Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

The Hovercraft : Photographs from the Archives of the World's Only Hovercraft Museum /Jim Gray "Lee-on-the-Solent is synonymous with planes and seaplanes, but it is also the home of another, slightly more unusual form of transport - the hovercraft. After the first cross-channel crossing by a hovercraft in 1959, there was a revolution in design and development. Within a decade, the mighty SRN4, capable of carrying 400 passengers and sixty cars across the English Channel in less than forty minutes, had arrived. As the commercial hovercraft thrived, the military also continued to innovate; the British Interservice Hovercraft (Trials) Unit (IHTU) being established in 1961. Utilising the archive of the world?s only hovercraft museum, based in Lee-on-the-Solent and boasting more than seventy historic craft, Jim Gray uses a wealth of rare images - many unpublished - to explore the importance and impact of the hovercraft, offering a fascinating glimpse into a vehicle that has captivated the imagination of the public for more than fifty years."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 629.1.039

South Coast passenger vessels / John Megoran "Any who think that the end of the long coastal excursions by paddle steamers of yesteryear brought a halt to a trip on the briny may be surprised to learn that there are still more than eighty vessels with Maritime and Coastguard Agency passenger certificates offering cruises on the South Coast today. There are the big beasts taking passengers across the Channel or to the Channel Islands. There are their more modest cousins ferrying passengers to the Isle of Wight including the latest state of the art ferry Victoria of Wight, driven by hybrid battery technology. Then there is the plethora of smaller local vessels carrying between twelve and 350 passengers on shorter hops, often viewing some of the most spectacular South Coast scenery. Take a trip to Brownsea Island. View the Needles or the Jurassic Coast close up. Glide down Christchurch Harbour on boats with only 6 inches' draft. Sail from Weymouth to Portland, passing break-waters and forts on a boat which delivered guns, ammunition and stores to them in the Second World War. With pictures and details, this book explores all the passenger vessels operating today in an area bounded by Weymouth in the west and Newhaven in the east."--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 629.123.3(42)

Defending the Rock : Gibraltar and the Second World War /Nicholas Rankin. "Two months before he shot himself, Adolf Hitler saw where it had all gone wrong. By failing to seize Gibraltar in the summer of 1940, he lost the war. The Rock of Gibraltar, a pillar of British sea-power since 1704, looked formidable but was extraordinarily vulnerable. Though menaced on all sides by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, Vichy France and Francoist Spain, every day Gibraltar had to let thousands of people cross its frontier to work. Among them came spies and saboteurs, eager to blow up its 25 miles of secret tunnels. In 1942, Gibraltar became US General Eisenhower's HQ for the invasion of North Africa, the campaign that led to Allied victory in the Mediterranean. Nicholas Rankin's revelatory new book, whose cast of characters includes Haile Selassie, Anthony Burgess and General Sikorski, sets Gibraltar in the wider context of the struggle against fascism, from Abyssinia through the Spanish Civil War. It also chronicles the end of empire and the rise to independence of the Gibraltarian people." 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.545.9(42:468.2)

The enterprise of science in Islam : new perspectives /edited by Jan P. Hogendijk and Abdelhamid I. Sabra. 2003. • BOOK • 1 copy available.

Shackleton : by endurance we conquer /Michael Smith. A biography of Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922). Shackleton joined the merchant marine at the age of 16. His first polar experience was as third officer on Robert Falcon Scott's Discovery expedition (1901-04). Shackleton went on to lead three further Antarctic expeditions himself: Nimrod, the 1907-09 British Antarctic Expedition, Endurance, the 1914-17 Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, and the Shackleton-Rowett expedition (1921) on the Quest, during which he died. Reaching the furthest point south on the Nimrod expedition, Shackleton was knighted for his achievements. The aim of the Endurance expedition had been to cross Antarctica from sea to sea but the Endurance became trapped in pack ice and sank in the Weddell Sea. The crew escaped by camping on the pack ice before having to take to the lifeboats, reaching Elephant Island. With a small crew, Shackleton set off for the whaling stations on South Georgia on the smallest of the lifeboats, the James Caird. Successfully reaching South Georgia, Shackleton returned for the rest of his crew and is recognised for his leadership and the loyalty he inspired in his men. The text is illustrated with photographic plates. The book also includes a bibliography. 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92SHACKLETON

J.M.W. Turner and the subject of history / by Leo Costello. Costello, Leo 2012. • BOOK • 2 copies available. 7TURNER:942

