Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

Adrift : a true story of tragedy on the icy Atlantic and the one who lived to tell about it /Brian Murphy with Toula Vlahou. "The small ship making the Liverpool-to-New York trip in the early months of 1856 carried mail, crates of dry goods, and more than one hundred passengers, mostly Irish emigrants. Suddenly an iceberg tore the ship asunder and five lifeboats were lowered. As four lifeboats drifted into the fog and icy water, never to be heard from again, the last boat wrenched away from the sinking ship with a few blankets, some water and biscuits, and thirteen souls. Only one would survive. This is his story. As they started their nine days adrift more than four hundred miles off Newfoundland, the castaways - an Irish couple and their two boys, an English woman and her daughter, newlyweds from Ireland, and several crewmen, including Thomas W. Nye from Bedford, Massachusetts - began fighting over food and water. One by one, though, day by day, they died. Some from exposure, others from madness and panic. In the end, only Nye and his journal survived. Using Nye's journal and his later newspaper accounts, ship's logs, assorted diaries, and family archives, Brian Murphy chronicles the horrific nine days that thirteen people suffered adrift on the cold gray Atlantic sea. In the tradition of bestsellers such as Into Thin Air and In the Heart of the Sea, Adrift brings readers to the edge of human limits, where every frantic decision and every desperate act is a potential life saver or life taker."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.9163/4

That curious fellow : Captain Basil Hall, R.N. /James McCarthy. "Son of a scientifically-minded Scottish aristocrat, Basil Hall joined the Royal Navy at the age of 13 in 1802. His first naval engagements in America and Spain during the Peninsular War are described, as are his travels in India and the Far East. His renowned interview with Napoleon, while still a prisoner on St. Helena, is featured. He was a confidante of Sir Walter Scott, Dickens and many other distinguished authors of his day. He was renowned for his curiosity and energy and became a popular writer himself based on his world-wide travels and adventures. As an amateur scientist, Hall made important contributions to nautical astronomy, geology and naval technology, being a Fellow of both the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Edinburgh, and numbered Sir John Herschel, Mary Somerville, and Sir Humphrey Davy among his scientific friends."--Back cover. 2011. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92HALL

The great British seaside : Photography from the 1960s to the present "Many of us in Britain look back with fondness on memories of paddles in the sea and picnics on the promenade. Yet the seaside can also be a place of faded glory and acute deprivation. These tensions have provided fertile ground for documentary photographers who have sought to capture the ambiguities and eccentricities that define a day at the British seaside. Featuring works by some of Britain?s best-loved photographers ? Tony Ray-Jones, David Hurn, Martin Parr, and Simon Roberts ? this book explores our changing relationship with the seaside over the last six decades and holds up a critical and affectionate mirror to a much-loved and quintessentially British experience. Published to accompany the 2018 National Maritime Museum exhibition The Great British Seaside: Photography from the 1960s to the Present, this book showcases over 100 photographs, including material from each of the photographers? archival collections, newly commissioned works, and never-before-seen images."--Provided by the publisher 2018 • BOOK • 2 copies available. 77(42)"1960/2018"

Nelson's Star of the Order of the Bath and awards to the family of Admiral Richard Keats / Morton & Eden in association with Sotherby's. Morton & Eden 2010. • PAMPHLET • 1 copy available. 929.71BATH

The great liners story / William H. Miller. "This illustrated and colourful history charts the hey-day of the great liners, those grand and lavish vessels that cruised around the world carrying their glamorous passengers from port to port. Decorated to the highest of finishes, fitted out in the most luxurious of styles, these floating palaces epitomised their opulent age. Their iconic names, from Titanic to Mauretania, from Queen Elizabeth to QE2, conjure up visions of power, grace, elegance and nostalgia for this golden age of travel."--Back cover. 2012. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 629.123.3"18/..."

