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The Mariner’s Mirror Podcast — History
The Mariner’s Mirror Podcast

The world’s No.1 podcast dedicated to all of maritime and naval history. With one foot in the present and one in the past we bring you the most exciting and interesting current maritime projects worldwide: including excavations of shipwrecks, the restoration of historic ships, sailing classic yachts and tall ships, unprecedented behind the scenes access to exhibitions, museums and archives worldwide, primary sources and accounts that bring the maritime past alive as never before. From the Society for Nautical Research, and the Lloyds Register Foundation. Presented by Dr Sam Willis.

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Copyright: © The Society for Nautical Research and the Lloyds Register Foundation

Latest Episodes:

The Forgotten Music of the Arctic Whalers Jun 22, 2021

Show notes

In the 18th and 19th centuries countless whaling ships set sail from Shetland for the Arctic. They brought back whales for their valuable oil, but left behind their music. Maurice Henderson, a fiddle player from Shetland, has been rediscovering these arctic whaling tunes and its surviving tradition in Greenland. Here he plays some of them, and discusses their history. For the video check out the Mariner's Mirror Podcast YouTube channel.

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Iconic Ships 4: The Cutty Sark Jun 16, 2021

Show notes

The fourth episode in our Iconic Ships series features three members of the curatorial team of the Cutty Sark arguing for the iconic status of their ship. At the time of her launch in 1869 the Cutty Sark was a state-of-the-art Tea Clipper designed to bring manufactured goods to China and return with Chinese tea as quickly as possible. She could carry well over 1,300,000 million lbs of tea. Soon the advent of steam and the opening of the Suez Canal changed her fate and she began to take a variety of goods all over the world. She was purchased for the Nation in 1922 and became the first historic vessel to be opened to the public since Drake's Golden Hind in the sixteenth century. She was moved to a specially-constructed dry dock in Greenwich in 1954 where she can still be seen today, having escaped the ravages of a terrible fire in 2007. The team bring this history to life with the unique passion of those who work with her every day, preserving her for us...and the generations to come.

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The Lost Fishing Village of Hallsands Jun 09, 2021

Show notes

In the early years of the twentieth century commercial dredging removed a shingle beach from the tiny fishing village of Hallsands in South Devon. Soon high tides and storms washed everything away and all that is left now are the ruins of this maritime community. Dr Sam Willis meets maritime archaeologist Grant Bettinson from CITiZAN to find out more. The interview was filmed so do check out our YouTube Channel as the ruins are shown as never before with dramatic new drone footage.

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Great Sea Fights: The Battle of Jutland, 1916 Part 3 - The British Accounts Jun 02, 2021

Show notes

Today we have Part 3 of our special episode on the Battle of Jutland because, on this day in history in 1916, the German and British battlefleets were coming to terms with the results of the largest naval battle of the First World War and one of the largest in history involving 250 ships and 100,000 men, and in which 25 ships of various sizes were sunk. Part 1 outlined the events and included a fantastic interview with Dr Stephan Huck, head of the excellent German Naval Museum in Wilhelmshaven; Part 2 explored in more detail the German perspective with a number of eyewitness German accounts of the battle; this, the final part explores several British eyewitness accounts of the battle.

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Great Sea Fights: The Battle of Jutland, 1916 Part 2 - The German Accounts Jun 01, 2021

Show notes

Today we have Part 2 of our special episode on the Battle of Jutland because, on this day in history in 1916, the German and British battlefleets met in the largest naval battle of the First World War and one of the largest in history involving 250 ships and 100,000 men. Part 1 outlined the events and included a fantastic interview with Dr Stephan Huck, head of the excellent German Naval Museum in Wilhelmshaven. Today we are exploring in more detail the German perspective with a number of eyewitness German accounts of the battle. The accounts are read both in English and their original German. Part 3 will follow soon and will introduce you to a host of British eyewitness accounts.

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Great Sea Fights: The Battle of Jutland, 1916 Part 1 - The Events May 31, 2021

Show notes

Today we have for you Part 1 of our special episode on the Battle of Jutland because, on this day in history in 1916, the German and British battlefleets met in the largest naval battle of the First World War and one of the largest in history - involving 250 ships and 100,000 men. Parts 2 and 3 will follow in the coming days and will introduce you to a host of original eyewitness sources to the battle with episodes dedicated to the German view and the English. Today we have an outline of the strategic situation and events of the day, and there follows a discussion between Dr Sam Willis and Dr Stephan Huck. Stephan has enjoyed a fascinating career: after some military training he became interested in history – particularly military history - and since 2002 has been head of the excellent German Naval Museum in Wilhelmshaven. He knows an enormous amount about the battle and his perspective is both refreshing and fascinating.

