Why Conserve the Cutty Sark?

The GMI are very privileged to have Richard Doughty, Director of the Cutty Sark Trust, to present the next GMI Research Seminar of the 2011/12 programme on Wednesday 15th February 2012.

One of the main advantages of talking about the Cutty Sark is being able to say that this is a ship that needs no introduction. Richard Doughty will consider why this merchant sailing ship is so highly regarded around the world and why, despite the damage done by the fire in 2007, so much time and effort has been invested in conserving her original structure.

The seminar will take place at the University of Greenwich, room 075, Queen Anne Court, Greenwich, London, SE10 9LS at 6pm. Tea & Coffee will be available from 5.30pm and a glass of wine afterwards. The seminar is free and there is no need to book, everyone is welcome.

You may also be intersted in a recent BBC documentary, Cutty Sark:National Treasure which is still available on BBC iplayer http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/search?q=cutty%20sark

Keeping Traditional Seamanship Alive

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(Image from the Excelsior Trust website)

John Wylson of the Excelsior Trust will be presenting the third GMI Research Seminar of the 2011/12 academic year on Wednesday 30th November 2011 at 6pm. His paper is ‘Trying to Keep Traditional Seamanship Alive at Lowestoft : EXCELSIOR since 1989’. This particular seminar is being hosted in collaboration with the Institute of Seamanship.

EXCELSIOR is an authentically rebuilt Lowestoft smack.  She exists not only to provide an example of the type, but to maintain the knowledge of how to sail and how to look after such vessels.  In so doing, the skills of local seamen and shipwrights of three generations ago are being kept alive.   These crafts were constructed, fished and propelled sustainably and her continued existence is an important reminder of a very different age.

The seminar will take place in room 075, Queen Anne Court, Univeristy of Greenwich, SE10 9LS at 6pm. Tea & Coffee will be available from 5.30pm and a glass of wine afterwards. The seminar is free and there is no need to book, everyone is welcome.

Singing for the Nation, Wednesday 2nd November 2011, 6pm

Dr James Davey, Research Curator (Naval and Maritime History), of the National Maritime Museum will be presenting his paper ‘Singing for the Nation: Balladry, Naval Recruitment, and the Language of Patriotism in Eighteenth Century Britain’.

The ballad was one of the most important vehicles of mass communication during the eighteenth century, geographically ubiquitous, and available to a broad spectrum of the British population. Ballads concerning the navy were a consistent and popular theme, particularly in times of war. In this seminar, James Davey will analyse the nature of these ballads, considering their market and potential political and social roles. Almost without exception, these ballads painted a positive picture of naval service, forwarding patriotic stereotypes alongside more tangible pecuniary benefits. This seminar will consider how ballads contributed to eighteenth century ideas about the navy, about patriotism, and indeed how this form of cultural media influenced the contested subject of naval recruitment.

This seminar will take place in room 075, Queen Anne Court, Old Royal Naval College, University of Greenwich at 6pm. Tea & Coffee will be available from 5.30pm and a glass of wine afterwards. The seminar is free and there is no need to book, everyone is welcome.