Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

The British way of war : Julian Corbett and the battle for a national strategy /Andrew Lambert. "How a strategist's ideas, catastrophically ignored in 1914, shaped Britain's success in the Second World War and beyond. Lawyer, civilian and Liberal, Julian Corbett (1854-1922) brought a new level of logic, advocacy and intellectual precision to the development of national strategy to meet the emerging threat of German militarism, and enable the British Empire to evolve into a Commonwealth of nations. Corbett skillfully integrated classical strategic theory, British history and emerging trends in technology, geopolitics and conflict to prepare the British state for war. He emphasised that strategy is a national construct, rather than a set of universal principles, and recognised the importance of domestic social reform. Working with Admiral Lord Fisher, Corbett replaced the naval strategy theory of Alfred Thayer Mahan with a unique, 'British way of war'. Corbett's concept of maritime strategy dominated by the control of global communications and economic war, survived the debacle of 1914-18, when Britain adopted the German 'way of war' at unprecedented cost in lives and resources. It was taken up again in the Second World War, and shaped Churchill's conduct of the conflict from the Fall of France to D-Day. And as Andrew Lambert shows, Corbett's ideas continue to influence British strategic thinking."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 359.4

Black Spartacus : the epic life of Toussaint Louverture /Sudhir Hazareesingh. "The Haitian Revolution began in the French Caribbean colony of Saint-Domingue with a slave revolt in August 1791, and culminated a dozen years later in the proclamation of the world's first independent black state. After the abolition of slavery in 1793, Toussaint Louverture, himself a former slave, became the leader of the colony's black population, the commander of its republican army and eventually its governor. During the course of his extraordinary life he confronted some of the dominant forces of his age - slavery, settler colonialism, imperialism and racial hierarchy. Treacherously seized by Napoleon's invading army in 1802, this charismatic figure ended his days, in Wordsworth's phrase, 'the most unhappy man of men', imprisoned in a fortress in France. Black Spartacus draws on a wealth of archival material, much of it overlooked by previous biographers, to follow every step of Louverture's singular journey, from his triumphs against French, Spanish and British troops to his skilful regional diplomacy, his Machiavellian dealings with successive French colonial administrators and his bold promulgation of an autonomous Constitution. Sudhir Hazareesingh shows that Louverture developed his unique vision and leadership not solely in response to imported Enlightenment ideals and revolutionary events in Europe and the Americas, but through a hybrid heritage of fraternal slave organisations, Caribbean mysticism and African political traditions. Above all, Hazareesingh retrieves Louverture's rousing voice and force of personality, making this the most engaging, as well as the most complete, biography to date." --Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 970.980

The new nomads : how the migration revolution is making the world a better place /Felix Marquardt. "We have lost the plot when it comes to migration. In our collective consciousness, the term 'migration' conjures up images of hordes of refugees fleeing 'their' country, escaping on rafts and coming to invade 'ours'. When we think of migration, we think of (largely unwanted) immigration and its ills. We've got it all wrong. Far from being abnormal, the act of going in search of a better life is at the core of the human experience. And now a new kind of nomad is emerging. What used to be a movement largely from east to west, south to north, developing to developed country is becoming more of a multilateral phenomenon with each passing day. Young people from everywhere are moving everywhere. Or rather, they are moving to where they expect to improve their lives and are turning the world into a beauty contest of cities and regions and companies vying to attract them. They are doing so because movement has become a key to their emancipation. After centuries of becoming sedentary, the future of humanity and the key to its enlightenment in the 21st century lies in re-embracing nomadism. Migration fosters the qualities that will allow our children to flourish and succeed. Our times require more migration, not less."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 304.8

