New Researchers in Maritime History Conference
At this annual conference, the British Commission supports emerging scholars who wish to share their work in a supportive environment and build relations with other maritime historians. We encourage applications from research degree students and warmly encourage participation by independent scholars. Contributions can address all aspects of maritime history in its broadest sense.
It is held in the spring of each year, and the location moves around Britain, as the conference is hosted by a variety of universities and museums and is sponsored by the Society for Nautical Research.
31st Conference for New Researchers
University of Southampton- 17-18 April 2026
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!!
The British Commission for Maritime History (BCMH), in association with the University of Southampton, warmly invite you to the thirty-first Conference for New Researchers.
REGISTER YOUR PLACE HERE via Eventbrite
The event is generously supported by the Society for Nautical Research to help emerging scholars who wish to share their work in a supportive environment and build relations with other maritime historians. The day will include talks from a range of postgraduate students and independent scholars (detailed programme tbc). Contributions can address all aspects of maritime history in its broadest sense.
The University of Southampton provides an ideal setting for this event, with its focus on the maritime world – offering courses in marine biology, oceanography, maritime law, ship science, maritime archaeology and history. It isa delightful setting for this annual conference and provides a unique opportunity for new scholars to present their work in a historic setting.
Provisional Conference Programme
Friday 17th April
17:30 Registration
18:00 Welcome - Dr Helen Doe Chair, BCMH & Prof Helen Farr, University of Southampton
18:15 Keynote Lecture - Professor Craig Lambert - ‘From Ships to Systems: Rethinking Maritime Britain, c.1550-c.1650’
Followed by a reception
Saturday 18 April
9:00 Welcome & Registration
9:30 – 10:45 Session One
Ranald Lindsay 'Practising Taranto: How the Royal Navy developed the air attack on a fleet in harbour'
Claire Smith 'Censoring naval mail in Word War II: beyond intrusion and control'
Lucas Radford 'How the Navy made its bed: From Procurement to Production of Hammocks in the Early Eighteenth-Century Royal Navy'
10.45-11.15 Coffee
11.15 -12.30 Session Two
Jenny Wittamore 'Looking back to move forward: mobilising cultural heritage in the UK marine fishing industry'
Suzanne Hagarty 'Love, Loss and Fortitude: The Eyemouth Fishwives and the Berwickshire Fishing Disaster of 1881'
Rebecca Wilkieson 'Maritime Scotland and the Transatlantic Trade: the development of Scotland’s maritime infrastructure through the transatlantic trade, 1690-1750'
12.30-13:30 Lunch
13:30 Presentation of Awards
13:45 to 14.45 Session Three
Kevin Elsby 'Natural History and Health on the ‘magnetic crusade’ – the British Antarctic Expedition 1839 – 1843'
Felix Pedrotti 'Lines of Discovery: Digital Twins, Polar Archives, and the Evolution of RRS Discovery'
Nicola Johnson 'Titanic Myths: What the Records Really Reveal'
14.45 to 15.15 Tea
15.15 to 16.30 Session Four
Stephanie Rickson 'The Reality and Myth of British Q-Ships in the First World War: A cultural re-evaluation of effectiveness, impact, and the role of memoirs, myth, and theatre in Britain’s First World War Q-Ship story'
Hans Hamilton Fairley 'An Investigation into the Loss of HMS M2, the Royal Navy's Only Aircraft-Carrying Submarine'
Samuel Johnson 'Looking back on Foresight: Elizabethan Naval Endeavours Viewed through the Construction and Career of a Notable Sailing Warship'
Find out more
Please Register via Eventbrite
There is an FAQs page on the Eventbrite page.
Please direct any queries to newresearchers@maritimehistory.org.uk
Download Provisional Conference Programme
Find out more about previous years here.
