<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 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 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> September 2008 In this issue: Julian talks about TREACHERY, we raise a glass of Madeira - and there's loads of great contests, including a chance to win a mega-prize - a limited edition print of Geoff Hunt's original painting for the cover of TREACHERY plus a signed UK first edition of the book. 1 DISPATCHES 2 BOOKSHELF 3 ASK JULIAN 4 MADEIRA AND THE NAVY 5 TEAZER'S SIGNAL 6 CONTESTS 7 HEARTS OF OAK 8 TREACHERY ==================== 1 DISPATCHES + Precious contemporary account of life in Kydd's day The journal of George Hodge, a sailor who served in the Royal Navy between 1790 and 1833, is a rare contemporary account of the life of seamen during the Napoleonic wars. It details Hodge's own impressment and various engagements with the enemy but most importantly the journal provides fascinating minutiae of ordinary life aboard ship in Kydd's day. On August 18 the diary was put up for auction in America and sold for $128,000 to an undisclosed buyer. How wonderful it would be if this rare journal was someday published! One of the reasons that Julian embarked on his Kydd series is that very little is known about seamen in the eighteenth century. There are only a tiny handful of autobiographies and diaries from those times, and until quite recently scholars virtually dismissed Jack Tar, concentrating instead on the officers. After years of research, and drawing on his own experience in the Navy, Julian was convinced that Jack Tar was much under-rated, and that Britain could just not have achieved mastery of the seas had the common seaman been the unskilled dregs of society he had been dismissed as. When Julian embarked on his writing career as well as creating an exciting adventure series he wanted his novels to celebrate what the sailors of Nelson's time did achieve; and bring to the fore that there were some of them, albeit very small in numbers, who made the incredible journey from common seaman to admiral. [Now, modern scholarship is backing up Julian's assessment of the contribution of the common sailor, and we are delighted to see the publication of excellent books such as "Jack Tar" by husband-and-wife team Roy and Lesley Adkins. See CONTESTS.] + Plymouth signing for TREACHERY Julian will be on hand from 12-2 pm at the New George Street Waterstones, Plymouth, on Saturday October 4 to sign copies of TREACHERY. If you can't make it on this day just give the store a call on 01752 256699 and you can arrange to have Julian sign your copy and then pick it up later. Further author events in connection with the TREACHERY launch will be listed on the website. + Merchant Navy Day In 2000, September 3rd was designated Merchant Navy Day in the UK, a fitting tribute to the mariners who so courageously went back to sea during World War II, unarmed and knowing full well that they were easy targets for the enemy. Over 30,000 men of the mercantile marine were lost between 1939 and 1945. Just a few hours after war had been declared against Germany the first shipping loss occurred with the sinking of the "Athenia"; 112 passengers and crew perished. For the duration of the war, hardly a day passed without the loss of merchant ships. + TEAZER model on display Many shipmates have been avidly following the build of John Thompson's model of "Teazer" via the log on Julian's website. There will be an opportunity to view this magnificent model from September 18, where it will be on display in the Ivybridge Library of the Watermark Complex. For details of the library opening hours see + Tall Ships to Falmouth >From 10th - 13th this month the historic town of Falmouth on the southwest coast of England will be the host port for the Funchal 500 Tall Ships Regatta. From Falmouth, the ships will race to Portugal where a major maritime festival will be held early next month marking the 500th anniversary of the founding of Funchal. + Nelson's birthday Two hundred and fifty years ago this month, the great naval hero Horatio Nelson was born in Norfolk. A number of special books are being published to mark this anniversary. --- Not many Shipmates can boast of toasting "the Immortal Memory" with a fine glass of Marsala from Nelson's Bronte estate at a dinner atop Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square. Take a look at the Shipmates Album in the website, where David Harris does just that - at a re- enactment of the "topping out" dinner when the monument was built in 1845... --- We have two special sets of commemorative Nelson stamps issued by Gibraltar Post to give away. See CONTESTS. + Shipmates Ahoy! Jonas Ljungberg from Sweden is a great fan of Julian's books, and particularly enjoys the variety that Julian brings to the stories: "the books never stagnate and rarely do the same things happen twice." Jonas recommends a visit to the Wasa Museum in Stockholm, which houses the world's only surviving seventeenth century ship - and says he gets a similar thrill when reading the Kydd novels as he does when viewing tall ships like the "Wasa" or "Victory". Justin Broughton now lives in California, but grew up near Kydd's birth place. Justin says: "Passages in the books to do with Guildford evoke special memories for me." He also wanted Julian to know: "So glad that you haven't fallen