater cultural heritage to the surface and into the homes of the general public. Using 3D, virtual reality and other media, the aim of this website is to provide access to and share Malta’s unique underwater cultural heritage with all members of the public.

Dr Sam Willis and Timmy Gambin discuss a number of the sites that have been re-created online with extraordinary 3D photography including a Blenheim Bomber, a German Junkers 88, an X-Lighter; a collection of victorian guns, a German schnellboot and a Phoenician shipwreck.

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Great Sea Fights 6: USS Constitution v HMS Guerriere 1812. Part 4 - The Single Ship Actions of 1812

Sun, 22 Aug 2021 08:47:30 GMT

This, the final episode in our investigation of Constitution vs Guerriere, explores the broader context of other single-ship actions in this war – for this war of 1812 was very unusual for the amount of single ship actions that took place – as opposed to fleet battles, and the historian Nicholas Kaizer helps us get to the bottom of that curious issue.

Nicholas Kaizer is a young Canadian scholar and teacher, who studies the cultural history of the Royal Navy during the War of 1812, in particular analysing Anglo-Canadian responses to single ship losses of that conflict. He is the author of Revenge in the Name of Honour: The Royal Navy’s Quest for Vengeance in the Single Ship Actions of the War of 1812.

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Great Sea Fights 6: USS Constitution v HMS Guerriere 1812. Part 3 - Inside the US Navy

Sat, 21 Aug 2021 06:13:31 GMT

It is an extraordinary story – how did the United States get to a stage where not only could they build and maintain ships but compete with – and in the case of this battle triumph over ships from the world’s largest navy with centuries of shipbuilding expertise and naval tradition. It’s a story that allows us to look into the complexities of what took to build, maintain, man, fit out, provision, and send fighting ships to sea for extended periods of time and how men could be recruited, fed, clothed, and kept healthy in unhealthy environments. And all of this within the broader context of how and why Britain decided to go to war with America even though Napoleon was as yet undefeated; and how how and why America chose to pick a fight with the most powerful nation on earth.

This episode - Part 3 - presents the work of the American historian William S. Dudley who has explored the birth of the US Navy in the late 1790s and its workings in the war of 1812 in his recent book Inside the US Navy of 1812-1815. Make sure you catch up on Part 1 -The Events and Part 2 - The Eyewitness Accounts.

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Great Sea Fights 6: USS Constitution v HMS Guerriere 1812. Part 2 - The Eyewitness Accounts

Fri, 20 Aug 2021 06:00:41 GMT

In this, the sixth episode of our Great Sea Fights series, we explore the remarkable events of 19 August 1812 when the powerful frigate USS Constitution fought and destroyed the British frigate HMS Guerriere in one of the greatest shocks to the Royal Navy in its history and one of the most ferocious single-ship actions ever fought. It is an extraordinary story: how did the United States get to a stage where not only could they build and maintain ships but compete with – and in the case of this battle triumph over - ships from the world’s largest navy with centuries of shipbuilding expertise and naval tradition. This episode presents two eyewitness accounts - the dispatches written in the immediate aftermath of the battle by the two ships' captains, Captain Isaac Hull of the USS Constitution who described the events in a letter to Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton; and the After Action Report of Captain James Richard Dacres, HMS Guerriere to Vice Admiral Sawyer. It's fascinating to hear how they choose to describe those events.

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Great Sea Fights 6: USS Constitution v HMS Guerriere 1812. Part 1 The Events

Thu, 19 Aug 2021 06:04:52 GMT

In this, the sixth episode of our Great Sea Fights series, we explore the remarkable events of 19 August 1812 when the powerful frigate USS Constitution fought and destroyed the British frigate HMS Guerriere in one of the greatest shocks to the Royal Navy in its history and one of the most ferocious single-ship actions ever fought. It is an extraordinary story: how did the United States get to a stage where not only could they build and maintain ships but compete with – and in the case of this battle triumph over - ships from the world’s largest navy with centuries of shipbuilding expertise and naval tradition.This episode explores the events of the day in a narrative written and presented by the prize-winning US historian William. S Dudley. Subsequent episodes will present the eyewitness accounts from the two ships' captains; an analysis of the internal workings of the US Navy in the war of 1812; and an exploration of this battle in the context of several other single-ship actions which characterised the war of 1812.

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Great Sea Fights 5: A Tudor Battle, 1512 Part III: How to Recreate a Medieval Sea Battle

Thu, 12 Aug 2021 05:44:58 GMT

In this the third and final part of our special mini Great Sea Fights series on the Tudor naval battle of St Mathieu in 1512, one of the Mary Rose's earliest engagements and possibly the first ever naval battle in which guns were fired out of gunports. We explore the problems posed to historians trying to recreate a medieval sea fight. What sources are available? How can you recreate the tides on that day and the wind? How do you make progress with no logs or letters or detailed descriptions of battle? Dr Sam Willis speaks with Dr Dominic Fontana, a historical geographer who has over 35 years involvement in the Mary Rose maritime archaeological project including five years working as part of the archaeological team, and is an expert at recreating ancient tidal systems. Dominic and Sam discuss these problems both in relation to battle of St Mathieu of August 1512 and also the battle of the solent of July 1545 in which the Mary Rose sank. Sam also speaks with Tim Concannon, a naval historian currently working on recreating a chart of the paths of the ships at the battle of St Mathieu.

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Great Sea Fights 5: A Tudor Battle, 1512 Part II: The Contemporary Accounts

Wed, 11 Aug 2021 08:26:43 GMT

In this, Part II of our special episodes on the battle of St Mathieu in 1512 and its aftermath, we hear three contemporary accounts. The first is from the Venetian Ambassador Nicolo di Favri, fascinating as it includes a great deal of information on life and manners in Tudor England as well as war news. The writer was newly appointed to the court of Henry and was a member of the Venetian elite who served in the Councils of the Republic, and finds the English somewhat eccentric. The second is a letter from Thomas Wolsey to the Bishop of Worcester August 1512. At the time of writing Wolsey had been appointed almoner of Henry VIII – so responsible for distributing alms - and was therefore a member of the Privy Council. The final account is from Edward Etchyngham to Thomas Wolsey written in May 1513 and explores the events of the summer after the battle of St Mathieu when Edward Howard launched a bold attack on a squadron of French galleys at Blancs Sablons near Brest, losing his life. Etchyngham was the commander of the fleet of victuallers which reached Howard’s fleet off Brest shortly before the events in the Bay of Blancs Sablons. He was therefore well placed to give an account of the battle and the loss of Howard.

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Great Sea Fights 5: A Tudor Battle in the Reign of Henry VIII, 10 August, 1512.

