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The British Army is regularly ranked as the best training provider in the UK, with the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force also in the top ten. The Military train a lot of people, from the most basic infantry training to advanced skills and leadership courses. At the pinnacle of this is the Defence Academy, which provides world-class professional defence and security education for UK military, civil service and the defence industry and for allies and partners from across the world. This article is based on the Prince Philip Lecture 2024 delivered by Major General Rowell at the Royal United Services Institute for Defence Studies at its Whitehall, London, headquarters on 10 July 2024. An abridged version of the first part of this paper appeared in Education Journal No. 568, 17 July 2024. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The naval town of Portsmouth bore a large portion of the brunt of the casualties lost at the Battle of Jutland (1916). The article will explore the precedent of naval philanthropy in Portsmouth and its historical links with naval disasters affecting the town which will lead to an analysis of how the town viewed their civic duty and mobilised local support for war widows immediately after the Battle of Jutland. It will then turn to assess the role of the local War Pensions Statutory Committee and its intersections with charitable organisations such as the Royal Patriotic Fund and Lady Beatty's Jutland Fund. The analysis will lastly explore some of the stories of the nearly 100-strong Jutland war widows who worked in Portsmouth Royal Dockyard during the war. It will highlight the agency of civic leaders in determining aspects of World War One relief and how war widows were able to navigate and survive their personal tragedies in a naval town. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In shallow water off the coast of West Sussex in England lies the wreck of a French built, English warship, lost in 1706. The remains represent a hybrid of French construction and armament with English organisation and adaption. This paper brings the site's investigations up to date, discussing new records relating to the structure and internal layout of the main site, as well as the discovery of several new areas, rich in guns and other artefacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For more than a century and a half, apprenticeship was of fundamental importance to the recruitment and training of British seafarers. From the introduction of compulsory apprenticeship in 1703, through the removal of compulsion in 1850 and up to the outbreak of the First World War, tens of thousands of boys and young men served apprenticeships on British ships, making up a substantial proportion of the maritime labour force. Apprenticeship in the merchant shipping industry has received little attention and the whole question of maritime training remains under-researched. This article opens by revisiting the debates of the 1840s over the Navigation Laws and argues that shipowners' attitudes to apprenticeship were ambivalent. It provides a survey of the decline and evolution of apprenticeship in the six decades following the repeal of the Navigation Laws, highlighting the unevenness of its decline and the existence of countervailing factors in some sectors. Finally, it examines the widespread concerns over the quality and skill of British seafarers and the impact of apprenticeship on recruitment to the Royal Navy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Model-making has been part of the history of the world as a scaled-down, and often simplified, version of an object. This form of representation has had different functions including validation, creative solution, communication and decoration among others. Models depicting ships are known at an early date from ancient Egypt, although some of those boats had funerary ritual symbolism. More than four millennia later the ship models of the eighteenth century were conceived at a time when naval power was reaching a new chapter offered by technological advancements. Such items, made for shipyards and wealthy patrons, showed details that otherwise would have been missed from the plans and became a physical record of the constructive accomplishment. When other data such as plans are missing, the details from these models are vital to determine the otherwise obscure provenance in the same way as details associated with written or pictorial accounts. The purpose of this paper is to determine the origin of the model SLR0436 stored at the National Maritime Museum's model collection at its Chatham site. The features of the model will be discussed as well as the merits of the different hypotheses, including the historical context. Finally, it proposes that the most credible provenance, given the evidence, is the Vittorio, a ship built in Deptford in 1716 for the Savoyard navy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex systems are difficult to manage, operate and maintain. This is why we see teams of highly specialised engineers in industries such as aerospace, nuclear and subsurface. Condition based monitoring is also employed to maximise the efficiency of extensive maintenance programmes instead of using periodic maintenance. A level of automation is often required in such complex engineering platforms in order to effectively and safely manage them. Advances in Artificial Intelligence related technologies have offered greater levels of automation but this potentially pivots the weight of decision making away from the operator to the machine. Implementing AI or complex algorithms into a platform can mean that the Operators' control over the system is diminished or removed altogether. For example, in the Boeing 737 Air Max Disaster, AI had been