June 15

Highlights:

1. Brexit Flotilla
2. Archives and more old books
3. Megan came to visit me in London!!!

All the Details:

National Maritime Museum, Greenwich

View from the Thames

Wednesday morning, we took the Thames Clipper boat to Greenwich, which meant that we had a front row seat to the Leave vs. Remain flotilla. We were aware that the country was gearing up for the referendum vote, but this was the first time that the campaigns became a prominent part of our day. Luckily, we missed the water hose fight between the two parties, but we did see a large boat of policemen pass our boat and head towards the collecting group.

Once we made it to Greenwich, we walked to the National Maritime Museum to see their library and archives. First, we saw some books and documents relating to various maritime events. We saw material relating to Captain Matthew Webb, who was the first to swim across the English Channel. We were shown an article detailing Webb’s unassisted swim in the Illustrated London News. Another archival material we were shown was the diary of Captain James Spratt detailing the Battle of Trafalgar. His account was lively and detailed, sounding more like a description of a pirate movie than a naval battle. Another artifact was a ticket for admission to Admiral Horatio Nelson’s funeral, accompanied by the somewhat stomach turning account of the preservation of his body leading up to the funeral. 

Next, we were taken on a tour through the main library and reading room before exploring some of the stacks. The library has spaces available for patrons looking for somewhat quiet study areas, as well as silent reading spots. They provide printing and imaging technology and computers. The library materials include records of the Admiralty, select Crew Lists, rare books, maps, folios, periodicals, and pamphlets, all relating to maritime topics. It is a rich collection of materials that are extremely helpful, especially for researchers.

National Maritime Museum Archival Items

While we were at the National Maritime Museum my friend from college, Megan, was traveling from the airport to meet up with me in Greenwich. I was so excited to hang out with her in London! We did have a problem with her luggage being lost and then not delivered properly, but we were able to work it out the next morning. On the positive side, our luggage mishap resulted in Thursday being the most AMAZING day!