The Mariner's Mirror Podcast

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Ships' Figureheads Revealed Sep 15, 2021

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In this episode we explore the fascinating history of ships' figureheads. Why did shipbuilders begin to place carvings of humans and animals on the bows of their ships in the sixteenth century? And why did this practice stop 300 years later? Dr Sam Willis meets Rear Admiral David Pulvertaft, an expert on figureheads, to find our more about these remarkable carvings and to consider a number of examples that exist worldwide.

To go alongside this episode we have created an extraordinary video using artificial intelligence and digital artistry to bring the figureheads to life, showing the real people that inspired the carvers.

This has been a bit of a hit and miss process with a number of failures but we have had success with eleven – and they are fabulous. When the known examples of figureheads are considered as a whole it is immediately striking how diverse are the people depicted. Although the societies that made these figureheads were dominated by white men, the figureheads show a huge range of people – both men and women and from a huge variety of indigenous populations. One of the impacts of this is a powerful reminder of the colonial activities that many of these ships would have taken part in including the buying and selling of humans in the slave trade and the appropriation of vast tracts of land occupied by indigenous peoples.

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Is Britain still a Global Power? Sep 06, 2021

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As a follow up to our recent interview with The First Sea Lord exploring the Royal Navy in the modern world, today we look at the the broader question: Is Britain still a global power? Globalisation is a topic that sits at the heart of maritime and naval history. We are all now hugely interconnected - whether it's transportation under normal circumstances, the economy, society, social media, our health - no country can be entirely isolated from the rest of the world. But when we talk about 'Global Britain' there's an assumption of global power. What do we mean by Global Britain now and what did it mean in the past? How has our history helped position Britain in the world today? What is the biggest threat to Britain's security today? What is Britain's relationship with NATO? How does Britain fit into the new world order emerging economically, politically and military in the Indo-Pacific? All of this can only be understood through the lense of history - with an understanding of the age of Empire, the end of the Second World War, the Cold War and now Brexit. Dr Sam Willis speaks with Dr Jane Harrold, lecturer in Strategic Studies as part of the Dartmouth Centre for Seapower and Strategy at the University of Plymouth.

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The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin Sep 02, 2021

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Dr Sam Willis meets with the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin to discuss the many challenges the Royal Navy faces exercising sea power in the modern world.

They discuss life on a modern warship; how the sea provides prosperity, security and stability; exercising seapower hand in hand with a Government's policies; G7 and NATO; 'Global Britain' and Britain's overseas territories; the Gulf of Guinea and the Ukraine; the Rule of law, Exclusive Economic Zones; the nuclear deterrent; the new technology of the new aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales; the challenges of providing manpower for the navy; drone technology and naval power; and the role of history and tradition in the Royal Navy.

To see a video of this interview check out the Mariner's Mirror Podcast's YouTube Channel.

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The Sunken Archaeology of Malta and the Virtual Museum 'Underwater Malta' Aug 25, 2021

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The underwater heritage around Malta is one of the richest collections of maritime archaeology in the world. The quality of preservation is outstanding as well as the number of sites, and yet they are inaccessible to so many of us. Not only do you need to be able to dive to see these sites, but for most of them you need to be able to dive very, very deep and that is only possible for a tiny fraction with the requisite skill, experience, knowledge, equipment, support...and lets not forget courage.

One man has decided that this is not acceptable. Professor Timmy Gambin from the University of Malta has realised his vision for making this deep underwater heritage accessible by creating a virtual underwater museum: 'The Virtual Museum – Underwater Malta' at www.underwatermalta.org This online platform created by an international team of divers, photographers, archaeologists and computer programmers, brings Malta's underwater cultural heritage to the surface and into the homes of the general public. Using 3D, virtual reality and other media, the aim of this website is to provide access to and share Malta’s unique underwater cultural heritage with all members of the public.

Dr Sam Willis and Timmy Gambin discuss a number of the sites that have been re-created online with extraordinary 3D photography including a Blenheim Bomber, a German Junkers 88, an X-Lighter; a collection of victorian guns, a German schnellboot and a Phoenician shipwreck.

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Great Sea Fights 6: USS Constitution v HMS Guerriere 1812. Part 4 - The Single Ship Actions of 1812 Aug 22, 2021

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This, the final episode in our investigation of Constitution vs Guerriere, explores the broader context of other single-ship actions in this war – for this war of 1812 was very unusual for the amount of single ship actions that took place – as opposed to fleet battles, and the historian Nicholas Kaizer helps us get to the bottom of that curious issue.

Nicholas Kaizer is a young Canadian scholar and teacher, who studies the cultural history of the Royal Navy during the War of 1812, in particular analysing Anglo-Canadian responses to single ship losses of that conflict. He is the author of Revenge in the Name of Honour: The Royal Navy’s Quest for Vengeance in the Single Ship Actions of the War of 1812.

