The Mariner's Mirror Podcast

This episode continues our series on the Cinque Ports, an ancient confederation of maritime towns in southeast England that from the early Middle Ages provided ships and men to the crown in return for special powers and privileges. They have since become rightly dubbed as the cradle of the Royal Navy. Our first episode explored the Cinque Ports’ rich history and now we’re on the road, visiting these magnificent sites of maritime history to bring you their individual stories. It’s a world of castles, churches, creeks, cobbled lanes, docks and harbours.This episode takes us to Faversham, nestled up the swale estuary in east Kent. Faversham was associated with the Cinque Ports from that group’s earliest days – we know that the town’s Barons were granted all the liberties of the ports as early as 1302. Today it is a fabulous place to enjoy maritime heritage: you can see the preservation of maritime skills and trades in creek-side sites and celebrate the restoration of historic ships & boats. All around are constant reminders that Faversham was a proud independent town and yet intimately linked with the Crown. To find out more Dr Sam Willis met up with past mayor, Trevor Martin, and Councillor Josh Rowlands, both brimming with stories of their town.

The Bremen Cog is a historical gem; the best-preserved medieval trading ship in the world. We know from her beautifully-preserved timbers that her construction dates from 1380, and her discovery dramatically unlocked a fascinating world not only of shipbuilding and seamanship but also of trade. This was a period in which trade routes and shipping were readying themselves for a great awakening that would lead to the making of the modern world.

This episode is the first of a series on the history of the Cinque Ports in which we bring you a mixture of fascinating history alongside a glimpse into contemporary life in these vibrant and ancient maritime towns. In the eleventh century during the reign of Edward the Confessor, five ports in the south-east of England joined together into a confederation for mutual protection and trade privileges. Hastings, New Romney, Hythe, Dover, and Sandwich were the original five ports; they were subsequently joined by Lydd, Faversham, Folkestone, Deal, Tenterden, Margate and Ramsgate which became known as ‘Limbs’ of the Cinque Ports; and then Rye and Winchelsea, designated as ‘Ancient Towns’. Not only did they help each other but they also helped the Crown: in return for providing men for the King’s ships they received significant municipal benefits. The nominal head of the Cinque Ports was given the title of ‘Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports’ and became one of the most influential people in the Kingdom. Over time the position has retained is significance and honour and has often been held by members of the Royal Family and Prime Ministers.To find out more Dr Sam Willis explores the deep history of the Cinque Ports with archaeologist and historian Dr Andrew Richardson and also speaks with Sue Jones, former Mayor of Dover and twice Speaker of the Cinque Ports. We also bring you along for a very special day at the Royal Military School in Dover to witness the installation of the new Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, Admiral Sir George Zambellas. In subsequent episodes we will explore some of the individual towns to get a sense of their intriguing past and dynamic present.

A mini-series on the maritime history of Germany launches with a visit to the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven, which has recently launched a stand-out new permanent exhibition 'Ship Realms - The Ocean and Us.' Through the clever presentation of artefacts amongst immersive displays, the exhibition powerfully makes the point that, the more we know about the connection between ships, shipping and the oceans, the better we can assess how they will influence the future. To find out more Dr Sam Willis took a tour of the new exhibition with the museum's Managing Director, Professor Ruth Schilling. We hear about the size and changing nature of the global fleet; how the shipbuilding industry and those who work in it has had a profound influence on shaping society; we hear about the importance of scientific research vessels and the competition for resources in the sea; there are sections on shipbuilding and propulsion, maritime networks and health.The new exhibition will set a benchmark for maritime history and heritage for years to come and places the German Maritime Museum as one of the world's leading hubs of maritime heritage.'Ships awaken longing and generate knowledge. They harness the forces of nature and change the world. There is no ship without teamwork: this applies to shipbuilding as well as to the crew on board. Ships demonstrate inventiveness and the joy of discovery. But they are also a means of and witness to the merciless exploitation of the earth - with irreversible consequences.'

In 1920, in the Cammell, Laird & Co. shipyard in Birkenhead, a ship was built that would change the shipbuilding industry and shipyards forever. ss Fullagar was the world's first fully welded ocean-going ship. For generations, ships' iron and steel hulls had been held together with rivets, put in place by specialist teams of riveters. In 1920 electric arc-welding was not a new technology but hitherto had only been used for repair, rather than construction. Fullagar changed that forever, though the technology was adopted slowly. No longer would vast teams of highly skilled and well-paid riveters populate the dockyards. This was a moment when technology took away the livelihood of thousands and changed forever the techniques of shipbuilding and the culture of the shipyards. To find out more Dr Sam Willis spoke with Max Wilson, Senior Archivist of Lloyd’s Register Foundation, the maritime classification society that surveyed and classed Fullager, overseeing this novel design and pivotal moment in maritime history.

This episode continues our work bringing you some of the finest original historical material, written by the people who were actually there. Today we bring you the war diary of the U-boat commander Kapitänleutnant Walther Schwieger, commander of U-20, from May 1915, when he sank the transatlantic liner Lusitania, full of civilian passengers. 1193 people died.On Friday 7th May 1915, Kapitänleutnant Schwieger found himself in the middle of a conundrum. Heading towards him was a large, four funnel ship. He knew that the British often commissioned four funnel warships as auxiliary cruisers. In his mind, his duty was clear, without warning, he loosed a torpedo, which hit the ship. After the first hit there was a subsequent large explosion, which resulted in the ship listing seriously, and eventually going under.Schwieger seems to have been appalled by the result of his attack and recorded "It looks as if the ship will stay afloat only for a very short time. [I gave order to] dive to 25 metres (82 ft) and leave the area seawards. I couldn't have fired another torpedo into this mass of humans desperately trying to save themselves." It appears that only then did he appreciate that he had torpedoed the Lusitania, which, in his favour, was known to be a potential Armed Merchant Cruiser. Schwieger was born in 1885 and in 1903 joined the Imperial German Navy aged 18. He chose the submarine service early and by 1912, he was appointed to command U-14 and was appointed to U-20 shortly after the outbreak of war. Allegedly, he had the reputation of shooting first and asking questions after. He was killed in U-88 on the 5th of September 1917, which probably hit a mine. During his wartime career, Schwieger captained three different submarines, on a total of 34 missions. He sank 49 ships, measuring 183,883 gross register tons (GRT).The fallout from the torpedoing of the Lusitania was very serious. The US President Woodrow Wilson (determined to keep out of the European War) was seriously displeased at the death of American lives and as a result of his representations, Kaiser Wilhelm gave immediate instructions to cease the unrestricted submarine warfare campaign. The resumption in 1917 after the Battle of Jutland directly caused the American declaration of War in 1917.Over the years, there have been many takes on the sinking of the Lusitania from conspiracy theories about Winston Churchill to hidden arms shipments. As always, the presentation of contemporary documents help us to understand the elements of history.