Museum blog

Poor records mean the valuable contribution of Asian crew members to Britain's mercantile fleet have often remained hidden. However new crew lists found in our archives promise huge potential for future research. 

On Saturday 10 September we will be opening up the ship model stores at No.1 Smithery, The Historic Dockyard Chatham.

Hassan Mahamdallie, Director of the Muslim Institute, considers recent archival finds uncovering the stories of men and women from black and Asian people in Britain, including 2000 photographic records of Bangladeshi ships' cooks in the archives of the National Maritime Museum.

What happened on board Cutty Sark while the ship was in port? To answer that question, Cutty Sark Volunteer Roger Hodge looked into Captain Moore’s personal logbook from 1882, when Cutty Sark was on her thirteenth voyage. The log covers the weeks spent at sea, as well as the time the ship was in port, thus giving us an insight into the daily life of the crew, handling of cargos, illnesses on board and the manner in which trade was conducted in far off lands.

In our sixth and final knots blog we will show you how to tie the Stevedore. Sometimes referred to as the Figure Nine Knot, the Stevedore is a stopper knot which doesn’t jam and is perfect for heavy loads. 

The secret love letters of Nelson and Emma Hamilton, though it appears his capabilities at subterfuge were not nearly as great as those he possessed for naval leadership!

Niki Gorick has been following the Thames Discovery Programme as they unearth the history of the Thames.