added to a platform and removed the operators' control of the system. This meant that the operator could not then move outside the extremely reserved, algorithm defined, "envelope" of operation. This paper analyses the challenges of AI driven condition based monitoring where there is a potential to see similar consequences to those seen in control engineering. As the future of society becomes more about algorithm driven technology, it is prudent to ask, not only whether we should implement AI into complex systems, but how this can be achieved ethically and safely in order to reduce risk to life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We research how deep learning convolutional neural networks can be used to automatically classify the unique data set of black-and-white naval ships images from the Wright and Logan photographic collection held by the National Museum of the Royal Navy. We contrast various types of deep learning methods: pretrained models such as ConvNeXt, ResNet and EfficientNet, and ConvMixer. We also thoroughly investigate the impact of data preprocessing and externally obtained images on model performance. Finally, we research how the models estimated can be made transparent using visually appealing interpretability techniques such as Grad-CAM. We find that ConvNeXt has the best performance for our data set achieving an accuracy of 79.62% for 0-notch classification and an impressive 94.86% for 1-notch classification. The results indicate the importance of appropriate image preprocessing. Image segmentation combined with soft augmentation significantly contributes to model performance. We consider this research to be original in several aspects. Notably, it distinguishes itself through the uniqueness of the acquired dataset. Additionally, its distinctiveness extends to the analytical modeling pipeline, which encompasses a comprehensive range of modeling steps, including data preprocessing (incorporating external data, image segmentation, and image augmentation) and the use of deep learning techniques such as ConvNeXt, ResNet, EfficientNet, and ConvMixer. Furthermore, the research employs explanatory tools like Grad-CAM to enhance model interpretability and usability. We believe the proposed methodology offers lots of potential for documenting historic image collections.

The royal ship Vanguard, the first of many English warships to bear that name, served three sovereigns between its construction in 1586 and scrapping in 1630. This article examines Vanguard's readiness, equipment, manning and deployment over 44 years, from the Armada battle of 1588 to the Cadiz campaign of 1596, from the 1620–1 expedition against the pirates of Algiers to the controversial French loan in 1625, and through phases of rest, refit and deterioration. Peacetime service saw Vanguard patrolling the Channel, hunting pirates and ferrying dignitaries as a much-used tool in England's defence and diplomacy. Serving Elizabeth I, Vanguard's talented captains included Sir William Wynter, Sir Martin Frobisher and Sir John Wingfield. Their Stuart successors included Sir William Monson, Sir Richard Hawkins and John Pennington. Administrative and financial records also identify some of the officers and ship's company. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the relatively unexplored relationship between Royal Navy flag and commissioned officers and shore-based secular and civic voluntary societies in the early Victorian period using the case study of the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Royal Benevolent Society. Portrayed in the literature as heroes and objectivized symbols of the glory of nation, naval officers instead had agency of their own. They were active facilitators, employing personal experience, naval culture and patronage networks to drive forward philanthropic initiatives for the society. They were crucial to the society's success, moving it forward to incorporation by an act of parliament in 1850, and to national and imperial expansion. It suggests that naval associative voluntary service needs to be considered more fully not only in naval history, but also within broader historical studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the actions of foreign navies and enemy privateers in the Caribbean have occupied the minds of maritime scholars, the role of the Royal Navy as an instrument of counterinsurgency to be used in suppressing self-liberation struggles by the enslaved has received much less attention. Yet, across the Caribbean, the Royal Navy was instrumental in securing victory for the colonial elite. In addressing this lacuna, this article revisits Fédon's rebellion in Grenada and the Second Carib War in St Vincent in 1795–1796, and the Jamaican Rebellion in 1831–1832, to suggest the extent of naval activity in confronting internal threats, and how responses to revolts illuminate the complex relationship between the navy and enslavement. In adopting its counterinsurgency role, after 1815 the navy found itself in the seemingly paradoxical situation of protecting enslavement and suppressing the slave trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The islands of the West Indies are often considered the most dangerous places for eighteenth century British sailors. Contemporary sources maintain that the level of sickness and mortality in the West Indies crippled the Royal Navy's fleet to such an extent as to render it extremely ineffective during the American Revolutionary War. There can be no doubt that disease, accidents and naval action had an effect on the Royal Navy in the West Indies; however the true extent of the impairment has been grossly exaggerated. This paper seeks to examine the precise effects of disease and mortality on British sailors stationed in the West Indies during the American War of