Author Results for Geoffrey Callender
The Effigy of Nelson in Westminster Abbey
In 1935, the author of this article was enabled to make a close examination of the life-size effigy of Nelson in Westminster Abbey. Made in 1806, it closely follows the full-length portrait by Hopper, of which an engraving has recently been published. The figure is carved out of wood by an unknown artist, and the […] Read More
Filed under: Nelson | Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Miscellaneous
Obituary: George Ernest Manwaring FRHisTS
George Ernest Manwaring died in November 1939. He served on the Council of the Society and during 1922-5 was assistant editor of The Mariner’s Mirror, under W. G. Perrin. For a long period, and at the time of his death, he also served on the Council of the Navy Records Society. Coming from a naval […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Twentieth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Biography
The Portraiture of Bligh
Discussion on the relationship, if any, between physiognomy and character. Consideration of the three remaining reliable portraits of William Bligh, the painters and the engravers and mention of other pictures in which he appears or which may be based on one of the three considered reliable. Discussion on whether the evidence of the portraits supports […] Read More
Filed under: Mutiny & Discipline | Other (Eighteenth C) | Pacific | Other (location)
Subjects include: Art & Music | Biography
The Greenwich Portrait of Sir Francis Drake
The author analyses the images of Drake which have reached us, and remembers that many people consider him as shown in several engravings of the seventeenth and eighteen centuries, whose original was made by the Dutch Hondius in the 16th century with a plate which fell into the hands of George Vertue. Reference is […] Read More
Filed under: Francis Drake | Other (Early Modern) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Art & Music | Biography
Obituary: W. L. Wylie
The eminent marine artist and Hon. Vice President of the Society, W. L. Wylie, died in April 1931. He devoted a considerable amount of time in support of the Society’s aim of restoring HMS Victory and produced a number of paintings which were sold to raise funds for the project. A founding member of the […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Twentieth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Art & Music | Biography | Historic Vessels, Museums & Restoration
Obituary: W. L. Wylie
William Lionel Wyllie (1851-1931) was a noted marine artist and the inaugural Chairman of the Society for Nautical Research. He also sat on the Victory Technical Committee, painted several major pictures to illustrate the ship, and was (in 1929) elected an Honorary Vice-President of the Society in recognition of his Panorama of Trafalgar within the […] Read More
Filed under: Nelson | Other (Twentieth C) | Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Art & Music | Biography
Obituary: William Gordon Perrin OBE
William Gordon Perrin, Admiralty Librarian and the third Hon. Editor of The Mariner’s Mirror, died in February 1931. He had held the post from 1923 until his untimely death. In addition to his duties with the Admiralty and the editing of the journal he also wrote a considerable number of articles that were published in […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Twentieth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Biography
Acquisition of the Macpherson Collection
Following its 1927 success in securing for the Nation a National Maritime Museum, Admiral Sir George Hope was able to announce at the 1928 Annual General Meeting that the Society had ensured the unique Macpherson Collection would become part of the Museum’s collection. A. G. H. Macpherson’s collection consisted of engravings, books, atlases and paintings […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Twentieth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Art & Music | Historic Vessels, Museums & Restoration
National Naval and Nautical Museum
Admiral Sir George Hope reported to the 1927 Annual General Meeting that the Society’s objective of promoting a National Naval and Nautical Museum was about to come to fruition, although its creation would be delayed for a further five years. It was to be sited in the Queen’s House at Greenwich, with the delay being […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Twentieth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Historic Vessels, Museums & Restoration
HMS Victory and Victory Museum
The Society acknowledged various gifts to HMS Victory and the museum—including the flag laid over Lord Nelson at the time of his death, which George III had given to Edward Foster, then Miniaturist to the Royal Family. Read More
Filed under: Nelson | Napoleonic War | Other (Twentieth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Historic Vessels, Museums & Restoration
H.M.S. Victory and the Victory Museum
The Society unveiled its plans for the new Victory Museum in Portsmouth Read More
Filed under: Other (Twentieth C) | Internal Waterways
Subjects include: Historic Vessels, Museums & Restoration
The Victory Museum
Callender reports on the progress thus far in achieving the Society’s objective of building a dedicated museum in Portsmouth Dockyard to house the Nelsonian relics that had accumulated since the preservation of HMS Victory. He also confirmed that the Board of Admiralty was fully supportive of the proposal and highlighted the items that would be […] Read More
Filed under: Nelson | Napoleonic War | Other (location)
Subjects include: Historic Vessels, Museums & Restoration
Obituary: Admiral of the Fleet SIR F.C. Doveton Sturdee BART. GCB KCMG CVO JP LLD
