Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

William IV : a king at sea /Roger Knight. Part of the 'Penguin Monarchs' series, the author gives a concise and perceptive biography of William IV, the 'Sailor King'. Beginning with his childhood, it covers his years with the navy, his long relationship with the actress Mrs Jordan and his marriage to Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen. Inheriting the throne at a time of strikes, riots and the push for parliamentary reform, the author shows William as a better king than sailor, leaving the monarchy in a healthier state for the smooth succession of his niece, Victoria. A genealogical table is included, along with colour images of paintings and caricatures of the time. 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92WILLIAM IV

Black Tudors : the untold story /Miranda Kaufmann. "A black porter publicly whips a white Englishman in the hall of a Gloucestershire manor house. A Moroccan woman in baptised in a London church. Henry VIII dispatches a Mautetanian diver to salvage lost treasures from the Mary Rose. From long-forgotten records emerge the stories of Africans who lived free in Tudor England ..."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 941/.00496009031

State barges / Peter Norton. Norton, Peter. 1972. • PAMPHLET • 10 copies available. 629.122.3:394.4

The manoeuverer, or skilful seaman : being an essay on the theory and practice of the various movements of a ship at sea, as well as of naval evolutions in general Bourde de Villehuet, Jacques 1788 • RARE-FOLIO • 3 copies available. 094:355.461

Warships from the golden age of steam : an illustrated guide to great warships from 1860 to 1945 /David Ross "The great era of the steam warship was from the mid-1860s to the mid-1940s - an 80-year period in which a huge variety of large ships was built, ever-greater in size, fire-power, and technical sophistication. Capital ships were the most expensive and destructive weaponry prior to the atomic bomb, and their development can be traced decade by decade. Arranged in chronological order, Warships from the Golden Age of Steam provides concise coverage of the most famous warships of the period, including HMS Devastation, the first seagoing turreted ship; the Chinese Ting Yuen, sunk at the Battle of Wei-Hai-Wei in 1894; Mikasa and Retvizan, which fought each other at the Battle of the Yellow Sea in 1904; HMS Indomitable, Nassau, and HMS Lion, which all fought at the Battle of Jutland in 1916; HMS Prince of Wales, which took part in the hunt for the Bismarck, and was eventually sunk by Japanese air attack off the coast of Malaya in December 1941; and the Tirpitz, which remained a constant threat to Allied shipping in the North Atlantic until it was sunk by aerial bombers in a Norwegian fjord in late 1944. Filled with colourful artworks, expertly-written background text, and useful specifications of 100 warships, Warships from the Golden Age of Steam is a visually lavish guide to major fighting ships from 1860 to 1945."--Provided by the publisher. 2014. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.82(100)"1860/1945"

Norden i Napoleonskrigene : krig pêa sj² og land /Knut Arstad (red.) [2014]. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1793/1815"(42:44)

The ships that came to Manchester : from the Mersey and Weaver sailing flat to the mighty container ship /Nick Robins. "The merchants of Manchester were concerned about the high tariffs charged at Liverpool Docks and the excessive rates for transhipment of goods to Manchester. They decided that the best thing for their trade was to bring seagoing ships up to Manchester. And this they did - via numerous enabling Bills and by grand-scale Victorian engineering. The Port of Manchester and its ship canal opened for business on 1 January 1894 with existing clients such as James Knott's Prince Line running to the Mediterranean, and Fisher Renwick to London. But it could not readily entice the Liverpool shipowners to use Manchester, and it faced a long struggle to break the indifference of Conference Lines to the new port. The First World War finally allayed any lingering worries over the inadequacies of Manchester and the Liverpool companies then arrived in abundance. Manchester had its own shipping companies, including Manchester Liners, H. Watson & Company, Sivewright Bacon, Manchester Steamship Company, Manchester Spanish Line and others. Business peaked at Manchester in the 1950s but rapidly declined through the 1970s as ships became too big to transit the canal. Between 1894 and 1982 ships of all kinds docked at Manchester from all over the world; this is the story of the ships that came to Manchester."--Provided by the publisher. 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 656.61(427.2)