Independence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of French Journal of British Studies / Revue Française de Civilisation Britannique is the property of Centre de Recherches et d'Etudes en Civilisation Britannique and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Worcester was the site of one of the earliest branches of the Navy League. It attracted the support of leading political figures in the area, as well as working- and lower-middle class members. It channelled imperialist enthusiasm in the locality and had access to local schoolchildren. Its efforts met with little opposition, though it encountered mockery in some quarters. The widespread acceptance of its message, however, did not mean that the branch was able to maintain the momentum of its early growth. Membership stagnated as rival patriotic leagues emerged that were better able to harness local sentiment. The branch's decision in 1906 to concentrate on schools did little to stem its decline, and an effort to revive it on the eve of the First World War was undermined by that conflict. Examining the Navy League in Worcester reveals how a section of the city's community promoted imperial patriotism and the limits of what they could achieve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shipping interests of Miguirditch Gumuchdjian stemmed from a coal enterprise established in Constantinople in the mid-1890s. A local business partnership operating as coal-mine proprietors and ship owners acquired its first vessel around 1900. From 1902 Gumuchdjian focused on coal importing and shipping, further vessels being acquired or managed under different flags between 1910 and 1914. In the early twentieth century the Turkish coal industry and the prevailing geopolitical situations presented both opportunities and risks. These factors were shaped by external conflicts, demands for independence within the widespread territories of the Ottoman empire, rising Turkish nationalism and the empire's decline, resulting in the declaration of the Turkish Republic in 1923. The First World War proved eventful, with vessels requisitioned for war service and sunk by Allied naval actions. As an Armenian Christian, Gumuchdjian's personal situation became difficult, necessitating a temporary relocation to London between 1915 and 1919 and a permanent move in 1923. His London-based shipping and trading business continued until 1932, when financial and management problems led to its closure. These events are examined in relation to the external contexts and the changing fortunes of a small shipping enterprise over more than three decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When the town of Lewes in Sussex commissioned a plaque to commemorate an ex-American destroyer adopted as a part of their Warship Week in the Autumn of 1942, an Admiralty representative stated that the ship symbolised the 'imperishable' and 'unbreakable' links existent between Britain and America. The local newspaper also reported, 'The people living in the country did not fully appreciate all that was meant by the term 'sea power' and that 'they existed today through the work of ships like HMS Lewes.' This article examines the symbolic role of the fifty destroyers transferred under the 1940 destroyers for bases deal, and argues that they became potent emblems of Anglo-American unity. It explores the rhetoric, propaganda, adoptions and naming practices which surrounded the transfer of the destroyers to argue that they were tangible symbols used to publicly navigate issues of British identity and naval power raised by the deal. By examining the ways in which the ships were renamed, repurposed and adopted by regional communities, this paper will demonstrate that the ships were predominantly valuable for their perceived promotion of the relationship between the two navies, governments and nations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study looks at the extensive domestic crisis in Great Britain known as the 1909 Naval Scare, which had a major impact on the course of Anglo-German naval rivalry in the period prior to the outbreak of World War One. The primary objective of the study is to analyse the causes and consequences of the events, which drew the attention of the government and general public in regard to the rate of arming of the navy. The author mainly relies on published sources, academic publications and periodicals published at the time. The crisis can be considered an important milestone in the naval arms race. This had initially broken out at the end of the 19th century between most global powers, but with Great Britain's introduction of new types of ship in 1906 and 1907 it flared up between Great Britain and Germany in particular. A number of triggers came together in 1909 in Britain to cause an extensive government crisis which turned into public panic over the German naval threat, leading to a massive construction programme for the year 1909-10 and a significant increase in expenditure on the navy. Endeavours to reduce spending led to Reginald McKenna being appointed to head the admiralty in 1908. Did McKenna really complete his mission? Was the crisis based on justified fears, or was it a result of factors which made the situation appear worse than it actually was? