<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> T H E B O S U N ' S C H R O N I C L E All the latest news/views for fans of Julian Stockwin ++ always sent in plain text: guarantees no virus/malware on your computer ++ <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> June 2009 STOCKWIN'S MARITIME MISCELLANY is all a-taunto for launch in the UK next month on July 2! It will be available in Australia from the UK publication date, and in New Zealand and South Africa from August. US and Canada availability will be announced soon... The Premium Edition of the Miscellany is virtually all pre-sold but there are just a couple still available. Don't delay if you're interested! 1 DISPATCHES 2 BEHIND THE LINES 3 SHIPMATES AHOY! 4 FRANKLIN AND THE SEA 5 CONTESTS 6 GEORGIAN PASTIMES 7 BOOKSHELF 8 NEW ON THE WEB ==================== 1 DISPATCHES + Out and About Julian had a busy May doing the rounds of book-stores and giving author talks to mark the launch of the paperback of TREACHERY. Among the many plaudits for TREACHERY :- "a roller coaster ride of suspense, disappointment and triumph..." - Broadly Boats "Julian Stockwin has once again invoked the politics and some of the personalities of the Napoleonic War and succeeded in turning what could have been a dry tale into a very readable and enjoyable story; the best part is that there is more to come! I can only recommend that you go out, beg, borrow or buy, and enjoy." - Bernard Cornwell's website --- Julian's next author appearances are:- + 20 June As part of the nationwide activities for Independent Booksellers Week Julian will be at the Saltash Bookstore, 58 Fore Street, Saltash, Cornwall, PL12 6JL, from noon to 2pm on Saturday 20 June. He'll be signing copies of the Miscellany and the Kydd series. 01752 845804 + 4 July Back by popular demand at Waterstones, Plymouth, from noon to 2 pm on Saturday 4 July. 65 New George Street, PL1 1RJ. 01752 256 699 (All author appearances are posted on the website on the EVENTS page.) + Safely home Congratulations to Peter Goss on completing an 11,800 mile voyage from Newlyn to Australia in a 37-foot lugger. Pete and his crew designed and built a replica of the vessel which seven Cornishmen sailed to Melbourne, chasing their dream of a better life in the gold rush of 1854. + Honouring the Forces The first Armed Forces Day is 27 June 2009, an opportunity to show support for the men and women who make up the UK Armed Forces community - from currently serving troops to Service families, and from veterans to recruits. + In Bob's footsteps... Canadian Shipmate Robert Squarebriggs, who has made wonderful models of some of the ships in which Kydd served, now has a young apprentice to whom he is imparting his modelling skills. + Beating Retreat 2009 The Massed Bands of the Royal Marines perform their world-renowned Beating Retreat on 9, 10, 11 June. Only performed every three years, this magnificent pageant dates back to the sixteenth century. The origin of this Ceremony is obscure, but it was one of the earliest to be instituted in the military. The original "call" was beaten by drums alone, and it was some years before fifes were introduced. The bugle came at a later date still, and the present ceremony of having a band paraded is a modern innovation. In olden times, when the hours of darkness meant a cessation of hostilities until the following day, the object of the call was to collect and post the necessary guards for the camp, garrison, etc., for the night. It was also a warning for those outside to return or they would have to remain there all night. + Kydd in the land of the rising sun Mr Shuji Onada crafted a superbly detailed model of Kydd standing a-brace on the quarterdeck. The model was one of the most popular attractions at the recent Yokohama Model Ship Society Exhibition. + "Cutty Sark" to re-open next year Incredibly, after what appeared such a devastating fire on 21 May 2007, less than 2 percent of the original fabric of the ship has been lost - Cutty Sark's contents, masts, deck-houses and saloon had already been removed for conservation or storage. The majority of the fire damage was to the temporary roofing, scaffolding and replacement decking. The conservation project is now back on course and the Grand Old Lady is due to re-open in summer 2010. http://www.cuttysark.org.uk/index.cfm + Any advance on a dozen?... Thank you for all your emails about re-reading the Kydd series. Lorna Sandeman in New Zealand told us she has read all the books four times so far. We were impressed, and then we heard from Edward Shaw in Kentucky that he's done so a round dozen times! ==================== 2 BEHIND THE LINES Anyone who knows Julian can attest to his deep and abiding passion for the sea - and huge curiosity about all things maritime. Over the years he squirreled away facts and items of sea lore that he'd come across, some found during the