Tue, 10 Aug 2021 05:23:10 GMT

In this, the fifth episode of our Great Sea Fights series we explore the remarkable battle of St Mathieu, of 10 August 1512. In one of the earliest engagements of the Mary Rose a French squadron is surprised near Brest, and it ends with two major warships one French, and one English - and the largest in both fleets, on fire. It is also possibly the earliest naval battle fought with cannon, firing through gunports. This episode explores the events of the day and also its aftermath, following the narrative up to the summer of 1513 and the extraordinary story of the death of Edward Howard at the battle of Blancs Sablons.

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Maritime Scotland 3: A Blockade Runner from Fife in the American Civil War

Fri, 06 Aug 2021 05:37:39 GMT

This the third episode in our special series on the maritime history of Scotland. Dr Sam Willis explores the remarkable career of Joannes Wyllie, a Fife man who made a fortune running guns from Glasgow to the confederate south during the American Civil War (1861-5) – revealing Scotland's hidden history of supporting slavery. He talks with John Messner a curator for transport and technology at Glasgow Museums. John was part of the project team for the Riverside Museum-Scotland’s Museum of Transport and Travel, winner of the European Museum of the Year 2013. In 2015 he co-curated a display about Glasgow’s role in the American Civil War which led to his work on the life of Joannes Wyllie.

To pay for the supplies it needed in the war, the Confederacy discovered a new use for its slave-grown and harvested cotton. Once seen as an instrument of foreign policy, it was now employed as a medium of exchange: cotton in exchange for military supplies. Union forces blockaded Confederate ports to prevent the export of cotton and the smuggling of war materiel into the Confederacy. The porous blockade successfully restricted Confederate access to weapons that the industrialized North could produce for itself though weapons, and other materiel were regularly smuggled into Confederate ports from transfer points in Mexico, the Bahamas, and Cuba - it was into this world that Joannes Wyllie sailed...

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Maritime Scotland 2: The Forgotten Shipbuilders of Leith

Thu, 05 Aug 2021 05:49:22 GMT

In this, our second episode dedicated to the remarkable maritime history of Scotland, we explore the fabulous shipbuilding heritage of Leith, the port just to the north of Edinburgh. To unpick this story Dr Sam Willis speaks with Ron Neish. Ron is a remarkable man with many man stories to tell. Born and bred in Leith he served his apprenticeship as a Ship Loftsman, in the Henry Robb Shipyard in Leith. When it closed in 1984 he worked all over the world but always retaining his love for ships and the sea and never forgetting where he came from. Ron has worked on more than 40 new build vessels, ranging from a 58 foot aluminium fishing boat to 65,000 tonne aircraft carriers. In the past few years Ron has dedicated himself to writing a history of the ships built in Leith, a testimony to the skill of the men who built the ships and to the many men and women who may have sailed or served on them. Leith had begun building ships some 400 years before the great shipyards of the Clyde and these Leith vessels reached all corners of the globe. It’s a story of global economic change, industrial change, military endeavour, and disaster, wealth and poverty, innovation, and above all brutally hard work.

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Maritime Scotland 1: The WW2 Midget Submarines of Aberlady Bay

Wed, 04 Aug 2021 05:00:21 GMT

In the latest episode of The Mariner's Mirror Podcast we begin three episodes dedicated to the maritime history of Scotland. In this episode I speak with Ben Saunders, a senior marine archaeologist with Wessex Archaeology, based at their office in Edinburgh, and we talk about the hulks of two X-Craft on the shore at Aberlady Bay, East Lothian.

An innovative video has been created to accompany this podcast showing 3D photography of the wreck, overlaid with a 3D model of what the craft would have looked like.

The 3D survey is the result of an important project run by Wessex Archaeology. The Covid 19 pandemic put enormous strain on mental health and resulted in the cancellation of projects designed to support the wellbeing of isolated veterans. With funding from the National Lottery Community Fund, Wessex Archaeology ran a training and research project based around two WWII mini submarines in Aberlady Bay, East Lothian. The Aberlady X-Craft project, supported by Breaking Ground Heritage, provided hands-on survey training and produced a condition report of the wrecks; while also inspiring eight individually researched projects, five of which have been taken through to completion, and engaging over 30 veterans. The project is part of Wessex Archaeology’s longstanding work using heritage to support mental health and wellbeing.

Using 3d models of the wrecks completed through photogrammetric survey as inspiration, the project assisted the volunteers to develop their own research projects. These included the construction of scale models of an X-craft with training in artefact scanning/photogrammetry; research into the loss of HMS Glorious by a relative of one of the casualties, the use of X-Craft in the Far East, the medical conditions that affected submariners; and the assessment of the Fred Bown archive, one of the survivors from K17, a submarine lost in a training accident in 1917 (the Battle of May Island).

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The Oldest Canal in Britain? The Exeter Ship Canal

Wed, 28 Jul 2021 07:48:27 GMT

In this episode Dr Sam Willis explores the Exeter Ship Canal which, with the exception of the Roman 'Fossdyke' in Lincolnshire, is the oldest manmade waterway in Britain. Canal building is usually associated with the canal mania which gripped Britain between 1790 and the 1820s as the early years of the industrial revolution both posed problems and created solutions for those wishing to travel and transport goods across Britain. But the Exeter ship canal is 230 years OLDER than that. It was built in various stages but the first section was built in 1563 - in the Tudor period when Elizabeth I was queen. Sam meets Todd Gray a historian of Devon to find out more. The episode was filmed with incredible new done footage that shows the navigation from the city centre to the heart of the Exe estuary as never before and can be seen on the Mariner's Mirror podcast YouTube channel and Facebook page.

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Iconic Ships 7: The Billy Ruffian - HMS Bellerophon

Fri, 23 Jul 2021 06:17:04 GMT

Today we have episode 7 of our Iconic Ships mini-series in which a curator of a historic ship makes a case for their ship being iconic, or a historian takes a ship from history but which sadly no longer survives and make a case for that ship being iconic.

HMS Bellerophon - known fondly as the Billy Ruffian - was a Third 74-gun ship of the line with one of the most extraordinary careers of any warship in the great age of sail. She was the first ship to engage the Revolutionary French at The Glorious First of June in 1794; she made up the fleet under Horatio Nelson, hunting the French and assisting in their destruction at the Battle of the Nile in 1798; and she fought under Nelson once more against the combined French and Spanish at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. As well as these larger events, she spent time on blockade duty off the coast of France, defended the West Indies whilst based on the Jamaica Station and kept an eye on the Spanish, in Cadiz. She transported Napoleon Bonaparte to Britain after his surrender in 1815, perhaps one of the events she is most renowned for, before ending up as a Prison Hulk on the Medway and then later in Plymouth.

