Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

Finding Thoroton : the Royal Marine who ran British Naval Intelligence in the Western Mediterranean in World War One /by Philip Vickers. "Finding Thoroton is the biography of Lieutenant Colonel Charles Julian Thoroton (generally known as Charles the Bold) who was selected to organise and run British Naval Intelligence in the Western Mediterranean throughout World War I. Arriving at Gibraltar in 1913, this 38 year old Royal Marine was to create a 40,000 strong spy network which formed a major part of Winston Churchill's 'brilliant confederancy, whose even now are best wrapt in mystery' (The World Crisis). The Network continued into World War II. This book, which the author has researched in enormous detail, reveals for the first time details of intelligence gathering in the Mediterranean which lead to the defeat of the German submarine menace; and counter measures undertaken against sabotage, contraband and gun-running; as well as German subversive activities in Spain and Marocco. It is also the amazing story of a Royal Marine spymaster in World War I covering an area little known about or recorded in the archives of RM history."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 2 copies available. 92THOROTON

The Kaiser's pirates : hunting Germany's raiding cruisers in World War I /Nick Hewitt. "The Kaiser's Pirates is a dramatic and little-known story of World War I, when the actions of a few men shaped the fate of nations. By 1914 Germany had ships and sailors scattered across the globe, protecting its overseas colonies and 'showing the flag' of its new Imperial Navy. After war broke out on August 4 there was no hope that they could reach home. Instead, they were ordered to attack Britain's vital trade routes for as long as possible. Under the leadership of a few brilliant, audacious men, they unleashed a series of raids that threatened Britain's war effort and challenged the power and prestige of the Royal Navy. The next year saw a battle of wits which stretched across the globe, drawing in ships and men from six empires. By the end, the 'Kaiser's Pirates' were no more, and Britain once again ruled the waves. Including vivid descriptions of the battles of Coronel and the Falklands and the actions of the Emden, the Goeben and the Breslau, the Karsrèuhe and the Kèonigsberg, The Kaiser's Pirates tells a fascinating narrative that ranges across the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific, and the Caribbean."--Provided by the publisher. 2014. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.459(43)

Tirpitz : the life and death of Germany's last super battleship /Niklas Zetterling & Michael Tamelander. "After the Royal Navy's bloody high seas campaign to kill the mighty Bismarck, the Allies were left with an uncomfortable truth-the German behemoth had a twin sister. Slightly larger than her sibling, the Tirpitz was equally capable of destroying any other battleship afloat, as well as wreak havoc on Allied troop and supply convoys. For the next three and a half years the Allies launched a variety of attacks to remove Germany's last serious surface threat. The Germans, however, had learned not to pit their super battleships against the strength of the entire Home Fleet outside the range of protecting aircraft. Thus they kept Tirpitz hidden within fjords along the Norwegian coast, forcing the British to assume the offensive. This strategy paid dividends in July 1942 when the Tirpitz stirred from its berth, compelling the Royal Navy to abandon a Murmansk-bound convoy in order to confront the leviathan. The convoy was ripped apart by the Germans, while the Tirpitz returned to its fjord. Trying an indirect approach, the British launched one of the war's most daring commando raids-at St. Nazaire-in order to knock out the last drydock in Europe capable of servicing the Tirpitz. Of over 600 commandos and sailors in the raid, more than half were lost during an all-night battle that succeeded, at least, in knocking out the drydock. It was not until November 1944 that the Tirpitz finally succumbed to British aircraft armed with 10,000-lb Tallboy bombs, the ship capsizing at last with the loss of 1,000 sailors."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.82TIRPITZ

British destroyers J-C and Battle classes / text by Les Brown ; plans and colour artwork by George Richardson. The 'ShipCraft' series provides in-depth information about building and modifying model kits of famous warship types. Lavishly illustrated, each book takes the modeller through a brief history of the subject class, then moves to an extensive photographic survey of either a high-quality model or a surviving example of the ship. Hints on building the model, and on modifying and improving the basic kit, are followed by a section on paint schemes and camouflage, featuring numerous colour profiles and highly-detailed line drawings. This new volume deals with the later classes which were the most modern British destroyers of the Second World War. Marked by a common single-funnelled silhoutte, they were actually very varied, ranging from the large and powerful J to N flotillas, via the austere 'War Emergency' classes that were built in large numbers, to the radically different 'Battle' class, designed with a powerful AA armament for service in the Pacific. 2013. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.823.1(42)

