Ticketed

Essential information

Type
Talks and tours
Location
Date and times Thursday 13 November 2025 | 6.30pm-7.30pm

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The Battle of the Arctic: The Maritime Epic of World War Two

The Battle of the Arctic follows not just the Royal Navy and its successful efforts to shepherd ships through storms and past floating icebergs - it also tells a part of history which has never been properly understood by the British public. 

It involves the forgotten heroes of the Arctic convoys: the officers, armed guards and the ordinary civilian seamen, mostly from Britain and America, but also from Holland, Norway, Russia and Poland. They were condemned to carry on steaming their merchant ships slowly through the icy waters to and from Russia, even though they knew that at any moment they might be sunk.

About the speaker

Hugh Sebag-Montefiore was a barrister before becoming a journalist and historian. He has written for the Sunday Times, Sunday Telegraph, Observer, Independent on Sunday, and Mail on Sunday. 

He is the author of three bestselling history books, two about the Second World War (Enigma: The Battle for the Code and Dunkirk: Fight to the Last Man), and one about the First World War (Somme: Into the Breach). 

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