The story is told today by naval historian Kate Jamieson who you can (and should) all follow on Twitter @Kejamieson_

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Iconic Ships 6: USS Constitution

Wed, 21 Jul 2021 05:34:24 GMT

Today we have episode 6 of our Iconic Ships mini-series in which a curator of a historic ship makes a case for their ship being iconic, or a historian takes a ship from history but which sadly no longer survives and make a case for that ship being iconic. Today we have the magnificent - and surviving - warship from the great age of sail, USS Constitution, otherwise known as 'Old Ironsides'. A wooden-hulled masted frigate, launched in 1797, she is a truly magnificent survivor from a lost age, and from all of her very many reasons for being considered iconic, perhaps the most historically significant is that she is the oldest ship of any type still afloat. Most famous perhaps for her actions in the war of 1812 against the British - and you can still see her at the excellent Charlestown Navy Yard in Boston.

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Iconic Ships 5: HMS Belfast

Mon, 12 Jul 2021 07:41:09 GMT

Today we have episode 5 of our Iconic Ships mini-series in which a curator of a historic ship makes a case for their ship being iconic, or a historian takes a ship from history but which sadly no longer survives and make a case for that ship being iconic. Today we have none other than HMS Belfast. Moored today just upstream of Tower Bridge, Belfast is a true icon of the London skyline and Thames riverscape.

A Royal Navy 'Town Class' Light Cruiser, Belfast was launched in 1938; she played a crucial role in blockading Germany at the start of the war, operating from Scapa Flow in Orkney; became part of a naval strike force base in Rosyth; took part in the Battle of the North Cape in 1943, in which the German battleship Scharnhorst was tracked down and sunk; took part in the operation against Germany's last surviving capital ship, the Tirpitz; and she is is one of only three remaining vessels from the bombardment fleet which supported the Normandy landings on DDay in June 1944. The case for Belfast being 'iconic' is made by Robert Rumble, lead curator of HMS Belfast at London's Imperial War Museum.

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The 'Sunken Library': An extraordinary collection of books found in a 17th century shipwreck

Wed, 07 Jul 2021 06:57:56 GMT

In August 2014, a group of amateur divers revisited a known shipwreck from the seventeenth century but found that shifting tidal patterns had exposed much more of the wreck than had previously been seen, including a number of wooden luggage chests. Over the course of two days around a thousand items were brought up from the wreck, comprising silk textiles, women’s clothing, furnishing items and objects related to life on board ship, many in a remarkable state of preservation. The divers also retrieved a large number of leather bookcovers, the remains of books packed into one of the luggage chests. By paying close attention to the manufacture and design of these bookcovers we are able to gain significant insights both into the collection and the identity of its possible owner, as well as understanding better the international connections of books and their readers at this date. To find out more Dr Sam Willis speaks with Dr Janet Dickinson whose research focuses on the nobility and the court in early modern England and Europe and who recently formed part of an Anglo-Dutch project studying the remains of these remarkable books.

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Maritime Archives Masterclass

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 08:24:12 GMT

This episode opens up the fascinating world of maritime historical discovery. Dr Sam Willis meets Max Wilson from the Lloyds Register Foundation archives to explore some of the different types of document that you might come across conducting maritime research: from boiler plans, ship plans, stowage plans and rigging plans - to survey reports, casualty returns, correspondence, photographs and intriguing miscellaneous items - this episode unravels extraordinary maritime stories that come to you straight from the past... including HMS Investigator and HMS Hecla and the exploration of the arctic; the shipwreck of ss Politician and her cargo of malt whiskey; and ss Dunedin, the first ship to successfully transport a full cargo of refrigerated meat from New Zealand to England.

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The Forgotten Music of the Arctic Whalers

Tue, 22 Jun 2021 08:15:49 GMT

In the 18th and 19th centuries countless whaling ships set sail from Shetland for the Arctic. They brought back whales for their valuable oil, but left behind their music. Maurice Henderson, a fiddle player from Shetland, has been rediscovering these arctic whaling tunes and its surviving tradition in Greenland. Here he plays some of them, and discusses their history. For the video check out the Mariner's Mirror Podcast YouTube channel.

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Iconic Ships 4: The Cutty Sark

Wed, 16 Jun 2021 07:26:13 GMT

The fourth episode in our Iconic Ships series features three members of the curatorial team of the Cutty Sark arguing for the iconic status of their ship. At the time of her launch in 1869 the Cutty Sark was a state-of-the-art Tea Clipper designed to bring manufactured goods to China and return with Chinese tea as quickly as possible. She could carry well over 1,300,000 million lbs of tea. Soon the advent of steam and the opening of the Suez Canal changed her fate and she began to take a variety of goods all over the world. She was purchased for the Nation in 1922 and became the first historic vessel to be opened to the public since Drake's Golden Hind in the sixteenth century. She was moved to a specially-constructed dry dock in Greenwich in 1954 where she can still be seen today, having escaped the ravages of a terrible fire in 2007. The team bring this history to life with the unique passion of those who work with her every day, preserving her for us...and the generations to come.

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The Lost Fishing Village of Hallsands

Wed, 09 Jun 2021 09:15:49 GMT

In the early years of the twentieth century commercial dredging removed a shingle beach from the tiny fishing village of Hallsands in South Devon. Soon high tides and storms washed everything away and all that is left now are the ruins of this maritime community. Dr Sam Willis meets maritime archaeologist Grant Bettinson from CITiZAN to find out more. The interview was filmed so do check out our YouTube Channel as the ruins are shown as never before with dramatic new drone footage.

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Great Sea Fights: The Battle of Jutland, 1916 Part 3 - The British Accounts

Wed, 02 Jun 2021 05:00:00 GMT

Today we have Part 3 of our special episode on the Battle of Jutland because, on this day in history in 1916, the German and British battlefleets were coming to terms with the results of the largest naval battle of the First World War and one of the largest in history involving 250 ships and 100,000 men, and in which 25 ships of various sizes were sunk. Part 1 outlined the events and included a fantastic interview with Dr Stephan Huck, head of the excellent German Naval Museum in Wilhelmshaven; Part 2 explored in more detail the German perspective with a number of eyewitness German accounts of the battle; this, the final part explores several British eyewitness accounts of the battle.

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Great Sea Fights: The Battle of Jutland, 1916 Part 2 - The German Accounts

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 06:43:32 GMT

Today we have Part 2 of our special episode on the Battle of Jutland because, on this day in history in 1916, the German and British battlefleets met in the largest naval battle of the First World War and one of the largest in history involving 250 ships and 100,000 men. Part 1 outlined the events and included a fantastic interview with Dr Stephan Huck, head of the excellent German Naval Museum in Wilhelmshaven. Today we are exploring in more detail the German perspective with a number of eyewitness German accounts of the battle. The accounts are read both in English and their original German. Part 3 will follow soon and will introduce you to a host of British eyewitness accounts.

