<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> 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 <><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><> MARCH 2009 Quite an eclectic issue this month - the sea-going Hoods, one of the Georgians' favourite card games, three "literary" Shipmates... Plus more on the modellers and a particularly fine book prize on a rare maritime art form. There's also registration details for the premium edition of STOCKWIN'S MARITIME MISCELLANY. Don't miss out as numbers are strictly limited! 1 DISPATCHES 2 BOOKSHELF 3 FAMOUS NAVAL FAMILIES 4 SHIPMATES AHOY! 5 CONTESTS 6 MORE ON THE MODELERS 7 GEORGIAN PASTIMES ==================== 1 DISPATCHES + HMS "Victory" found The Florida-based company Odyssey Marine Exploration last month announced they had found the wreck of the legendary British man-of-war that sank during a storm in the English Channel 264 years ago with the loss of at least 900 men. It is believed that the vessel was carrying four tons of gold coins. Recovery of several brass cannon from the wreck have confirmed the identity of ship, the predecessor to Nelson's "Victory." Although the remains were found in international waters, as a military wreck any gold recovered remains the property of the UK government. However it is expected that the salvage company will be rewarded for the find. The thousands of artefacts aboard will significantly add to our knowledge of life in the Georgian Navy. + Two Stockwin Special Editions this year For the First Edition aficionados among you, Julian is releasing two Collectors Sets this year - for STOCKWIN'S MARITIME MISCELLANY and book 10 in the Kydd series, INVASION. STOCKWIN'S MARITIME MISCELLANY Premium Edition Ebury Press, published July 2009 This comprises a signed, numbered and embossed First Edition plus a signed cover postcard and a special leather and gold burgundy bookmark, and is strictly limited in availability. If you'd like to reserve your copy now email Admin@JulianStockwin.com with "Miscellany" in the subject line, please give your full postal details. The Premium Edition will be priced at GBP14.99 plus p&p. Further details on the website. Details of the Collectors Set of INVASION will follow in a future issue of the newsletter. + Down Under connection After reading last month's feature on "Beagle" John Miles emailed to tell us about Newstead House in Brisbane, Australia. It was owned by Captain Wickham who was a lieutenant aboard "Beagle" at the time Darwin was on board. Wickham later became captain of "Beagle" before retiring to Brisbane. Newstead House has a display of a model of the ship and some of Wickham's charts. + Kydd foreign editions The Kydd series is translated into a number of foreign languages. Just out is SEAFLOWER in French and THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER in German. COMMAND in Japanese is published next month. See the website for more information. + The spoken word THE ADMIRAL'S DAUGHTER is now available in unabridged audiobook format, superbly read by Christian Rodska. Special price of GBP 22.99 for the 10-CD set. All the previous titles are also available. + Hello, sailor Devonport, the Royal Navy base at Plymouth in southern England, is the largest in Western Europe, extending over 3.5 miles of waterfront on the Eastern bank of the River Tamar. Tours of the base are currently being offered from Monday to Thursday. + Old Father Thames on canvas The Wapping Group of Artists, which paints the River Thames in all its moods, holds their annual exhibition this month, from 2-7 March. The Mall Galleries, The Mall, London. Free admission. ==================== 2 BOOKSHELF "Forget Me Not" A study of naval and maritime engraved coins and plate (1745 -1918) by Sim Comfort. GBP 60.00 ISBN 0 90 588708 5 This illustrated book is the first full study of maritime engraved coins and the various types of ships found in this rare art form. Although humble mementoes, just smoothed coins or blanks of metal that have been engraved, forget me nots provide a tangible connection to Jack Tar's life at sea and evidence of his feelings for loved ones left ashore. One, given to an Elisabeth Manah from a sailor called Walsh, has the plea: "When this you see remember me." Another is engraved with the touching words: "The gift is small but love is all." As well as individual's names and verse there are representations of all manner of vessels - men of war, Indiamen, privateers, convict ships, slavers and merchantmen, some done with a very skilled hand, others more primitive in their execution. Many of the forget me nots were made at sea, probably using a tool known as a "graver." The coin would have been placed in a pitch block, a small frame filled with tar, which held it securely. There are 140 examples of forget me nots in the book and with each the author provides background notes, often derived from ship's muster rolls and log books. A typical entry is that for an engraved English shilling depicting HMS "Ganges" with