The United States Navy in World War II : from Pearl Harbor to Okinawa /Mark E. Stille. "A comprehensive overview of the strategy, operations, and vessels of the United States Navy from 1941 to 1945. Although slowly building its navy while neutral during the early years of World War II, the US was struck a serious blow when its battleships, the lynchpin of US naval doctrine, were the target of the dramatic attack at Pearl Harbor. In the Pacific Theater, the US was thereafter locked into a head to head struggle with the impressive Imperial Japanese Navy, fighting a series of major battles in the Coral Sea, at Midway, the Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf, and Okinawa in the struggle for supremacy over Japan. Having avoided the decisive defeat sought by the IJN, the US increased industrial production and, by the end of the war, the US Navy was larger than any other in the world. Meanwhile in the west, the US Navy operated on a second front, supporting landings in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy, and in 1944 played a significant part in the D-Day landings, the largest and most complex amphibious operation of all time. Written by an acknowledged expert and incorporating extensive illustrations including photographs, maps, and color artwork, this book offers a detailed look at the strategy, operations, and vessels of the US Navy in World War II." --Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.5373

The Laird rams : Britain's ironclads built for the Confederacy, 1862-1923 /Andrew R. English. "Built in Birkenhead, England, from 1862-1865, the 'Laird rams' were two innovative armored warships intended for service with the Confederate Navy during the Civil War. The vessels represented a substantial threat to Union naval power, and offered the Confederacy a potential means to break the Union blockade of the Southern coastline. Historians rarely mention these sister warships - if referred at all, they are given short shrift. This book provides the first complete history of these once famous ironclads that never fired a shot in anger yet served at distant stations as defenders of the British Empire"-- 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 359.8/352

Coastal defences of the British Empire in the Revolutionary & Napoleonic eras / Daniel MacCannell. "Far more than an architecture book, Coastal Defences of the British Empire in the Revolutionary & Napoleonic Eras is a sweeping reinterpretation of the Martello towers, Grand Redoubts, Royal Military Canal and other new defence infrastructure. Lavishly illustrated with period maps, views, portraits, cartoons and newly commissioned colour photographs, it includes not only these structures' forerunners, and plans that were never executed, but also the grand strategy that informed them. At its best, this saw Britain's position as a vast land battle, with the deadly threat of the French-held Antwerp navy yards on its own 'left wing', and Lisbon as the enemy's 'weak left' to be 'turned'. The book also takes in the astonishingly inventive, bold and bloody small-boat wars that raged from the Baltic and Channel coast to Chesapeake Bay and Lake Ontario, and provides vivid pen-sketches of the now-obscure and sometimes deeply flawed strategic visionaries, engineers, inventors, and fighting men who held the line as - even after Trafalgar - the forces of an ever more powerful French empire circled like sharks. Along the way, it traces a fundamental change in the nature of war and society: from a ponderous game of fortresses and colonies played by rulers, to murderous 'foot by foot' defence of the whole territory of the nation by 'both sexes and every social type'."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.4509171241

Britain's coast at war : invasion threat, coastal forces, bombardment and training for D-Day/Neil R. Storey. "The whole of Britain's coastline was involved in the struggle against the Nazis. In the early days invasion was the main threat.Dover and the South East suffered grievously from aerial attacks and were also shelled by German artillery from across the Channel, the area was dubbed 'Hell Fire Corner.' Cities and towns all around the coast such as Plymouth, Portsmouth, Hull and Great Yarmouth were the targets of devastating air raids. The coast and lochs of Scotland became a key training area for commandos and assault troops for D-Day and its ports saw the return of crews of sunk vessels of both sides. The East Coast was pivotal to North Sea operations against enemy mining and E-boat operations. The Western ports, particularly Liverpool, were crucial to the vital Atlantic convoys and the defeat of the U-boat threat. The final months of training and preparation for D-Day centred on the South Coast when disaster struck during Exercise Tiger off Slapton Sands. Britain's coastal ports continued to attract 'Tip and Run' raids and the attention of V rockets that changed the character of many these towns and cities forever. Neil Storey's superbly researched work brilliantly describes all this and more in words and images."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 941.084