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The defeat of the Chinese pirate Shap-ng-tsai (Zhang Kaiping) by forces from the British and Qing empires in the waters of Vietnam is one of the most impressive naval victories of the mid-nineteenth century. Despite the magnitude of the engagement, it has received limited and mostly one-sided analysis. Engaging with a wider array of sources, particularly those from Qing authorities, allows for a more holistic reconstruction of Shap-ng-tsai's defeat and an assessment of its significance. A comparison between accounts by British and Chinese officials reveals discrepancies reflecting the limits of each side's authority at sea and how they used their (mis)understanding of each other to justify killing thousands of pirates in the waters of a foreign state. Anglo-Qing cooperation against Shap-ng-tsai would provide a model for future anti-piracy expeditions and helped improve relations between Britain, China, and Vietnam in the mid-nineteenth century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In mid-1851 a civil war erupted in Chile following a presidential election in which Manuel Montt defeated José María de la Cruz. Many of Cruz's supporters were sent to the distant penal colony of Magallanes. In November 1851, Lieutenant Miguel José Cambiaso, who was part of the garrison, was jailed for insubordination and subsequently led a bloody mutiny disguised as a revolt by Cruz's supporters. The mutiny is familiar to historians of the period, but what is less well known is the key role played by the British in suppressing it. Contrary to previous historiography, the Chilean government pleaded for British intervention. Given the poor state of the Chilean navy and the precariousness of communications with the penal colony, the Chilean government had no option but to resort to British naval forces. This incident illustrates a new dimension of Anglo-Chilean relations during the mid-nineteenth century which cannot be defined solely as imperialistic; Chilean authorities actively sought cooperation from the British. It also highlights the fragility of the process of state formation in a republic long praised as an example of successful political transition from colony to republic, as well as the lack of commitment of the Chilean government to shoring up state power in Magallanes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eighteenth-century naval ships were impressive infrastructures, but subjected to extraordinary strain. To assist with their "voyage repairs," the Royal Navy gradually established numerous overseas bases, displaying the power, reach, and ruthless logistical efficiency of the British state. This article, however, is concerned with what happened where no such bases (yet) existed, in parts of the world falling in between areas of direct British administration, control, or influence. The specific restrictions imposed by technology and infrastructures have been studied by historians interested in naval strategy, but they can also help to reframe national narratives of power or observe the transnational interactions surrounding access to knowledge and resources. This paper discusses the material, cultural, and diplomatic constraints that could appear when vessels, and especially "discovery ships," sailed in strange waters or sought technical assistance in allied ports. I argue that the "mortification" of some commanders at their vessels' unfitness for service was an important – and often neglected – element on the palette of emotions undergone by voyagers, capturing their strong sense of ultimate material powerlessness. Such frustration even became embedded in imperial cartography, as shown by the case study of Matthew Flinders. This perspective highlights the limits of naval technology, complicating imperialistic "success stories" and better reintegrating the navy into the history of maritime travel and transportation, from which it is often singled out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The examination for lieutenant marked a key moment in the eighteenth-century Royal Navy officer's career. This article scrutinizes the mythologized narrative of the proceedings of Nelson's 1777 examination for lieutenant. Comptroller of the Navy and Nelson's own uncle, Maurice Suckling, presided over the examining board in order to ensure his nephew's success. This article explores why Suckling felt the need to exert his influence in this overt way, despite Nelson's demonstrated capabilities at sea up to this point; and why Nelson and his biographers endeavoured to conceal this gesture in the decades and centuries that followed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the account books of Antonio Franchi (1638–1709), a portraitist at the Medici court, a surprisingly high number of commissions came from British merchants and captains living in the port city of Livorno in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. Outlining a parallel between Britain's port cities and artworks of the same period, this contribution analyses the reasons why British demand for portraiture became such an important phenomenon in the life of Florentine painters during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Second, it explores the characteristics of portrait-making in Livorno and the identity of the patrons, with a focus on the relations between merchants and captains of the Royal Navy. Lastly, the article takes into consideration the dispersion of most portraits produced in port cities and how this can be linked to maritime and naval careers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the Royal Navy (RN) in the aftermath of the Falklands War of 1982, focussing on the long-standing disparity between commitments and resources in UK defence planning. Two central arguments are developed. First, it is argued that the 1981 defence review failed to address the disparity between UK commitments with resources. Second, despite victory in the Falklands War, the UK naval lobby failed to reverse the long-term decline in the size of the RN although, in the long-term, the 1982 war reinforced the case for enhancing RN maritime aviation capabilities. This article presents a case of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and the RN seeking, and failing, to resolve an insoluble problem. This analysis of UK naval policy demonstrates that British defence planning remains torn between a maritime strategy and a continental