The ambitions of Jane Franklin : Victorian lady adventurer /Alison Alexander. A biography of Jane Franklin (1791?1875), born Jane Griffin. Well educated, Jane travelled in Europe as a young woman. Following her marriage to Sir John Franklin in 1828, Jane continued to travel alone and with companions around the Mediterranean. In 1836 John Franklin was appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Van Dieman's Land (Tasmania) and Jane accompanied him there travelling widely across Australia and becoming involved in life in the colony. Recalled at the end of 1843, John Franklin was then appointed to lead an expedition to find the North-West passage. Departing in 1845, Franklin disappeared and Jane then devoted herself to finding out what had happened to the expedition, sponsoring seven expeditions to find him and supporting many others. Faced with Dr John Rae's evidence of cannibalism, she used her influence to challenge the evidence and maintain her husband's reputation as a polar hero, in the process destroying Rae's reputation. She continued to travel widely until her death at the age of 84. The text is supported by photographs, a bibliography and notes. 2016. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92FRANKLIN, JANE

Knights of the sea : the true story of the Boxer and the Enterprise and the War of 1812 /David Hanna. On a September day in 1813, as the Age of Fighting Sail was coming to an end, two maritime warriors faced each other in the waters off Pemaquid Point, Maine. Samuel Blyth was the youthful commander of His Britannic Majesty's brig Boxer, and William Burrows, younger still, commanded the USS Enterprise. Both men valued honor over life and death, and on this day their commitment would be put to the ultimate test. The battle lasted less than an hour, and its outcome was uncertain, but when the cannon smoke cleared, the U.S. Navy's position in the war had changed. Historian David Hanna brings to life a lost era--a time when sailing vessels exchanged broadsides and naval officers considered it the highest honor to harness the wind to meet their foes.--From publisher description. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1812"(42:73)

Hostile Sea : the U-boat offensive around the Isle of Man during World War One /Adrian Corkill. "This is the story of the events in the seas around the Isle of Man during World War One. In early 1915 Germany declared an unrestricted U-Boat campaign on Allied shipping forcing the British government to censor the British press with regard to all attacks on shipping, a move designed to prevent Germany learning of the true effectiveness of their campaign. As a result of this censorship, which also extended to the newspapers in the Isle of Man, few people today are aware to the extent of the German maritime offensive and the events that unfolded around the Isle of Man in the years between 1915 and 1918. Thirty vessels were sunk and many others narrowly escaped a similar fate after being attacked by U-Boats. Truly shocking was the terrible loss of life with over 400 souls perishing. The events that unfolded around the Isle of Man were a small, but significant part of the overall offensive, which came so very close to starving Britain into submission and winning the war for Germany. This book will prove invaluable to those interested in local and maritime history, World War One or those investigating a family ancestor involved in the action. The information on wreck sites and how to locate them on the seabed with reliable GPS coordinates also provides the sports diver and boat angler with the premier guide on World War One shipwrecks around the Isle of Man."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 656.61.085.3(428.9)"1914/1918"

On the map : why the world looks the way it does /by Simon Garfield. "Maps fascinate us. They chart our understanding of the world and they log our progress, but above all they tell our stories. From the early sketches of philosophers and explorers through to Google Maps and beyond, Simon Garfield examines how maps both relate and realign our history. His compelling narratives range from the quest to create the perfect globe to the challenges of mapping Africa and Antarctica, from spellbinding treasure maps to the naming of America, from Ordnance Survery to Monopoly and Skyrim, and from rare map dealers to cartographic frauds. En route, there are 'pocket map' tales of dragons and undergrounds, a nineteenth century murder map, research on the different ways that men and women approach a map, and an explanation of the curious long-term cartographic role played by animals."--Provided by the publisher 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 528.9(100)

British aircraft carriers : design, development and service histories /by David Hobbs. "This book is a meticulously detailed history of British aircraft-carrying ships from the earliest experimental vessels to the Queen Elizabeth class, currently under construction and the largest ships ever built for the Royal Navy. Individual chapters cover the design and construction of each class, with full technical details, and there are extensive summaries of every ship's career. Apart from the obvious large-deck carriers, the book also includes seaplane carriers, escort carriers and MAC ships, the maintenance ships built on carrier hulls, unbuilt projects, and the modern LPH. It concludes with a look at the future of naval aviation, while numerous appendices summarise related subjects like naval aircraft, recognition markings and the circumstances surrounding the loss of every British carrier. As befits such an important reference work, it is heavily illustrated with a magnificent gallery of photos and plans, including the first publication of original plans in full colour, one on a magnificent gatefold. Written by the leading historian of British carrier aviation, himself a retired Fleet Air Arm pilot, it displays the authority of a lifetime's research combined with a practical understanding of the issues surrounding the design and operation of aircraft carriers. As such British Aircraft Carriers is certain to become the standard work on the subject."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • FOLIO • 2 copies available. 623.822.74