course of research for the nine Thomas Kydd books out to date (and the ones in the works) and others gleaned from general reading or talking to various maritime experts. This was purely for his own personal amusement and delight but last year his wife Kathy and Julian's agent Carole Blake of Blake Friedmann Literary Agency suggested that Julian might also consider turning this to advantage. Carole soon had the enthusiasm of the leading publisher of general non-fiction books in the UK, Ebury Press, and their Publishing Director Carey Smith, who was very keen on the idea of a Miscellany about the Golden Age of Sail. A meeting in London with Carey followed and the Miscellany Project was born... Julian says: "I must say it's been a juggling act writing both my annual Kydd book and the Miscellany in one year, but it's been hugely enjoyable. The two book projects were in some ways like chalk and cheese. With a novel of around 100,000 words you have quite a bit of scope to develop plot and characters etc. With the Miscellany I was limited to up to no more than a few hundred words for each item so I had to select one or two aspects of a certain topic which I felt really stood out or which illustrated a particular characteristic of the period. This was quite a challenge when dealing with some of the great men of the Golden Age of Sail like Drake, Nelson, Sidney Smith etc. Many books have been written on each of them alone!" Carole Blake told the Chronicle: "I've learned - and enjoyed - so much about the age of fighting sail during the years that Julian and I have worked together on the Kydd novels, and now the Miscellany is like a 10th birthday present for the fiction series and all the Stockwin fans. It's a fascinating and beautifully designed volume - I know now what I'm giving all my male relatives for presents in the next few months!" and Carey Smith, the book's publisher, had this to say: "Reading this book is like opening a treasure chest on a pirate's ship - it literally spills over with great stories, fascinating titbits and a wealth of historical knowledge. We live on an island surrounded by water but I had not truly appreciated how much the sea has influenced our language, traditions and even our way of life. The fascinating period illustrations, lovingly selected by the author, complement the text perfectly. Anyone who loves the sea will love this book." David Fordham, the book's designer, added: "Stockwin's Miscellany nails its colours to the mast, knows the ropes and is chock-a-block full of first-rate facts. This copper-bottomed edition never falls below the line, is fully rigged and handsomely arranged for plain sailing." We asked Julian for a taster by setting six questions for Shipmates, based on items in the Miscellany. See how you go! 1. What unusual items did Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood carry in his pockets when he was ashore? 2. In what circumstance was whistling permitted in the Royal Navy? 3. Can you name a link between Voltaire and the Articles of War? 4. What ruse did Thomas Cochrane employ to capture the Spanish frigate "Gama"? 5. Which shrivelled body part gave its name to a war? 6. Louis XIV and the Eddystone reef - what's the connection between this French monarch and the undersea hazard? (answers at the end of the newsletter) ==================== 3 SHIPMATES AHOY! Julian always enjoys hearing from readers and personally responds to them all. Keep 'em coming... --- After reading Julian's reflections on his time in the Australian Navy in last month's Chronicle Jeff Longshaw emailed to say he felt the American Navy is a lot like the Australian Navy. Jeff has an interesting family tree. Longshaws were part of the court of Charles 11. Jeff also had an ancestor in "Mayflower", an indentured servant, and there was a Longshaw father and son who stood on the village green at Lexington ("one was killed by those pesky Redcoats," says Jeff.) Another Longshaw fought in the 44th New York at Little Round Top at Gettysburg and possibly shot his wife's ancestors who were in an Alabama regiment! Jeff now teaches history at Cal. State University, having previously served in the military. "I was a ship driver in the navy - I did three years in 'Carter Hall' (LSD-3) mainly as navigator - a job I just loved so much I augmented into the regular navy. I then spent three years as ASW and Weapons Officer in 'Charles H Roan' and USS 'Fiske', both destroyers in Newport, Rhode Island. I did a tour in Saudi Arabia on an Army staff and was the First Lieutenant in the 'Detroit' (AOE-4) which was one of the most remarkably designed ships ever built. I was also attached to Second Fleet Staff and did Operation Teamwork with the final cruise of 'Ark Royal'. My last ship was 'Lexington' (CV-16) which was stationed in Pensacola Florida as a training ship and was a great seamanship challenge as I got to land the ship