<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> T H E B O S U N ' S C H R O N I C L E All the latest news/views for fans of Julian Stockwin <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> August 2008 Avast, Shipmates and anchors aweigh! 1 DISPATCHES 2 QUIZ 3 SHIPMATES AHOY 4 SALTY SAYINGS 5 CONTESTS 6 ASK JULIAN 7 QUIZ ANSWERS ==================== 1 DISPATCHES + TREACHERY As readers of the Kydd Series know, the first seven books all featured one-word titles. Hodder & Stoughton, Julian's UK publisher, has decided to revert to this strong cover style - so Book 9, out in October (the working title was THE PRIVATEER'S REVENGE), will now be published as TREACHERY, ISBN: 0340 961112. A stunning original painting by Geoff Hunt adorns the cover. The US edition, simultaneously published by McBooks Press, ISBN 1590 131657, will be launched as THE PRIVATEER'S REVENGE. + 850 hours on... It is hard to believe that it is one year since Shipmate John Thompson started his model of "Teazer", Kydd's first command. John has just posted his last log of the build on Julian's website. John estimates the project has taken about 850 hours. He will be presenting the completed model to Julian and Kathy in September, and we'll post photos of her in all her finished glory on the website after this official handover. And there's a competition associated with this last log. See CONTESTS. + PLAYAWAY Kydds BBC Audiobooks are releasing the Kydd series in Playaway format. One of the wonders of modern technology, it's a pre-loaded MP3 player that's extremely compact and easy to use containing a single unabridged audiobook recording. The unit is smaller than a pack of cards! Currently, Playaway ARTEMIS and QUARTERDECK are available to borrow through UK and Commonwealth libraries; further Kydd titles will be released in Playaway format in the future. + Tales of the tot In last month's feature on Black Tot Day we failed to make it clear that while Friday July 31, 1970 saw the daily pipe of "Up Spirits" cease forever in the Royal Navy, the custom lived on for some time in the Royal New Zealand Navy, continuing until early 1990. And after reading the feature on Black Tot Day, Shipmate Roger Partridge contacted us - because it was his former skipper, Captain Frank Twiss, later to become Second Sea Lord, who was the man who brought it all about! After a distinguished career in the Navy, Twiss held the post of Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod in the House of Lords. He also went on to record over 20 hours of oral history for the Royal Naval Museum. + Record bid At a recent maritime charity auction in London, a signed paperback set of the Kydd books raised no less than £750! + Acclaim for the Kydd series:- # The Sea Cadets and Marine Society nominated the paperback of THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER as their book of the month for July: "This is the Great Age of Fighting Sail brought to life, but also back down to earth with a bump." # "Warship" magazine, July issue: "Julian Stockwin has created arguably the most vivid wooden world of today's naval fiction". # Bexley Libraries kicked off their new website with a special page devoted to Julian ==================== 2 QUIZ The Battle of the Nile, 210 years ago this month, was one of the most comprehensive victories in naval history and established Horatio Nelson's fame far and wide. Here's ten questions to test your knowledge of this historic engagement. 1. On what dates was the battle fought? 2. In which book does Julian write about the Battle of the Nile? 3. How many casualties were suffered by the British, and by the French? 4. Under whose command was the French fleet? 5. What are the "Nile Clumps"? 6. In what way was Nelson injured during the battle? 7. What famous poem commemorates the deaths of a father and his son during the fighting? 8. What special treasure was "L'Orient" carrying? 9. Which two French ships, captured at the Nile, would later fight in the British line of battle at Trafalgar? 10.To which city did Nelson sail immediately after the battle? ==================== 3 SHIPMATES AHOY A practitioner of "living history", and the author of a "sailor's fun adventure with a serious message" - meet two very different Shipmates... Ken James, who lives in Colorado, was a Pershing Missile crewman in Germany for several years, then he took up a career in photo lithography. He's always had a strong interest in history and is now a re-enactor. One of his most memorable re-enactments was for the 125th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg: "Re-enacting, when it is done right, is living history you can smell, hear, feel and breathe." Ken says the thing he most enjoyed when he discovered the Kydd books is that the series starts out with a seaman who is pressed, thus taking a nautical novice like himself along for the ride. As he got into the books Ken was very impressed with Julian's description of the lower deck in action. As a Civil War re-enactor, Ken has experienced first hand the smoke, noise and confusion of a land battlefield, and told Julian: "I can appreciate some of the magnitude of sound and fury that would be present on the lower deck of a warship with not much more than five feet overheads even though the muzzles are outside the hulls, the ports are vertical and the vents are inside reflecting off the overhead decking. I believe you did a singularly admirable job describing this in your Kydd books." === At the age of 44, Eric Goldman retired from the software industry to fulfil a lifelong dream: to solo- circumnavigate the earth in a sail boat. Says Eric: "In many ways it was a dream brought to life: wind-swept blue oceans, crystal lagoons, sandy beaches - but all was not well in paradise. Far out to sea garbage floated by me daily, our coastlines and riverbanks are overbuilt and the land grab continues unabated." In November 2001, a third of the way into the voyage, Eric nearly lost his life when Hurricane Olga struck. After battling seasickness and the storm's fury he eventually reached safe harbour in Bermuda. With a renewed appreciation "that the truly important things in life are human relationships", he decided to give up sailing and try his hand at writing. His first book, "Napoleon's Gambit: Sailing Through History to Complete the Perfect Crime", is the result. ==================== 4 SALTY SAYINGS This month's salty sayings are to do with sheets and guns, and are just two examples of the many salty sayings featuring these essential items aboard a fighting warship in Kydd's day. + Sheet home the blame Today, if