Italian Battleships : Conte di Cavour and Duilio Classes 1911-1956 /Erminio Bagnasco and Augusto de Toro. "Originally comprising five vessels in two related classes, these battleships entered service at the beginning of the Great War. As designed, they were powerful examples of the second generation of dreadnoughts, with a combination of twin and triple turrets producing a unique main armament of thirteen 12-inch guns. One ship, Leonardo da Vinci, was sunk by an explosion at Taranto in 1916, and although the hull was raised post-war, te plan to rebuild the ship was abandoned as it was not deemed cost-effective. However, the remaining four ships were to undergo one of the most radical reconstructions of any battleship class during the 1930s, emerging with an entirely new profile, an up-gunned main armament, more powerful machinery and all the characteristics of a modern fast battleship. In this form they became an important element in the Italian fleet that opposed the British from 1940. This book covers all the technical details of the shis, both as built and as rebuilt, but also provides an extended history of their active service, including battle plans and track charts, as well as their post-war fates. Thoroughly illustrated with photographs, ship and armament plans, detail drawings and colour camouflage schemes, the book is a fitting companion to the author's previous work, The Littorio Class."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.82520945

The Kaisers cruisers : 1871-1918 /Aidan Dodson and Dirk Nottelmann. "While bookshelves groan with works on the capital ships of the German Third Reich, there is little in English devoted to their predecessors of the Second Reich, so this new book will fill a clear gap in its study of German cruisers of the period, from wooden-hulled corvettes, through the fusion of 'overseas' and 'home' vessels into the modern small cruisers that evolved and fought in the First World War. The book covers the full range of cruising vessels operated or ordered by the Imperial German Navy between 1871 and 1918, excluding the large cruisers, previously covered by the author's companion volume The Kaiser's Battlefleet. These include corvettes, avisos, sloops, torpedo cruisers, III- and IV-class cruisers and small cruisers, and are described and arranged in a chronological narrative. This includes both design and operational histories, the latter continuing down to the end of ships' service after the fall of Imperial Germany, and it is accompanied by an extensive selection of many rare photographs. The ships' technical details are tabulated in the second half of the book which also includes sketches of ships' internal layouts and armour and changes in appearance over time. The authors have made extensive use of archival material, particularly relating to the political and technical background to design and procurement, and present a developmental history of this ship class which is unique in the English language. It will have huge appeal to all those with an interest in the German navy and to those who have been waiting avidly for the sequel to The Kaiser's Battlefleet."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.8253

Dressed to kill : British naval uniform, masculinity and contemporary fashions, 1748-1857 /Amy Miller. "A unique exploration of naval identity, period fashion and masculinity. Dressed to kill is a unique and detailed analysis of naval uniform and its historical, social and economic contexts in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. This fully updated and expanded second edition examines the significance of male fashion and uniform in the forging of a national, hierarchical and gendered identity. By drawing upon extensive archival research, Amy Miller provides a greater explanation of the political and social changes that impacted not only what the Royal Navy wore, but why. Parliamentary records, newspapers and museum archives give a greater contextualisation of the relationship that naval uniform represented - that of a confluence of politics and economics, fashion and popular culture. Beautifully illustrated throughout, this second edition of Dressed to Kill includes an extensive catalogue of uniforms from the rich collection of the National Maritime Museum and a selection of patterns that examine the construction of the garments."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 2 copies available.

The battlecruiser New Zealand : a gift to empire /Matthew Wright. "This book tells the story of HMS New Zealand, a battlecruiser paid for by the government of New Zealand at the height of its pro-Imperial 'jingo' era in 1909, when Britain's ally Japan was perceived as a threat in Australasia and the Pacific. Born of the collision between New Zealand's patriotic dreams and European politics, the tale of HMS New Zealand is further wrapped in the turbulent power-plays at the Admiralty in the years leading up to the First World War. The ship went on to have a distinguished First World War career, when she was present in all three major naval battles - Heligoland, Dogger Bank and Jutland - in the North Sea. The book 'busts' many of the myths associated with the ship and her construction, including the intent of the gift, New Zealand's ability to pay, deployment, and the story behind the piupiu (skirt) and tiki (pendant) that, the crew believed, bestowed special protection upon the vessel. All is inter-woven with the human and social context to create a 'biography' of the ship as an expression of human endeavour, in significantly more detail than any of the summaries available in prior accounts. Extensively illustrated, this is a book with appeal to a wide audience, from naval enthusiasts and historians to the general reader with a wider interest in the story of Empire. The use of archival material available only in New Zealand, including the Ship's Book, adds a dimension and novelty not previously included in histories of this great battlecruiser."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.8250993