Sir Doveton Sturdee died in May 1925 whilst serving as the Society’s second President, a post he assumed in 1922. A renowned senior naval officer, he had been one of the Society’s founding members and worked ceaselessly in the interests of its members. Although initially opposed to the Society’s decision to be responsible for the […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Twentieth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Biography | Historic Vessels, Museums & Restoration
With the Great Fleet in 1780 Part II
This is the continuation of the article published in the previous issue. In 1780 the condition of the fleet was very bad, and many members of the crew were sick. The Admiral followed his orders which included the need of keeping the sea, even the great mortality of men by scurvy, whose incidences are well […] Read More
Filed under: Atlantic | English Channel | American Revolution | Other (Eighteenth C) | Caribbean
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Navies
Future of The Mariner’s Mirror
There was a lengthy discussion at the AGM as to whether the The Mariner’s Mirror should continue as a thirty-two page monthly, or whether to change to a ninety-six page periodical published once a quarter. In its previous form it kept members better connected to the Society but it was essential the Society kept its […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Twentieth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Miscellaneous
Our Lady of the Good Wind
This short article introduces a sixteenth century picture, the property of the King of Spain, which had recently made its first public appearance in an exhibition at the Prado Museum, Madrid. Entitled ‘Our Lady of the Good Wind’ by the unknown painter, who then added the secondary title ‘The Patroness of Navigators’. Around the Madonna […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Early Modern) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Art & Music
Fresh Light on Drake
Juan de Castellaňos (1522-1607), soldier and adventurer turned poet and historian, is best remembered for his ‘Elegies on Celebrated Persons in Overseas Spain.’ Volume one was published in 1589 but the other three were suppressed until the mid-eighteenth century, probably because of the 6,000 lines devoted to Sir Francis Drake. Castellaňos is rated a diligent […] Read More
Filed under: Tudors | Francis Drake | Caribbean
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Navies | Pirates, Corsairs & Privateers
Drake and his Detractors Part III
In this third paper, the author considers the process of Doughty’s trial. Although Doughty pleaded guilty to the charges, he offered in his defence (or mitigation), the fact that he had supported Drake, found him influential friends at Court, and planned and financed the voyage. Drake was able to produce counter-evidence, and the jury, finding […] Read More
Filed under: Atlantic | Tudors | Francis Drake | Mutiny & Discipline | Indian Ocean | Pacific
Subjects include: Science & Exploration
Drake and his Detractors Part II
In the second of this series the author considers another of Drake’s detractors, John Cooke. Drake’s crews included a significant number of young noblemen to prepare them for naval command, and Cooke was one of these. Cooke’s account of Drakes voyage only records the first, fractious section as his ship, Elizabeth, turned back after the […] Read More
Filed under: Atlantic | Tudors | Francis Drake | Mutiny & Discipline | Indian Ocean | Pacific
Subjects include: Science & Exploration
Drake and His Detractors Part I
This paper is a response to Robinson’s ‘A Forgotten Life of Francis Drake’ in MM 1921/1, particularly the criticism of its author, and the execution of Thomas Doughty on a number of charges including theft from a prize and brutality. He suggests that the criticism of Drake is based only on the evidence of two […] Read More
Filed under: Atlantic | Tudors | Francis Drake | Mutiny & Discipline | Indian Ocean | Pacific
Subjects include: Science & Exploration
A New Portrait of Anson
There is no really satisfactory portrait of Lord Anson available for study by the general public. The Admiral and great Circumnavigator sat to Sir Joshua Reynolds near the end of his life. The Reynolds canvas hangs at Shugborough Park. There are 2 other versions, one in the Painted Hall at Greenwich and another in the […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Eighteenth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Art & Music | Biography
A Salvage of Verse
Extracts are here set out from an album or anthology of verses and anecdotes kept at sea by A.F. Tracy, an ancestor of the present owner Commander Tracy of the Nautical College, Pangbourne,. They reveal the sort of things that amused or distracted the ward room during the early years of the nineteenth century, such […] Read More
Filed under: Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Manpower & Life at Sea
Miches, Capsquares and Trunnion Bands
I believe that Tudor ” miches, bolts and forelocks ” were simply trunnion fittings. I think that the ” miche ” was what to-day we call the ” cap-square” ; and on the after side of the trunnion I think it was fastened, or jointed, to the ” Bolt,” an iron rod that probably passed […] Read More
Filed under: Tudors | English Channel | High Middle Ages | The Armada | Other (Early Modern) | Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (Eighteenth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Navies | Weapons
The Budleigh Bench-End
A response to a critique by H.H. Brindley (M.M. 1914.2), advanced by reference to the likely comparative date of a Tudor bench-end carving in a church in East Budleigh near Exmouth, of the author’s dating in his earlier article (MM 1913.12) of another bench-end carving of a ship in a church at Bishops Lydeard near […] Read More
Filed under: Tudors | English Channel
Subjects include: Art & Music | Miscellaneous | Ship Models & Figureheads
A Battle Ship of the Renaissance
The article discusses an image of a ship carved in a bench-end in the church of Bishop’s Lydeard in Somerset. The author advances his arguments for considering the ship to be a vessel from the reign of Henry V11. Based on this, the author highlights various features of the picture that show how it embodies […] Read More