you sheet home the blame about something you attach it to some other person or cause, rather than yourself. At sea, a sail is sheeted home by hauling on the sheet, a rope that controls its shape and setting. The sheet is thus ultimately responsible for the behaviour of a sail. + Going great guns In modern parlance, if we say something is going great guns, we are indicating that it is moving towards successful completion. A ship's cannon were referred to as "the great guns", being the ultimate weapon of destruction that could be brought to bear, as compared to the small arms. How many other Salty Sayings to do with sheets or guns can you think of? We have a prize on offer, see CONTESTS. ==================== 5 CONTESTS Entries to Please include your full postal address. Deadline: August 26 + Win a hardback! There's a prize of a signed copy of TENACIOUS for the entry with the most salty sayings that feature either the word "gun" or "sheet". In the event of more than one entry with the highest number of salty sayings, a draw will select one winner. + Signal flags Apart from the commissioning pennant, how many signal flags does the "Teazer" model fly from her main mast? Let us know and you'll go into the hat for a Kydd paperback of your choice. We'll tell you the actual signal next month... Winners all: A copy of the unabridged audiobook of KYDD goes to Dennis Wake, and a signed copy of the paperback of THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER goes to both Nicholas Banks and A Bevan. ==================== 6 ASK JULIAN In this regular department, Shipmates are invited to send a query to Julian - it can be a question about the Kydd books, something about the Age of Sail, tips on writing, or anything about the sea in general that you'd like his thoughts on... Emails to Please put ASK JULIAN in the subject line. David Harris, who lives in the English county of Gloucestershire, emailed: "Can you give me a handy guide for the watch system that I can refer to as I read your books and thus know exactly what time 'so many bells in such and such watch' refers to?" Julian replies: "The ship's 'day' ran from noon to noon, divided into five four-hour watches and two two-hour watches (these shorter watches were called the First and Last Dog Watches respectively). Having seven watches meant that the men weren't on duty at the same time each day. Here's a quick reference to the watches and their timing:- >From noon to 4pm - the Afternoon Watch. >From 4pm to 8 pm - the First and Last Dog Watch. >8 pm to midnight - the First Watch. >Midnight to 4 am - the Middle Watch >4 am - 8 am - the Morning Watch >8 am - noon - the Forenoon watch During the watches the progress of the watch was indicated by the ringing of the ship's bell, one bell for each half hour. Thus eight bells indicated the end of a four-hour watch. So, two bells in the Afternoon Watch is 1300 hours; one bell in the Forenoon Watch is 0830 hours etc. This was for a two-watch system, on occasion the ship ran to a three-watch system, much preferred by sailors as it meant they could get eight instead of four hours sleep. For more on the Watch system see the July 2002 issue of the Chronicle. (Back issues are archived on the website.) ==================== 7 QUIZ ANSWERS 1. On what dates was the battle fought? + 1st and 2rd August 1798, in Aboukir Bay near Alexandria, Egypt. 2. In which book does Julian write about the Battle of the Nile? + Julian writes about this battle very evocatively in TENACIOUS, and many readers have commented that he made the engagement so much more personal and real than any reading of the historical accounts could have done for them. 3. How many casualties were suffered by the British, and by the French? + It was a battle of annihilation. The British suffered 213 killed and 677 wounded. Casualties on the French side are not certain but it is estimated that up to 5000 were killed and wounded. 4. Under whose command was the French fleet? + Admiral Paul D'Brueys. He died at the battle. 5. What are the "Nile Clumps"? + They are possibly one of the most unusual memorials to any naval battle. At the instigation of Lady Hamilton and Captain Hardy, so the story goes, the Marquess of Queensbury laid out a plantation of beech trees on his estate near Stonehenge in Wiltshire in the formation of the fleets at the Battle of the Nile. Over the years these Clumps were largely reduced to mere stumps, but conservation projects have resulted in the replanting of a number of trees. 6. Nelson suffered one of his many injuries during the battle? What was this? + "Spartiate" fired a broadside at "Vanguard" at about half past eight. Nelson was struck in the forehead by a langridge shot, a piece of scrap iron. A flap of skin hung over his left eye, effectively temporarily blinding him. (He had lost the sight in his right eye after an injury received at Calvi in 1794.) Nelson fell, blood covering his face. Captain Berry caught him in his arms and he was taken below to the surgeon. In the event it was not as serious as some of his other wounds. 7. What famous poem commemorates the deaths of a father and his son during the fighting? + "The Boy Stood on the Burning Deck" (Casabianca) by Felicia Dorothea Hemans. It poignantly tells the tragic story of the fate the captain and his son aboard the French vessel "L'Orient":- "The boy stood on the burning deck Whence all but he had fled The flame that lit the battle's wreck Shone round him o'er his head Yet beautiful and bright he stood As born to rule the storm; A creature of heroic blood, A proud, though childlike form The flames roll'd on... he would not go Without his father's word; That father, faint in death below, His voice no longer heard ..." 8. what special treasure was "L'Orient" carrying? + When Napoleon took Malta in June 1793, the Knights of St John were dissolved and their fantastic treasure looted and loaded about "L'Orient". 9. Which two French ships, captured at the Nile, would later fight in the British line of battle at Trafalgar? + "Spartiate" and "Tonnant". 10.To which city did Nelson sail immediately after the battle? + Naples. There, he was greeted as a hero by an adoring populace, and it was in Naples that he renewed an acquaintance with Emma Hamilton, which, in that exotic city, developed into the famous and enduring affair. =================== Have you checked out the website recently? It's updated regularly. Coming next month: Julian talks about book nine; Madeira and the Navy; and there's a bumper offering of great prizes... Yours aye, THE BOSUN ++ Download back issues from the WebSite ++