Once aboard a Cornish lugger / Paul Greenwood. "Cornwall's rich waters have always provided a bountiful harvest for its fisherman. In many ways, the fishing industry of Cornwall is inseparable from its heritage, evoking images of fishing boats resting in picturesque harbours. The industry has not always provided so idyllic a picture. In Once Aboard a Cornish Lugger, Cornish former fisherman Paul Greenwood vividly describes life as a crewman throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s. He draws on his own experiences to graphically bring to life the hardships and dangers faced by Cornish fishermen, and tells of gales, whales, wrecks and rigours of life aboard the fishing boats that worked off the south coast of Cornwall. His frank account of the hardships he encountered at sea, overcoming sea-sickness, fatigue, cold and wet while working night and day hauling nets and lines is a brilliant evocation of a bygone age."--Provided by the publisher 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 639.2(423.7)

In action with destroyers 1939-1945 : the wartime memoirs of Commander JAJ Dennis, DSC RN /Anthony Cumming. "In Action with Destroyers 1939 - 1945 is a superbly written and exciting eyewitness account of the war at sea from 1939 to 1945. There can have been few, if any, naval officers who saw so much action as Alec Dennis, who served in four destroyers; HMS Griffin and Savage initially before commanding Valorous and Tetcott. While too modest to admit to it, he was mentioned in Despatches three times (Norway, sinking the Scharnhorst and in the North Sea) and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (Greece 1942). His war service also included the important but little known Madagascar operation, the Malta and Arctic convoys and D-Day. For all the danger and action, Dennis recorded his remarkable experiences with a light even irreverent touch and, as a result, his memoir is not just a brilliant account of one man's war at sea but a rattling good read."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92DENNIS

The correspondence of John Flamsteed, the first astronomer royal : Volume Two, 1682-1703 /compiled and edited by Eric G. Forbes, and (for Maria Forbes) by Lesley Murdin and Frances Willmoth. "The Correspondence of John Flamsteed: The First Astronomer Royal, Volume Two contains the letters Flamsteed wrote and received from June 1682 to the spring of 1703. A leading figure in the final phases of the seventeenth-century scientific revolution, his extensive correspondence with 129 British and foreign scholars touches on many of the scientific discussions of the day. Some of these exchanges involved established correspondents, chiefly Newton and Wallis, but members of a younger generation, such as Stephen Gray, William Derham, and Abraham Sharp, appear with increasing frequency, especially after 1700." 1997. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 52

The new maritime history of Devon 1992-1994 • FOLIO • 2 copies available. 942.35(26)

Seven at Santa Cruz : the life of fighter ace Stanley "Swede" Vejtasa /Ted Edwards. "This riveting biography details how Stanley 'Swede' Vejtasa became a World War II naval hero. During the Battle of the Coral Sea, Swede flew an SBD Dauntless dive-bomber and helped sink Shoho, the first aircraft carrier lost by Japan in World War II. The next day, in that same Dauntless, he took off from USS Yorktown and out-flew and out-gunned three Japanese Zeros, making him the only dive bomber pilot to be awarded Navy Crosses for both bombing and aerial combat. Months later, the day before the Battle of Santa Cruz, Swede was flying an F4F Wildcat fighter off USS Enterprise and had no recourse but to follow orders he knew to be insane. He and his squadron mates flew their predictably empty search legs and beyond, only to discover upon their return to Point Option in the dark, that Enterprise was nowhere to be found. Incredibly, Swede located the oil slick he had noticed seeping from Enterprise during a morning combat air patrol and was able to track it back to the carrier. After their harrowing return, during the Battle of Santa Cruz, the fate of Enterprise, and by extension Guadalcanal, lay in the hands of that same Swede Vejtasa. He responded by single-handedly downing an unprecedented two Japanese dive bombers and five torpedo bombers attacking the carrier. Skipper Jimmy Flatley recognized that in all likelihood, Swede had saved Enterprise from destruction, and he recommended Swede for the Medal of Honor."--Provided by publisher. 2018 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92VEJTASA

