From the days of sail to the majestic ocean liners of the twentieth century, this is a history of British sea travel from a passenger's point of view.Each chapter narrates one traveller's voyage based on their first-hand description, and the day-to-day details of their experience. Their stories, some previously unpublished, illustrate the evolution of journeys by sea, exploring three and a half centuries of maritime travel. Simon Wills transports readers from Elizabethan times to t...

Photographs of your seafaring ancestors may tell you more about their lives than you realize, and Simon Willss helpful and practical guide shows you how to identify and interpret the evidence caught on camera. Since maritime roles have been so vital to Britains prosperity and military might, they are among the commonest professions depicted in photographs of our ancestors, and his handbook is the ideal introduction to them.Maybe your ancestor was a seaman in the Royal Navy, a ships captain...

What were the principal causes of death in the past? Could your ancestor have been affected? How was disease investigated and treated, and what did our ancestors think about the illnesses and the accidents that might befall them? Simon Willss fascinating survey of the diseases that had an impact on their lives seeks to answer these questions. His graphic, detailed account offers an unusual and informative view of the threats that our ancestors lived with and died of. He describes the commo...

Make Arbor Day every day with little known and intriguing facts about the plants that populate our forests, give us shade, and clean our air.Have you ever wondered how trees got their names? What did our ancestors think about trees, and how were they used in the past? This fascinating book will answer many of your questions, but also reveal interesting stories that are not widely known. For example, the nut from which tree was predicted to pay off the UK's national...

Based on a true story, a riveting novel of a deadly hurricane, a dramatic rescue attempt, and a quest for redemption in a nineteenth-century English town . . .Dorset, England, 1866: The worst hurricane in over a century is devastating the south coast of England. In the town of Poole, the newly appointed lifeboat is launched to aid the numerous stricken ships in the vicinity—but unaccountably fails to save any lives. Many sailors drown as a result.In an era ...

"Intriguing stories from the history of the human relationship with birds, including their symbolism in art, literature, religion, and folklore" ( Booklist ).Even the most well-informed wildlife enthusiast will be entertained by the stories and fascinating facts in this beautifully illustrated book.Our ancestors hunted, tamed, worshipped, and depicted birds, and even bestowed magical properties upon them. Why did a...

What was a merchant seamans life like in the past, what experiences would he have had, what were the ships like that he sailed in, and what risks did he run? Was he shipwrecked, rewarded for bravery, or punished? And how can you find out about an ancestor who was a member of the long British maritime tradition? Simon Wills concise and informative historical guide takes the reader and researcher through the fascinating story of Britains merchant service, and he shows you how to trace indivi...

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 assoc...

The loss of the Costa Concordia in 2012 shocked Europe when thirty-two passengers died on a luxury liner. Yet in mid-Victorian times, more lives than this were lost in shipwrecks every week. This book will tell the story of one particularly notorious Victorian wreck that the author has been researching for over ten years. The sinking of the SS London in 1866 provoked incredulity because of the especially heavy death toll: a large, new, luxury liner en route to Australia went down shortly a...

Discover hundreds of intriguing, entertaining & often hilarious origins to the English language's most curious phrases in this trivia book from a bestselling author.English is filled with interesting phrases. This book reveals the surprising, captivating and even hilarious origins behind 400 of them, including:• Read between the Lines• Cat Got Your Tongue?• Put a Sock in It• Close, but No Cigar• Bring Home the Bacon• Caught Red-Handed• Under the Wea...

Delve into the fascinating world of dirt in this history of culture, cleanliness, and our evolving perceptions of what is and isn't gross.In this engaging and often humorous study of life's imperfections, public health and hygiene authority Terence McLaughlin dissects our attitudes toward the filth that has accompanied society throughout human history. According to him, "dirt" is a matter of opinion.Cultural attitudes about everything from factory smoke to ...

Richard Breitman's Official Secrets is an important work based on newly declassified archives.As defeat loomed over the Third Reich in 1945, its officials tried to destroy the physical and documentary evidence about the Nazis' monstrous crimes, about their murder of millions. Great Britain already had some of the evidence, however, for its intelligence services had for years been intercepting, decoding, and analyzing German police radio messages and SS ones...