China station : the British military in the Middle Kingdom 1839-1997 /Mark Felton. "The Author, who lives in Shanghai, sets out to demonstrate that the British military has been at the forefront of many of the great changes that have swept China over the last two centuries. He devotes chapters to the various wars, military adventures and rebellions that regularly punctuated Sino#British relationships since the 1st Opium War 1839-1842. This classic example of Imperial intervention saw the establishment of Hong Kong and Shanghai as key trading centres. The Second Opium War and the Taiping and Boxer Rebellions saw the advancement of British influence despite determined but unsuccessful efforts by the Chinese to loosen the grip of Western domination. The Royal Navys might ensured that, by gunboat diplomacy, trading rights and new posts were established and great fortunes made. But in the 1940s the British grossly underestimated Japanese military might and intentions with disastrous results. After the Second World War the British returned to find that the Americans had supplanted them. The Communists victory in the Civil War sealed British and Western fates and, while Hong Kong remained under British control until 1997, the end of British rule was almost inevitable. But the handover was a masterly piece of pragmatic capitalism and the former Colony remains an economic powerhouse with strong British influence."--Provided by the publisher. 2020. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 951.033

Ship portraits in the National Maritime Museum / selected by E.H.H. Archibald. Archibald, E. H. H.-(Edward H. H.) 1956. • PAMPHLET • 6 copies available. 75.047(26)

The anarchic sea : maritime security in the twenty-first century /David Sloggett. "Maritime security covers many issues including disputes over ownership of the continental shelf and of the boundaries of Exclusive Economic Zones, as well as protecting citizens from ballistic missile attacks using sea-based platforms and the introduction of non-native marine species to new aquatic habitats. Loss of key habitats and species may harm tourism and the wider economy while illegal fishing and smuggling often degrade the maritime environment. Nor should we forget that the sea is a favoured means of transit for trans-national terrorist and criminal groups, and smuggling of drugs, people and weapons remains a perennial concern for governments and their agencies trying to police the seas. Even today, however, the threat of conventional naval warfare has not receded entirely: rivalries over the ownership of the continental shelf, in areas such as the Spratley and Paracel Islands and the Lomonosov Ridge, could well be the harbinger of future conflict. Securing access to an ever-dwindling source of oil and gas may also threaten conflict on a worldwide basis as navies confront each other to secure economically vital sea lanes of communications in a time when energy security concerns are high on political the political agenda. Sloggett's book deals with this fascinating range of issues in a comprehensive manner also provides a blueprint for the development of maritime security, an integrated solution based around creating accurate and timely maritime domain awareness and sharing this with both military and commercial users of the sea."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 323.28"20"

Churchill and sea power / Christopher M. Bell. This book is the first major study of Winston Churchill's record as a naval strategist and his impact as the most prominent guardian of Britain's sea power in the modern era. The book debunks many popular and well-entrenched myths surrounding controversial episodes in both World Wars, including the Dardanelles disaster, the Norwegian Campaign, the Battle of the Atlantic, and the devastating loss of the Prince of Wales and Repulse in 1941. It shows that many common criticisms of Churchill have been exaggerated, but also that some of his mistakes have been largely overlooked. The book also examines Churchill's evolution as a maritime strategist over the course of his career, and documents his critical part in managing Britain's naval decline during the first half of the twentieth century. Churchill's genuine affection for the Royal Navy has often distracted attention from the fact that his views on sea power were pragmatic and unsentimental. For, as Christopher M. Bell shows, in a period dominated by declining resources, global threats, and rapid technologicalchange, it was increasingly air rather than sea power that Churchill looked to as the foundation of Britain's security. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92CHURCHILL

First victory, 1914 : HMAS Sydney's hunt for the German raider Emden /Mike Carlton. "When the ships of the new Royal Australian Navy made their grand entry into Sydney Harbour in October 1913, a young nation was at peace. Under a year later Australia had gone to war in what was seen as a noble fight for king, country and Empire. Thousands of young men joined up for the adventure of having 'a crack at the Kaiser'. And indeed the German threat to Australia was real, and very near - in the Pacific islands to our north, and in the Indian Ocean. In the opening months of the war, a German raider, Emden, wreaked havoc on the maritime trade of the British Empire. Its battle against the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney, when it finally came, was short and bloody - an emphatic First Victory at sea for the fledgling Royal Australian Navy. This is the stirring story of the perilous opening months of the Great War and the bloody sea battle that destroyed the Emden in a triumph for Australia that resounded around the world. In the century since, many writers have been there before Mike Carlton. Most were German, some of them survivors of the battle, others later historians, and they have generally told the story well. British accounts vary in quality, from good to nonsense, and there have been some patchwork American attempts as well. Curiously, there has been very little written from an Australian point of view. This book is - in part - an attempt to remedy that, with new facts and perspectives brought into the light of day."--Provided by th epublisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.459(94)

