King’s Maritime History Seminars, 2026-27
24 September 2026 Stig Tenold, NHH Norwegian School of Economics
Shipping on the Road to Net Zero. Lessons from Maritime History
8 October 2026 Grahame Aldous KC, Inns of Court College of Advocacy
Prize Money in Nelson’s Navy
22 October 2026 Mark Harris, Independent Researcher
The Naval War in the Baltic, 1914-1915
5 November 2026 Jiayi Liu, King’s College London
More than Venice’s Successor: Rethinking the Austrian Navy in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries
19 November 2026 Ian Stafford, Independent Researcher
The Improbable Austro-Japanese War
The Proctor Memorial Lecture
*to be held at Lloyds Register. See below for special registration details
3 December 2026
‘Overawed and Controlled’? London’s Maritime Workforce in the 19th Century
Sarah Palmer, University of Greenwich
The Peter N. Davies Memorial Lecture
21 January 2027
Littoral History: the functions and effectiveness of Yorkshire coast havens, harbours
and refuges
Robb Robinson, University of Hull
4 February 2027 Claire Day, Coventry University London
‘Beyond the Deck’: Shore Suits and Subcultural Identity in Hull’s Fishing Community
18 February 2027 Roy Fenton, BCMH and ‘Ships in Focus’
Boom to Bust in Three Years: Cardiff Shipping post-WWI
4 March 2027 Jacqueline Reiter, Independent Scholar
The Improbable Life of Sir Home Popham (TBC)
18 March 2027* Peter Hames, SUNY Maritime College
The Design, Construction, Use, and Conversion of T2-SE-A1 Tankers
*Note: This paper will be delivered remotely and can be attended online or in person in the usual room.
29 April 2027 Michael E. Leek, Arts University Bournemouth
The Battle of Trafalgar, Monday 21 October 1805 – Interpretations Through Art
13 May 2027 Edward J. Wawrzynczak and Jane VS Wickenden
Hospital Ships of the Royal Navy in World War One
27 May 2027 Friso Stevens, University of Oxford / The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies
Julian Corbett and the British Way of War: Exploring the Principles for a European Naval Strategy
The King’s Maritime History Seminars for 2026-27 may be attended in person or online. As always, attendance is free and open to all. To take part, you must register in advance by visiting the KCL School of Security Studies Events page, here: www.kcl.ac.uk/security-studies/events.*
Online attendees will receive instructions shortly before the event, by email, about how to join. Otherwise, we will meet in person, as usual, in the Dockrill Room, KIN 628, at King’s College London. Papers will begin at 17:15 GMT.
*(Note, however, that the Proctor Lecture on the 3rd of December 2026 will be held at Lloyd’s Register, and registration is to be done via the BCMH website Lectures & Events : British Commission for Maritime History )
The King’s Maritime History Seminar is hosted by the ‘Laughton Naval Unit’ and the ‘Sir Michael Howard Centre for the History of War’ in the Department of War Studies, King’s College London. It is organised by the British Commission for Maritime History (www.maritimehistory.org.uk) in association with the Society for Nautical Research (https://snr.org.uk/). For further information contact Dr Alan James, War Studies, KCL, WC2R 2LS (alan.2.james@kcl.ac.uk).
