Brian Lavery’s talk on Midshipmen’s Journals in History drew on his current research on the insights available from this under-appreciated resource. Originally a strictly factual echo of the ship’s log, midshipmen were given more leeway to record their own experiences and perspectives following the 1911 Chatfield reforms. Security considerations led to a ban on personal diaries in WW1 (not repeated in WW2). This was followed by an inter-war golden age in which they recorded their daily lives and a different point of view from the official story.
Many midshipmen’s journals were illustrated with stunningly talented diagrams and artwork.
Brian was brought up in the shipbuilding town of Dumbarton, descended from four generations of shipyard workers. He worked in Chatham Historic Dockyard and the National Maritime Museum, where he is a Curator Emeritus. He served on the Victory Advisory Technical Committee, the board of the then Royal Naval Museum, and the publications committee of the Mary Rose. He has published over forty books, including The Royal Navy’s First Invincible which was on sale at our meeting.
Dr Alan James is a historian of early modern warfare and naval power, especially with respect to pre-Revolutionary France. His talk on The French Civil War at Sea, Civic Rebellion and Naval Warfare during the Fronde, 1648-1659 was an eye-opener. How many of us had heard of the Fronde, or knew that France had a civil war at much the same time as ours?
Dr James conceded that the conflict was largely land-based and coincided with the decline of the French navy but drew attention to the critical role of the port cities of Bordeaux (notoriously fractious) and Toulon (with a reputation for loyalty). His talk also drew attention to the oscillating fortunes of Dunkirk as an illustration of the sometimes-obscure consistency of French royal policy: alliance with the most powerful opponent of Spain. All this was in parallel with the rapid evolution of naval tactics and technology.
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