Titanic followup letters Cutaway sketch of Titanic. Note the “smoke” from number four funnel. Tom Fisher writes of the Last Log of the Titanic: book review (Newsletter 54 September 2003): The stated fuel consumption of 650 tons of coal an hour must be in error. Southhampton to New York is some 3000 miles. At 22.5 […]
The sinking of Titanic Book review by John Ellis Brown, D.G. (2001) The Last Log of the Titanic. Maine International Marine: Camden. 234pp $36 (used). The many closet Titanic aficionados out there will be fascinated with David Brown’s re-creation of the ship’s deck log for the first watch of 14 April 1912. Brown holds a […]
HMS Rattler by John Ellis The development of the steam engine for locomotion was a challenge taken up by engineers in the late 18th century. Richard Trevithick demonstrated his steam carriage at Cambourne in Cornwall in 1801 and three years later his locomotive, on an existing tramway in Wales, hauled ten tons of iron ore […]
Prince Alfred and Australia’s first Royal Tour by Mackenzie J. Gregory Prince Alfred, the Duke of Edinburgh (left), was noted for two significant events in the history of Australia. He was the first member of the Royal family to tour the colonies that became the Commonwealth of Australia and he was the first assassination target […]
Superstition and Silliness — the tale of the so-called HMS Friday By Tom Lewis Although sailors of the past, and perhaps the present, have been seen as superstitious, they are generally sensible, realistic people, as indeed dealing with the perils of the deep dictates. However, one story of a naval attempt to combat superstition goes […]
Swords “to carry” or not By Tom Lewis The naval sword and scabbard. There seems to be an oft-repeated story about our navy, and perhaps the Royal Navy too, that following some disgrace within the RN, perhaps a mutiny, an order was once given that naval officers could not wear their swords, as they were […]
The rise and fall of the Royal Naval Engineering College by John Ellis The Royal Naval Engineering College complex (left) trained thousands of engineers. Historic Manadon House (right), purchased in 1938, became an extension of the college. Steam brought painful change to the training of Royal Navy officers. Finding a place for the engineers […]
An RAN midshipman in HMS Vanguard by John Jobson CDRE John Jobson describes his nine months aboard the last of the RN battleships, HMS Vanguard. These recollections are based on his Midshipman’s Journal notes. It was December 1939: England was at war. Sir Stanley Goodall, the Royal Navy Director of Naval Construction, proposed that the […]
Albert Medal Queen Victoria instituted the Albert Medal in 1866 to recognise those civilians who had attempted to prevent the loss of life at sea. A year later the warrant was amended to create two levels of the award, with the very Victorian wording: Whereas We, taking into Our Royal consideration that great loss of […]
Bantry Bay gigs As a followup to Bantry, the unknown invasion (Newsletter 65, June 2006 pp 24-27) Tom de Voil learned “quite by accident” at a local Rotary Club meeting about an exciting modern twist to the original story. Two apprentice Gippsland Lakes shipwrights participated in the 2006 Atlantic Challenge, sailing Bantry Bay gigs, last […]