The sailors behind the medals : Waging war at sea 1939 - 1945 /Chris Bilham "The story of the Royal Navy in the Second World War is an epic, consisting both of dramatic battles such as the River Plate and Matapan, and drawn-out campaigns such as the escort of convoys to Malta and northern Russia. The author examines the careers of twenty-three sailors who took part in these actions which resulted in the award of their medals. He illustrates a cross-section of the war-time Navy long-service regulars, volunteers, recalled veterans of the Great War, Hostilities Only ratings. They served in nearly every kind of warship and in all the main theatres of the war and their individual acts of gallantry under extreme conditions make for inspiring reading. The author also examines the medals that were awarded for gallantry."--Provided by the publisher. 2017 • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.134.2(42)

Ships of splendour : passenger liners in colour /William H. Miller "THE GREAT PASSENGER LINERS of the twentieth century make for iconic images of maritime history and design. This beautiful, full-colour book presents the development of passenger ships across the twentieth century, from the 1920s, through the 1940s, and the heyday of the 1950s and '60s, until the onset of the jet age. The fleet includes the famous passenger ships such as the great Cunarders, titans of the North Atlantic like the United States, France and Michelangelo, and other icons including the Southern Cross, Windsor Castle, Canberra and Oriana. Homage is also paid to the smaller liners who were just as important in shaping the history of modern seafaring, ships such as the Aureol, Batory, Guglielmo Marconi, Hanseatic, Queen of Bermuda and Willem Ruys. Replete with notes, facts and anecdotes about these ships, the history of the passenger liner is broken down ship-by-ship and decade-by-decade. These ships return to the high seas once again in superb detail and vibrant colour."--Provided by the publisher. 2019. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 629.123.3(084.1)

Titanic : the last night of a small town /John Welshman. "In Titanic, Welshman offers a minute-by-minute account of the doomed liner's last hours, based on a representative cross-section of those who sailed in her: men and women, old and young, passengers and crew, wealthy and poor. He introduces the reader to a fascinating cast of twelve eye-witnesses, including Arthur H. Rostron, Captain of the Carpathia, the first ship to reach the scene; Charles Lightoller, the Titanic's Second Officer; Archibald Gracie, a wealthy American cotton plantation owner; Elin Hakkarainen, a young migrant from Finland, travelling Third Class; and Edith Brown, a teenager from South Africa. The book also documents the experiences of an Assistant Wireless Operator, a Stewardess, an amateur military historian, a governess, a teacher, and a domestic servant. The survivor accounts allow Welshman to construct a graphic and compelling picture of events on a day-to-day and hour-by-hour basis, providing vivid glimpses of the tragedy as seen from their respective vantage points. In addition, Welshman tells the story of where these twelve people were from and what happened to those who survived in the years afterwards."--From publishers. 2012. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 656.61.085.3TITANIC

The illustrated encylopaedia of ships and boats : comprising an alphabetical directory of all types of craft past and present containing much discusssion of the development of hulls and rigging, together with mention of some of the most outstanding warships and commercial vehicles supplemented by a nautical glossary, bibliography and index /written and illustrated by Graham Blackburn. "This comprehensive reference book is the ultimate guide to the rich variety of seafaring vessels, from rafts to racing yachts, sloops to skiffs. With more than 750 alphabetically arranged entries, over 600 beautifully meticulous line-drawings, a full glossary of nautical terms, a bibliography and an index, this is the most impressive and the most complete guide to everything that floats. Written in Graham Blackburn's wonderfully idiosyncratic style and full of fascinating cross-references, this is the perfect gift for the nautical enthusiast."--Provided by thepublisher. 2003. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 629.123(031)

Violent borders : refugees and the right to move /Reece Jones. "Forty thousand people died trying to cross international borders in the past decade, with the high-profile deaths along the shores of Europe only accounting for half of the grisly total. Reece Jones argues that these deaths are not exceptional, but rather the result of state attempts to contain populations and control access to resources and opportunities. 'We may live in an era of globalization,' he writes, 'but much of the world is increasingly focused on limiting the free movement of people.' In Violent Borders, Jones crosses the migrant trails of the world, documenting the billions of dollars spent on border security projects and their dire consequences for countless millions. While the poor are restricted by the lottery of birth to slum dwellings in the aftershocks of decolonization, the wealthy travel without constraint, exploiting pools of cheap labor and lax environmental regulations. With the growth of borders and resource enclosures, the deaths of migrants in search of a better life are intimately connected to climate change, environmental degradation, and the growth of global wealth inequality."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 325