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Great Sea Fights: The Battle of Jutland, 1916 Part 1 - The Events

Mon, 31 May 2021 07:32:59 GMT

Today we have for you Part 1 of our special episode on the Battle of Jutland because, on this day in history in 1916, the German and British battlefleets met in the largest naval battle of the First World War and one of the largest in history - involving 250 ships and 100,000 men. Parts 2 and 3 will follow in the coming days and will introduce you to a host of original eyewitness sources to the battle with episodes dedicated to the German view and the English. Today we have an outline of the strategic situation and events of the day, and there follows a discussion between Dr Sam Willis and Dr Stephan Huck. Stephan has enjoyed a fascinating career: after some military training he became interested in history – particularly military history - and since 2002 has been head of the excellent German Naval Museum in Wilhelmshaven. He knows an enormous amount about the battle and his perspective is both refreshing and fascinating.

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Great Sea Fights: The Battle of Tsushima, 1905 Part 3 – The Japanese Perspective

Sat, 29 May 2021 08:51:46 GMT

The final instalment of our 3-part special on the Battle of Tsushima explores the Japanese perspective of the battle including a consideration of the extraordinary growth of the Imperial Japanese Navy both before and after Tsushima. Dr Sam Willis speaks with Kunika Kakuta. Kunika is a final year PhD student in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London and specialises in the relationship between politics and the development of seapower.

The Battle of Tsushima was the decisive naval action between Japan and Russia that effectively ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5 and one of the most important naval battles in history. It was the first in which radio played a major part; the action that demonstrated the power of the all-big-gun battleship, leading to HMS Dreadnought of 1906 and the Anglo-German dreadnought race; the first time a modern battleship was sunk by guns, and largely fought at previously unimaginable ranges of up to 12,000 metres (eight miles); the first, and last, decisive steel battleship action (the Russians lost eight battleships and more than 5,000 men while the Japanese lost only three torpedo boats and 116 men); the first modern defeat of a great European power by an Asian nation; and arguably the battle that made both the First World War more likely and another great fleet action less likely.

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Great Sea Fights: The Battle of Tsushima, 1905 Part 2 - The Russian Perspective

Fri, 28 May 2021 09:17:55 GMT

Part 2 of our 3-part special on the Battle of Tsushima explores the Russian perspective of the battle with a reading of the diary of Captain Vladimir Semenoff. Semenoff was a well known Russian naval officer who served in several positions throughout the course of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. His presence during the siege of Port Arthur and later during the Baltic Fleet's long voyage to Tsushima gave him an unusually broad perspective on the war's progress, and he later wrote several titles relating to these experiences. Indeed, he was one of very few Russian officers who could write as an eyewitness to both major naval battles of the war. The account is read by an A-level history pupil at Clifton College, Nikita Gukassov.

The Battle of Tsushima was the decisive naval action between Japan and Russia that effectively ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5 and one of the most important naval battles in history. It was the first in which radio played a major part; the action that demonstrated the power of the all-big-gun battleship, leading to HMS Dreadnought of 1906 and the Anglo-German dreadnought race; the first time a modern battleship was sunk by guns, and largely fought at previously unimaginable ranges of up to 12,000 metres (eight miles); the first, and last, decisive steel battleship action (the Russians lost eight battleships and more than 5,000 men while the Japanese lost only three torpedo boats and 116 men); the first modern defeat of a great European power by an Asian nation; and arguably the battle that made both the First World War more likely and another great fleet action less likely.

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Great Sea Fights: The Battle of Tsushima, 1905 Part 1

Thu, 27 May 2021 16:07:13 GMT

The Battle of Tsushima was the decisive naval action between Japan and Russia that effectively ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5 and one of the most important naval battles in history. It was the first in which radio played a major part; the action that demonstrated the power of the all-big-gun battleship, leading to HMS Dreadnought of 1906 and the Anglo-German dreadnought race; the first time a modern battleship was sunk by guns, and largely fought at previously unimaginable ranges of up to 12,000 metres (eight miles); the first, and last, decisive steel battleship action (the Russians lost eight battleships and more than 5,000 men while the Japanese lost only three torpedo boats and 116 men); the first modern defeat of a great European power by an Asian nation; and arguably the battle that made both the First World War more likely and another great fleet action less likely.

This episode, Part 1 of 3 explores the strategic situation running up to the battle and the events of the battle itself.

The script has been prepared with the help of Tim Concannon and Nicholas Blake.

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The Evacuation of Dunkirk, 1940

Wed, 26 May 2021 06:56:59 GMT

On this day in 1940, the British Expeditionary Force and other Allied troops were evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk, to save them from the rapidly approaching German forces who had just launched their lightning invasion of northern Europe. It was one of the most challenging and significant amphibious operations and evacuations in history. The planners of Operation Dynamo first estimated that 45,000 men might be rescued; but between 26 May and 4 June 338,226 men were returned to England by a vast armada of disparate vessels including destroyers, minesweepers, fishing vessels and the famous fleet of 'Little Ships' - all privately owned and requisitioned for the rescue. Today Dr Sam Willis speaks with Dr Philip Weir, author of Dunkirk and the Little Ships. Philip Weir is a historian who specialises in the Royal Navy in the early twentieth century. He has written for the Navy Records Society, History Today and Time and has contributed to television and radio programmes, including the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are. Philip is also a Titan in the world of maritime and naval history on Social Media and can be followed on Twitter @navalhistorian

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Iconic Ships 3: HMS Hood

Mon, 24 May 2021 07:20:58 GMT

A very special episode in our new Iconic Ships series, published on the anniversary of the loss of HMS Hood in 1941. HMS Hood is without doubt one of the Royal Navy’s most famous ships. A battle-cruiser, laid down in 1916 and launched in 1918, she was the largest battle cruiser ever built and the largest warship of any type in the world for twenty years. She enjoyed a correspondingly high profile which rendered her loss, with all but three of her crew, particularly potent. On this day in May 1941, whilst hunting the mighty German battleship Bismark, Hood was struck by several German shells, exploded, and sank in just three minutes.

This week is special not only for the subject but also for the historian who makes the case for Hood being an Iconic Ship - it is a contribution made by the late Eric Grove who so sadly was recently lost to us.

Eric was one of the UK's most important naval historians; a magnificent personality, a brilliant teacher and a formidable scholar. His works include Vanguard to Trident: British Naval Policy Since 1945 (1987), The Future of Sea Power (1990), The Price of Disobedience (2000) and The Royal Navy Since 1815 (2005). He also edited a new edition of Julian Corbett's Some Principles of Maritime Strategy in 1988. He made contributions to many television programmes including BBC2's Timewatch series, Deep Wreck Mysteries, Channel 4's Hunt for the Hood and the Bismarck and the series The Battleships and the Airships.

Grove was a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Member of Council of the Navy Records Society and most importantly of course, he was a Vice President of the Society for Nautical Research which publishes this podcast.

This recording was made just the day before his death and was the last piece of work he prepared for publication. HMS Hood was the subject that Eric was most passionate about and in this episode you can hear him explain why she was so important, in his own words, and in his own voice.

