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Ninety-six years’ naval service!
Posted on June 24, 2014 7 Comments
I would have loved to have met Provo Wallis! Throughout maritime history many seamen gave a huge part of their lives to King and Country. In the course of his service at sea, John Balchen saw action in numerous battles against the French and Spanish navies across 60 years and three separate wars. Earl St.Vincent […]
BookPick: A Home on the Rolling Main
Posted on May 31, 2014 Leave a Comment
[To leave a comment or reply go to box at the end of the page] I always enjoy naval memoirs and Tony Ditcham’s has to be among the most engaging I’ve read recently. From first joining the Royal Navy in 1940 until the end of the campaign against Japan, Ditcham was in the front line […]
Why Jane Austen Loves a Sailor
Posted on May 14, 2014 2 Comments
[To leave a comment or reply go to box at the end of the page] This month saw the paperback launch of ‘Eavesdropping on Jane Austen’s England’ by Roy and Lesley Adkins. The book is a fascinating and spirited account of life ashore in Kydd’s day. I had the pleasure of meeting the Adkins in […]
Ask BigJules: Rates and Ranks at Sea
Posted on March 14, 2014 21 Comments
[To leave a comment or reply go to box at the end of the page] I’ve had questions from a number of readers recently asking about the different rates and ranks in Kydd’s day, so herewith a ready reference. In the Georgian Navy the main division was between officer and seaman. There were very few […]
BookPick: British Naval Power in the East
Posted on January 4, 2014 1 Comment
[To leave a comment go right to the end of the page and just enter it in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box] Another in the fine scholarly offerings from Boydell Press on the French and Revolutionary wars period. When war broke out with France in 1793, the threat of a renewed French challenge to British […]
Christmas at Sea
Posted on December 23, 2013 25 Comments
[To leave a comment go right to the end of the page and just enter it in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box] Christmas ashore is a jolly time of fun and festivities where families and friends get together to eat and drink and exchange gifts. But having a number of salty Yuletides under my belt […]
Navies: three books, three centuries
Posted on November 27, 2013 Leave a Comment
[To leave a comment go right to the end of the page and just enter it in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box] An enticing selection of review copies of books arrived in my postbag recently, all from Seaforth. Each very different but together spanning three centuries, celebrating people and ships of the world’s navies, predominantly […]
The Cold War Under the Sea
Posted on November 8, 2013 17 Comments
[To leave a comment go right to the end of the page and just enter it in the ‘Leave a Reply’ box] I must confess to a special interest in ‘Hunter Killers’ by Iain Ballantyne; all of my time in the Navy was during the Cold War. I’ve found no other book that delves so […]
Julian Stockwin 