Linghams Events

Book Signing with Michael Barritt, author of ‘Nelson’s Pathfinders’

What to expect

02/11/2024 2:00 pm

*Please note that this is a Meet and Greet and signing with the author, not an interview/talk.*

Tickets include a copy of the book and an opportunity to meet and chat with the author.

Captain Michael Barritt is a former Hydrographer of the Navy, head of the Royal Navy’s hydrographic profession, and a successor to Captain Thomas Hurd.

In Nelson’s Pathfinders, he tells the remarkable story of how a handful of intrepid scientific navigators underpinned British naval dominance in the conflict with Napoleon

During the Napoleonic Wars, more than twice as many British warships were lost to shipwreck than in battle. The Royal Navy’s fleets had to operate in unfamiliar seas and dangerous coastal waters, where navigational ignorance was as great a threat as enemy guns. If Britain was to win the war, improved intelligence was vital.

In this landmark account, Michael Barritt reveals how a cadre of specialist pathfinders led by Captain Thomas Hurd enabled Britain’s Hydrographic Office to meet this need. Sounding amongst hazards on the front line of conflict, alert for breaks in weather or onset of swell, these daring sailors gathered vital strategic data that would eventually secure the upper hand against Britain’s adversaries. Tracing this pathfinding around Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas, Barritt shows how the honing of this skill set revolutionised the British way of war at sea—ultimately securing a lasting naval dominance.

A must for all maritime enthusiasts.

“Barritt’s research into the extraordinary accomplishments of the young British Hydrographic Service in the wars of 1793–1815 matches their own diligence. A fine account of a vital factor in the defeat of Napoleon.”—Richard Woodman, author of Neptune’s Trident

“Michael Barritt is uniquely qualified to unravel and explain the complicated and patient work of British naval surveyors and chart makers. He does so brilliantly, aided by a profusion of minutely-detailed contemporary illustrations.”—Roger Knight, author of Convoys

Venue Information

Linghams bookshop, 248 Telegraph Road, Heswall, Wirral CH60 7SG

Tickets

£25 includes book