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HMS Victory – Owners Workshop Manual.

I must confess I fell in love with this book as soon as I saw the title.  Detail__First_Shots_d.JPG

This book is an insight that could only have been written by a person who has if not operated and owned, certainly maintained the Royal Navy’s oldest and most famous ship.

This book is valuable and gives us a ‘different’ perspective into a type of ship that altered history, at one time the ultimate fighting ship, a type widely owned by the major nations and now the only surviving example.

 

I first met the author some 20 years ago when I was commissioned to paint a series to help raise funds for HMS Victory and given my own unique access to this great ship and related archives all over Europe.

During that period of time I watched and in a minor way helped the ship return to life and become a world heritage attraction the project driven primarily by Peter’s enthusiasm, determination, energy and deeply committed open minded research.

In this book we experience a taste of the spirit, not rum, rather of Victory’s people past and present and of the remarkable Peter Goodwin.

 

Peter Goodwin has to be the ultimate authority on this subject having been Keeper and largely restored Victory to her 1805 condition, over the past 20 years.

In all my years and travels as a specialised marine artist I have never encountered a more conscientious or entertaining researcher than Peter; not anywhere.

 

I doubt if anyone has ever known Victory more intimately than Peter Goodwin.

 

I wish good luck to Peter Goodwin, thank you Haynes for publishing this further insight.

I hope millions more people will be inspired to visit the ship and experience the vitality and sacrifices of Victory people – enjoy.

 

Gordon Frickers May 2012

HMS Victory 1765 – 1812 (First rate ship of the line) Owners’ Workshop Manual published by Haynes ISBN 978 0 85733 085 7 price £21.99

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The detail above is from “First Shots” by Gordon Frickers  First_shots_15.04.05_d.JPGand illustrates the moment when the French and Spanish at Trafalgar knew they had found the range.

In the same series “Trafalgar Dawn” – You are onboard with the crew so experience the view from H.M.S. Victory at 06.05. Composed after reading the first hand accounts of the moment, Monday 21st October 1805, is available as a superb signed numbered heritage quality print, see page

http://frickers.co.uk/marine-art/trafalgar_dawn.html Trafalgar_Dawn_10.01.08_d.JPG

and is one of a pair the other being “Trafalgar Dawn the French Perspective” (also in print) includes HMS Victory as a detail on the horizon, seventh ship from the right.