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Amphibious Operations

Fri, 21 May 2021 12:35:01 GMT

This week Dr Sam Willis speaks with Timothy Heck, the Deputy Directing Editor at the Modern War Institute at the United States Military Academy in West Point. They discuss the changing nature of amphibious operations in history and its relevance to the present day. What can the US Marine Corps today learn from amphibious operations in the past? Like DDay in WW2 or Gallipoli in WW1? How are other lesser-known operations relevant and important? From a night attack on the shores of Tuscany in 1555 to a Turkish amphibious assault in response to a coup in Cyprus in 1974? How do amphibious operations relate to key turning points in history? Why does the history of maritime amphibious operations matter?

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The Wonderful World of Ships' Cats, Dogs and Birds: The Museum of Maritime Pets

Thu, 13 May 2021 14:02:15 GMT

This week Dr Sam Willis explores the heart-warming story of maritime pets by speaking with Pat Sullivan from the excellent Museum of Maritime Pets. There is a centuries-old tradition of animals living on or near water, and collaborating with man (and woman) in both peace and war. Pat has spent a great deal of time documenting these animals' contributions and promoting the safe and humane treatment of animals who live or work on or near waterways in our modern world. From live-saving and courageous Newfoundlands swimming to the rescue, to chatty parrots, and cats that can catch fish, you will never think the same way about pets and the maritime world ever again.

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The Nanggala Submarine Disaster and the K-Class Submarines of the First World War

Thu, 06 May 2021 14:06:02 GMT

This episode has been inspired by the tragedy of the Nanggala, a submarine of the Indonesian navy that disappeared earlier this month with 53 crew members on board and only 72 hours of oxygen to keep them alive. After 5 days of searching Nangala was found at a depth of more than 800 meters, split into three sections. This has led to a great deal of discussion in the press about submarine design. In this episode Dr Sam Willis talks with Andrew Choong Han Lin, curator of ships plans and technical records at the National Maritime Museum in London. They discuss the fascinating history of the British K-class submarines of the First World War that became infamous for their poor design. To go alongside this podcast episode we have animated the fabulous ship plans for the K-Class submarines that are held in the collections of the Caird Library at the National Maritime Museum. Check it out on the Mariner's Mirror Podcast YouTube page.

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Ghost Ships of the Dart: The Wreck of the Fever Ship Mayfly

Fri, 30 Apr 2021 07:28:36 GMT

Estuaries and creeks around the coast of England are littered with the remains of watercraft which have been deliberately abandoned when they are no longer deemed useful. The extent of this is astonishing. In 2013 a survey identified at least 199 assemblages of hulked vessels all around the English coastline and this is by no means the complete record. In recent years many have been identified and they have fascinating histories. This week Dr Sam Willis meets Grant Bettinson a maritime archaeologist and Discovery Programme Officer for South Devon Rivers, for 'Citizan' - The Coastal and Intertidal Zone Archaeological Network. Exploring the banks of Old Mill Creek on the Dart they discover the hulk of the Mayfly, once a fever ship during outbreaks of yellow fever and smallpox in the early years of the twentieth century. The interview was filmed and has been posted on our YouTube and includes stunning drone footage of the hulks on the Dart.

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Freed from the Ice: The Last Entry of the Logbook of the Whaler Swan

Mon, 26 Apr 2021 07:22:16 GMT

Regular listeners will know that over the past few months we have been reading extracts from the logbook of the whaler Swan of Hull at the start of each episode (with the exception of the Iconic Ships and Great Sea Fights special series). The Swan became trapped in the ice off the west coast of Greenland in the autumn of 1836.

These readings come from a transcription of the logbook held in the archives of the Caird Library In the National Maritime Museum in London. – the transcription has been made especially for this podcast – you are the first people ever to hear these words read aloud. This podcast episode is, itself, a little piece of maritime history.

The episode presents the final entries in her log, in April 1837. Little is known about what happened next but it is clear from the log that they had very little time left. She was discovered by a fleet of whaleships. Ten sailors were put on board her to navigate her home, along with fresh provisions. From her original complement of between fifty and sixty men—including some men of a wrecked ship whom she had taken onboard in the previous summer—only seventeen men were alive when she reached Lerwick. She finally made it back to hull in July 1837, long after she had been given up for lost.

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Iconic Ships 2: The Mayflower

Thu, 22 Apr 2021 05:00:00 GMT

Dr Sam Willis presents episode 2 of our new Iconic Ships series, looking today at the history of the Mayflower. This new Iconic Ships series has been conceived as an opportunity for curators of famous historic vessels to make a case for their surviving vessel and also for historians to make a case for a historic vessel that no longer survives. In this episode we hear from Kathryn Gray from the University of Plymouth who makes the case for the Mayflower, the vessel that set sail from Plymouth in 1620, bound for America, with a group of families on board who became known as The Pilgrims. Later in the year a public vote will be held on which vessel YOU think deserves to win our Iconic Ships series.

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Iconic Ships 1: The Mary Rose

Thu, 15 Apr 2021 05:00:00 GMT

This is the first of a new sub-series of podcast episodes: ‘Iconic Ships’. The series has been conceived as an opportunity for curators of famous historic vessels to make a case as to why their ship is iconic, but it is also open to historians to make a case for a historic vessel that no longer survives. Once we have sufficient entries we will open this up to the public and run a poll.

We start with the Mary Rose – a Tudor warship that served in Henry VIII’s navy for 34 years before sinking in battle with the French in 1545. She was then raised in 1982 and her hull, and tens of thousands or artefacts raised with her, are now on display in the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth. The Mary Rose is, without doubt, one of the most important historical artefacts in the world, let alone one of history’s most iconic ships.

The case for the Mary Rose is made by Chris Dobbs, head of interpretation at the Mary Rose museum and one of the Archaeological Supervisors in charge of excavating the contents of the shipwreck.

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The Terror

Mon, 12 Apr 2021 09:29:49 GMT

Inspired by the recent BBC series 'The Terror', a chilling tale based on one of polar exploration’s deepest mysteries, Dr Sam Willis explores the history HMS Terror. The TV series is set on the Terror’s last and fateful voyage when, in 1845, under the command of Sir John Franklin and alongside another ship, HMS Erebus, Terror sailed into the ice off the west coast of Greenland in search of the Northwest passage. Both ships were beset by ice but the crew stayed with the ships, only abandoning them in April 1848. By then Franklin and more than 24 sailors had died. The survivors attempted to walk to the Canadian mainland and were never seen again.

The TV series is a fictional and fantastical account of what might have happened to the men; the truth is that we know very little indeed about their plight and it remains one of the biggest mysteries of maritime history. The Terror and Erebus were last sighted by Europeans on 25 July 1845, two years and nine months before the final and failed attempt to reach land.

In this episode Sam Willis speaks with Ed Williams-Hawkes, an expert navigator of powerboats, historian, and resident of Topsham in Devon where the Terror was built, and they discuss the fascinating history of HMS Terror, which had enjoyed a long and extraordinary career before she entered the ice with Franklin.

