10 Minutes to Seaward

Life in the Victorian Merchant Navy

Life as a merchant navy sailor in the victorian era was hard. It was a difficult and dangerous job, but it was also a vital job as by he end of the victorian era Britain had become dependent on imports of food to stop its growing population form starving. The script and all the sources for this video can be found on our website. 

Abominable Hulk : reformatory ships of the Victorian era

The history of the prison ships that were used that were used to lock up criminals during the victorian era. This video takes the story from their beginning, through the reformatory ships  of the victorian era, and onto the end of that era in the early years of the twentieth century.
An annotated script and all of the sources can be found on the Bluejackets website 

A wicked Noah's Ark : the industrial training ships of the Victorian era

During the Victorian period institutions known as Industrial Training Ships sprang up around the coasts of Britain. They were similar to the infamous Industrial Schools, but they were set up to train youths in danger of beginning a life of crime for a useful career at sea instead.
All the sources for this talk are on the Bluejackets Website

Beatie Fry : the victorian superwoman

Beatie Fry created the Training Ship Mercury and turned it into the famous institution for training young sailors. She ran it until the day that she died, but what made this formidable lady the woman that she was?
The script and sources can be found on the Bluejackets Reenactment Society website: 

Ship Master : Making Officers Of The Merchant Navy

What was the Merchant Navy? And did you need to do if you wanted to become an officer on a ship of the Merchant Navy?
The script and sources can be found on the Bluejackets website.

Premier Kru : West African Sailors In The Royal Navy

Who were the West African sailors that served with the Royal Navy?
The script and sources can be found on the Bluejackets website.

Boy sailors : How young could you join the royal navy?

The Royal Navy liked to recruit sailors young so that they would be able to accept the a life at sea, but how young could you be in order to volunteer for service?
 
The script and sources can be found on our website 

Making Jack Tar : How were sailors recruited?

How did the Royal Navy recruit the sailors that it needed to man its ships?
There is an annotated script and sources on the bluejackets website

An Officer And A Gentleman : How Do Officers Get That Way?

How were officers recruited into the Royal Navy and what was their training like once they had been accepted
 
An annotated script and sources can be found on the Bluejackets Reenactment Society website

Jack's Blade : What Is A Cutlass?

What makes a cutlass a cutlass, how id it evolve, and why is the pop-culture of a cutlass nothing like the real sword
 
A script and sources can be found on the Bluejackets Reenactment Society website