The Mariner's Mirror Podcast

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.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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, head archivist of Lloyd's Register, the maritime classification society that surveyed and classed Fuallager, overseeing this novel design and pivotal moment in maritime history. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 boy 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 andsank on a reef off Antigua, four miles from the finish of his trans-Atlantic race. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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.' Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The third episode in our mini series on Maritime Sweden is a tour of Sweden's National Maritime Museum in Stockholm: Sjöhistorisa 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 he 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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, there, is unusual and significant in many ways and makes for riveting listening, casting an entirely new light on the tragedy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.