In 2006, The Marine Society celebrated its 250th year of support for our nation’s seafarers and surely it could not have wished for a more fitting testimony to such a remarkable record than to be the subject of this splendid book. …of daring temper is an impressive work. Author Richard Woodman - renowned maritime writer, ex seafarer, and himself a former beneficiary of the Society’s services and inspiration - uses his considerable literary skills and story-telling talents to produce a text that is both authoritative and wholly readable. Woodman has drawn upon two and a half centuries worth of archival material to produce a riveting narrative that captures the imagination of the reader from the outset and never relinquishes its grip.
For this is a story that needs to be told: a unique tale, peppered with the ingredients of a classic rollercoaster read - courage, ambition, empathy and steely determination – all set against a maritime backcloth. The story’s principal players across the generations, whilst never being afraid of eschewing controversy or shrinking from radical opinion, always managed to remain in tune with the vicissitudes of their nation’s changing maritime fortunes. Herein perhaps lies the underlying formula to The Marine Society’s enduring success: it always seemed to deliver what was required at the right time. Of course there is no great surprise that such a formula should have bode so well: coming up with the goods everybody needs at the most opportune time remains the fundamental tenet of good business practice that it has always been. This beautifully presented book, with over 80 original images, takes us from the mid-eighteenth century initiatives of its energetic founder and brings us right up to the present when The Marine Society & Sea Cadets represents the country’s pre-eminent maritime charity.
The Society’s founder, Jonas Hanway, we are told, was a well-connected merchant and philanthropist who travelled widely in eastern Europe in pursuit of his business interests. Here was a charismatic and pragmatic figure blessed with astute business skills who recognised the value publicity and was not reticent in his pursuit of it. Upon the outbreak of the Seven Years War in 1756 Hanway and a group of associates met at a central London pub. Uppermost in their minds was the fear that the war would adversely affect trading conditions. Seafarers, and especially quality seafarers, were in desperately short supply: understandably, given the appalling contemporary conditions at sea, there were few volunteers for a lifestyle that meant misery and deprivation for all and death for many. Hanway and his coterie had good reason based upon recent precedent to suspect that the Royal Navy’s press gangs would poach the crews that were so crucially needed to man his and fellow merchants’ ships. Something had to be done to keep the shipping lanes open and the merchant ships manned – a familiar enough reprise down the ages!
Hanway’s resourceful solution was to set in motion a scheme to recruit manpower for the Navy that would, at a stroke, secure his business interests and present himself as the kindly patrician. He would rescue destitute boys from the streets of London who could be utilised to man the King’s ships. By so doing, everyone would benefit. ‘Charity and policy united’ was Hanway’s rallying cry for this plan, and very appropriate it was. It demonstrates a shrewd business plan wrapped in an appealing, apparently magnanimous gesture to the disadvantaged. It was thus, on 25 June 1756, that The Marine Society was created as the vehicle that would implement the plan. Jonas Hanway served the Society until his death in 1786. Without his entrepreneurial vision the Society would not have existed but, as Woodman makes clear, Hanway’s zeal and commitment was shared by many others.
The Thornton family (eleven of them) provided the Society with a Treasurer right through until the recent merger with the Sea Cadet Association, with one of the family still a Trustee today. The Romney family (a member of which founded The Royal Society of Arts in 1754) provided The Marine Society with a President almost without interruption from 1772 (when The Society was incorporated by an Act of Parliament) until 2004. The present Earl of Romney serves as a Trustee. There can be few charities in the entire world where such dynastic continuity has perpetuated down the generations. There is an interesting parallel between the aims of Jonas Hanway 250 years ago and the merger at the end of 2004 between The Marine Society and the Sea Cadet Association. Boys then were supplied to the Navy and for many years later the Admiralty provided the Society with training ships. The Admiralty today supports the charity, which in turn helps prepare young men for the sea services and so arguably the 2004 merger was not far removed from a homecoming.
Richard Woodman has produced a wonderfully rich and illuminating story that will appeal to all with an affinity with the sea. This book is a real treat, and at a price which represents remarkable value for money. A splendid and elegantly written history of the world’s oldest maritime charity” NUMAST
. “A handsome book worthy of attention by all with an interest in Britain and the sea” NAVY NEWS
. “Richard Woodman writes with expertise and affection for an organisation that has been a wonderful encouragement to so many people” MICHAEL GREY, LLOYDS LIST
“Given the nature of the Society and its extensive involvement in seamen’s education, this book deserves and is certain to have a wide readership” THE NAUTICAL MAGAZINE
“It positively smells of rigging tar and it takes you aloft to handle sail” NAUTICAL INSTITUTE – SEAWAYS
“Captures perfectly the warp and weft of this country’s maritime history, demonstrating the importance of ships and maritime skills to the nation” LLOYDS LIST