St Helena : A maritime history /Trevor Boult "In 1977, the remote British island of St Helena in the South Atlantic, host to Napoleon and Captain Bligh, and Boer War prisoner-of-war camp, was first served by a lifeline ship dedicated to the purpose. The Royal Mail Ship St Helena became affectionately known simply as the RMS. In 1990 she was replaced by the first purpose-built vessel for the service. This, the final St Helena, embodied romanticism from the era of passenger cargo-liners. At a time when fresh consideration was being given to provide the island with an airport - and the irrevocable changes it would bring - the author sailed on the RMS as part of the ship's company, to document the working life of this highly individual 'family' ship, and aspects of the island community which she served. Using his wonderful collection of colour photographs, Trevor Boult tells this fascinating story."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 969.92

Shaw Savill's magnificent seven : Corinthic, Athenic, Ceramic, Gothic, Persic, Runic, Suevic /Andrew Bell and Murray Robinson. A history of Shaw Savill's Corinthic, Athenic, Ceramic, Gothic, Persic, Runic, Suevic - seven ships designed as large cargo vessels to service the trade routes between New Zealand and London. The Corinthic, Athenic, Ceramic and Gothic also carried passengers - the Gothic famous as the vessel carrying Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on their world coronation tour. Chapters on each vessel provide details of their design, construction, service history and cargoes, and also include personal accounts of events and anecdotes about life on board. Each chapter is richly illustrated including plans and photographs of the ship's launch, interior and exterior, and crew. An appendix covers the demise of Furness Withy, owner of Shaw Savill since 1935, and a concluding section contains illustrations of memorabilia including extracts from the 'Information for passengers' booklet, publicity brochures and documents relating to the coronation tour. 2011. • FOLIO • 2 copies available. 347.792SHAW SAVILL

Aquatint : from its origins to Goya /Rena M. Hoisington. "Driven by a growing interest in collecting and multiplying drawings, artists and amateurs in the eighteenth century sought a new technique capable of replicating the subtlety of ink, wash, and watercolor. They devised an innovative and versatile new medium--aquatint--which would spread in use across Europe within a few decades, its distinctive dark tones making possible a remarkable variety of ingenious imagery. In this illuminating book, Rena M. Hoisington traces how the aquatint technique flourished as a cross-cultural and cosmopolitan phenomenon that contributed to the rise of art publishing, connoisseurship, leisure travel, drawing instruction, and the popularity of neoclassicism. She offers new insights into sophisticated experiments by artists such as Francisco Goya, Maria Catharina Prestel, Paul Sandby, and Jean-Baptiste Le Prince. Marvelously illustrated with rare works from the National Gallery of Art's collection of early aquatints, this engaging book provides a fresh look at how printmaking contributed to a vibrant exchange of information and ideas in Europe during the Enlightenment."--Provided by the publisher. [2021] • BOOK • 1 copy available. 760

Sir Ferdinando Gorges and his Province of Maine : including the Brief relation, the Brief narration, his defence, the charter granted to him, his will, and his letters ... with a memoir and historical illustrations Baxter, James Phinney 1967 • BOOK • 3 copies available. 325.3(42-5:741)

Adams of Fleet Street, instrument makers to King George III " 'G. Adams in Fleet Street London' is the signature on some of the finest scientific instruments of the eighteenth century. This book is the first comprehensive study of the instrument-making business run by the Adams family, from its foundation in 1734 to bankruptcy in 1817. It is based on detailed research in the archival sources as well as examination of extant instruments and publications by George Adams Senior and his two sons, George Junior and Dudley. Separate chapters are devoted to George Senior's family background, his royal connections, and his new globes; George Junior's numerous publications, and his dealings with van Marum; and to Dudley's dabbling with 'medico-electrical therapeutics'. The book is richly illustrated with plates from the Adams' own publications and with examples of instruments ranging from unique museum pieces - such as the 'Prince of Wales' microscope - and globes to the more common, even mundane items of the kind seen in salesrooms and with dealers - the surveying, navigational and military instruments that formed the backbone of the business. The appendices include facsimiles of trade catalogues and an annotated short-title listing of the Adams family's publications, which also covers American and Continental editions, as well as the posthumous ones by W. & S. Jones."--Provided by the publisher. 2000 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 681.09Adams MIL

