On this day Category
Sink me the ship, master gunner!
Posted on August 30, 2015 4 Comments
On this day in 1591, The Battle of Flores began, a naval engagement of the Anglo-Spanish War. It was fought off the Island of Flores, one of the Azores, islands set in the Atlantic 850 miles west of Portugal. Facing each other were an English fleet of 22 ships under Lord Thomas Howard and a […]
On this day: The Battle of the Nile
Posted on August 1, 2015 1 Comment
On this day in 1798 began the Battle of the Nile, a major naval engagement between the Royal Navy and the Navy of the French Republic. The battle was the climax of a naval campaign that had ranged across the Mediterranean during the previous three months, as a large French convoy sailed from Toulon to […]
An Emperor Aboard!
Posted on July 24, 2015 3 Comments
On this day in 1815 HMS Bellerophon carrying a very special passenger, Napoleon Bonaparte, dropped anchor at Torbay; then shortly after sailed on to Plymouth Sound. A fascinating exhibition at the Plymouth City Museum and Art Gallery explores the mystique that grew up around the man – monster to some, folk-hero to others. Centred around […]
Napoleon comes to Plymouth…
Posted on July 26, 2014 2 Comments
[To leave a comment or reply go to box at the end of the page] I have the great good fortune to live not far from Plymouth, Devon. Ever since the days of Sir Francis Drake and the Spanish Armada, Plymouth has played a key role in Britain’s maritime history. But it was on this […]
‘Sink Me the Ship, Master Gunner!’
Posted on August 31, 2013 7 Comments
[To leave a comment go right to the end of the page and just enter it in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box] This day 422 years ago Sir Richard Grenville in the galleon Revenge, and separated from the rest of the English fleet off the Azores, began one of the most epic ‘last stands’ in […]
‘Very sad about tot…’
Posted on July 31, 2013 8 Comments
[To leave a comment go right to the end of the page and just enter it in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box] In a number of respects the Old Navy that I knew and loved is no more. Sailors do not sleep in hammocks these days, the female of the species now serves alongside chaps […]
‘My fin’
Posted on July 24, 2013 3 Comments
[To leave a comment go right to the end of the page and just enter it in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box] I have to confess that I’m a bit squeamish about all things medical. I love to read about a rattlin’ good Age of Sail sea battle and immerse myself in the tactics and […]
Julian Stockwin 