David Baxter

Visitor Assistant

I am a member of the front-of-house team at the Museum. When you visit us, you will be greeted by me or one of my colleagues. My role includes providing information to visitors about our collections, looking after the health and safety of visitors and others in the Museum and safeguarding the collection from damage and theft.

I joined the Museum after a first career in Customs and Excise. I had always had an interest in history, although not necessarily naval history, and working here has allowed me to develop this interest in a number of different ways.

I get a lot of pleasure and enjoyment from talking to visitors to the Museum, and am always keen to help them maximise their enjoyment of our collections. We have the most significant collection of maritime artefacts in the world. This, and our position on the Greenwich Meridian, guarantees a fascinating day out for your friends and family.

Do speak to me if you see me in the Museum. I will do my best to help you get the most out of your time with us.

My favourite subject to talk about

Having travelled extensively in Egypt over the last 20 years, I have been particularly interested in finding out about the artefacts the Museum has which can be linked to Egypt past and present. I deliver a variety of short talks at the Museum (called 'Gallery Favourites') and two of them link directly to Egypt – one about Cleopatra's Needle on the Embankment, and a second one about the Suez Canal. You can get a sense of my Suez Canal talk by listening to the audio version.

It is almost impossible to work here and not be fascinated by Nelson and his life and achievements. My latest talk, entitled 'Hidden Trafalgar', introduces visitors to some of the less well-publicised aspects of the Battle of Trafalgar.

If you see nothing else here, don't miss

Nelson's uniform that he was wearing at the Battle of Trafalgar. Without doubt, Nelson was and still remains a national hero and the Nelson's Navy Gallery in the Museum is a must-see!