The Fleet Air Arm : and the war in Europe 1939-1945 /David Hobbs. "An integral part of the Royal Navy, the Fleet Air Arm was not a large organisation, with only 406 pilots and 232 front-line aircraft available for operations in September 1939. Nevertheless, its impact far outweighed its numbers - it was an RN fighter that shot down the first enemy aircraft of the war, and an RN pilot was the first British fighter 'ace' with 5 or more kills. The Fleet Air Arm's rollcall of achievements in northern waters went on to include the Norway Campaign, the crippling of Bismarck, the gallant sortie against Scharnhorst and Gneisenau as they passed through the Channel, air attacks on enemy E-boats in the narrow seas, air cover for the Russian convoys, air attacks that disabled Tirpitz, and strikes and minelaying operations against German shipping in the Norwegian littoral that ocnitnued until May 1945. By the end of the war in Europe the FAA had grown to 3243 pilots and 1336 aircraft. This book sets all these varied actions within their proper naval context and both technical and tactical aspects are explained with 'thumb-nail' descriptions of aircraft, their weapons and avionics. Cross reference with the Fleet Air Arm Roll of Honour has been made for the first time to put names to those aircrew killed in action wherever possible as a mark of respect for their determination against enemy forces on, above and below the sea surface which more often than not outnumbered them."---Provided by the publisher. 2022. • BOOK • 1 copy available.

Forgotten war : the British Empire and Commonwealth's epic struggle against Imperial Japan, 1941-1945 /Brian E. Walter. "Meticulously researched, the book provides a complete, balanced and detailed account of the role that British and Commonwealth forces played during this crucial struggle. It also provides unique analysis regarding the effectiveness and relevance of this collective effort and the contributions it made to the overall Allied victory."--Provided by the publisher. 2023. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.5425

Down to the sea in ships : of ageless oceans and modern men /Horatio Clare. "For millennia, the seaways have carried our goods, cultures and ideas, the terrors of war and the bounties of peace - and they have never been busier than they are today. But though our normality depends on shipping, it is a world which passes largely unconsidered, unseen and unrecorded. Out of sight, in every lonely corner of every sea, through every night, every day, and every imaginable weather, tiny crews of seafarers work the giant ships which keep landed life afloat. These ordinary men (and they are mostly men) live extraordinary lives, subject to pressures we know - families, relationships, dreams and fears - and to dangers and difficulties we can only imagine, from hurricanes and pirates to years of confinement in hazardous, if not hellish, environments. Horatio Clare joins two container ships, travelling in the company of their crews and captains. Together they experience unforgettable journeys: the first, from East to West (Felixstowe to Los Angeles, via Suez) is rich with Mediterranean history, torn with typhoon nights and gilded with an unearthly Pacific peace; the second northerly passage, from Antwerp to Montreal, reeks of diesel, wuthers with gales and goes to frozen regions of the North Atlantic, in deep winter, where the sea itself seems haunted. In Clare's vibrant prose a modern industry does battle with implacable forces, as the ships cross seas of history and incident, while seafarers unfold the stories of their lives, telling their tales and yarns. A beautiful and terrifying portrait of the oceans and their human subjects, and a fascinating study of big business afloat, Down to the Sea in Ships is a moving tribute to those who live and work on the great waters, far from land."--Provided by the publisher. 2014. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 656.61.071.22

Cruise ships : A design voyage /Bruce Peter. "There has never been a time in history when large passenger ships have been built in greater numbers than the present. Cruise ships are one of the defining phenomena of our time, associated as they are with leisure, entertainment, conspicuous consumption and the many facets of globalisation. 'Cruise Ships: A Design Voyage' tells the story of cruise ship design and the development of the cruise industry from the late-Victorian era until the present day. The earliest cruises were overseas adventures on small yacht-like ships to the Mediterranean or to Norway's west coast -- cruise destinations still very popular today. Subsequently, in the Edwardian era and between the two world wars, cruising developed from an activity for the wealthy into one increasingly accessible to the middle classes. By the 1960s, America had become the main cruise market -- to serve which the first purpose-built, mass-market Caribbean cruise ships were built. Since then, cruise ships have grown greatly in scale and facilities, transforming from exclusive means of relaxation for the prosperous into vast floating entertainment resorts, accommodating broad cross-sections of society. 'Cruise Ships: A Design Voyage' sets the design of cruise ships and their promotion within wider contexts of architecture, design and economy."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 629.123.3(100)"18/20"