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Great Sea Fights: The Battle of Tsushima, 1905 Part 3 – The Japanese Perspective May 29, 2021

Show notes

The final instalment of our 3-part special on the Battle of Tsushima explores the Japanese perspective of the battle including a consideration of the extraordinary growth of the Imperial Japanese Navy both before and after Tsushima. Dr Sam Willis speaks with Kunika Kakuta. Kunika is a final year PhD student in the Department of War Studies at King’s College London and specialises in the relationship between politics and the development of seapower.

The Battle of Tsushima was the decisive naval action between Japan and Russia that effectively ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5 and one of the most important naval battles in history. It was the first in which radio played a major part; the action that demonstrated the power of the all-big-gun battleship, leading to HMS Dreadnought of 1906 and the Anglo-German dreadnought race; the first time a modern battleship was sunk by guns, and largely fought at previously unimaginable ranges of up to 12,000 metres (eight miles); the first, and last, decisive steel battleship action (the Russians lost eight battleships and more than 5,000 men while the Japanese lost only three torpedo boats and 116 men); the first modern defeat of a great European power by an Asian nation; and arguably the battle that made both the First World War more likely and another great fleet action less likely.

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Great Sea Fights: The Battle of Tsushima, 1905 Part 2 - The Russian Perspective May 28, 2021

Show notes

Part 2 of our 3-part special on the Battle of Tsushima explores the Russian perspective of the battle with a reading of the diary of Captain Vladimir Semenoff. Semenoff was a well known Russian naval officer who served in several positions throughout the course of the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905. His presence during the siege of Port Arthur and later during the Baltic Fleet's long voyage to Tsushima gave him an unusually broad perspective on the war's progress, and he later wrote several titles relating to these experiences. Indeed, he was one of very few Russian officers who could write as an eyewitness to both major naval battles of the war. The account is read by an A-level history pupil at Clifton College, Nikita Gukassov.

The Battle of Tsushima was the decisive naval action between Japan and Russia that effectively ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5 and one of the most important naval battles in history. It was the first in which radio played a major part; the action that demonstrated the power of the all-big-gun battleship, leading to HMS Dreadnought of 1906 and the Anglo-German dreadnought race; the first time a modern battleship was sunk by guns, and largely fought at previously unimaginable ranges of up to 12,000 metres (eight miles); the first, and last, decisive steel battleship action (the Russians lost eight battleships and more than 5,000 men while the Japanese lost only three torpedo boats and 116 men); the first modern defeat of a great European power by an Asian nation; and arguably the battle that made both the First World War more likely and another great fleet action less likely.

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Great Sea Fights: The Battle of Tsushima, 1905 Part 1 May 27, 2021

Show notes

The Battle of Tsushima was the decisive naval action between Japan and Russia that effectively ended the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-5 and one of the most important naval battles in history. It was the first in which radio played a major part; the action that demonstrated the power of the all-big-gun battleship, leading to HMS Dreadnought of 1906 and the Anglo-German dreadnought race; the first time a modern battleship was sunk by guns, and largely fought at previously unimaginable ranges of up to 12,000 metres (eight miles); the first, and last, decisive steel battleship action (the Russians lost eight battleships and more than 5,000 men while the Japanese lost only three torpedo boats and 116 men); the first modern defeat of a great European power by an Asian nation; and arguably the battle that made both the First World War more likely and another great fleet action less likely.

This episode, Part 1 of 3 explores the strategic situation running up to the battle and the events of the battle itself.

The script has been prepared with the help of Tim Concannon and Nicholas Blake.

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The Evacuation of Dunkirk, 1940 May 26, 2021

Show notes

On this day in 1940, the British Expeditionary Force and other Allied troops were evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk, to save them from the rapidly approaching German forces who had just launched their lightning invasion of northern Europe. It was one of the most challenging and significant amphibious operations and evacuations in history. The planners of Operation Dynamo first estimated that 45,000 men might be rescued; but between 26 May and 4 June 338,226 men were returned to England by a vast armada of disparate vessels including destroyers, minesweepers, fishing vessels and the famous fleet of 'Little Ships' - all privately owned and requisitioned for the rescue.Today Dr Sam Willis speaks with Dr Philip Weir, author of Dunkirk and the Little Ships. Philip Weir is a historian who specialises in the Royal Navy in the early twentieth century. He has written for the Navy Records Society, History Today and Time and has contributed to television and radio programmes, including the BBC's Who Do You Think You Are. Philip is also a Titan in the world of maritime and naval history on Social Media and can be followed on Twitter @navalhistorian

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