British battleship vs German battleship : 1941-43 /Angus Konstam ; illustrated by Ian Palmer. "At the outbreak of World War II, the four key Capital German ships comprised the Bismarck, Tirpitz, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau. Their primary threats where the Royal Navy's King George Vclass battleships, the most modern British battleships in commission during World War II and some of the Navy's most powerful vessels. Five ships of this class were built: HMS King George V, Prince of Wales, Duke of York, Howe (late 1942) and Anson (late 1942). The powerful vessels in this class would clash with the pride of the Kriegsmarine in two major engagements: first, during the Battle of the Denmark Strait and subsequent pursuit of the Bismarck between 24 and 27 May 1941, and again at the Battle of the North Cape on 26 December 1943. This addition to the Duel series compares and contrasts the design and development of these opposing capital ships, and describes the epic clashes on the high seas that ended with the destruction of the Kriegsmarine's major naval assets."--Provided by the publisher. 2020. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.545941

Timekeepers : how the world became obsessed with time /Simon Garfield. "Time flies like an arrow, but fruit flies like a banana. The Beatles learn to be brilliant in an hour and a half. An Englishman arrives back from Calcutta but refuses to adjust his watch. Beethoven has his symphonic wishes ignored. A US Senator begins a speech that will last for 25 hours. The horrors of war are frozen at the click of a camera. A woman designs a ten-hour clock and reinvents the calendar. Roger Bannister lives out the same four minutes over a lifetime. And a prince attempts to stop time in its tracks. Timekeepers is a book about our obsession with time and our desire to measure it, control it, sell it, film it, perform it, immortalise it and make it meaningful. It has two simple intentions: to tell some illuminating stories, and to ask whether we have all gone completely nuts."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 681.111/.118

The Eastern Fleet and the Indian Ocean, 1942-1944 : the fleet that had to hide /Charles Stephenson. "The story of the British Eastern Fleet, which operated in the Indian Ocean against Japan, has rarely been told. Although it was the largest fleet deployed by the Royal Navy prior to 1945 and played a vital part in the theatre it was sent to protect, it has no place in the popular consciousness of the naval history of the Second World War. So Charles Stephenson's deeply researched and absorbing narrative gives this forgotten fleet the recognition it deserves. British pre-war naval planning for the Far East is part of the story, as is the disastrous loss of the battleship Prince of Wales and battlecruiser Repulse in 1941, but the body of the book focuses on the new fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir James Somerville, and its operations against the Japanese navy and aircraft as well as Japanese and German submarines. Later in the war, once the fleet had been reinforced with an American aircraft carrier, it was strong enough to take more aggressive actions against the Japanese, and these are described in vivid detail. Charles Stephenson's authoritative study should appeal to readers who have a special interest in the war with Japan, in naval history more generally and Royal Navy in particular."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.5429

Empire Windrush : reflections on 75 years & more of the Black British experience /edited and with an introduction by Onyekachi Wambu ; preface by Margaret Busby. "In June 1948, the SS Empire Windrush docked in Tilbury, carrying with it the hopes and dreams of hundreds of young men and women from the Caribbean. Their arrival was to have far-reaching effects on Britain, signalling not only the beginning of mass migration to the UK, but also the unravelling of the Empire which they and their ancestors had lived under for almost 400 turbulent years. It was a landmark moment which influenced generations of writers, artists and thinkers. In this ground-breaking anthology, journalist and writer Onyekachi Wambu collates some of the best and most significant writing to mark 75 years since the arrival of Empire Windrush. Through poetry, fiction, journalism, essays and memoir, writers from the Caribbean, Africa and Asia - including Bernardine Evaristo, Zadie Smith, Andrea Levy, V.S. Naipaul, C.L.R. James, Salman Rushdie, John Agard, Stuart Hall, Ben Okri, Phyllis Wheatley, Olaudah Equiano and Mary Prince, amongst others - explore the Black British experience."--Provided by the publisher. 2023. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 820.8/0896041