Roald Amundsen / Tor Bomann-Larsen ; foreword by Pen Hadow. "On 14 December 1911, the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his team became the first human beings to reach the South Pole, just over a month before Robert Falcon Scott's ill-fated Terra Nova expedition. Amundsen had already led the first expedition to traverse the North West Passage, and would go on to lead the first successful attempt to cross the Arctic by air (perhaps even becoming the first to reach the North Pole, according to some interpretations). Yet his personal life was complex to say the least, with a string of mistresses, including Eskimo girls he brought back to Norway, and a poisonous relationship with his brother. He disappeared in 1928 while taking part in an airborne rescue mission in the Arctic; his body was never found. Written by acclaimed Norwegian author Tor Bomann-Larsen, and with a foreword by Polar explorer Pen Hadow, this compelling biography - the first of its kind to be published in English - draws on an incredible discovery of over 15,000 letters and papers in a barn outside Oslo and looks beyond the familiar image of the hero. Together with vivid first-hand accounts from Amundsen and his crew, the explorer's life is revealed to an extent that has never before been possible."--Back cover. 2011. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92AMUNDSEN

River Thames shipping since 2000 : passenger ships, ferries, heritage shipping and more /Malcolm Batten. "Take a look at the River Thames in East London now and you would think that it is commercially dead. Where once the banks of the river were lined with riverside wharves, these have been replaced by or converted to luxury apartments. The mighty London Docks, including the 'Royals', once the largest expanse of enclosed dockland in the world, had all closed by 1983 and have since been redeveloped as Docklands, with a financial centre, London City Airport, the University of East London, houses, shopping and other amenities. But the commercial life of the river didn't die - it just moved downriver. Tilbury Docks were adapted to handle the new pattern of container ships and Roll-on, Roll-off ferries. New terminals were built with easy access to the M25 and Dartford Tunnel (and later the Queen Elizabeth II bridge). However, some ships still come up to London and Tower Bridge is still raised at times for visiting cruise ships and warships on courtesy visits. At Woolwich, fast commuter ferries to London cross paths with the traditional Woolwich Free Ferry, while a passenger ferry still links Gravesend with Tilbury. Heritage craft, including the traditional Thames barges, can still be seen at times on the river. This book features passenger craft such as cruise ships, ferries and heritage shipping that have worked on the Thames since 2000, and is a companion volume to the author?s book on cargo shipping."--Provided by the publisher. 2020. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 386.3520942109051

Lifeline across the sea : mercy ships of the Second World War and their repatriation missions /David L. Williams. "The safe exchange of wounded or gravely ill prisoners of war, 'protected personnel' - medical staff and clergy - and diplomats, civilians and alien internees is a little known dimension of the Second World War, yet it was highly dangerous work. Here, David L. Williams tells the gripping story of some fifty mercy ships engaged in these repatriation voyages, each of the exchanges arranged individually between Allied nations and the Axis belligerents, through neutral intermediaries, and often conducted under the supervision of the International Red Cross. Sailing alone and undefended through hostile waters, and conspicuously illuminated at night, the ships were constantly in danger from submarine and aircraft, their safety depending totally on the transmission and receipt of 'safe passage' commands to the armed units in their paths. However, despite the risk of attack and severe loss of life, these exchange operations were essential for providing a lifeline to thousands of people caught up in a cruel and brutal war."--Provided by the publisher. 2015. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.828.6(100)"1939/1945"

Taming the Atlantic : the history of man's battle with the world's toughest ocean /Dag Pike. "The Atlantic Ocean has been and remains an often deadly challenge to mankind. This delightful and informative book chronicles the history of attempt to cross its hostile surface from the early days of sail to the most recent record breaking attempts in small ultra-fast craft. In between there have been fascinating sagas connected to pioneering discovery, the slave trade, mass emigration, the glamour and luxury of the famous shipping lines and war. The Atlantic has often been the testing ground for the latest technology and design. All this and more, such as navigation techniques and advance weather forecasting are covered. Despite mans best and most ingenious efforts all too often the Worlds toughest ocean comes out on top and, while it is today a major trade route, it remains one of the most daunting maritime challenges."--Provided by the publisher. 2017. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 656.61(261)