Science, utility and British naval technology, 1793-1815 : Samuel Bentham and the royal dockyards /Roger Morriss. "During the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, the technology employed by the British navy changed not just the material resources of the British navy but the culture and performance of the royal dockyards. This book examines the role of the Inspector General of Naval Works, an Admiralty office occupied by Samuel Bentham between 1796 and 1807, which initiated a range of changes in dockyard technology by the construction of experimental vessels, the introduction of non-recoil armament, the reconstruction of Portsmouth yard, and the introduction of steam-powered engines to pump water, drive mass-production machinery and reprocess copper sheathing. While primarily about the technology, this book also examines the complementary changes in the industrial culture of the dockyards. For it was that change in culture which permitted the dockyards at the end of the Wars to maintain a fleet of unprecedented size and engage in warfare both with the United States of America and with Napoleonic Europe"-- 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623/.64094109034

Condemned : the transported men, women and children who built Britain's empire /Graham Seal. "A tremendously powerful account, told through individual stories, of how forced migration was fundamental to the British empire. The cruel system of transportation has a long history. In the early 1600s, Elizabeth Wynn was imprisoned for robbery, marked as colonialist property and shipped overseas. In the eighteenth century, petty thieves like Charlotte Badger were sent to outposts in Australia and America and there put to work. Even as recently as the 1940s, 'superfluous' or unwanted children such as four-year-old Marcelle O'Brien were sent to institutions in Australia, where they were vulnerable to abuse. Drawing on first-hand accoutns, letters and official documents, Graham Seal uncovers the traumatic struggles of individuals shipped around the empire. He shows how the earliest large-scale kidnapping and transportation of children to the American colonies was quickly bolstered with shipments of the poor, criminal and rebellious to different continents. From Asia to Africa, this global trade in forced labour allowed Britain to build its colonies while turning a considerable profit. Over the course of 400 years, Britain transported over 376,000 unwanted citizens beyond its shores. Revelatory and often moving, Condemned brings to light the true extent of this brutal element in the history of the British empire."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 364.6/80941

New crusade : the Royal Navy and British navalism, 1884-1914 /Bradley Cesario. "The period between the mid-1880s and the First World War was the high point of the navalist movement - but the idea of 'navalism' took many forms, and meant different problems and different solutions to various groups within British society and the British government. New Crusade examines one form of the British navalist movement: directed navalism. As opposed to the broader cultural conception of British naval power, directed navalism consisted of a cooperative, symbiotic working relationship between three elite and self-selecting groups: serving naval officers (professionals), naval correspondents and editors working for national newspapers and periodicals (press), and members of Parliament who dealt with naval issues (politicians). Directed navalism meant agitation for a specific, achievable goal. It was the bedrock upon which the more popular and ultimately more successful cultural navalism of fleet reviews and music halls was built. Though directed navalism collapsed before the First World War, it was extraordinarily successful in its time, and it was a necessary precursor for the creation of a national discourse in which cultural navalism could thrive. Its rise and fall is the story of this book."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 359.00941

Flag waves : house flags from the National Maritime Museum /by Sue Prichard. "Flag Waves is a collection of the little-known area of design history preserved by the National Maritime Musuem: the flags flown on ships to indicate the companies they belonged to. House flags are a mix of striking, abstract designs and hand-sewn motifs and were flown on vessels of all sizes from huge passenger ferries to small recreational dinghies. With an introduction and commentary by Sue Prichard, Senior Curator: Arts, at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, Flag Waves is the first book to examine the symbols and motifs of this remarkable collection of flags. Analysing the origins of flag design in heraldry and geometric forms, and showcasing the unique role of flags in expressing company identity years before the use of sophisticated logos and corporate branding, Prichard's book provides a vibrant survey of the company flags flown by everyone from British Rail to the Girl Guides. These bold, colourful textiles present a unique and compelling chapter in maritime history."--Provided by the publsher. 2021. • BOOK • 2 copies available.

