<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> T H E B O S U N ' S C H R O N I C L E The official Ezine of the Thomas Kydd Shipmates' network <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> VOL. 6, ISSUE 3, APRIL 2006 Avast, Shipmates and anchors aweigh! 1 DISPATCHES 2 BOOKSHELF 3 FEATURES 4 SALTY SAYINGS 5 CONTESTS 6 CAPTAINS OF TRAFALGAR 7 NEW ON THE WEB ==================== 1 DISPATCHES + 2006 Publishing Calendar - keep track of when your next KYDD is due out! March *Special German commemorative paperback of KYDD (Ullstein) April *UK paperback edition of TENACIOUS (Hodder & Stoughton) *German edition of TENACIOUS (Ullstein Maritim) May *Australian paperback edition of TENACIOUS (Hachette Livre Australia) June *Japanese edition of QUARTERDECK (Hayakawa) July *Canadian paperback edition of TENACIOUS (McArthur & Co./Hodder & Stoughton) September *German edition of COMMAND (Ullstein Maritim) *Unabridged audiobook of TENACIOUS (BBC Audiobooks) *US paperback of QUARTERDECK (McBooks Press) *US hardback of TENACIOUS (McBooks Press) October *UK hardback edition of COMMAND (Hodder & Stoughton) November *Australian trade paperback of COMMAND (Hachette Livre) *Canadian trade paperback of COMMAND (McArthur & Co./Hodder & Stoughton) + Collectors' Edition of COMMAND In addition to the standard hardback, in October Hodder & Stoughton are bringing out a special Collectors' Edition of COMMAND, following the popularity of the limited edition of TENACIOUS. The Bosun has been allocated a small number to sell to Shipmates and is happy to take advance orders for this book, which will be printed in strictly limited numbers. The RRP is GBP 25.00 plus postage. Emails to Admin@JulianStockwin.com - please include your country of residence so we can let you know the postage cost. Payment may be made with a UK cheque or PayPal but is not required until closer to publication. + COMMAND, chapter one The first chapter of COMMAND will be posted on the website on April 10. + Free Ambassador Pack The first four Shipmates requesting an Ambassador Pack drawn out of the hat on April 10 will also receive the CD "Julian Stockwin in Conversation" in which Julian talks about his writing and reads some of his favourite passages from the book. The free Pack contains a signed photo of Julian, bio information, postcards and bookmarks - ideal for those who want to help "spread the word" about the Kydd series in a tangible way. If you would like an Ambassador Pack, just email the Bosun; please include your postal address and put in the subject line. Postage is free within the UK; there is a small charge to cover overseas postage which may be made via Paypal. + Budding nautical authors On March 24, Julian was delighted to present prizes to the winners of a children's nautical essay contest, held in conjunction with a sea activities morning at Ivybridge Library, in which Julian and Sea Cadets taught various sea skills such as knot tying and basic navigation. + Magazine Cover star! Congratulations to Shipmate Robert Squarebriggs whose photograph is featured on the cover of "WoodCarving Illustrated", Spring 2006 issue, working on his half- hull models - with his rendition of "Seaflower" to one side. + Books for Bruny Julian receives numbers of requests for book donations from libraries and charities - and while he likes to help out when he can, this obviously has to have a limit. A recent plea for books, however, was one he could not turn down as it came from his nephew Ben Stockwin, headmaster at Bruny Island School and on the committee of the community library. Bruny Island is the Australian state of Tasmania's fourth largest island and is home to around 700 people. ===================== 2 BOOKSHELF Anatomy of a Ship 44-Gun Frigate USS Constitution by Karl Marquardt. Conway Maritime. ISBN 1844860108 When Julian visited the States in 2002 on an Author Tour for the Kydd books he made a point of making a pilgrimage to "Old Ironsides" in Boston - the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world. Her nickname comes from an encounter with a British man-o'-war, HMS "Guerriere" in which British shot was reportedly seen bouncing off the hull of "Constitution". Marquardt is an internationally acclaimed draughtsman who has written a number of volumes in this excellent "Anatomy of a Ship" series. http://www.conwaymaritime.co.uk/imprint/conway/index.jsp