As you may have noticed from our long-running series on the evolution of the Navy, our little island has a historic love affair with boats, ships and the sea. For this reason, our country is a rich source of visitor attractions that display the hundreds of years of naval history. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard – Portsmouth The dockyard is filled to the brim with exciting things to do and see. You can wander round the museum dedicated
Last time, we left off at the end of the Spanish Armada during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. The English Navy was advancing, and the future looking bright. In this instalment, we shall look at the end of the Tudor period, and journey on into the Stuart period and how this tumultuous time effected what we now know as the Royal Navy. We shall begin as James I took the throne of England, proclaiming himself
So we’re covering some of the most famous ships from history, but what about their sailors? These sea-faring folk often get overlooked when thinking about our history, so that’s why we’re going to give some time to educating you on a few of the most talented, dedicated sailors that ever walked the earth – or more appropriately, sailed the seas! Sir Robin Knox-Johnston was born 17th March 1939 in London and was the eldest of
In this post, we will be revisiting the most famous ships in history series with the Japanese battleship Yamato. Previous parts of this interesting series are the H.L. Hunley and the Santa Maria. During the Second World War, a major part of Japan’s fights were in the Pacific Ocean, in which their biggest rivals were the United States. The U.S. Navy greatly outnumbered Japan’s fleet, and the Yamato and one other battleship were designed to
In part two of our running series, we looked at the role that King Henry VIII played in developing our naval defences, and how he became known as the Father of the English Navy. Today, we shall unfold the next part of the story and discover what happened after the death of the King in 1547. In the 11 years following the death of Henry VIII, England saw three monarchs come and go –
Believe it or not, it is that time of year again! Another 12 months has passed, and it’s time to celebrate the festive period by stuffing ourselves full of turkey, mince pies and mulled wine. We would like to take this opportunity to extend our warmest yuletide greetings to each and every one of our customers. We’ve had a fantastic year, continuing to lead the way when supplying ship chandler services for ships, boats, yachts
Between 2008 and 2010, piracy off the coast of Somalia reached an all-time peak. In 2008, there were 111 attacks on vessels in the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean areas. This has led to a dramatic rise in the maritime security industry. With the international naval patrols struggling to cover such vast ocean areas, private security companies have stepped in to fill the gap, providing armed guards for vessels. The question arose of how to
We recently started a series on the most famous ships in history and kicked off with the Santa Maria. Today, we’re carrying on the series by looking at the mysterious H.L. Hunley; the first successful war submarine. H.L. Hunley was built at the time of the American Civil War during the 1860s. This war between the southern and northern states broke out due to conflict and differences between the free and slave states. The southern
In the first part of our series on the evolution of the Royal Navy, we looked at the very early days, when our coasts were threatened by foes such as the Vikings. We left off in the 16th century, with Henry VIII beginning his work on the Navy. In this, the second part of our series, we shall take a look at how Henry developed the Royal Navy and came to be known as the
Throughout history, the world has seen the technological advancement in the building of ships; from the earliest and most basic wooden vessels to the giant iron cruise ships of today. We’ve been exploring and utilising rivers and seas since the time of the ancient Egyptians, so mankind has been creating and improving vessels for at least 5000 years. In this series, we will look at some of the most famous ships of history, beginning with