Sailing to freedom : maritime dimensions of the Underground Railroad /edited by Timothy D. Walker. "In 1858, Mary Millburn successfully made her escape from Norfolk, Virginia, to Philadelphia aboard an express steamship. Millburn's maritime route to freedom was far from uncommon. By the mid-nineteenth century, an increasing number of enslaved people had fled northward along the Atlantic seaboard. While scholarship on the Underground Railroad has focused almost exclusively on overland escape routes from the antebellum South, this groundbreaking volume expands our understanding of how freedom was achieved by sea and what the journey looked like for many African Americans. With innovative scholarship and thorough research, Sailing to Freedom highlights little-known stories and describes the less-understood maritime side of the Underground Railroad, including the impact of African Americans' paid and unpaid waterfront labor. These ten essays reconsider and contextualize how escapes were managed along the East Coast, moving from the Carolinas, Virginia, and Maryland to safe harbor in northern cities such as Philadelphia, New York, New Bedford, and Boston."-- 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 973.7/115

A practical guide to searching LGBTQIA historical records / Norena Shopland. "This book provides a number of effective tools to aid in the recovery of LGBTQIA+ historic material, including extensive glossary and non-glossary written descriptionsas well as guidance for using terms and phrases to search effectively online and offline. Researching hidden and forbidden people from the past can be extremely difficult. Terminology used to write about LGBTQIA+ people shifts over time. Legal terminology enforces certain set terms, which some writers use but others reject to avoid informing or disgusting a reading public. Often written descriptions contain no set terminology at all. How then can LGBTQIA+ people be found in historic records? This book provides practical tools for a researcher wanting to uncover materials from online or hard-copy sources, including: keyword(s) covering various sexual orientations and gender diversity, along with how and when to use them; tips for effective searching in online newspaper archives; information about how to use genealogy, auction and social media sites to uncover information; suggestions about searching in online and physical libraries; advice on researching in physical archives and the types of collections which can yield results; and guidance about researching in museums collect and display LGBTQIA+ content. This guide is a short, straightforward, jargon-free and accessible companion for doing historical research on gay, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and other non-normative research subjects. It is a useful resource for students and scholars alike in archive studies, history or gender and sexuality studies"--Provided by publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 306.76

US naval aviation 1898-1945 : the pioneering years to the Second World War, rare photographs from naval archives /Leo Marriott. "The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941 sank or crippled almost all of the battleships belonging to the US Navy's Pacific Fleet, but the fleet's aircraft carriers survived to demonstrate that naval aviation was now the dominant factor in the struggle at sea, turning the tide of the Pacific War. That the US Navy had the necessary ships, aircraft and crews was the result of pioneering, far-sighted decisions made in the pre-war years. Before the First World War the navy had recognised the potential of aircraft at sea, and it went on to develop the techniques and equipment that contributed so much to the defeat of the Japanese. This is the fascinating story Leo Marriott tells in this photographic history. In a selection of over 200 rare photographs he traces the growth of US naval aviation from the flimsy seaplanes of the first years of the twentieth century to the mighty armadas that challenged those of the Japanese and, after the carrier battles at Coral Sea and Midway, led the advance across the Pacific. Key aspects of the history are the navy?s first aircraft carriers of the 1920s and the tremendous progress made in the decades between the wars in tactics and strategy as well as in the design of ships and aircraft."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 359.00973