The Mariners' Marvellous Magazine : or wonders of the ocean : containing the most remarkable adventures and relations of mariners in various parts of the globe Tegg, Thomas (comp) 1809 • RARE-BOOK • 2 copies available. 094:656.61.085.3

Rear Admiral Sir John Franklin : A narrative of the circumstances and causes which led to the failure of the searching expeditions sent by government and others for the rescue of Sir John Franklin /John Ross "Sir John Ross (1777-1856), the distinguished British naval officer and Arctic explorer, undertook three great voyages to the Arctic regions; accounts of his first and his second voyages are also reissued in this series. (During the latter, his ship was stranded in the unexplored area of Prince Regent Inlet, where Ross and his crew survived by living and eating as the local Inuit did.) In this volume, first published in 1855, the explorer describes his experiences during his third (privately funded) Arctic voyage, undertaken in 1850 as part of the effort to locate the missing expedition led by Sir John Franklin, his close friend. Ross also summarises in partisan style the previous efforts by the Royal Navy to find out what happened to the Erebus and Terror, and is scathing in his account of what he regards as the mismanagement and incompetence of the Admiralty."--Provided by the publisher. John Ross • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.4(987)

Bismarck : the epic chase : the sinking of the German menace /by James Crossley. "When the German Battleship Bismarck was commissioned in 1940 she was one of the fastest and most powerful ships afloat. To the Royal Navy and the security of Allied shipping in the Atlantic she posed an enormous threat - she must be destroyed. When she broke out into the Atlantic in 1941, some of Britain's most powerful ships were sent to pursue and sink her. The first encounter proved disastrous for the British Battleship HMS Hood, which was sunk at 0800 on 24 May. Bismarck had sustained several hits from HMS Prince of Wales but the Royal Navy were unsure of the extent of the damage and whether she would attempt to return to Germany for major repairs or sail for France to lick her wounds. Previous written accounts suggest that the whereabouts and course of Bismarck were unknown to the Allies until discovered by an RAF Catalina at 1030 on 26 May. This was followed an hour later by the arrival of a Fairey Swordfish flying off HMS Ark Royal. This aircraft hit the Bismarck with her torpedo and severely damaged her steering gear. It was now only a matter of time before the full firepower of the British capital ships would close in and destroy Germany's greatest ship. This new book revises previous theory of the events, in which earlier publications have failed to reveal the full extent of the capabilities of both British and German Radar or the significance of British ULTRA signal intercepts."--Provided by the publisher 2010. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.542.9(42:43)"1941"

Churchill and sea power / Christopher M. Bell. This book is the first major study of Winston Churchill's record as a naval strategist and his impact as the most prominent guardian of Britain's sea power in the modern era. The book debunks many popular and well-entrenched myths surrounding controversial episodes in both World Wars, including the Dardanelles disaster, the Norwegian Campaign, the Battle of the Atlantic, and the devastating loss of the Prince of Wales and Repulse in 1941. It shows that many common criticisms of Churchill have been exaggerated, but also that some of his mistakes have been largely overlooked. The book also examines Churchill's evolution as a maritime strategist over the course of his career, and documents his critical part in managing Britain's naval decline during the first half of the twentieth century. Churchill's genuine affection for the Royal Navy has often distracted attention from the fact that his views on sea power were pragmatic and unsentimental. For, as Christopher M. Bell shows, in a period dominated by declining resources, global threats, and rapid technologicalchange, it was increasingly air rather than sea power that Churchill looked to as the foundation of Britain's security. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92CHURCHILL