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The Falklands Sinkings: The Untold Story

Thu, 01 Apr 2021 07:45:44 GMT

Dr Sam Willis speaks with historian Dr Paul Brown about the extraordinary events surrounding the Falklands War in 1982, a pivotal event in British history. When Argentinian forces invaded the Falklands in April 1982 the British Government responded by sending a task force to the south Atlantic to seize back the islands. In the subsequent conflict cruise missiles, nuclear submarines and vertical/short take-off and landing aircraft were tested in combat for the first time, and to devastating effect. In the aftermath of the war official documents were released but heavily redacted, and others kept under wraps as top secret. Using the Freedom of Information Act of 2000, Paul Brown has now uncovered many new facts about the naval events, in particular about the several ships that were lost. The torpedoing by the British of the Argentinian light cruiser General Belgrano is well known, but what of the SIX British ships that were sunk? nearly 40 years after the conflict, the full story can now be told.

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The Channel with Charlie Connelly

Mon, 29 Mar 2021 08:07:24 GMT

This week Dr Sam Willis talks with bestselling writer and award winning broadcaster Charlie Connelly about the fascinating history of the English Channel. Is it a bulwark against invasion, a conduit for exchange, a challenge to be conquered? It is all those and so much more: The Channel is many different things to many different people, and in our new age of Brexit it remains as important as it ever has been. It is still the busiest shipping lane in the world and hosts more than 30 million passenger crossings each year. Charlie entertains us with an extraordinary mix of characters: geniuses, cheats, dreamers, charlatans, visionaries, eccentrics and naked balloonists, whose stories have all made the English Channel the cultural icon it is today.

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How to Remember Captain Cook

Tue, 23 Mar 2021 09:14:29 GMT

Dr Sam Willis explores the fascinating problems posed by Britain's complex imperial history by thinking in particular about Captain James Cook, the eighteenth-century British explorer and navigator famous for his three voyages to Australia and the Pacific (1768-1779). Sam talks with with Kevin Sumption – the Director and CEO of the Australian National Maritime Museum. They range widely over issues raised when planning for the 250th anniversary in April 2020 of Cook's arrival in Australia. Why are multiple perspectives important in a narrative like Cook's? And how did they go about including First People's narratives of Cook's arrival? Sam and Kevin also explore two intriguing items in the museum's collection: A bronze bust of Captain Cook with his head covered by a black balaklava made by the Australian artist Jason Wing, which challenges the colonial history of Australia from an Aboriginal perspective, and an eighteenth-century japanned tea tray by the artist Edward Bird depicting the death of Captain Cook in Hawaii in 1779.

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'Titanic in Miniature' - The Wonderful ss Shieldhall

Mon, 15 Mar 2021 10:54:37 GMT

Dr Sam Willis speaks with Graham Mackenzie, chief engineer of SS Shieldhall, one of the most fascinating ships in the UK's historic fleet. The Shieldhall is unique as a time capsule providing a working example of steamship machinery that operated ships in the oceans of the world from the 1870s for a century. In particular her triple-expansion steam engines, scotch boilers and steam-assisted steering gear is almost identical to that which was used in the Titanic - only in miniature. The episode is designed to give important (and entertaining) historical context to an animation we have created showing exactly how the boilers and steam engine of the Shieldhall work.

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Navigation Masterclass: Secrets of the South Pacific Wave Pilots

Tue, 09 Mar 2021 08:06:25 GMT

Dr Sam Willis speaks with John Huth, the Donner Professor of Science at Harvard who works mainly in the field of experimental particle physics. He is in fact a member of the international team that discovered the Higgs Boson particle. He has also, however, written a rather wonderful book on navigation – The Lost Art of Finding Our Way – in which he contends that even the most confused of us can improve our navigational understanding by paying closer attention to the world around us. Long before GPS, Google Earth, and global transit, humans traveled vast distances using only environmental clues and simple instruments. And the question John wants an answer to is this - what is lost when modern technology substitutes for our innate capacity to find our way? We’re exploring some of those themes today by looking at the wave pilots of the Marshall Islands who read the patterns of swell in the ocean to orientate themselves in their unique archipelago.

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Sea Shanties and The Wellerman.

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 14:57:49 GMT

In response to the new global Social Media phenomenon of sea shanties sparked by the Scottish postman Nathan Evans' rendition of The Wellerman, Dr Sam Willis speaks to Professor Gerry Smyth, author of a new book published by the British Library: 'Sailor Song: The Shanties and Ballads of the High Seas'. They discuss how shanties were collected and annotated, how they were inspired by changing commercial conditions at sea in the nineteenth century and how each shanty has a fascinating history of its own. In particular they look at John Kanaka, South Australia, Roll Alabama Roll and the Drunken Sailor - which, did you know, came from an ancient Irish clan march...

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Steamboat Excursions on the Hudson for Chinese Americans, 1883.

Wed, 24 Feb 2021 13:33:17 GMT

This week we tackle the important history of race relations in America – through the lense of riverboat excursions for the Chinese community of New York in the 19th century. Dr Sam Willis speaks with Dr Marika Plater, who studies what low-income New Yorkers did for fun, outdoors, during the nineteenth century. Her work has shown how the most vulnerable New Yorkers used their limited free time to escape to environments that contrasted with their daily conditions. She follows the city's workers as they walked to public parks in their neighbourhoods, took ferries and streetcars to beer gardens and pleasure grounds, and boarded steamboats headed to waterfront excursion groves. This episode focusses on steamboat excursions: what happened and how it was reported in the hostile political atmosphere of the era of Chinese exclusion in America.

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Great Sea Fights: Cape St Vincent (1797) Part 3 - The Spanish View

Sun, 14 Feb 2021 16:00:00 GMT

This third episode in our special series on the Battle of Cape St Vincent offers a Spanish perspective on this most extraordinary battle. We hear from Dr. Agustín Guimerá and Dr. Pablo Ortega-del-Cerro, both from the Spanish National Research Centre in Madrid. Dr Guimerá offers an analysis of the battle from the Spanish perspective and Dr Ortega-del-Cerro reads out an extract from the logbook of the Principe de Asturias, the flagship of Vice-Admiral Moreno, and certainly the best Spanish accounts of the battle. Both contributions are presented in English and then repeated in Spanish.

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Great Sea Fights: Cape St Vincent (1797) Part 2 - The Analysis

Sun, 14 Feb 2021 12:16:35 GMT

This second episode in our special series on the Battle of Cape St Vincent offers an analysis of the battle from two of the world's leading Nelson scholars: John Sugden and Marianne Czisnik. Dr Sam Willis speaks to them both and explores the realities of battle at sea in the age of sail. This battle is famous because of the extraordinary event that occurred when Horatio Nelson boarded one Spanish ship from another he had already captured. But how should we see this event as historians? To what extent was Nelson acting independently? Was he breaking his orders and if so was he right to do so? How did the battle affect the war? This episode gets to the very foundations of the nature of seapower in the Age of Sail.

