Representing The Royal Navy

From the mid 18th century up till after memories of the Napoleonic wars and the glories of 'Nelson's navy' had faded, the Royal Navy was the bulwark of Britain's defence and the safeguard of trade and imperial expansion. While there have been political and military histories of the Navy in this period, looking at battles and personalities, and studies of its administration and the life below decks, this book is the first study of the Navy in a cultural context, exploring contemporary attitudes to war and peace and to ideologies of race and gender. As well as literary sources, Dr Lincoln draws on the vast collections of the National Maritime Museum, in paintings, cartoons, and ceramics, amongst others, to focus attention on material that has hitherto been little used - even research into the general culture of the late-Georgian age has, curiously, neglected perceptions of the Navy, which was one of its major institutions. Individual chapters discuss the attitudes of particular groups towards the Navy - merchants, politicians, churchmen, women, scientists, and the seamen themselves - and how these attitudes changed over the course of the period.

Four years ago the Second Sea Lord of the Royal Navy asked Andrew St George to spend time with every level of the Navy staff, from junior sailors in the engine room of an aircraft carrier, to handlers of landing craft, through to Royal Marines, ships’ commanders, and Royal Navy staff right up to Navy Board and Cabinet level, with the aim of creating a book which distils the leadership culture of perhaps the most highly respected and efficient organization in the world. This book charts that journey – representing the largest piece of research on Royal Navy leadership ever done – and it is the current state of the art leadership framework for the Navy. St George writes about how to plan and execute, how to exercise judgment and how to motivate people. Everything in the book is here because it works, tested over thousands of hours of hard training, rigorous assessment and absolute measurement. The book’s messages are deceptively simple. In order to succeed we must have: the clarity of intent; the strategy; the resources; a contingency plan; an emotional investment. These tenets stand in all walks of business and personal life. The Royal Navy’s way of getting things done depends on soft skills, high emotional intelligence and an understanding of how people work in small teams.This book (15,000 copies) will be issued to every Royal Navy officer and Senior Rate (middle manager) in the Service. The book’s insights are profound and their applications are wide-ranging: for industry, for finance, for professional services, for commerce, for academia and for the public sector these methods of planning, executing and inspiring make a tried, tested and effective way of leadership.

Factually detailed and technically accurate, this is also a readable, entertaining narrative, an incisive study that is sure to appeal to all current or ex-service personnel, historians, enthusiast and anyone interested in the story of Britain's Navy. An authentic record of the development of the Royal navy, this single volume represents an important historical review. It is an immensely informative yet superbly accessible and readable book: the factual foundation so important in a wide-ranging general history such as this has been carefully constructed so as to give the background details the reader and enthusiast will naturally wish to find.

Jack Tar to Union Jack examines the intersection between empire, navy, and manhood in British society from 1870 to 1918. Through analysis of sources that include courts-martial cases, sailors’ own writings, and the HMS Pinafore, Conley charts new depictions of naval manhood during the Age of Empire, a period which witnessed the radical transformation of the navy, the intensification of imperial competition, the democratisation of British society, and the advent of mass culture. Jack Tar to Union Jack argues that popular representations of naval men increasingly reflected and informed imperial masculine ideals in Victorian and Edwardian Britain. Conley shows how the British Bluejacket as both patriotic defender and dutiful husband and father stood in sharp contrast to the stereotypic image of the brave but bawdy tar of the Georgian navy. This book will be essential reading for students of British imperial history, naval and military history, and gender studies.

This new history of the Royal Navy, published to coincide with the Golden Jubilee of the White Ensign Association, is a full and exciting account of all the many campaigns, operations and deployments conducted around the world from the Cold War and the Cod Wars to the Falklands War and the Gulf Wars. It has been written and compiled from privileged access to secret and confidential Admiralty Plans and Commanding Officers' reports and contains a wealth of previously unpublished material. The story of how the Royal Navy has adapted to meet the many new challenges of the modern world and how it has carried out its vital roles from manning the nation's strategic nuclear deterrent to guarding the vital offshore oil and gas facilities as well as protecting Britain's worldwide interests is a truly fascinating one, while the development of ships, submarines, aircraft, weapons, tactics and strategies as well as the changes in personnel and life at sea are brought to life by contributions from people who served over the period. Profusely illustrated throughout with many previously unpublished photographs and paintings, this beautifully-produced volume is a magnificent golden jubilee tribute to the Royal Navy.