commitment to the present day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Combatant memoirs are a valuable source for historians of conflict in general and of the Falklands War in particular, revealing experiences of war that would otherwise be beyond recovery. This chapter provides a previously unpublished memoir (written in 2006) of the Falklands War by Lieutenant Commander Michael Ambler (d. 2009), who served on the staff of Commodore Michael Clapp on hms Fearless. Included in the footnotes are entries from the diary kept by the author day by day during the course of the war. The memoir is introduced by Professor Helen Parr, who places the account in the broader context of autobiographical writings on the Falklands War and draws attention to its potential value as a primary source for historians of conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Before the First World War, the law stated that only Anglican clergy could perform religious services aboard British warships; clergy of other denominations were, other than in exceptional circumstances, barred from undertaking this role. For a brief period at the start of the twentieth century an informal and unpublicized attempt was made to circumvent this requirement and provide Catholic sailors with access to their own priests at sea. The reasons for this policy, how it operated and why it ended are explored in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The (his)story of Samuel Pepys is interlinked with that of administration, accounting, auditing and their concepts. In terms of nascent ideas of accounting and business administration of the time, Pepys and his contribution are under-researched. Many scholars have considered the life of Samuel Pepys, studying his famous diary and marvelling at the wonderful insight this gives us to the time in which he lived, few have viewed his naval career in terms of its business administration and accounting contribution. This article studies Pepys's diary, his correspondence and secondary literature to provide an insight into his business world. It explores his role, as he perceived it. Pepys had modern attitudes to business, professionalism and the role of accounting, this forward-thinking attitude helps explain his extraordinary achievements. Pepys was not only a skilled naval administrator but also a natural 'accomptant' in the more modern and all-encompassing sense of the word accountant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the first half of the nineteenth century, dozens of ships were built in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, for the British Admiralty. The combination of timber from the Malabar teak forests and a skilled Indian workforce produced vessels of the highest quality. But of the ships built in India, only five original, Indian-carved figureheads survive. Records suggest that most of these ships had their figureheads carved in England and either shipped to India or installed when the ships arrived at the Royal Navy dockyards. Using the evidence of the surviving carvings themselves, along with archival records, this study seeks to address the inconsistency of the nineteenth century Indian-built ship's figureheads, by exploring why some arrived fully carved from India, while others had considerable time and expense spent on a British version. It discusses what the Indian survivors tell us about the differences between the work of the Indian and British carvers, and what the attitude to Indian craftsmanship was during this period. It explores if this had an impact on the Admiralty's choice of carver, and if other factors were at work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seen as a crucial historical step in the development of 'modern' institutional healthcare, eighteenth-century British naval medicine has traditionally been studied from the point of view of the state and of physicians and surgeons: naval sailors' attitudes towards health, medicine and their own bodies remain virtually unexplored. Using official and personal sources, this article sketches a 'patient's history' of late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century British ratings. Aiming to counterbalance Foucauldian interpretations, it highlights some of the ways in which individuals, even when apparently most powerless, confined in ships far from home, and controlled by rigidly disciplined institutions, could take responsibility for their health, successfully or otherwise, within, against or alongside the system. If the unprecedented administrative requirements of the French Wars strengthened and standardised top-down medical authority, they also brought opportunities for evasion and negotiation. This complicates established narratives of the relationship between modern medicine, the armed forces and power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pinewood of Leiria is the most renowned Portuguese woodland. This article aims to shed light on the forest policies, administration, and governance of the pinewood from its blurry origins in the late 1200s to the late 1700s. By the early 15th century the state (Monarchy) had established a permanent bureaucracy for its management, with the main purpose of ensuring the availability of timber for shipbuilding. Throughout the Early Modern Age, the Portuguese Monarchy carefully managed the pinewood, paving the way for 19th-century scientific forestry. The fire of 1613 marked a turning point in the management of the pinewood, further linking the fate of the pinewood to the royal navy. The pinewood of Leiria is an ecosystem that has resulted from centuries of sound management by the Portuguese state. To unravel its history, this article combines the methods and materials of history, geography, and historical cartography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Captain Frederick