The Shetland bus : transporting secret agents across the North Sea in WW2 /Stephen Wynn. "The Shetland Bus was not a bus, but the nickname of a special operations group that set up a route across the North Sea between Norway and the Shetland Islands, north-east of mainland Scotland. The first voyage was made by Norwegian sailors to help their compatriots in occupied Norway, but soon the Secret Intelligence Service and the Special Operations Executive asked if they would be prepared to carry cargoes of British agents and equipment, as well. Fourteen boats of different sizes were originally used, and Flemington House in Shetland was commandeered as the operation's HQ. The first official journey was carried out by the Norwegian fishing vessel the Aksel, which left Luna Ness on 30 August 1941 on route to Bremen in Norway. This book examines that first journey, as well later ones, and discusses the agents and operations which members of the Shetland Bus were involved in throughout the war. It also looks at the donation of 3 submarine chasers to the operation, made in October 1943, by the United States Navy. These torpedo-type boats were 110 ft long and very fast, allowing journey times between Shetland and Norway to be greatly reduced and carried out in greater safety. The story of the Shetland Bus would be nothing without the individuals involved, both the sailors of the boats and the agents who were carried between the two countries. These were very brave individuals who helped maintain an important lifeline to the beleaguered Norwegians. It also allowed British and Norwegian agents a way in to Norway so that they could liaise with the Norwegian Underground movement and carry out important missions against the German occupiers."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.5459481

The last embassy : the Dutch mission of 1795 and the forgotten history of western encounters with China /Tonio Andrade. "George Macartney's disastrous 1793 mission to China plays a central role in the prevailing narrative of modern Sino-European relations. Summarily dismissed by the Qing court, Macartney failed in nearly all of his objectives, perhaps setting the stage for the Opium Wars of the 19th century and the mistrust that still marks the relationship today. But not all European encounters with China were disastrous. The Last Embassy tells the story of the Dutch mission of 1795, bringing to light a dramatic but little-known episode that transforms our understanding of the history of China and the West. Drawing on a wealth of archival material, Tonio Andrade paints a panoramic and multifaceted portrait of an age marked by intrigues and war. China was on the brink of rebellion. Enduring a harrowing voyage, the Dutch mission was to be the last European diplomatic delegation ever received in the traditional Chinese court. Andrade shows how, in contrast to the British emissaries, the Dutch were men with deep knowledge of Asia who respected regional diplomatic norms and were committed to understanding China on its own terms. The Last Embassy reveals that the Qing court, mischaracterized as arrogant and narrow-minded by British diplomats and historians, was in fact open, flexible, curious, and very cosmopolitan."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 327.49205109/033

British piers and pier railways / Anthony Poulton-Smith. "The British have always had a special affinity for their coastal resorts and piers are the epitome of the British seaside. This book takes the reader on a clockwise tour of our islands, stopping at every pier and walking through their histories. Yet this is not just a tour of the pier, for it is not the pier that makes the history, but the people who work and walk along it. Within these pages the reader will meet a prizefighter who achieved fame in a very different sport; learn of several 'professors' whose talents were solely being able to leap from the pier; discover why man would ever want to fly from a pier; meet the former Beatle who worked for a pier company; read about the ferries and steamers that carried visitors; the fires which are an ever-present danger; the men who designed and built the piers along with the entertainers, characters, enthusiasts and entrepreneurs who made the piers. Fascinating information is included on how piers became longer or shorter, which piers served as part of the Royal Navy during two World Wars, and the tremendous amount of work and effort it takes to keep the piers open to the public today. Several piers have embedded rails, with some still being used by trains or trams. These pier railways are described in detail: the engineering, the designs and the changes over the years. While electricity is the sole motive power today, these had once been either steam-driven, pulled by horses, moved by hand or even, in one example, wind-powered by a sail! With over one hundred photographs, both old and new, this is a tour of the coast of the mainland and two islands. Piers which sadly have not survived are included as well as those which never got off the ground (or the shoreline). It reveals why they were built, how they were repurposed over the years, and their role in the future. Join the tour and recall the sea air, candy floss, the music, the sounds of a holiday, that day trip, an encounter, a rendezvous or special memory"--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 627.31

