A Circle of Hell - the Alzhir Gulag camp for women This article was published on my previous blog in 2014, following two trips to Kazakhstan. In the light of insights gained and lessons learned from visits to the site of a women's camp of the Soviet Gulag at Alzhir, I believe it’s the [...]
The Imperial German Navy vs. Haiti, 1897 and 1902 The Imperial German Navy that went to war in 1914 was essentially a creation of previous four decades. One tends to think of it in terms of its squadrons of superbly engineered battleships and battle-cruisers, designed primarily for the anticipated show-down with the Royal Navy [...]
Agony by ice: HMS Proserpine, 1799 Part 2 (Click here to read Part 1 if you missed it previously) With a major portion of his crew and passengers having reached safety in Cuxhaven – albeit at the cost of a fearful trek across fissured ice – Captain Wallis remained on Neuwerk Island in the [...]
Agony by ice: HMS Proserpine, 1799 Part 1 HMS Proserpine was a 28-gun Enterprise-class frigate that entered Royal Navy service in 1777. Her career up to 1799 was worthy but unspectacular. In January 1799 when commanded by Captain James Wallis, she was tasked with carrying the diplomat Thomas Grenville (1755 –1846) on the first [...]
The Salvage of HMS Royal George, 1782 - 1844 HMS Royal George in her glory The loss, while at anchor at Spithead, off Portsmouth, of the ship-of-the- line HMS Royal George on August 29th 1782 was a disaster that had an impact on British society comparable to the loss of RMS [...]
Penang's links with the German Navy in two world wars Fort Cornwallis today In a recent blog article, inspired by a visit to Malaysia some while back, I described Fort Cornwallis, at Georgetown, the main city on the island of Penang [...]
The Wit and Wisdom of Admiral “Jacky” Fisher Fisher in 1902 - cartoon by "Spy" Few men can have had a greater influence on naval warfare than John Fisher (1841 – 1920), later Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher. This formidable figure, a human whirlwind, was responsible for building HMS Dreadnought, thereby “making [...]