For a chance to win a copy, see CONTESTS ===================== 3 FEATURES - a double helping this month + Copenhagen 205 years on This month marks the 205th anniversary of the Battle of Copenhagen, an important milestone in the French Revolutionary Wars. When Denmark joined Russia, Sweden and Prussia in declaring they would not comply with the British rules on neutral navigation, England considered this a threat to their interests and sent a fleet under Admiral Parker, with Lord Nelson as second-in-command, into the Baltic. It was hoped that the presence of the British fleet alone might be enough for the Danes to change their minds, but the British were prepared to fight and on April 2, 1801 Nelson (who had been keen to initiate combat in the first instance) attacked the Danish fleet at the roadsteads of Copenhagen. After three hours of intense fighting Parker gave the order to discontinue the action. Then was when perhaps the most famous act of "insubordination" in the annals of the Royal Navy occurred. Nelson put his glass to his blind eye and said to Captain Foley, "You know Foley, I have only one eye. I have a right to be blind sometimes. I really do not see the signal!" Some have suggested that Parker did not expect Nelson to automatically obey the order, that he gave it believing that if Nelson was in a condition to continue the action successfully, he would disregard it, if not it would be an excuse for an honourable retreat. The losses were high, over a thousand killed and wounded on both sides, and the gallantry of the Danes was epitomised by seventeen year old Lieutenant Peter Willemoes. Nelson's humanity was shown, both in his truce negotiations with the Danish, and in his concern for those wounded in action. Stepping ashore in Falmouth Nelson immediately visited the naval hospital and stopped by the bed of one amputee and the following dialogue passed between them: "Well, Jack, what's the matter with you?" "Lost my arm, your honour." Nelson looked down at his own empty sleeve, then said playfully, "Well, Jack, then you and I are spoiled for fishermen." Further reading - Ole Feldbaek's "The Battle of Copenhagen". Pen & Sword Books. ISBN: 0 85052 875 5 [Kydd does not see action at the Battle of Copenhagen; he was in "Tenacious" in the Mediterranean at the time.] --- + Models that sail Following our feature last month on model makers who find inspiration in Julian's books, we've received a number of emails, among them one from Mark Tindall, who lives at Sheerness [where a young press-ganged Kydd was held for several days before being sent to join his first ship] and builds models of ships of Kydd's era that actually sail. Mark's first sailing model square rigger was HMS "Invincible" (which he sailed for nine years) and he has since gone on to construct a number of ships, including "Victory" and "Bellona". Mark chose to make "Victory" in her Trafalgar condition 'but without the ugly davits that are often shown but which are contentious.' Mark's model has all the gunports open as though she is cleared for action. Her dimensions are: 36 inches of hull and 58 inches long overall. Her height from the keel to the main truck is 37 inches, and she requires 16 pounds of ballast. Mark is starting sea trials on her soon, and she will be officially launched at Rick Pond, Hampton Court Gardens on May 13. There's a picture of Mark launching "Invincible" in Shipmates' Album on the web and also some shots of his models in -> LINKS -> Modelling -> Radio Controlled Models. Shipmate modellers who wish to contact Mark may do so via email ==================== 4 SALTY SAYINGS Nail your colours to the mast. Today if we say someone has nailed their colours to the mast they have publicly made their intention clear. The origins of this phrase are definitely salty. In Kydd's day a ship's flags were know as colours. In battle, the combatants would try to force the surrender of the opposing ship, and capture their colours; if a captain ordered the colours be nailed to the mast he made it clear that surrender was not an option. ==================== 5 CONTESTS + Our Conway Maritime prize for April For a chance to win a copy of "USS Constitution" email the Bosun with the name of her sister ship that Kydd encounters in QUARTERDECK. --- + COMMAND This month we launch a 6-part contest for a very special prize in October to celebrate the launch of