'Tin boats' of the Royal Air Force Marine Branch : the end of an era /compiled by Donald Smith. "The Marine Branch was small in comparison to the remainder of the Royal Air Force but size was no true indication of relative importance. The RAF Marine Branch was called upon to deal with specialised applications of maritime practice not usually encountered in other sea services. The Royal Air Force was formed on 1st April 1918 and the Marine Craft Section commenced operations twelve days later. This new Trade Group 7 was to provide very specialised seaborne support for the next sixty-eight years. Tasks of the RAF sailors varied from Air Sea Rescue, towing, refuelling and arming all types of seaplanes and flying boats, target towing for both aircraft and shore based gunners, torpedo and other forms of weapons recovery, sea survival exercises for aircrew and wet winching drills with helicopters, to training sea-going HM Customs officers in the handling of larger and faster types of marine craft. In 1965, in an effort to prove that the Marine Branch was fully capable of undertaking longer duration tasks the decision was taken to re-equip with larger purposely designed steel craft, well capable of staying at sea for long periods. So why 'Tin' boats? This was the name adopted by RAF crews weaned on generations of high-speed wooden launches, and who looked upon the new steel craft with intrigue and scepticism in equal measure. By the time the 'Tin' boats arrived on the scene, swingeing successive budget cuts, coupled with successive Government Reviews, had reduced the RAF Marine Branch to a shadow of its former self. In the post-war period, they operated from some twenty-eight Marine Craft Units worldwide but, by the mid 1970s, only three UK units remained and on 31st March 1986, the RAF Marine Branch was disbanded and its tasks were handed over to civilian contractors."--Provided by the publisher. 2021 • FOLIO • 1 copy available.

The truth about the mutiny on HMAV Bounty : and the fate of Fletcher Christian /Glynn Christian. "The Truth About the Mutiny on HMAV BOUNTY - and the Fate of Fletcher Christian brings this famed South Pacific saga into the 21st century. By combining unprecedented research into Fletcher Christian and his fate with deep knowledge of Bounty's Polynesian women, Glynn Christian presents a fresh and comprehensive telling of a powerful maritime adventure that still captivates after 230 years. Of over 3000 books and major articles on the mutiny, or the five feature films starring such as Clark Gable, Charles Laughton, Marlon Brando and Mel Gibson, none has told the true story as until 1982, no author knew the real Fletcher Christian, or could understand his relationship with William Bligh, his mentor-turned-nemesis. Glynn Christian's extraordinary research into Bligh, Christian and Bounty included every deposit of documents worldwide and a sailing expedition to Pitcairn Island. This book details the cramped dark conditions on the ship and how Bligh bravely commanded it at Cape Horn, saving it and the crew. Yet he was unable to keep discipline because he didn't punish enough, instead relying on his brutal tongue. Forced to remain in Tahiti for 23 weeks, Bligh struggled to retain order when Bounty sailed. Glynn Christian reveals how this affected Fletcher Christian mentally, explaining his out-of-character mutiny. Then Christian showed revolutionary social conscience, using democracy and uniforms on Bounty to maintain leadership, including through the little-known settlement of Fort George on Tubuai. After this, he and Bounty disappeeared for 18 years. Bounty's story becomes that of Pitcairn Island, of revolutionary black women who protected their children with the blood of their fathers and continued Fletcher's ideals to become the first women in the world permanently to have the vote and guarantee education for girls. But where was Fletcher Christian?"--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 996.18

Suppressing piracy in the early eighteenth century : pirates, merchants and British imperial authority in the Atlantic and Indian oceans /David Wilson. "This book charts the surge and decline in piracy in the early eighteenth century (the so-called 'Golden Age' of piracy), exploring the ways in which pirates encountered, obstructed, and antagonised the diverse participants of the British empire in the Caribbean, North America, Africa, and the Indian Ocean. The book's primary focus is on how anti-piracy campaigns were constructed as a result of the negotiations, conflicts, and individual undertakings of different imperial actors operating in the commercial and imperial hub of London; maritime communities throughout the British Atlantic; trading outposts in West Africa and India; and marginal and contested zones such as the Bahamas,Madagascar, and the Bay Islands. It argues that Britain and its empire was not a strong centralised imperial state; that the British imperial administration and the Royal Navy did not have the resources to mount a state-led, empire-wide war against piracy following the sharp increase in piratical attacks after 1716; and that it was only through manifold activities taking place in different colonial centres with varied colonial arrangements, economic strengths, and access to resources for maritime defence - which was often shaped by competing and contradictory interests - that Atlantic piracy was gradually discouraged, although not eradicated, by the mid-1720s."--Provided by the publisher. 2021. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 909.0971241

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