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Great Sea Fights 6: USS Constitution v HMS Guerriere 1812. Part 3 - Inside the US Navy Aug 21, 2021

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It is an extraordinary story – how did the United States get to a stage where not only could they build and maintain ships but compete with – and in the case of this battle triumph over ships from the world’s largest navy with centuries of shipbuilding expertise and naval tradition. It’s a story that allows us to look into the complexities of what took to build, maintain, man, fit out, provision, and send fighting ships to sea for extended periods of time and how men could be recruited, fed, clothed, and kept healthy in unhealthy environments. And all of this within the broader context of how and why Britain decided to go to war with America even though Napoleon was as yet undefeated; and how how and why America chose to pick a fight with the most powerful nation on earth.

This episode - Part 3 - presents the work of the American historian William S. Dudley who has explored the birth of the US Navy in the late 1790s and its workings in the war of 1812 in his recent book Inside the US Navy of 1812-1815. Make sure you catch up on Part 1 -The Events and Part 2 - The Eyewitness Accounts.

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Great Sea Fights 6: USS Constitution v HMS Guerriere 1812. Part 2 - The Eyewitness Accounts Aug 20, 2021

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In this, the sixth episode of our Great Sea Fights series, we explore the remarkable events of 19 August 1812 when the powerful frigate USS Constitution fought and destroyed the British frigate HMS Guerriere in one of the greatest shocks to the Royal Navy in its history and one of the most ferocious single-ship actions ever fought. It is an extraordinary story: how did the United States get to a stage where not only could they build and maintain ships but compete with – and in the case of this battle triumph over - ships from the world’s largest navy with centuries of shipbuilding expertise and naval tradition. This episode presents two eyewitness accounts - the dispatches written in the immediate aftermath of the battle by the two ships' captains, Captain Isaac Hull of the USS Constitution who described the events in a letter to Secretary of the Navy Paul Hamilton; and the After Action Report of Captain James Richard Dacres, HMS Guerriere to Vice Admiral Sawyer. It's fascinating to hear how they choose to describe those events.

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Great Sea Fights 6: USS Constitution v HMS Guerriere 1812. Part 1 The Events Aug 19, 2021

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In this, the sixth episode of our Great Sea Fights series, we explore the remarkable events of 19 August 1812 when the powerful frigate USS Constitution fought and destroyed the British frigate HMS Guerriere in one of the greatest shocks to the Royal Navy in its history and one of the most ferocious single-ship actions ever fought. It is an extraordinary story: how did the United States get to a stage where not only could they build and maintain ships but compete with – and in the case of this battle triumph over - ships from the world’s largest navy with centuries of shipbuilding expertise and naval tradition.This episode explores the events of the day in a narrative written and presented by the prize-winning US historian William. S Dudley. Subsequent episodes will present the eyewitness accounts from the two ships' captains; an analysis of the internal workings of the US Navy in the war of 1812; and an exploration of this battle in the context of several other single-ship actions which characterised the war of 1812.

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Great Sea Fights 5: A Tudor Battle, 1512 Part III: How to Recreate a Medieval Sea Battle Aug 12, 2021

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In this the third and final part of our special mini Great Sea Fights series on the Tudor naval battle of St Mathieu in 1512, one of the Mary Rose's earliest engagements and possibly the first ever naval battle in which guns were fired out of gunports. We explore the problems posed to historians trying to recreate a medieval sea fight. What sources are available? How can you recreate the tides on that day and the wind? How do you make progress with no logs or letters or detailed descriptions of battle? Dr Sam Willis speaks with Dr Dominic Fontana, a historical geographer who has over 35 years involvement in the Mary Rose maritime archaeological project including five years working as part of the archaeological team, and is an expert at recreating ancient tidal systems. Dominic and Sam discuss these problems both in relation to battle of St Mathieu of August 1512 and also the battle of the solent of July 1545 in which the Mary Rose sank. Sam also speaks with Tim Concannon, a naval historian currently working on recreating a chart of the paths of the ships at the battle of St Mathieu.

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Great Sea Fights 5: A Tudor Battle, 1512 Part II: The Contemporary Accounts Aug 11, 2021

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In this, Part II of our special episodes on the battle of St Mathieu in 1512 and its aftermath, we hear three contemporary accounts. The first is from the Venetian Ambassador Nicolo di Favri, fascinating as it includes a great deal of information on life and manners in Tudor England as well as war news. The writer was newly appointed to the court of Henry and was a member of the Venetian elite who served in the Councils of the Republic, and finds the English somewhat eccentric. The second is a letter from Thomas Wolsey to the Bishop of Worcester August 1512. At the time of writing Wolsey had been appointed almoner of Henry VIII – so responsible for distributing alms - and was therefore a member of the Privy Council. The final account is from Edward Etchyngham to Thomas Wolsey written in May 1513 and explores the events of the summer after the battle of St Mathieu when Edward Howard launched a bold attack on a squadron of French galleys at Blancs Sablons near Brest, losing his life. Etchyngham was the commander of the fleet of victuallers which reached Howard’s fleet off Brest shortly before the events in the Bay of Blancs Sablons. He was therefore well placed to give an account of the battle and the loss of Howard.

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