COMMAND. It consists of a Collector's Edition of COMMAND, signed by Julian, a paperweight made of 200-year old ship's timbers, a copy of "Clippers, Packets and Men O'War" (a celebration of the Tall Ship in art) and "Sea Poems" (an anthology of nautical verse). Each month there will be a question from one of the books, starting with KYDD. You can either send in your entry each month, or wait until the sixth question is published and then submit them all together. The winner will be chosen at random from all contestants who have submitted six correct entries. Deadline is September 25. Here's the first question: In what town was the house of Madame Dahouet? Please include your postal address and put "COMMAND launch" in the subject line. --- Congratulations to all last month's prize winners: Six sets of the UK paperback editions of the series - Niall Fennell, John Clinch, Sean Tobin, Peter Wilson, William Nelson and Neville Thompson; a Family Ticket to the Portsmouth Dockyard - Patricia Fray; a copy of the latest issue of "Model Shipwright" - David James. ==================== 6 CAPTAINS OF TRAFALGAR There was a huge focus (deservedly) on Nelson last year. Under his command at the Battle of Trafalgar were two flag officers and the captains of twenty-seven battleships, four frigates and two minor combatant vessels. But apart from those like Collingwood and Hardy, the rest are largely unknown. In this and future issues, we'll look at six of these men who were so instrumental in securing Britain's great victory. Harvey - a flawed hero Eliab Harvey was born in December 1758 into a wealthy family, whose home, Rolls Park, was one of the most richly decorated houses in England in Georgian times. Sadly, it was demolished in 1953. A younger son, Eliab was enrolled in the Navy, where he was nominally entered on the Royal yacht "William and Mary". He served in the North American waters during the American War of Independence and was promoted to lieutenant in 1779 but returned to England later that year when he unexpectedly became heir to the family estate and fortune. Harvey was elected as a member of parliament and became a well-known figure in London society and a noted gambler, on one occasion losing GBP100,000 on a roll of the dice. The story goes that his opponent offered to settle for a tenth of this amount, which Harvey accepted, then won back on another bet. At the outbreak of war Harvey went back to sea. In 1803 he was given command of "Temeraire", the ship immortalised by Turner's famous painting. At Trafalgar Harvey and his men fought tenaciously and in dispatches Collingwood praised them for "a circumstance ... which so strongly marks the invincible spirit of British seamen, when engaging the enemies of their country." After Trafalgar Harvey returned to the family seat for a time but he was back at sea again in 1806 with the Channel Fleet. In 1809, Harvey, furious at not being put in command of the attack on the Basque Roads, expressed his feelings publicly before his junior officers. He was court-martialled for insubordination and dismissed from the Navy. The verdict was unpopular with the British public who saw him as a hero of Trafalgar and he was reinstated in 1810 and later promoted to full Admiral - however he never carried out any formal Naval duties after his court martial. Harvey settled down to live the life of country squire and parliamentarian but, even by the standards of the eighteenth century, displayed distinctly odd behaviour on occasion. --- If you'd like to further explore the lives of the Trafalgar captains, here's some suggested reading: T A Heathcote, "Nelson's Trafalgar Captains & Their Battles" Colin White, "The Trafalgar Captains; Their Lives and Memorials" =================== 7 NEW ON THE WEB www.JulianStockwin.com There's a special page now on the web (just click on on the banner) where we list all the items that have been recently added to the site. =================== Coming next month: It's hard to believe it's been five years since the first "Bosun's Chronicle", which came out one month after Julian's debut book KYDD. In May's anniversary issue Julian reflects on how his life has changed during this half decade. There's all the usual departments, too, and an anniversary contest with loads of great prizes... Yours aye, THE BOSUN ++ Download back issues - or change your email details from the WebSite ++