Marryat is among the most noted writers of the nineteenth century. This article explains why he became a distinguished figure. Throughout his life, he was a Conservative traditionalist and warned against the dangers of revolution, especially the French Revolution. The article clarifies how he supported the monarchical system of Britain and refers to several of his works. He served in the Royal Navy for many years, during which he experienced wondrous adventures. After he was invalided from the service because of fracturing a blood vessel, he turned to writing. In his writing career, he was critical of some of the deficiencies of the Royal Navy. Using a historical approach, this article discusses how he expressed his criticism and what effects it had on society. Among his writings was a work which angered King William IV, leading to his decision to exclude Marryat from his knighthood list. After this, Marryat wrote two books censuring the King for the corruption in his government and for removing him from the knighthood list. After the death of the King, Queen Victoria ascended the throne. This was the start of a new phase of life for Marryat. This article discusses how Marryat endeavoured to change his status in relation to the Royal Family and how he called upon Queen Victoria to act as a judge regarding his conflict with the preceding monarch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of De Computis is the property of Asociacion Espanola de Contabilidad y Administracion de Empresas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Studies on indiscipline and unrest aboard ship during the Age of Sail so far have mostly focused on the norm-violating behaviours of common seamen. This article, by contrast, investigates acts of insubordination committed by warrant and commissioned officers in the Royal Navy, using courts martial records as sources. It traces the contours of that historical phenomenon, identifying common confrontations as well as less frequent ones that may prove to be particularly revealing about disobedience among naval officers and what this can tell us about governance afloat and its challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

When a British or North American nuclear-powered submarine docks at the southern dock of the port / naval Base of Gibraltar, it is usual for environmental groups in the neighbouring Spanish area to come to the fore protesting this scale and airing the dangers it entails that repeated presence. Regardless of the numbers and given the repetition of these visits, it is worth considering what is the relevance of the Gibraltar facilities, and also those of Rota, for the operation of these platforms and. Moreover, it is key to stress the importance of the submarines – nuclear or not – for the Navies of the countries that possess them, in the context of the current international strategic situation. This article evaluate what happened and what was done when in Gibraltar a submarine of the Royal Navy, the ‘HMS Tireless’, was docked for a year repairing a failure in the primary cooling circuit of its nuclear reactor. The security aspect of the population living a very short distance from the nuclear submarine berths is reflected in the nuclear emergency plan available to Gibraltar and the absence of it on the Spanish side of the Gate. The article will also review the internal nuclear emergency plan available to the US-Spain Rota Base and the absence, once again, of a civil emergency plan for the towns that surround it.

After the opening of the port of Tianjin 天津 in the 1860s, the Tianjin Customs Office was established in Zizhulin 紫竹林. Although its stated objective was the collection of customs duties, it also attached great importance to the investigation and monitoring of the hydrographic information of the lower reach of the Hai River 海河, as it was the basis for the safe navigation of vessels, which also affected the collection of tariffs and even the modern urban development of Tianjin. This article examines the channels through which Tianjin Customs collected and constructed hydrological knowledge of the lower reach of the Hai River between 1861 and 1899. It then investigates how, on the basis of this hydrographic knowledge, Tianjin Customs made use of and responded to two important facets related to the river. First, it describes how Tianjin Customs sought to establish navigation equipment and measures. Second, from the 1880s the silting and overflowing of the lower course of the Hai River had seriously affected trade and the people's livelihoods, causing Chinese and foreign officials, as well as merchant groups, to express concern. The article looks at the role Tianjin Customs played in the process of dredging and improving the watercourse. In sum, this article uses the above-mentioned hydrological issues to gain a better understanding of the significance of Customs in the late Qing dynasty and the role played by Western hydrological knowledge and technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 1990s Charles Foster claimed that a commercial Cheshire cheese trade began in 1650, the year when the first coastwise cargo from Chester was recorded in the London port books. One purpose of this research note is to embellish Foster's claim by suggesting that an even greater influence on this trade was the adoption from the early 1840s by England's state-appointed victuallers of Cheshire cheese as one of their standard commodities. They then supplied it in bulk to the navy and also to army garrisons in theatres of war such as Ireland and Scotland. The victualler who played the principal role in this provisioning from the 1640s to the 1670s was Denis Gauden. His career is followed, and his final downfall, which was caused by inadequate and chaotic government financial systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]