the names Henry Shaw and Jane Walker on the reverse, along with two intertwined hearts. The service details of Henry Shaw have been tracked down and make fascinating reading... Estimates of value of each forget me not are also included. The book, limited to just 500 copies, has a bound-in signed and numbered certificate of authenticity. This month Shipmates may claim a 5% discount on any of the titles published by Sim Comfort Associates. See CONTESTS for a chance to win this book! ==================== 3 FAMOUS NAVAL FAMILIES - the first of an occasional feature on some of the great naval dynasties + The sea-faring Hoods It all started with two brothers, Alexander and Samuel Hood. From then on it became a little confusing because many of the major sea-faring Hoods shared first names, held similar ranks and served in the same era! It was from Samuel's line that the first great naval Hoods came - Samuel Hood (1724-1816), First Viscount Hood and Alexander Hood (1726-1814), First Viscount Bridport. A third son, Arthur, was a naval chaplain. >From Alexander's line, his son, Samuel, served as a naval purser. Samuel's three sons went on to become more great naval Hoods - Admiral Sir Samuel Hood (1762-1814) and captains Alexander (1758-1798) and Arthur (1754-1776). In the Parish church at Netherbury, in the English county of Dorset, is a plaque in memory of Samuel's sons:- "to the Glory of God and in memory of three gallant Dorset sailors, sons of Samuel Hood, Purser, RN... Lieutenant Arthur Hood, drowned while serving in the West Indies on board HMS 'Pomona.' Captain Alexander Hood, killed in the hour of victory while commanding HMS 'Mars' in her famous duel with the French ship 'Hercule.' And Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, who served his country with great distinction under Lord Nelson at Santa Cruz in 1797... and at Rochefort 1806 where he lost his right arm... Died at Madras while commander-in-chief, East Indies." More famous Hoods were to follow, including Admiral Arthur Hood, First Lord of the Admiralty 1885-1889 and Rear-Admiral Horace Hood who died aboard "Invincible" at Jutland. The Royal Navy battlecruiser "the Mighty Hood" which was sunk in 1941, proudly celebrated the name of this family of seafarers. She was the third vessel thus to do so. ==================== 4 SHIPMATES AHOY! The focus this month is on three Shipmates who are word-grinders in their own right... When reading MUTINY Eric Stockdale was interested to see that Julian had mentioned Hatchards bookshop in London being used as a meeting place. Eric is himself an author, and his book "'Tis Treason, My Good Man! Four Revolutionary Presidents and a Piccadilly Bookshop" explores American propaganda produced in England before and during the War of Independence, focusing on the London bookseller John Stockdale. (Eric, by the way, is not related to John Stockdale.) Eric is delivering a paper on the subject at the Adams and Jefferson Libraries conference and it can be read online. There's a prize for the first correct entry drawn after March 20 that identifies the person Renzi met at Hatchards in MUTINY. Entries to the Bosun. --- David Killelay is a regular contributor of poems to a unique website called FLOW for ALL (Forces Literary Organisation Worldwide for All). It was set up to help those who have suffered from the effects of war and the site enables people to read poems and stories from others who have had similar experiences and also add their own thoughts. Patron of the organisation is Dame Vera Lynn, the famous former "Forces' sweetheart." An anthology of some of the poems "Voices of the Poppies" has been published. and --- Sim Comfort was born in Missouri. He joined the USN age 18 and was posted to the Naval Security Group. Sim greatly enjoyed reading KYDD and told Julian: "Experiencing everything through the eyes of Thomas Kydd brings me closer to being on board a man of war than any other book I have ever read. I really related to the banter at the mess during meals, just the same as when I was a recruit and I'm sure it's the same today!" Now based in the UK, for the last 25 years he and his wife Mary have worked together publishing very special maritime books, including "Naval Swords & Dirks", a study of British, French and American edged weapons from the age of fighting sail; "Forget Me Not" (see BOOKSHELF) and a facsimile edition of "The Naval Achievements of Great Britain." We are delighted to offer one of the titles as a prize this month. See CONTESTS. ==================== 5 CONTESTS email: Bosun@JulianStockwin.com Deadline: March 20 For a chance to win a copy of "Forget Me Not" - here's the question: Which two artists painted the coloured aquatint plates in "The Naval Achievements of Great Britain, 1793-1817" by James Jenkins, one of the other splendid offerings at Sim Comfort Associates? --- We had a huge response to the contest last month for a copy of "The Voyage of the Beagle" and the winner was Richard Larn who correctly identified the GBP 10 note as featuring the image of Charles Darwin. Don't forget there is still a paperback a week up for grabs on the website contest page! ==================== 6 MORE ON THE MODELLERS Since finishing the model of "Teazer" that he presented to Julian and Kathy last October John Thompson has been planning more modelling projects. We caught up with John recently for an update:- "When I embarked upon the 'Teazer' model, I was about half way through a build of HMS 'Fly' (1776), a 6th rate, 16-gun Swan Class ship-rigged Sloop of War. The Swan Class, as their name suggests, had extremely beautiful lines and an unusual amount of decoration for a vessel at this rating and size. In essence, they were miniature frigates. 