Endeavour : the ship and the attitude that shaped the western world. "The Enlightenment was an age of endeavours. Britain was consumed by the impulse for grand projects. In 1768 the Royal Navy bought a Whitby collier for an expedition to the South Seas. No one could have guessed she would become the most significant ship in the history of British exploration. Her name was Endeavour. Endeavour was a ship with many lives, famously carrying James Cook on his first great voyage to the Pacific islands. She was there at the Wilkes Riots in London and witnessed the bloody birth of the United States. A Polynesian priest, botanists, the first kangaroo to arrive in Britain and Hessian soldiers were just a few amongst her many passengers. According to Charles Darwin, she helped Cook add a hemisphere to the civilised world. NASA named a space shuttle after her. Yet to others, she was a toxic symbol, responsible for the dispossession and disruption of societies. For the first time, Peter Moore tells Endeavour's complete story, exploring the different lives of this remarkable ship -- from the oak that made her to her rich and complex legacy."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 623.82ENDEAVOUR

The Dover Strait's Railway Cargo Steamers / John Hendy. "This limited edition publication attempts to cover new ground by detailing for the first time the place of the cargo steamers within the growth and development of the ports of Dover and Folkestone. Roll on - roll off traffic and containerisation effectively killed them off and their role within the general scheme of cross-Channel services is now consigned to history. In spite of their rather low-profile existence, the sturdy little cargo ships were far from characterless and were always much admired by those who sailed them. Their stories are full of incident and they played a significant part during both major twentieth century conflicts, some sadly never to return to these shores. The profusely illustrated book follows the operation of the rival Victorian cargo fleets of the 1870s and the the improvement in tonnage during the South Eastern & Chatham?s period of management. In 1923 the Southern Railway was formed and introduced the successful 'Town' class. The book concludes by charting the decline of the post war Folkestone - Boulogne service run by British Railways. The cargo steamers were the unsung heroes of the Dover Strait and in order to deliver their merchandise to the morning markets in London and Paris, frequently operated at night and from rather remote places within their respective harbours. It is difficult to believe that the ships which today ply the Dover - Calais route are linked to the diminutive Victorian merchandise steamers that some 140 years ago scuttled their way across the Dover Strait through fair weather and foul."--Provided by the publisher. 2018. • BOOK • 1 copy available. txt

Aquatint : from its origins to Goya /Rena M. Hoisington. "Driven by a growing interest in collecting and multiplying drawings, artists and amateurs in the eighteenth century sought a new technique capable of replicating the subtlety of ink, wash, and watercolor. They devised an innovative and versatile new medium--aquatint--which would spread in use across Europe within a few decades, its distinctive dark tones making possible a remarkable variety of ingenious imagery. In this illuminating book, Rena M. Hoisington traces how the aquatint technique flourished as a cross-cultural and cosmopolitan phenomenon that contributed to the rise of art publishing, connoisseurship, leisure travel, drawing instruction, and the popularity of neoclassicism. She offers new insights into sophisticated experiments by artists such as Francisco Goya, Maria Catharina Prestel, Paul Sandby, and Jean-Baptiste Le Prince. Marvelously illustrated with rare works from the National Gallery of Art's collection of early aquatints, this engaging book provides a fresh look at how printmaking contributed to a vibrant exchange of information and ideas in Europe during the Enlightenment."--Provided by the publisher. [2021] • BOOK • 1 copy available. 760

Nautical chic / Amber Jane Butchart. From the modernist elegance of Coco Chanel to Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood's punk-fuelled pirates, the appeal of nautical dress has cut a sartorial swathe for over two centuries. But how did garments such as the blue and white fisherman's top and peacoat cross over from uniform and workwear into fashionable dress? In 'Nautical chic', the first and only book to look at the history of high fashion on the high seas, fashion historian Amber Jane Butchart traces the relationship between maritime dress and the fashionable wardrobe, uncovering stories, tracking the trends, and tracing the evolution of the style back to its roots in our seafaring past. Written in an accessible tone but grounded in years of research, 'Nautical chic' charts the nautical influence on fashion over five chapters, each of which considers a particular maritime profession: 'The officer', 'The sailor', 'The fisherman', 'The sportsman' and 'The pirate'. Butchart weaves together politics, imperialism, war, leisure, trade, sport and seafaring adventure to tell the stories of garments - the duffle coat, the yellow fisherman's macintosh, the yacht club blazer -loaded with historical and cultural significance. 2015. • FOLIO • 2 copies available. 391

Sexual and gender difference in the British Navy, 1690-1900 / edited by Seth Stein LeJacq. "This volume is a collection of a variety of important records that will give readers insight into key themes into the history of what its criminal code called "the unnatural and detestable sin of buggery"- sex between males - in the Royal Navy."--Provided by publisher. 2024. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 359.1094209033

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