Shipwrecks in 100 objects : stories of survival, tragedy, innovation and courage

The history of shipwrecks involves many shocking episodes: from men who saw shipmates eaten by sharks, to castaways who ate each other. Learn about the cowardly captain who deserted his passengers on a sinking ship, the obstinate ship-designer who took 480 men to their deaths, and the first mate who wrecked his own ship for insurance money. Historian and genealogist Dr Simon Wills is maritime adviser to BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are? program. In this fascinating book he uses objects associated with real incidents as touchstones for every tale. Our ancestors believed that sea monsters destroyed ships, but better-established causes include storms, war, pirates, human incompetence, fire and ice. The pages of this book are packed full of tales of dramatic rescues and miraculous survivals, and as well as the stories of the innovations that have improved safety at sea. Meet the man shipwrecked three times within an hour, a coastguard still diving overboard to save lives at 79, and the lifeboat inventor who endured someone else taking credit for his work. Ships can have character too: refusing to sink despite overwhelming odds, or even returning to haunt us as ghost ships. The dangerous life afloat stimulated pioneers to create the lifeboat service, offshore lighthouses, and lifejackets. Vessels lost at sea also inspired rewards for bravery, and artists and writers such as J.M.W. Turner, William Wordsworth, and Yann Martel the author of Life of Pi . Featuring famous wrecks such as Mary Rose and Titanic , this book introduces other less well-known but equally remarkable events from our nautical heritage, some of which seem almost too extraordinary to be true. Cover Book Title Copyright Contents Acknowledgements Image Credits Introduction 1 Sea monster depiction 2 Rosary from Mary Rose 3 Armada medal 4 Coat of arms of Bermuda 5 Cannon from Trial 6 Hull timbers of Sparrow-Hawk 7 Pocket sundial from the warship London 8 North Foreland lighthouse 9 Giant clam collected by William Dampier 10 Storm clouds over the sea 11 Portrait of Sir Cloudesley Shovell 12 Pirate flag ‘Jolly Roger’ 13 First edition of Robinson Crusoe 14 Satellite image of Wager Island, Chile 15 Epic poem The Shipwreck by William Falconer 16 Château de Fougères 17 Snuff-box made from timbers of HMS Royal George 18 Bowl and lid from Palau 19 Lifeboat design plans 20 Mirror 21 Iceberg 22 Flint for a musket 23 East India Company token 24 Message in a bottle 25 RNLI gold medal 26 Diving helmet design 27 Wreckers, a painting by J. M. W. Turner 28 Grace Darling’s boat 29 Membership ticket for the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners’ Royal Benevolent Society 30 An officer’s epaulettes 31 Lisle family gravestone 32 Handwritten account of two storms at sea 33 Commemorative brass plaque 34 Pocketwatch belonging to Ralph Shelton Bond 35 Ship’s anchor 36 Cork life jacket 37 Lifebuoy 38 Gold nugget 39 Wreck chart for the British Isles 40 Ceramic commemorative mug 41 Autograph of John King 42 Transported convict Thomas Berwick 43 Fragment of HMS Captain’s bowsprit 44 Sheet music and lyrics 45 Hand-drawn map of the coast of Chile 46 Sketch of survivors 47 Plimsoll line 48 Anchor of HMS Eurydice 49 A silver sixpence 50 A captain’s trunk Plate 1 Plate 2 51 Photo of Abraham Hart Youngs 52 Ship portrait as carte de visite 53 Memorial to Richard Parker 54 First innings cricket scores 55 Advert for a lecture 56 Chalice 57 Board of Trade wreck report 58 Stained glass window 59 Maritime distress signals 60 Obelisk for submariners 61 Photo of survivors 62 Postcard of half a ship 63 Former White Star Line offices, Southampton 64 Press photo of Arthur Rostron and Molly Brown 65 A ship ablaze 66 Newspaper front page announcing the death of Laurence Irving 67 German publicity image of U-boat U-9 crew 68 Ship’s propeller 69 The ‘Lusitania medal’ 70 A badge for a lost son 71 In memoriam card for Lord Kitchener 72 Souvenir of a captured enemy vessel 73 Aerial photo of a sinking hospital ship 74 Image of officers and cadets before a final voyage 75 Reconnaissance photo of three ships wrecked at Zeebrugge 76 Merchant Navy torpedo cuff badge 77 Postcards of scuttled German warships at Scapa Flow 78 Cecil Foster’s best-selling book 79 Photo on the deck as a ship is sinking 80 Unmarked grave of Arthur John Priest 81 Souvenir badge for passengers 82 Lifeboat from SS Anglo-Saxon 83 Memorial plaque on Merseyside 84 Book of remembrance 85 Doris Hawkins’ remarkable account 86 Model of a Japanese bomber 87 Sailor’s cap tally 88 HMS Belfast 89 MRC War Memorandum No. 8 90 A ship’s log on sailcloth 91 Snapshots of ships aground 92 Sailors’ Church, Liverpool 93 Tower Hill memorial 94 A dead seabird 95 Memorial sculpture and gardens 96 A Falkland Islands memorial 97 Newspaper headlines of a ferry disaster 98 Two London bridges 99 RNLI sculpture 100 Two Titanic museums Index Back Cover The history of shipwrecks involves many shocking episodes: from men who saw shipmates eaten by sharks, to castaways who ate each other. Learn about the cowardly captain who deserted his passengers on a sinking ship, the obstinate ship-designer who took 480 men to their deaths, and the first mate who wrecked his own ship for insurance money. Historian and genealogist Dr Simon Wills is maritime adviser to BBC's Who Do You Think You Are? programme. In this fascinating book he uses objects associated with real incidents as touchstones for every tale