without the aid of a pilot." Julian's and Jeff's paths may well have crossed ashore in Olangapo during the Vietnam War. Says Jeff, "I have some vivid memories of Olangapo but some recollections are still somewhat hazy due to the alcohol I consumed. On one occasion when I was navigator in 'Carter Hall' we had HMS 'London' tied outboard of us. I will never forget their officer in charge of deck operations. He was a short redhead with a fierce looking beard who wandered around in his white shorts with a huge bamboo parasol." Jeff added: "The wardroom parties were terrific. We brought the steaks and movies - they supplied the booze." === And Commander Steven Montgomery,RAN, found a number of items in last month's Chronicle he especially related to, including agreeing with Julian that sleeping in a hammock gives the best sleep at sea, in his case in the Battle Class destroyer "Anzac". The mention of the Fleet Air Arm anniversary was another connection: Steven's father, Wardmaster Lieutenant Terry Montgomery, had a lot to do with the Fleet Air Arm. He was involved in a project to develop an underwater escape system for maritime aircraft that were crashing and killing pilots, and was the first guinea pig to test the new device. ==================== 4 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN AND THE SEA Benjamin Franklin is perhaps best known for his experiments with electricity and his contribution to American politics in the early days of independence. However he also had a life-long interest in the sea. He called sailors "a brave and valuable order of men" and in various writings brought his fertile mind to a variety of maritime topics - from accidents at sea to ship propulsion methods and hull designs to how to keep sailors well fed during long voyages. He was born in 1706, the 10th son of 17 children; his father made soap and candles. The young Benjamin desperately wanted to go to sea but an older brother had died at sea and his father forbade him to join a ship. Instead, Franklin became an apprentice printer at age 12 to his brother James. Eventually Franklin set up his own printing business and became wealthy enough to retire at 42. No longer an artisan, he became a gentleman and engaged in "philosophical studies and amusements". Franklin took a number of transatlantic voyages,and instead of sitting idle, he seized the opportunity to run various experiments at sea. Although European knowledge of the Gulf Stream dates to the 1513 expedition of Ponce de Leon, Franklin is generally credited with mapping and naming it. By measuring the temperature of the ocean at various depths, Franklin surmised that the Gulf Stream was like a warm river flowing over and through the Atlantic Ocean. He suggested that the Gulf Stream could be used to improve the speed of vessels sailing between America and England if those vessels stayed in the current when traveling east and avoided it while traveling west. ==================== 5 CONTESTS Last chance this month! Ten chances to win two Stockwin titles! To mark the publication of two special books by Julian this year, STOCKWIN'S MARITIME MISCELLANY in July, and book 10 in the Kydd Series, INVASION, in October, we have ten of each of these titles to give away to ten lucky winners! This is how it works: just email with the name of your favourite Kydd title and the name of the publisher of STOCKWIN'S MARITIME MISCELLANY, plus your full postal details. You can enter as many times as you like between now and the end of June, when the contest closes. We'll then draw ten names from the hat and the lucky winners will each receive a copy of the two books on publication: STOCKWIN'S MARITIME MISCELLANY in early July and INVASION in early October. ==================== 6 GEORGIAN PASTIMES "The Fancy" The eighteenth century was an age when courage, or "bottom" as the Georgians termed it, was highly esteemed. The sporting habits of the English in Kydd's day were a source of amazement to those on the Continent, in many ways much more class conscious. Prize-fighting, bare-knuckle boxing, was a hugely popular, albeit illegal, sport that saw the highest and the lowest in the land mingling together. When a date and place of a prize-fight was announced people set out from all parts of the country, sometimes numbering 20,000. Many fights were organised in out of town locations but some took place in London. There were a number of boxing schools, Figg's on London's Oxford Road being the most successful and many famous fighters were trained there. The upper classes also took lessons themselves and boxing was seen as a manly form of exercise. The great pugilists of the day - Tom Cribb, Jim Belcher, Savage Shelton, the Terrible Randall, Ned Turner, Tom spring, John Gully, the Chicken, the Gas-man and Bill Neate - enjoyed enormous prestige. Noble lords were seen driving them around in their carriages and hob-nobbed with