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Great Sea Fights: Cape St Vincent (1797) Part 1 - The Events

Sat, 13 Feb 2021 19:12:56 GMT

This episode published on the anniversary of the Battle of St Vincent in 1797 launches the second of our Great Sea Fights series. Dr Sam Willis explores the events of Valentines Day 1797 when Admiral John Jervis daringly cut through a much larger Spanish fleet escorting a mercury convoy home from South America. This was the second major action of the Revolutionary War against France and the first against Spain, then France's allies. The events of the battle remain unique in naval history. The Spanish lost four ships of the line, two of them personally boarded and captured by Horatio Nelson. The events were the first stage in nelson becoming the most famous Englishman on earth and a naval hero like no other.

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The Most Important Book in Maritime History? Lloyd's Register

Mon, 08 Feb 2021 08:38:30 GMT

Dr Sam Willis speaks with Charlotte Ward to explore the remarkable history of Lloyd's Register, perhaps the most influential book for the maritime world ever to be published. It all begins in a coffee house run by Edward Lloyd, and a book, called the Register of Ships, first published in 1764, to give underwriters and merchants an idea of the condition of the vessels they insured and chartered. Maritime history from that moment on was fundamentally changed, particularly in relation to safety at sea. The Lloyd's Register Foundation now curates an immense archive of material relating to global maritime history.

But we begin this episode as ever by catching up on our sailors on the whaleship swan of Hull, trapped in the ice off the west coast of Greenland in the new year of 1837. Each week we have been reading a little from their logbook – which is now kept in the archives of the national maritime Museum in London. They have been trapped now for almost four months. Life has been terrifying and they are entering a period of intense cold. Even the most minor of events is a major occurrence for these men perched on the cliff edge of their existence.

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Trafalgar Battle Surgeon: William Beatty

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 10:31:14 GMT

In this special episode Dr Sam Willis explores the life of William Beatty, the surgeon on HMS Victory who tended Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar. Beatty's life prior to Trafalgar is examined and his work put into context with primary sources that illustrate the life and work of naval surgeons in the age of sail, in their own words. This episode is designed to provide historic context for our previous episode, an interview with Jo Laird, a medic in today's Royal Navy, who launched a successful crowdfunder campaign to purchase William Beatty's medicine chest and donate it to the Haslar Heritage Group.

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The Medical Chest that Belonged to Nelson's Surgeon

Fri, 22 Jan 2021 13:03:32 GMT

An early nineteenth century medicine chest with a brass plaque engraved ‘William Beatty Warranted Surgeon RN 1803’ has come into the possession of a Hampshire antiques dealer from a private collector near Bristol. Members of the Royal Navy Medical Service are aiming to crowdfund to buy it to retain a part of the RNMS history and to donate it to the Haslar Heritage Group (http://www.haslarheritagegroup.co.uk). The Haslar Heritage Group have been granted the use of the Old Medical Supplies Agency building at the site of Haslar Hospital to develop into a visitor's centre with a museum for the Royal Navy Medical and Dental Services. In this episode, Dr Sam Willis speaks to Jo Laird, one of the navy medics behind the campaign – about her role as a naval medic in today's navy, and her interest in the chest as a means of commemorating the past but also of bringing attention to the role of navy medics today in the fight against Covid. This episode will be followed soon by a special episode on William Beatty and life as a surgeon in Nelson's navy.

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The Royal Navy's Bloodiest Mutiny: Murder and Mayhem on HMS Hermione

Tue, 19 Jan 2021 05:02:50 GMT

Dr Sam Willis discusses the infamous Hermione mutiny of 1797 with the naval historian Angus Konstam. In 1797 the British frigate HMS Hermione was serving on the Jamaica Station during the French Revolutionary war. Under the sadistic and mercurial Captain Hugh Pigot the ship became a floating hell as he flogged his men and ruled his ship through terror. When the men finally mutinied it became the bloodiest in the history of the Royal Navy. Pigot and his officers were hacked to death. The mutineers then took the ship to the Spanish main - and handed the ship over to the Spanish. The ship was then recaptured in 1799 in one of the most daring and brilliantly executed operations of the Age of Sail and the Admiralty launched a relentless and worldwide manhunt for the mutineers that lasted a decade.

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The Challenges and Rewards of Maritime History

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 09:44:55 GMT

Dr Sam Willis speaks to Professor Felipe Fernández-Armesto, one of the world's leading authorities on global history. A British historian with Spanish roots who writes on world history, Fernández-Armesto offers a unique and comparative perspective on the importance of the sea in national histories. They discuss the challenges and rewards of studying maritime history from an international perspective. How is the sea remembered in national memory? How important is the sea to national identities of Spain and the UK? How valuable is maritime history as a tool for investigating encounters between different cultures and race relations? What are the current problems in maritime history - is it too dominated by narratives of western seafarers? You may never think about maritime history the same way ever again....

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Africans in Tudor and Stuart Port Towns

Wed, 06 Jan 2021 09:05:46 GMT

Dr Sam Willis meets with Dr Miranda Kauffman to discuss the research that led to her prizewinning book Black Tudors – The Untold Story, and in particular to her discovery of the lives of numerous Africans living in England and Scotland's port towns during the 16th and 17th centuries. She explains how they arrived in Britain, what occupations and relationships they found in the ports and how they were treated by the church, the law courts and the other inhabitants. Their lives are a crucial part of our understanding of this age in which England made her first steps as a colonial empire and their experiences shed light on many of the leading Tudor seafarers of the time including Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Ralegh. Miranda's research into the Africans living in England in the Tudor and Stuart periods encourages us to ask wider questions about Tudor perceptions of race, religion and the ethics of enslavement and colonialism.

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Great Sea Fights: The River Plate Part 3 - Analysis

Tue, 22 Dec 2020 08:31:54 GMT

This episode finishes the first story in our new ‘Great Sea Fights’ series, exploring the fascinating story of the Battle of the River Plate, one of the most iconic battles of the Second World War. In this episode Dr Sam Willis speaks to Professor Eric Grove, author of The Price of Disobedience: The Battle of the River Plate Reconsidered who offers an analysis of the battle. Why was the Graf Spee in South America? What were the tactical advantages of the German pocket battleship? How did the smaller, faster British ships maximise their capabilities? Why was the battle so important at the time and what was its longer-term legacy?

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Great Sea Fights: The River Plate Part 2 – The Sinking of the Graf Spee

Mon, 14 Dec 2020 09:16:54 GMT

This episode continues our first story in our new 'Great Sea Fights' series, exploring the fascinating story of the battle of the River Plate, one of the most iconic battles of the Second World War. The immensely powerful and fast German pocket battleship Graf Spee was hunted by a squadron of far smaller British cruisers and found off the River Plate in South America. She never returned home. The account continues, first gathered together by the Admiralty from the official dispatches of the Royal Naval squadron in the immediate aftermath of the battle. We have reached a crucial stage in the battle: The German pocket battleship Graf Spee has been found by a hunting group of British cruisers near the River Plate in South America and battle has broken out. The engagement is evolving at immense speed. The Graf Spee is damaged, zigzagging to keep out of harm and throwing up smokescreens. One of the three British ships, HMS Exeter, is disabled and has ceased firing. The two remaining British ships are operating at full speed to close the range with the German ship.