in to the trap of always ending each book on an unrealistically happy note." + The 2008 Collectors Set For those of you waiting with bated breath for your 2008 Collectors Set (a signed, embossed and numbered UK first edition of TREACHERY, a signed cover postcard and an exclusive leather bookmark) we hope to ship them out early next month. We'll be in touch with everyone who has signed up for a Set shortly with further details. ==================== 2 BOOKSHELF Do keep your personal recommendations for sea books coming in. We'll continue to print a selection of them in future issues of the Chronicle. Victor Taylor nominated "The Wreck of the Grosvenor" by William Clark Russell (first published in 1874), which he bought for a shilling from a box of old books outside a little shop in the New Forest some years ago. Victor says of the book: "An adventure novel of mad captains, mutinous crews, storm and rescue, it follows the fortunes of a merchant vessel under sail, but also serves to highlight the under-manning and poor conditions on board British merchant vessels, and includes correspondence between the author and the Duke of York on this topic." ==================== 3 ASK JULIAN Gord Kaardal in Canada emailed: "A great admirer of your series, I loved it when Kydd ended up in Halifax for a while. I was wondering about sailing in the North Atlantic at the time of Kydd - what did they do about ice forming in the rigging etc? I know during my time at sea we used to superheat the destroyer and then go out with wooden mallets and bang the sh-t out of it, causing the ice to break off in sheets." Julian replies: "Actually the Royal Navy in Kydd's day didn't sail much in those waters as there was no enemy to chase up there. If they did encounter extremes of low temperature it was extraordinarily hard on their wooden ships. When they became slippery on deck it was very dangerous. You didn't last longer than seconds, minutes at the most, in icy water. And of course frozen ropes wouldn't go through blocks and if this happened the sails could not be loosed. If there looked like a danger of the ropes freezing they had to be continually 'rendered' or eased through the blocks. This was for every one, no matter that they were high aloft. It was unceasing, hard, break-breaking work that froze you to the bone. During the War of 1812 there was no option but to endure the ravages of a Northern winter however. The Royal Navy successfully clamped a blockade on New York, but their ships suffered horribly in the cruel winter conditions." === And from Jim Fagan in Australia, "I have heard the Royal Navy called the Andrew. Why is this?" Julian explains: "There are a number of explanations that have been offered as to why the navy has this nickname. The one I personally subscribe to is that it derives from a certain Andrew Miller, a zealous officer of the Impress Service during Kydd's time. It was said that he 'recruited' so many men to His Majesty's Ships that the Navy belonged to him!" If you have a query you would like to put to Julian, email Julian@Julianstockwin.com with ASK JULIAN in the subject line. ==================== 4 MADEIRA and the Navy Towards the end of dinner, Royal Navy officers traditionally pass decanters of Port and Madeira around the table, always to the left! Historically, barrels of Madeira were often taken aboard Naval ships to be exposed to heat and air on long sea voyages. The process caramelised the sugars and oxidised the wine, enhancing the flavour. The modern-day replica of Cook's "Endeavour" called at the island of Madeira in December 2003, where she took on board a special cask of Madeira which was stored in the ship's hold. After sailing around the Atlantic for almost twelve months "Endeavour" returned to Portugal in November 2004 where the cask was taken ashore for storage. The wine was bottled in 2008 and tasted at a special fund-raising event at the Australian National Maritime Museum earlier this year. Much favoured among officers of the Royal Navy, Madeira was also popular in other navies. The iconic US naval frigate "Constitution" was baptised with Madeira wine. The Danish Navy claims a special connection to Madeira. Up until the First World War, when the Danish colonies in the West Indies were sold to the United States, there was a Danish naval presence in the Caribbean. En route back to their home port, Danish ships, as did their British counterparts, called at Madeira for re- provisioning of food and water - and Madeira wine. During the 1870s, a couple of naval cadets from a Danish frigate went ashore and "lifted" a few vines. These were carefully nurtured aboard and later planted on Danish soil, where they thrived. Several years later, the Madeira wine industry was practically destroyed by disease. A Danish diplomat who happened to be visiting Portugal at the time, and who knew about the cadets' vines, sent urgent word to the Admiralty in Copenhagen who promptly dispatched some vine cuttings to Madeira - and thus secured the future of a very special beverage... ==================== 5 TEAZER'S SIGNAL In the August issue we announced that the last log of John Thompson's build of his model of TEAZER had been posted. The two-flag signal flying from her mainmast is "attack the enemy". This is the flag for "2" over the flag for "7" i.e. signal "27", and is taken from an actual signal book of the time. We'll have