Offshore Asia : maritime interactions in Eastern Asia before steamships /edited by Fujita Kayoko, Momoki Shiro, Anthony Reid. "This exemplary work of international collaboration takes a comparative approach to the histories of Northeast and Southeast Asia, with contributions from scholars from Japan, Korea and the Englishspeaking academic world. The new scholarship represented by this volume demonstrates that the vast and growing commercial interactions between the countries of eastern Asia have long historical roots. The so-called "opening" to Western trade in the mid-nineteenth century, which is typically seen as the beginning of this process, is shown to be rather the reversal of a relatively temporary phase of state consolidation in the long eighteenth century." 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 382(5-012)"800/16"

We are one : the War of 1812: The Battles for St. Michaels, Maryland August 10 & 26, 1813 "Welcome to August 10, 1813, in the little town of St. Michaels, Maryland. On this hot, dark morning the feared British Navy attacked the town of three hundred, defended by local militia. This book tells the story of that attack and a subsequent attempt on August 26. We also look at the life of our citizens at that time and the lasting impact of this war in the Chesapeake Bay."--The preface. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.48"1812/1815"(42:73)

From imperial splendor to internment : the German Navy in the First World War /Nicolas Wolz ; translated by Geoffrey Brooks. "Describes how the Imperial German Navy, which had expanded to become one of the great maritime forces in the world, proved, with the exception of its submarines, to be largely ineffective throughout World War I. The inactivity of the great Imperial Navy caused deep frustration, particularly among the naval officers. Not only were they unable to see themselves as heroes, they were also ridiculed on the home front and felt profoundly humiliated. With the exception of the one sea battle at Jutland, their ships saw little or no action at sea. Morale collapsed to a point where, at the end of the war, the crews were in a state of mutiny. The order that forced the fleet to go to sea against the British in 1918 was driven by a sense of humiliation, but because the German sailors wanted no part in such madness it triggered a revolution."--Publisher description. 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1914/1918"(43)

From imperial splendour to internment : the German Navy in the First World War /Nicolas Wolz ; translated by Geoffrey Brooks. "This important new work describes how the Imperial German Navy, which had expanded to become one of the great maritime forces in the world, second only to the Royal Navy, proved, with the exception of its submarines, to be largely ineffective throughout the years of conflict. The impact of this impotence had a far-reaching effect upon the service. Germany, indeed most of Europe, was in the grips of a spirit of militant nationalistic fervour, and the inactivity of the great Imperial Navy caused deep frustration, particularly among the naval officers. Not only were they unable to see themselves as heroes, they were also ridiculed on the home front and felt profoundly humiliated. With the exception of the one sea battle at Jutland, their ships saw little or no action at sea and morale slowly collapsed to a point where, at the end of the war, the crews were in a state of mutiny. The seemingly ludicrous order that forced the fleet to go to sea against the British in 1918 was driven by a sense of humiliation, but coming at the war's end it triggered a revolution because the German sailors wanted no part in such madness. The internment at Scapa Flow was the ultimate shaming. This is a fascinating and perceptive analysis of a whole era, and it contributes substantially to our understanding of the war and its consequences - consequences, sadly, that helped pave the way for the Third Reich."--Provided by the publisher. 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.49"1914/1918"(43)

The honourable women of the Great War : and The women's (war) who's who /[edited by] P. Campion. Originally published in 1919, this facsimile reproduction records the wartime contribution of (as the Foreword describes it) 'women of distinction, of gentle birth and cultured tastes [who abandoned] gladly the ease and amenities of their sheltered lives to devote days and nights to strenuous, rough and unaccustomed work, in order that our scarred and maimed fighting men home from the battle fronts might be given the care and attention which was their due.' Brief biographical details of over two hundred women are provided along with a summary of their wartime work often with the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD). Photographs accompany many of the biographies. A list of all women receiving the Royal Red Cross Decoration for nursing services is also included with the name of the hospital in which they worked. A further list of the names of women brought to the notice of the Secretary of State for valuable services rendered in connection with the war is also provided, also with details of the hospital in which they worked. 2013. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 940.315-055.2