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Great Sea Fights: The River Plate Part 1 - The Dispatches

Sun, 13 Dec 2020 08:15:11 GMT

This episode, published on the anniversary of the Battle of the River Plate on 13 December 1939, launches our Great Sea Fights series. Dr Sam Willis begins with a brief overview of seapower at the start of the Second World War before introducing the battle. An account is then read, first gathered together by the Admiralty from the official dispatches of the Royal Naval squadron in the immediate aftermath of the battle. The Battle of the River Plate was one of the most iconic battles of the Second World War. The immensely powerful and fast German pocket battleship Graf Spee was hunted by a squadron of far smaller British cruisers and found off the River Plate in South America. She never returned home.

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How to map climate change with 200 year-old ships' logbooks

Mon, 07 Dec 2020 08:35:34 GMT

One of the key aspects of maritime historical research that is helping us understand our modern world is the use of ships logbooks to understand and map climate change in various regions across the world. Today Dr Sam Willis Dr Matthew Ayre, a Climate Detective (or more officially a Historical Climatologist) at the Arctic Institute of North America. Matt uses 200 year old documents surviving from the Arctic whaling trade to look back at the Arctic climate.It's an important topic. Over the past 30 years, the Arctic has warmed at roughly twice the rate as the entire globe, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification.

Ships’ logbooks are now an accepted data source in climate change studies.Matt is an expert on the particular issues surrounding logbooks from the Arctic region in what is known as the pre-instrumental period and has tackled important questions linked to this research – how, for example, can you reliably express narrative descriptions of wind, weather and sea ice in index form? An dhow then can you most effectively manage scientific analysis fo such data, which – remember -- was not recorded for such purposes. How do you digitize historical logbooks?

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The National Maritime Museum's new photography exhibition - 'Exposure: Lives at Sea'

Mon, 30 Nov 2020 10:00:57 GMT

Dr Sam Willis visits the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London to explore their new photography exhibition. Exposure: Lives at Sea was brought together during the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown. It is the first exhibition curated by Laura Boon, the Lloyd’s Register Foundation Public Curator for Contemporary Maritime. The importance of seafarers has been brought into sharp focus during the Covid pandemic. Seafarers are keyworkers have helped keep our supermarkets stocked, and yet hundreds of thousands of them have been stranded at sea. This exhibition is designed to bring recognition to the important role seafarers play in the modern world and explores many themes with both contemporary and historical relevance. In this socially distanced, visually-led exhibition, the experience of work and play at sea is displayed through the lens of six seafarers and researchers - from the large-scale panoramic to the intensely intimate - bringing together photography taken around the world, from the reefs of Mexico to the isolation of Antarctica, to document the myriad ways life can be spent at sea. We rely on our oceans for food, ecosystem services, energy and transportation, yet it is a world rarely seen - making this exhibition both striking and important.

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English History's Most Significant Shipwreck

Wed, 25 Nov 2020 06:00:00 GMT

On the 900th anniversary of the shipwreck, Dr Sam Willis talks with Charles, Earl Spencer, about the White Ship disaster of 25 November 1120. The loss of the ship was one of the greatest disasters that England ever suffered and its repercussions changed English and European history forever. Henry I was sailing for England in triumph after years of fighting the French as the most formidable ruler in Europe. He landed home safely but the boat which followed a little later, upon which travelled some 300 passengers of the highest rank, including Henry's only legitimate son, the cream of the Anglo-Norman aristocracy including eighteen women of the rank of countess, famous knights and courtiers, did not...

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Lost Maps of the Spanish Armada

Sat, 14 Nov 2020 00:00:00 GMT

Ten hand-drawn maps of the Spanish Armada have surfaced in London and been brought by a private collector. An export ban has been imposed by the British Government in the hopes that £600,000 can be raised to keep these maps in a British institution. The maps are the only contemporary depiction of the battle. Dr Sam Willis speaks to Professor Dominic Tweddle, Director General of the National Museum of the Royal Navy about why these maps are so important to British history and the forging of a British national identity.

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The Hudson River Maritime Museum

Sat, 07 Nov 2020 15:02:17 GMT

Sam speaks to Sarah Wassberg Johnson, Director of Exhibitions and Outreach at the excellent Hudson River Maritime Museum. In the conversation we discover just how important the Hudson River is to the development of American history. Topics include ice-harvesting, the great fire of New York of 1835, the American Revolution, the appreciation of the wilderness, the launch of the environmental movement, the suing of EXXON in the 1980s for polluting the Hudson, oral history, fishing, trade, power plants, and the extraordinary and unique ecology of the Hudson.

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Turner's Amazing Maritime Art

Mon, 02 Nov 2020 13:44:35 GMT

Dr Sam Willis heads to the new JMW Turner exhibition at the Tate Britain: 'Turner's Modern World'. Turner is one of the best known of all British artists and one of history's greatest maritime artists. His painting The Fighting Temeraire is a national treasure and now appears on the new £20 note. Sam meets the curator of the Turner bequest, David Blayney Brown, and focuses on three of Turner's paintings: 'A Maritime Disaster' a magnificent depiction of the wreck of the Amphitrite, a convict ship carrying female convicts to Australia that ran aground in France in 1833; 'Snowstorm: Steam-boat off a harbour's mouth' one of Turner's most famous paintings of a catastrophic storm in the North Sea in 1842; and 'The Fighting Temeraire'. - the dreamlike canvas showing HMS Temeraire, veteran of the Battle of Trafalgar, being towed up the Thames in the setting sun to the breaker's yard.

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HMS Victory and the Battle of Trafalgar

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 03:00:00 GMT

Sam Willis explores the remarkable conservation project underway in Portsmouth to preserve Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar, HMS Victory, for future generations. Her hull - obviously designed to float - has started to suffer from a century in dry dock and her immensely complex rigging has been dismantled. Her masts are about to be removed. Sam talks with Nick Ball who works with Victory at the National Museum of the Royal Navy and also with David Davies, historian novelist and Chairman of the Society for Nautical Research.

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Welcome to The Mariner's Mirror Podcast!

Fri, 16 Oct 2020 12:35:00 GMT

Dr Sam Willis talks with David Davies, naval and maritime historian and author of naval fiction and Chairman of the Society for Nautical Research, about the importance of maritime history. The plans for the podcast are laid out: this will be a podcast that brings our listeners the most important global stories in maritime history; gives behind the scenes and special access to maritime museums and archives around the world; and transports our listeners to the maritime past with original and previously unpublished historical sources and accounts.

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