Mar 6 2011 12:00AM
Dr Cathryn Pearce, UCS Lecturer in History, attended the Society for Nautical Research’s (SNR) Centenary reception at Trinity House, Tower Hill, London, in her role as a Councillor of the Society, and as Secretary of the Publications Committee. Also attending was the Society’s Patron, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, who has held the position since 1979, when he succeeded his uncle Admiral The Earl Mountbatten of Burma.
The Society’s first President was Prince Phillip’s maternal grandfather, Admiral of the Fleet The Marquis of Milford Haven. Thus the Royal Family has had ties with the SNR since its inception. The Society’s President is HRH The Duke of York.
The SNR was founded in 1910, at a time when interest in the navy was running high; it was the era of the HMS Dreadnought, naval races, and concerns about Britain’s naval superiority. Rather than limit their interest to strictly naval research, which was covered by the Navy Records Society, the SNR was established to encourage research in maritime history and archaeology for all nations, to be a truly international society. Several of the first members were avid yachters.
They also began publishing the journal Mariner’s Mirror in 1911 to disseminate new knowledge; at one time there was a copy in the wardrooms of every Royal Navy ship and submarine through the Second World War. The Centenary issue has just rolled off the press this month.
Among the SNR’s greatest achievements are the rescue and preservation of the HMS Victory, and they have been behind the establishment of the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich and the Royal Navy Museum at Portsmouth. The society continues to support both museums, as well as the Victory and the Victory’s cutter, and we offer grants to support research and publishing of maritime history.
Find out more information about the SNR|.