News & Topmasts

Ballard Explores USS Macon Wreck

August 2015

Continuing a summer of remarkable underwater archaeology, legendary explorer, Dr. Robert Ballard, who discovered the wrecks of the Titanic and the German battleship Bismarck, has been surveying the wreckage of the U.S. Navy airship U.S.S. Macon on behalf of U.S. Navy History and Heritage Command and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Commissioned in 1933, […] Read More

Category: Archaeology

H.M.S. Hood’s Bell Recovered From the Seabed

August 2015

On the 24th of May 1941 H.M.S. Hood, the Royal Navy’s largest warship, in company with the brand new battleship H.M.S. Prince of Wales, intercepted the powerful German battleship Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen in the Denmark Strait, beginning one of the most famous naval battles of the Second World War. At 0600, just […] Read More

Category: Historic Ships | Archaeology

August Edition of Topmasts

The August edition of Topmasts is now online with the familiar mix of articles and news.  This edition includes articles about the restoration of the Manx yacht Peggy; and a very unusual Naval family; further insight into The Mariner’s Mirror archive; and a report on the North American Society for Oceanic History conference from Monterey, California. […] Read More

Category: Society News

Nelson’s Band of Brothers: Event

August 2015

To coincide with the recent publication of a bibliographic encyclopaedia of the officers who fought under  Nelson’s tactical command at his three great battles: Nelson’s Band of Brothers: Lives and Memorials a reunion event for descendants of Nelson’s Band of Brothers is being held at The National Liberal Club in London on 22 September. Also present will […] Read More

Category: Events

Featured Mariner’s Mirror Article: Now Free

July 2015

The monthly Mariner’s Mirror featured article, advertised on our home page has now been made freely available for non-members to download, through our publishers, Taylor & Francis, increasing the accessibility of top class articles on naval and maritime history to the public. Read More

Category: Research Resources | Society News

Maritime and Ocean Affairs: Free Resource

June 2015

  Routledge publishers have created a Maritime and Ocean Affairs collection, featuring articles that discuss our relationship with the ocean. Routledge explain: ‘Seas and oceans cover 71% of the planet’s surface, and contain 96.5% of its water, so naturally it has taken up an important role in human culture for centuries. Although our understanding of the sea […] Read More

Category: Research Resources

SNR Victory Medal 2014

June 2015

We are delighted to announce that, at a ceremony on board HMS Victory after this year’s AGM, the Victory Medal for 2014 was awarded to John Kearon for his outstanding contribution to historic vessel preservation in the UK and abroad. John comes from a seafaring family with a long and distinguished association with ships and […] Read More

Category: Society News

The Franklin Expedition and HMS Erebus Artefacts

June 2015

In 1845 Sir John Franklin set out from London in search of the North West passage and never returned. More than thirty search parties were launched between 1848 and 1859 to find his ships and his men but it was not until September 2014 that the wreck of the Erebus was discovered after a five-year search […] Read More

Category: Historic Ships | Maritime Heritage | Archaeology

Guns from the Sea III – Ordnance Society Conference

June 2015

 The Ordnance Society are delighted to announce their annual conference, to be held Friday 4 & Saturday 5 September 2015 at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. This year the conference will include a special guided tour of the Royal Armouries collection at Fort Nelson on Sunday 6 September.  ‘Guns from the Sea‘ is an international series of conferences held in […] Read More

Category: Events

The Cunard Line’s 175th Anniversary

May 2015

The 175th anniversary celebrations of the Cunard Line have been most impressive and have captured the attention and imagination of the public, particularly with the ‘Three Queens’ – the Queen Elizabeth, Queen Victoria and Queen Mary 2 – sailing in convoy up the Mersey. Conscious of the scope and significance of their history, the Cunard Line […] Read More

Category: Events | Maritime Heritage