'Fly' was used mainly for convoy and despatch duties but she did capture a French privateer, 'Le Gleneur' off Portland after a long chase and also took another privateer, 'Trompeur' off La Hogue in 1800. She continued with convoy duties until she foundered and was lost off Newfoundland in 1802. Fly measured 97' 7" on the gun deck and displaced 300 tons. She carried 125 officers and men as well as 16 6-pdr guns and 16 swivel guns. As I did for 'Teazer', I have added extensively to the basic kit, scratch building two ship's boats, gallows, forward and aft cabin bulkheads, hammock cranes and netting. The kit designer Chris Watton told me that he very much likes the additions I have made to the basic kit and has incorporated some of them into the HMS 'Pegasus' kit, which he has designed (the sister ship to 'Fly'). My HMS 'Fly' was laid up in ordinary for 11 months whilst 'Teazer' was on the stocks, and once 'Teazer' was finished, I quickly dusted her off and completed her in January of this year. She is the first model that I have made that we will actually keep (unless I am to suffer a complete mutiny from my wife Barb...) The model will occupy a spot in our living room and we are currently awaiting the arrival of her case. I have already started my next project which is a huge model of Nelson's flagship at the Battle of the Nile, HMS 'Vanguard.' Once finished, she will be almost double Teazer's proportions and then I will be building a similar-sized model of HMS 'Victory' in her Trafalgar configuration so that they will make an interesting pair to display. After that I have in mind a model of HMS 'Surprise' (of Jack Aubrey fame) which will be almost as large as 'Victory' and 'Vanguard.' We have started building an extension to our home to house all these behemoths! My wife has placed an embargo on any more projects after this as she maintains that I can only lay in projects that I can reasonably accomplish within my lifespan and I need to clear the decks of this little lot before she will allow me to plan any more..." John's build log for FLY can be viewed:- --- + STOP PRESS + Part 1 of an article on how John built "Teazer" will appear in this month's issue of "Model Shipwright Magazine", with part 2 to follow in June. ==================== 7 GEORGIAN PASTIMES - an occasional feature on some of the activities the Georgians particularly enjoyed, ashore and at sea + Whist The eighteenth-century trick-taking card game of whist developed in England and can be traced back to a sixteenth-century game known as trump. In the classic game of whist four players (two sets of partners) each receive 13 cards from a 52-card deck. The object of the game is to win as many of the 13 tricks or rounds as possible. The game became popular with the upper classes after the publication in 1742 of "A Short Treatise on the Game of Whist", price one guinea, by Edmond Hoyle, who had been making his living as a teacher of the game. Hoyle became known as "the father of whist" and his book was reprinted in 14 successive editions along with numerous revised editions after his death. It ultimately became one of the best-selling books of the eighteenth century! By the end of the century the most popular gambling card games were hazard and faro, and huge sums of money were often bet during play. While whist was regarded as comparatively harmless, nevertheless it was possible to raise the stakes to very high levels. General Scott, George Canning's father-in-law, won GBP 200,000 playing whist at Whites, the exclusive gentlemen's club in London. Whist was by no means confined to the gentry, in Assembly Rooms around the country Card Rooms catered to its growing popularity. And a passion for whist was equally strong between fashionable ladies as among men. Naval officers often enjoyed playing whist. C S Forester's character Horatio Hornblower supplements his half pay when he is on the beach with his winnings from the game. Whist underwent a number of changes during the nineteenth century, eventually evolving into the game of bridge. =================== Coming next month - the +two+ battles of Copenhagen, portable soup and a double dose of Salty Sayings...plus another chance to win a mystery sea prize. Yours aye, THE BOSUN ++ Download back issues from the WebSite ++