Mutiny on the Bounty / Peter FitzSimons. "The mutiny on HMS Bounty, in the South Pacific on 28 April 1789, is one of history's truly great stories - a tale of human drama, intrigue and adventure of the highest order - and in the hands of Peter FitzSimons it comes to life as never before. Commissioned by the Royal Navy to collect breadfruit plants from Tahiti and take them to the West Indies, the Bounty's crew found themselves in a tropical paradise. Five months later, they did not want to leave. Under the leadership of Fletcher Christian most of the crew mutinied soon after sailing from Tahiti, setting Captain William Bligh and 18 loyal crewmen adrift in a small open boat. In one of history's great feats of seamanship, Bligh navigated this tiny vessel for 3618 nautical miles to Timor. Fletcher Christian and the mutineers sailed back to Tahiti, where most remained and were later tried for mutiny. But Christian, along with eight fellow mutineers and some Tahitian men and women, sailed off into the unknown, eventually discovering the isolated Pitcairn Island - at the time not even marked on British maps - and settling there. This astonishing story is historical adventure at its very best, encompassing the mutiny, Bligh's monumental achievement in navigating to safety, and Fletcher Christian and the mutineers' own epic journey from the sensual paradise of Tahiti to the outpost of Pitcairn Island. The mutineers' descendants live on Pitcairn to this day, amid swirling stories and rumours of past sexual transgressions and present-day repercussions. Mutiny on the Bounty is a sprawling, dramatic tale of intrigue, bravery and sheer boldness, told with the accuracy of historical detail and total command of story that are Peter FitzSimons' trademarks."--Provided by the publisher. [2018] • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.133"1789"

The Jamaican diaries of Robert Hibbert 1772-1780 : detailing a merchant family's involvement in defence and of the colonial slave trade based economy :volume I : "The Jamaican Diaries of Robert Hibbert 1772-1780 is a deeply personal work that has evolved over the last 15 years. It is intended to foster a greater understanding of a very difficult time in history, in which the enslaved and the enslavers inhabit different, disturbing interlocking narratives, now distorted by time and politics. At its core is the dark stain of an empire and many fortunes built upon the enslavement of the unfortunate. It contains much thorough research into people, places, events and sources that developed as the author followed the twists and turns of a family history often frustratingly opaque and sometimes sensationally public. The book is part genealogy and part social history: a previously unpublished diary of a major figure in the West Indian slave trade, with contemporary sources and biographical notes on those that strutted the Atlantic world of the late eighteenth century. It lays down a chronology to allow a picture of the day-to-day happenings in Jamaica to emerge. This work exposes the deep, raw wounds that have resonated through the centuries, creating a need for a deeper study into many facets of British Atlantic history from a different perspective ? one in which the narrative of the enslaved and the enslavers can be read together in both the geopolitical context of the times and the legal, ethical, humanitarian and religious belief systems of those times on both sides of the Atlantic. In order to consider how the slave trade was run, financed, organised and evolved, the author provides a detailed examination of the Jamaican economy of the time, and offers a better and more balanced understanding of the slave trade?s establishment, adoption, adaption, abolition and, lastly, its legacy, in all its hydra-like forms. The second volume of this work will cover the years when the Diaries resume, 1787 to 1802. The Robert Hibbert diaries and the family involvement with Jamaica extend past the abolition (1834) and emancipation (1838) of slaves to the middle of the nineteenth century."--Provided by the publisher. 2020. • BOOK • 1 copy available. txt

The empire of necessity : slavery, freedom, and deception in the New World /Greg Grandin. One morning in 1805, off a remote island in the South Pacific, Captain Amasa Delano, a New England seal hunter, climbed aboard a distressed Spanish ship carrying scores of West Africans who appeared to be slaves. They weren't. Having earlier seized control of the vessel and slaughtered most of the crew, they were staging an elaborate ruse. When Delano, an idealistic, anti-slavery republican, finally realized the deception--that the men and women he thought were slaves were actually running the ship--he responded with explosive violence. Drawing on research on four continents, historian Greg Grandin explores the multiple forces that culminated in this extraordinary event--an event that inspired Herman Melville's masterpiece "Benito Cereno". Now historian Greg Grandin, with the gripping storytelling that was praised in Fordlandia, uses the dramatic happenings of that day to map a new transnational history of slavery in the Americas, capturing the clash of peoples, economies, and faiths that was the New World in the early 1800s.--Provided by the publisher. 2014. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 326.1

