News & stories
Filter
Love, war and a wedding gift
It wasn’t lace, or silk, or something borrowed. Instead, it was stitched from a flag. White fabric, once flown at sea, carefully cut and sewn…
Spy or tourist? The curious case of Captain Trench
History is often told through dates, battles and treaties. But sometimes the most compelling stories are about people: their curiosity, their courage…
Surviving the storm: The Tale of HMS Eurydice
Benjamin Cuddiford was one of only two survivors onboard HMS Eurydice (the other was Sydney Fletcher) when it capsized with more than 300 people…
Flying into Fire: Eugene Esmonde and the attack on Bismarck
The wind over the Ark Royal’s deck didn’t just bite; it bruised. Eugene Esmonde stood by his Swordfish, the fabric of the wings shivering in the gale…
The Captain’s Cabin on HMS Caroline
The Captain’s cabin was a private sanctuary, a place to think, a temporary relief from the burden of command. Complete with a desk, a bed and even a…
Ernie: A Sailor’s Lucky Charm Beneath the Waves
Gus Britton didn’t just carry orders with him when he went to sea. He carried a small version of himself. Somewhere inside the tight, oil-scented…
The bell that survived three generations of Hoods
Among the many objects preserved in the collections of Royal Navy Museums is a simple ship’s bell. Like all naval bells, it once rang through the…
Victory in diversity
Imagine standing on a lower gun deck so crowded you can barely stretch your arms, surrounded by 820 men from every corner of the globe. This was the…
Keeping the craft of traditional rigging alive: Meet Dinnie Jay, rigger at the National Museum of the Royal Navy
At just 30 years old, Dinnie Jay has already built a career that bridges centuries of marine heritage. Originally from Boston, USA, Dinnie studied…
Icon article: Inside ‘The Big Repair’: An Archaeological Block-Lift of a Hull Fragment from HMS Victory
In December 2025, after months of material testing and research, members of HMS Victory: The Big Repair’s Conservation Team undertook an…
Jane Austen and the Royal Navy
Jane Austen, born on 16 December 1775 in the Hampshire village of Steventon, is celebrated for her novels about the upper and middle classes of early…
I became a boatbuilder at 45!
Emily Stokes swapped a successful career in environmental science for boatbuilding - and never looked back.
HMS Victory: Conservation work "continues at pace" to restore Royal Navy flagship to her former glory
Painstaking engineering to conserve HMS Victory for future generations is “continuing at pace”.
Pickle Night on HMS Warrior
On 6 November 2024, we hosted our much-anticipated Pickle Night aboard the decks of HMS Warrior, transforming this iconic ship into a vibrant…