them before fights. Another, "Gentleman" Jackson, counted Lord Byron as a staunch friend. Byron declared that "his manners were infinitely superior to those of the fellows of the college whom I meet at High Table". Even the Prince of Wales and his circle took an interest in pugilism, or "the fancy" as it was sometimes called. Huge sums of money were involved with hundreds of thousands of pounds bet at events. And spectators usually got their money's worth: one fight at Farnborough in 1800 lasted for two hours and six minutes. The spectacle is said to have emptied parliament and closed the courts. John Gully's fame extended beyond the realm of boxing. He went on to amass a considerable fortune investing in horse races, later purchasing collieries in Yorkshire and was the first boxer to be elected a Member of Parliament, in 1832. Married twice, each of his wives presented him with twelve children. Sometimes boxing matches were arranged between women but as they were thought to be more likely to scratch than strike they were required to hold a half a crown in each hand and the first to drop the coin was the loser. The first boxing rules were introduced in 1743 but it was still a very brutal sport until the Marquess of Queensbury rules were adopted in 1867. =================== 7 BOOKSHELF Naval Swords and Dirks In the March issue of the Chronicle we reviewed "Forget Me Not", published by Sim Comfort. Sim has also produced "Naval Swords and Dirks". Although it's expensive, GBP150, the two-volume set is a truly splendid pictorial celebration of the British, French and American weapons of Kydd's day. Almost as good as touching the real thing, you can view photographs of naval swords, cutlasses and dirks from some the most iconic engagements of the Age of Fighting Sail. These include:- + Captain Broke's sword which he used when he and his men from HMS "Shannon" boarded and took USS "Chesapeake". + The sword surrendered to Captain Edward Pellew of HMS "Nymph" when she captured "La Cleopatre", the first frigate action of the French Revolutionary Wars. + The sword surrendered to Captain Edmund Palmer of HMS "Hebrus" when she captured "L'Etoile", the last frigate action of the Napoleonic Wars. Detailed notes accompany the photographs. =================== 8 NEW ON THE WEB Check out the "NEW" page for the latest additions to Julian's web site: Coming next month: "Vasa"; the ship, the museum, the modeller - plus a double helping of ASK JULIAN. Yours aye, THE BOSUN ++ Download back issues from the WebSite ++ ======================================= How did you go in the quiz? 1. What unusual items did Admiral Cuthbert Collingwood carry in his pockets when he was ashore? A. Acorns! - timber supply was one of the main constraints of naval power during the Napoleonic wars and Collingwood was deeply concerned at the effect of continual felling on England's ancient oak forests; whenever he found a suitable spot he would press a few acorns into the ground. 2. In what circumstance was whistling permitted in the Royal Navy? A. The Royal Navy is known as the "Silent Service", generally operating in silence, unlike in the merchant service where sea shanties etc. were often sung whilst the crew was at work. However, when the ship's cook was making the pudding known as "duff" he was expected to whistle so that he could not surreptitiously eat some of the raisins destined for the popular treat. 3. Can you name a link between Voltaire and the Articles of War? A. Under the Articles of War, Admiral Byng was executed aboard his own flagship for not taking the utmost endeavours to fight the enemy. When the French satirist Voltaire heard this he made a reference in "Candide", one of his plays, to the English executing an admiral from time to time "pour encourager les autres"... 4. What ruse did Thomas Cochrane employ to capture the Spanish frigate "Gama"? A. Having boarded the much-larger vessel Cochrane called loudly for another 50 (fictitious) men - and the Spanish panicked and surrendered. The only man who had been left aboard Cochrane's brig-sloop was the ship's surgeon, at the wheel. 5. Which shrivelled body part gave its name to a war? A. One Captain Robert Jenkins found himself in a skirmish with the Spanish in 1731 in which one of his ears was severed. He pickled the body part in a bottle and complained of his treatment when he returned to England but little notice was taken until seven years later when it became an excuse to teach the Spanish a lesson. So began the War of Jenkins's Ear... 6. Louis XIV and the Eddystone reef - what's the connection? A. When Henry Winstanley was working on the construction of the first lighthouse marking the treacherous Eddystone reef off the southern coast of England a privateer seized him and carried him off to France. Louis XIV ordered Winstanley's release saying: "France is at war with England, not humanity." ==============