Imagining the Arctic : Heroism, spectacle and polar exploration /Huw Lewis-Jones. "Imagining the Arctic explores the culture and politics of polar exploration and the making of its heroes. Leading explorers, the celebrity figures of their day, went to great lengths to convince their contemporaries of the merits of polar voyages. Much of exploration was in fact theatre: a series of performances to capture public attention and persuade governments to finance ambitious proposals. The achievements of explorers were promoted, celebrated, and manipulated, whilst explorers themselves became the subject of huge attention. Huw Lewis-Jones draws upon recovered texts and striking images, many reproduced for the first time since the nineteenth century, to show how exploration was projected through a series of spectacular visuals, helping us to reconstruct the ways that heroes and the wilderness were imagined. Elegantly written and richly illustrated, Imagining the Arctic offers original insights into our understanding of exploration and its pull on the public imagination."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.4(98/99)

The war of the gun boats / Bryan Cooper. "This book traces the history and development of the gun boats from their first limited use in World War I to the fast motor boats designed in the 1930s for wealthy private clients and water speed record attempts. With account of the battles which took place during the World War II, when the vital importance of coastal waters came to be recognized, it captures the drama of this highly individual form of combat."--Provided by the publisher. 2009. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.824"19"

HMS Belfast : cruiser 1939 /by Richard Johnstone-Bryden. "HMS Belfast, originally a Royal Navy light cruiser, is now permanently moored on the Thames in London. One of ten Town-class cruisers she saw service on the icy Arctic convoys during the Second World War and was also present for the bombardment of the D-Day beaches in 1944. Later, she saw service during the Korean War. As is the case for many historic ships, however, there is a surprising shortage of informative and well illustrated guides, for reference during a visit or for research by enthusiasts - ship modellers, naval buffs, historians or students."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.82BELFAST

Tracing the connected narrative : Arctic exploration in British print culture, 1818-1860 /Janice Cavell. Cavell, Janice. c2008. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.4(98):676.22"1818/1860"

The correspondence of John Flamsteed, the first astronomer royal : Volume One, 1666-1682 /compiled and edited by Eric G. Forbes and (for Maria Forbes) by Lesley Murdin and Frances Willmoth. "Professor Eric Forbes left behind at his death an important collection of the letters of John Flamsteed (1646-1719), First Astronomer Royal. A leading figure in the final phases of the seventeenth-century scientific revolution, his extensive correspondence with 129 British and foreign scholars all over the world touches on many of the scientific discussions of the day. A detailed, scholarly work of reference, The Correspondence of John Flamsteed, The First Astronomer Royal: Volume 1 is an essential guide to the exciting developments in scientific thinking that occurred during the seventeenth century. It supplements the published correspondence of Isaac Newton and Henry Oldenburg, and will be an invaluable research tool, not only for historians of astronomy, but also for researchers examining how scientific thought developed." 1995 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 52

The Lancastria tragedy / Stephen Wynn. "The story behind the sinking of the Lancastria comes in two parts: the sinking of the ship itself and the people who died, and the aftermath which led to allegations of a government cover up ordered by Winston Churchill. There is an 'officially accepted' list of those who died, but allegations that hundreds more went down with the ship, and have not been accounted for, still linger to this very day. The Lancastria, a pre-war Cunard cruise liner, was requisitioned by the Admiralty and turned in to a war-time troop ship. On 17 June 1940, whilst being used as part of Operation Aerial to evacuate civilian refugees and British military personnel from France, it was anchored about 5 miles from the coast of St Nazaire. While waiting for a naval escort to see it safely back to England, the Lancastria was attacked by enemy aircraft and sank within 20 minutes. As no official figures have ever been released, there is no way of knowing exactly how many lives were lost. Winston Churchill placed what was known as a 'D' Notice on the tragic events, thereby restricting the Press from reporting it. However, once a New York newspaper had broken the story, the flood gates were opened for British newspapers to follow suit. But what was the purpose of the 'D' Notice? Was it because the British public had already received too much bad news since the war had begun, as Churchill declared? Or was it a cover-up? Those who survived the incident were told in no uncertain terms not to speak about their experience, although plenty did. With much of the information about the Lancastria's sinking in the public domain within a matter of days, the question has to be asked, why are official documents in relation to the matter being kept secret until the year 2040?"--Provided by the publisher. 2020. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.54/21428