Battleship Bismarck : a design and operational history /William H Garzke Jr, Robery O Dulin Jr, and William Jurens with James Cameron "This new book on Bismarck offers a forensic analysis of the design, operation and loss of Germany's greatest battleship and draws on survivors' accounts and the authors' combined decades of experience in naval architecture and command at sea. Their investigation into every aspect of this battleship has taken fifty-six years of painstaking research, during which time they conducted extensive interviews and corresponded with the ship's designers and the survivors of the battle of the Denmark Strait and Bismarck's final battle. Albert Schnarke, for instance, the former gunnery officer of Tirpitz, Bismarck's sister ship, aided the authors greatly by translating and supplying manuscript materials from those who had participated in the design and operations. Survivors of Bismarck's engagements contributed to this comprehensive study including D B H Wildish, RN, damage control officer aboard HMS Prince of Wales, who located photographs of battle damage to his ship. After the wreck of Bismarck was discovered in June 1989, the authors served as technical consultants to Dr Robert Ballard, who led three trips to the site. Film maker and explorer James Cameron has contributed a chapter, which gives the reader a comprehensive overview of his deep-sea explorations on Bismarck and it is illustrated with his team's remarkable photographs of the wreck. The result of nearly six decades of research and collaboration, this new work is an engrossing and encyclopaedic account of the events surrounding one of the most epic naval battles of World War Two. And Battleship Bismarck finally resolves some of the major questions around her career, not least the most profound one of all: 'Who sank the Bismarck, the British or the Germans?'"--Provided by the publisher 2019. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.82BISMARCK

Killing the Bismarck : destroying the pride of Hitler's fleet /Iain Ballantyne. "In May 1941, the German battleship Bismarck, accompanied by heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen, broke out into the Atlantic, to attack Allied shipping. The Royal Navy's pursuit and subsequent destruction of Bismarck was an epic of naval warfare. In this new account of those dramatic events at the height of the Second World War, Iain Ballantyne draws extensively on the graphic eye-witness testimony of veterans, to construct a thrilling story, mainly from the point of view of the British battleships, cruisers and destroyers involved. He describes the tense atmosphere as cruisers play a lethal cat and mouse game as they shadow Bismarck in the icy Denmark Strait. We witness the shocking destruction of the British battlecruiser Hood, in which all but three of her ship's complement were killed; an event that filled pursuing Royal Navy warships, including the battered battleship Prince of Wales, with a thirst for revenge. While Swordfish torpedo-bombers try desperately to cripple the Bismarck, we sail in destroyers on their own daring torpedo attacks, battling mountainous seas. Finally, the author takes us into the final showdown, as battleships Rodney and King George V, supported by cruisers Norfolk and Dorsetshire, destroy the pride of Hitler's fleet. This vivid, superbly researched account portrays this epic saga through the eyes of so-called 'ordinary sailors' caught up in extraordinary events. Killing the Bismarck is an outstanding read, conveying the horror and majesty of war at sea in all its cold brutality and awesome power."--Provided by the publisher. 2014. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.82BISMARCK

Discourses of slavery and abolition : Britain and its colonies, 1760-1838 /edited by Brycchan Carey, Markman Ellis, and Sara Salih. 2004. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 326(41-44)"17/18"

Science, utility and maritime power : Samuel Bentham in Russia, 1779-91 /Roger Morriss. "During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, Samuel Bentham influenced both the technology and the administrative ideas employed in the management of the British navy. His influence stemmed from his passion for science, from his desire to achieve improvements based on a belief in the principle of Utility, and from experience gained over eleven years in Russia, a large part in the service of Catherine the Great and Prince Potemkin. Having travelled extensively throughout the north and south of Russia, Poland and Siberia, he managed Potemkina (TM)s industries at Krichev, built fast river galleys, armed the Russian flotilla of small craft at Kherson and served with the flotilla that defeated the Turks in the Black Sea. His main ambition was to open river communication in Siberia and develop trade into the Pacific. However he returned to England and in 1796 became Inspector General of Naval Works, a post in which he fought for innovations in the technology and management of the British royal dockyards. Regarded then by the Navy Board as a dangerous maverick, this book reveals the experiences, creativity and thinking that made him a major figure in British naval development."--Provided by the publisher. [2015]. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92BENTHAM

Explore our collection