Filed under: Tudors | Other (location)
Subjects include: Shipbuilding & Design
A Medieval Ship in the Ashmolean
The ship in question is painted in oils on a panel. The artist is unknown but the picture represents one of the miracles of St Nicholas of Bari, the patron saint of seafarers. The ship is struggling in a gale and the author speculates about the thoughts and actions of those on board. Details of […] Read More
Filed under: Late Middle Ages | Other (location)
Subjects include: Art & Music | Shipbuilding & Design
Note: Purchase in the Navy
Callender supports David Hannay (MM Volume 2, Issue 6) in his claim that officers did purchase appointments to other ships. As proof he quotes from a contemporaneous publication which contained the following phrase ‘some of them (the officers) exchanged into the ship, for certain unlawful considerations’. Read More
Filed under: Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Administration | Navies
Note: Wyngaerde’s Map
Callender elaborates on his article in MM Volume 2, Issue 7. Having been able to carry out further research into the facsimile of Wyngaerde’s map he is able to prove that the version produced by A and C Black was not taken from the genuine 1881 reproductions by the Topographical Society of London. Read More
Filed under: Other (Nineteenth C) | Internal Waterways
Subjects include: Miscellaneous
The Ships of Maso Finiguerra Part III
This continues the analysis of the ships portrayed in the fifteenth century drawing of Maso Finiguerra. Perhaps the most valuable features in the works of Finiguerra are the sails. He does not make absolutely clear the cut of the canvas adopted at the time, but he provides sufficient suggestions and hints to give a direction […] Read More
Filed under: High Middle Ages | Other (Early Modern) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Art & Music | Shipbuilding & Design
The Ships of Maso Finiguerra Part II
This continues the analysis of the ships portrayed in the fifteenth century drawing of Maso Finiguerra. The drawings do not support the theory that three-masted ships were common in the first half of the fifteenth century. Even the one drawing showing a two-masted ship does not suggest an increase in tonnage and the additional spar […] Read More
Filed under: High Middle Ages | Other (location)
Subjects include: Art & Music | Shipbuilding & Design
Note: Reports of Courts-Martial
“Courts-martial are open courts, although no one is permitted to print the evidence.” wrote Capt. Marryat in about 1830. Olaf Hartelie asked when the prohibition was withdrawn in his article in MM Volume 1, Issue 2. Callender asserts that Marryat was incorrect in his original statement, as it was quite common for the details of […] Read More
Filed under: Mutiny & Discipline | Other (Eighteenth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Navies
The Ships of Maso Finiguerra Part I
In 1873 John Ruskin bought for £1,000 a collection of 99 drawings by a Florentine master of the early fifteenth century, later acquired by the British Museum and attributed by Sir Sidney Colvin to the goldsmith turned engraver, Maso Finiguerra. The drawings contain a number of representations of ships at a period of transition from […] Read More
Filed under: High Middle Ages | Other (location)
Subjects include: Art & Music
Note: Cubbridge Head
Callender offer an alternative meaning for Cubbridge Head to that offered by R Morton Nance in his item in MM Volume 2, Issue 8. In his view the phrase refers to the bulkhead at the end of a deck, rather than the actual deck itself. Read More
Filed under: High Middle Ages | Other (location)
Subjects include: Shipbuilding & Design
Wyngaerde’s Map of London
The earliest map of London that has come down to our time is Wyngaerde’s panorama, dating from between 1543 and 1550. It provides a bird’s-eye view of the whole city, together with Westminster and Southwark, from above Southwark High Street. In addition to the many buildings shown are a large number of sailing vessels. More […] Read More
Filed under: Tudors | Internal Waterways
Subjects include: Art & Music
Note: Tom Collins
Callender seeks to clarify the meaning of the phrase “Whether or no, Tom Collins”, which was regularly used in Marryat and Chamier’s writings. He believed it to be the equivalent of willy nilly and not an extract from a tune. (See Olaf Hartelie MM Volume 1, Issue 11). Read More
Filed under: Popular Topics | Other (Eighteenth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Art & Music
Note: Boat Davits
Callender challenges Sir R Massie Blomfield’s assertion in his article in MM Volume 2, Issue 1 that a pinnace could have been hoisted outside the ship pre-1634. In his experience there had been no mention of davits used in this manner prior to 1790. Read More
Filed under: Other (Early Modern) | Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Ship Handling & Seamanship
The Gold Noble of Edward III
Early in his reign, King Edward III issued a gold noble (a coin worth six shillings and eightpence) on which he showed himself enthroned on a ship. Historians and numismatists have assumed that this image commemorates the king’s victory in the sea battle at Sluys in 1340, but have lacked documentary confirmation of this supposition. […] Read More
Filed under: High Middle Ages | Other (location)
Subjects include: Art & Music | Battles & Tactics | Miscellaneous
Le Formidable
Le Formidable, an 80-gun ship, took massive punishment before surrendering at Quiberon Bay in 1759. Following a failed attempt by Admiral Hawke at a prisoner exchange, the French seamen were held at the Kings House in Winchester. The author describes the origins of this building and the building of a detailed model of Le Formidable […] Read More
Filed under: Seven Years’ War | Other (Nineteenth C) | Other (location)
Subjects include: Battles & Tactics | Ship Models & Figureheads