July 2024
Ramming of HMS Prince George 1903
The Ramming of HMS Prince George by HMS Hannibal, 1903 For some five decades from 1866, when the naval battle of Lissa, when victory was secured by the Austro-Hungarian fleet [...]
June 2024
Life at sea in the Royal Navy, 1860s
Life at sea in the Royal Navy, late 1860s Scott, 1903 I’ve recently been dipping again into the memoirs [...]
London’s Princess Alice Disaster of 1878
The Princess Alice Disaster, 1878 Though it is now largely forgotten, one of Britain’s worst maritime catastrophes occurred on the River Thames in 1878 , just downriver from London [...]
May 2024
Pellew and the Dutton – rescue despite the odds
Pellew and the Dutton - rescue despite the odds Edward Pellew We’ve met Edward Pellew (1757 – 1833) on this blog [...]
Merchant Service Hell in the mid-19th Century
Hell at Sea Merchant Service in the mid-19th Century It is impossible to see images of the great clippers and other large vessels under sail in [...]
HMS Thunderer 1879: death knell muzzle-loaders
HMS Thunderer 1879: the end of muzzle-loaders in the Royal Navy Three ships of the Royal Navy in the 1870s, HMS Devastation, her close sister HMS Thunderer and her slightly larger sister HMS Dreadnought, can [...]