a special feature on signals at sea in a future issue. ==================== 6 CONTESTS Entries to: Bosun@Julianstockwin.com Please include your full postal address. Deadline: September 26. + Win the Adkins' new book For a chance to win a copy of "Jack Tar" email us with the URL of Roy and Lesley's website. We have two books to give away! + Mega prize If you'd like to go into the hat for both a limited edition print of the cover painting of TREACHERY + and + a first edition of the book - here's the question:- What was the name of the mythical Elysium waiting for sailors when they died? + Nelson Stamps We have two sets of 250th Anniversary of the Birth of Nelson stamp packs up for grabs. What was Nelson's father's profession? Winners all: Congratulations to the recipients of last month's prizes - a signed copy of TENACIOUS goes to Francis Stean for her list of salty sayings and a paperback of choice was won by Neville Thompson. ==================== 7 HEARTS OF OAK The second of our features on some of the well-loved sea songs Kydd so enjoyed. 'Hearts of Oak' was written in 1759. The music was by the English composer Dr William Boyce, the words by the famous actor David Garrick. In 1759, 'the year of victories', England won the battles of Quebec and Quiberon Bay as well as several other naval engagements. (1759 is also famous for being the year the keel of "Victory" was laid down, and the year in which Nelson was born.) It is also to Garrick that we allegedly owe the theatrical felicitation: 'Break a leg' that actors say to each other before going on stage. Garrick was so involved with his performance of Richard III that he did not realise he had fractured his leg! 'Hearts of Oak' is now the official march of the Royal Navy and the Canadian Navy. In the States it was adopted as 'The Liberty March'. The song contains a number of verses. Here's the first:- "Come cheer up, my lads! 'Tis to glory we steer To add something more to this wonderful year To honour we call you , not press you like slaves For who are so free as the sons of the waves" The verses are interspersed with the chorus: "Hearts of oak are our ships Jolly tars are our men we always are ready Steady, boys, steady We'll fight and we'll conquer again and again" You can listen to 'Hearts of Oak' on the website: [See the June issue, for the feature on "Spanish Ladies"] ==================== 9 TREACHERY Julian talks about his forthcoming book:- "Although it was less than two years ago, in some ways it feels a long time since Kathy and I packed our bags, dropped our two Siamese at their cattery and headed off to the Channel Islands on two weeks' location research for book nine. One of the things that at times can make me as a writer feel a bit disoriented is that I have to keep three plots in my head - the one I are currently working on (that's book ten at the moment), the current book out in the shops (i.e. THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER) and the one scheduled for publication in October (which will be TREACHERY). Perhaps that is why January 2007 seems quite a while ago... I wrote about some of our experiences in the Channel Islands in the March 2007 issue of the Chronicle so I'll try not to repeat myself! I must say, though, after re- reading that report, I'd love to go back! It really is a fascinating place, still so redolent of Georgian times. It was one of the easiest places for me to transport myself back in history to what it would have been like when Kydd was there. As an author creating my plots against a backdrop of the Napoleonic wars I obviously cannot ignore people like Horatio Nelson, whose impact was felt at all levels of the Navy. However in some ways it is the people whose names are not so well known that I am more drawn to. It is a stimulating challenge to weave them into the life story of my fictional hero Thomas Kydd. As I got further into the writing of TREACHERY I became especially intrigued with two real-life characters. The first, to whom I actually dedicated the book, is Admiral James Saumarez who was in command of the Channel Island Squadron when Kydd was sent there in 1803. He was a man of great moral and physical courage, who is still much revered in the Norman Isles. The second, a rather shadowy figure from the world of spies and intrigue, is Commodore Philippe D'Auvergne. The ancient castle of Mont Orgueil still lies at the head of Gorey Bay in Jersey and it was from there that D'Auvergne ran his royalist spy network. He was also a Bouillon prince but at the end of the war, exhausted and in debt he crossed Europe to enter into his noble inheritance - only to have it bartered away by the Great Powers in the readjustment of borders after Waterloo. He died days later. I don't want to go into too much detail or it might spoil the plot for you, but let's just say that Renzi comes to make the acquaintance of D'Auvergne..." There's a taster of TREACHERY on the website, where you can read chapter one. =================== Have you checked out the website recently? There are some new faces in Shipmates Album and we've also added several additional pics of Marius Moolman's fascinating virtual models of the Kydd ships. Click on NEW for links to all these. Coming next month: - sea chaplains, Julian's favourite Nelson quotations, and all the usual favourites... Yours aye, THE BOSUN ++ Download back issues from the WebSite ++