All articles in Maritime
1st September, 2025 in Maritime
The Discovery of Titanic: 40th Anniversary
It’s been exactly 40 years since the world was treated to blurry black-and-white visuals of the torn apart wreck of Titanic – for the first time since April 1912 (officially), thanks to new era technologies that the investigators of the disaster apparently never dreamed of in 191…
29th May, 2025 in Maritime, Military
Cunard ships at war
Since the mid 1800s a number of Cunard ships have been requisitioned to support Britain during wartime. Several Cunarders were requisitioned to support Britain during the Crimean War (1853–56). A total of fourteen Cunard ships served in the campaign. Of those, Arabia transported…
20th March, 2025 in Maritime
The break-up of Titanic: Surrounded by myths
The Titanic disaster is famous not only for the two-hour-forty-minute stately submerging of the ship into the icy water and the numerous human dramas that unfolded on board, but also for the breaking up of its hull that became the dreadful culmination of the tragedy. When studyin…
22nd January, 2025 in Local & Family History, Maritime
Scottish fishing boat pictures newly upgraded to colour
When fishing boats were numerous, Scotland was a wonderful place to see them. Even now, it’s still possible to catch a hint of what used to be. Peter Drummond has roamed the coastlines and harbours of Scotland for over thirty years, always with his trusty camera in hand. Although…
24th May, 2024 in History, Maritime
Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle of Rum: The curious history of pirate music
Pirates and music: I imagine what comes into your head is that haunting refrain from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, or perhaps the soaring chords of an orchestral film score and the thumping rhythm of a sea shanty. Maybe you think of the much later history of ‘pirate r…
20th April, 2023 in Maritime
Gamblers upon the high seas
The advent of regular passenger services across the North Atlantic was a godsend to both European and American confidence men. After booking passage on one of the ocean greyhounds, a professional gambler could leisurely browse through the first-class passenger list in search of s…
5th January, 2023 in Maritime
The ongoing mystery of the Mary Celeste
Queen’s Proctor Mr Solly-Flood heard ‘so extraordinary a picture’ of the Mary Celeste incident by the testimonies of Deveau, Wright, Lund, Anderson and Johnson, up to 22 December 1872, that he was aroused to suspect that there might have been more nefarious acts in play that caus…
8th November, 2022 in Maritime, Special Editions
Letters From Titanic: Fine Press Edition
Be one of the first to own this exclusive keepsake. This limited edition collates some of the most moving and poignant letters to be sent by passengers from RMS Titanic, prior to and post her untimely sinking in the early hours of 15 April 1912. ‘This going away from home will ma…
29th July, 2022 in Maritime, Military
How a shocking naval disaster nearly sank Winston Churchill
Just six weeks into the First World War, three British armoured cruisers, HMS Hogue, Aboukir and Cressy, patrolling in the southern North Sea, were sunk by a single German U-boat. The defeat made front page news across Europe. It was the biggest story from the war to date; it sho…
25th May, 2022 in Maritime
Recreating Titanic and Her Sisters: A Visual History
On the night of 14–15 April 1912, Titanic, a brand-new, supposedly unsinkable ship, the largest and most luxurious vessel in the world at the time, collided with an iceberg and sank on her maiden voyage. Of the 2,208 people on board, only 712 were saved. The rest perish…
13th April, 2022 in History, Maritime, Natural World
Polar regions today and yesterday
The ‘Heroic Age’ of Polar Exploration extended from the late 19th century until World War I, a period of about 20 years. In the North Polar region, as in the South, the ultimate goal was the pole itself. However, because the North Pole was a hypothetical location in the mids…
27th January, 2022 in Maritime
Leviathans’ revenge: Whales that attacked ships
Graham Faiella, author of the Thrilling Tales of the Sea series, recounts five tales of ships that were attacked by whales. The Essex The whaleship Essex sailed from Nantucket on 12 August 1819, commanded by Capt. George Pollard and crewed by twenty men for a whaling voyage…