Blowing hot and cold : Thermotank and the story of air conditioning at sea "Air-conditioning is one of those universal modern conveniences whose origins are entirely unknown to the general public. Online sources credit the first commercial system to the American Willis Carrier in 1902 - but this is not true. The first workable machine was patented four years earlier by Alexander Stewart, a Scottish marine engineer, who called his invention the Thermotank. It offered a massive improvement in comfort for passengers and was rapidly adopted by the shipping industry, eventually equipping many of the greatest liners of their day like Lusitania and Mauretania. From these beginnings Alexander and his brothers William and Frederick Stewart built an immensely successful engineering firm with subsidiaries in America, Africa, Australia and Europe. Based on Clydeside, its fortunes were always closely linked to the shipbuilding industry, but with the slump at the end of the First World War the company was forced to look to other markets. At this point Alexander came up with a second world-beating invention, which he called the Punkah Louvre - the swivelling nozzle most familiar today as the source of ventilation in airliners. This made it easier to apply the Thermotank system to other forms of transport and even buildings, greatly expanding its sales potential. Still largely a family concern, the business remained innovative and competitive until the 1960s, when the decline in British shipbuilding and the beginnings of globalisation led to amalgamation, restructuring and eventually the demise of the Thermotank name. In the process, most of the company records were dispersed or lost so this book is a particularly valuable testimony to a great British - specifically, Scottish - success story. Although almost unknown today, Thermotank was a business that changed the world."--Provided by the publisher. 2024. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.853709411

Beyond the horizon : memoirs /Jack Close. The memoirs of Jack Close, Beyond the Horizon is split into three parts: the first explores his life growing up in Kingston-Upon-Hull in the 1930s, the second his role in Operation Overlord in 1945, and the third - the eponymous Beyond The Horizon - follows his postwar travels at sea. Close qualified as a Wireless Operator and joined H M Rescue Tugs in 1943, taking part in D-Day by towing sections of the Mulberry Harbours to Normandy. In 1945, he was involved in Operation Deadlight, sinking surrendered German submarines. After the war, Close sailed on trawlers out of Hull and Grimsby. He then spent several years on tramp steamers and tankers all over the world, travelling to, among others, America, Morocco, Japan, and France. This book contains photographs of Close and his family, as well as the boats he worked on over the years. 2010. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 656.61.071.22:355.124"19"

The great reversal : Britain, China and the 400-year contest for power /Kerry Brown. "From the early days of the East India Company through the violence of the Opium Wars to present-day disputes over Hong Kong, Kerry Brown charts this turbulent and fascinating relationship. Brown shows how an understanding of Britain's long relationship with China - and more specifically, how the modern Eastern superpower views that shared history - is now more vital than ever."-- 2024 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 327.41051

The English Armada : the greatest naval disaster in English history /Luis Gorrochategui Santos ; translated by Peter J. Gold. "During the year between July 1588, when the Spanish Armada set sail from Spain and July 1589, when the survivors of the English counterpart of this fleet, the little-known English Armada, reached port in England, two of history's worst naval catastrophes took place. A great deal of attention has been dedicated to the former and precious little to the latter. This book presents a full-scale account of an event which has been neglected for more than four centuries. It reconstructs the military operations day by day for the first time, taking apart the established notion that, with the defeat of the Spanish Armada, England achieved maritime supremacy and the decay of Spain began. This book clearly and in a rigorously documented fashion shows how the defeat of the English Armada counterbalanced that of the Spanish, frustrating England's intention of seizing Philip II's American empire and changing the tide of the war."--Provided by the publisher 2018 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1588/1589"(42:46)

Explorers' sketchbooks : the art of discovery & adventure /Huw Lewis-Jones, Kari Herbert; foreword by Robert Macfarlane. A compilation of extracts reproduced from the notebooks of seventy explorers from the 16th century through to the present day. The extracts highlight their sketches and illustrations and are supported by a brief profile of each explorer and a summary of the journeys made. 2016. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 910.4

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