News
Look here for news of what the Society for Nautical Research (South) has been doing lately. To find out about forthcoming attractions see our Events page.
Shipwrecks and drowned lands of the Solent
In another packed session Garry Momber, Director of the Maritime Archaeology Trust (MAT), gave us an insight into shipwrecks and drowned lands of the Solent - some of the [...]
What becomes of used warships
We booked the larger Nelson Lounge for our February meeting – just as well, as it was packed out for Bob Lane’s account of what becomes of used warships. [...]
A brilliant January meeting
A brilliant January meeting featured Rear Admiral Angus Essenhigh. His varied and interesting career includes two ice patrol seasons commanding HMS Protector in and around Antarctica, HMS Daring’s 9-month [...]
Maritime Navigation and Eagle Ships
The RMC bar is a friendly venue for a pre-meeting lunch and chat Our well-attended December session covered maritime navigation and Eagle ships of WW2. Richard May, [...]
Naval Attaché in Paris
Our November speaker Nick Stanley was the British Naval Attaché and Assistant Defence Attaché in Paris between 2010 and 2013. On his wife’s insistence he turned down promotion to [...]
Queens at War
Our October meeting started with David Hutchings' fascinating talk on Cunard’s Queens at war, starting with an introduction to their predecessors’ failure in their planned role as armed merchant [...]
May 2023 Meeting
Our main speaker was Jacob Thomas-Llewellyn on PLUTO – a successful failure. His talk was excellent both for content and delivery and sparked lively discussion afterward. Jacob holds a BA in War, Peace and International Relations and a master’s degree in strategic studies and has recently completed doctoral studies with the Department of History at the University of Reading. He has been published by the Independent, the Conversation and the Royal Logistic Corps. He has also advised and been interviewed by Michael Buerk as part of the Channel 5 documentary, How Britain Won WW2.
John Bingeman’s talk went far beyond its nominal subject of Vasa’s Whipstaff Steering circa 1628, covering illustrations of his and Jane’s rare privilege of an internal inspection of the ship and the corrosive effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on iron – a conservation issue relevant to the Mary Rose. Again, a brisk conversation followed.
April 2023 Meeting
Roger Smith gave a fascinating talk on Shinano – the brief story of the Biggest Carrier of WW2. She was converted from the hull of the third Yamato-class battleship mid-build and had a short, profitless life, setting an unhappy record on the way when she was sunk just seventeen hours into her maiden voyage. Roger’s gripping, moment-by-moment account gave a real feeling of ‘being there’.
Continuing the Far East theme, Derek Nudd had the unenviable task of following Roger with a chat about WW2 Japanese language training in the Royal Navy. When war struck the Pacific and Indian Oceans too many linguists were trapped in newly occupied territories, leaving the Allies deaf to enemy intentions. The story of their efforts to catch up has its own interest and provoked a lively follow-on discussion.