Tramp ships : an illustrated history /Roy Fenton. "The tramp ship was the taxi of the seas. With no regular schedules, it voyaged anywhere and everywhere, picking up and dropping off cargoes, mainly bulk cargoes such as coal, grain, timber, china clay and oil. It was the older and slower vessels that tended to find their way into this trade, hence the tag 'tramp', though new tramps were built, often with the owner's eye on chartering to the liner companies. In this new book by the well-known author Roy Fenton, their evolution is described over the course of more than 100 years, from the 1860s, when the steam tramp developed from the screw collier, until it was largely replaced by the specialist bulk carrier in the 1980s. An introduction looks at the design and building of tramps before going on to describe the machinery, from simple triple-expansion turbines to diesel engines. Their operation and management and the life of the officers and crews is also covered. The meat of the book is to be found in the 300 wonderfully evocative photographs of individual ships which illustrate the development of the tramp and its trades through the last years of the 19th century, the two world wars, and the postwar years. Each caption gives the dimensions, the owners and the builder, and outlines the career, with notes on trades and how they changed over a ship's lifetime. Design features are highlighted and notes on machinery included. This will become a classic work, to inspire all merchant ship enthusiasts and historians."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 2 copies available. 656.614.34"18/19"

A biographical dictionary of the twentieth-century Royal Navy : volume 1 :admirals of the Fleet and admirals /by Alastair Wilson. "Despite its recent decline in size and influence, for much of the twentieth century the Royal Navy was a major player in world history. Its senior officers carried out - and sometimes made - British policy in peace and war, but with the exception of a few star figures the details of their careers have never been published. This book is the first volume of a major study intended to provide a resumâe of the service lives of every flag officer, in the style of the great nineteenth century biographical dictionaries of Marshall and O'Byrne. Every entry is based on primary sources, including the Navy's confidential personnel files, cross-referenced with general historical data and, in the case of living officers, correspondence with the subjects themselves. The book comes with a CD which contains the service histories and careers of 336 most senior admirals on the Navy List from 1900 onwards. The length of each entry varies with the importance of the officer covered, but each includes both an outline of their careers and significant dates, like promotions and awards. In all, the CD contains more than 600,000 words - a truly epic work. The majority are not even included in the Dictionary of National Biography, and as such, this work will be a boon to historians, and invaluable to genealogists. A monumental and unique naval historical resource."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92:355.333.3(42)"19"

London and the Georgian Navy / Philip MacDougall. At a time when the Royal Navy was the biggest and best in the world, Georgian London was the hub of this immense industrial-military complex, underpinning and securing a global trading empire that was entirely dependent on the navy for its existence. Philip MacDougall explores the bureaucratic web that operated within the wider city area before giving attention to London's association with the practical aspects of supplying and manning the operational fleet, and shipbuilding, repair and maintenance. His supremely detailed geographical exploration of these areas includes a discussion of captivating key personalities, buildings and work. The book examines significant locations as well as the importance of Londoners in the manning of ships and how the city memorialised the navy and its personnel during times of victory. An in-depth gazetteer and walking guide complete this fascinating study of London and her Royal Navy. Book jacket. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 359.10942109033

City of fortune : how Venice ruled the seas /Roger Crowley. "The New York Times bestselling author of Empires of the Sea charts Venice's astounding five-hundred-year voyage to the pinnacle of power in an epic story that stands unrivaled for drama, intrigue, and sheer opulent majesty. City of Fortune traces the full arc of the Venetian imperial saga, from the ill-fated Fourth Crusade, which culminates in the sacking of Constantinople in 1204, to the Ottoman-Venetian War of 1499-1503, which sees the Ottoman Turks supplant the Venetians as the preeminent naval power in the Mediterranean. In between are three centuries of Venetian maritime dominance, during which a tiny city of "lagoon dwellers" grow into the richest place on earth. Drawing on firsthand accounts of pitched sea battles, skillful negotiations, and diplomatic maneuvers, Crowley paints a vivid picture of this avaricious, enterprising people and the bountiful lands that came under their dominion. From the opening of the spice routes to the clash between Christianity and Islam, Venice played a leading role in the defining conflicts of its time - the reverberations of which are still being felt today."--Provided by the publisher. 2013. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 38(450.341)"10/15"

Of ships and stars : maritime heritage and the founding of the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich /Kevin Littlewood and Beverley Butler. An account of the founding of the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, and its history to the 1960s. 1998. • BOOK • 5 copies available. 069(26:421.6)

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