Masters Prize Winner 2025 announced

Posted: Friday 17th April 2026

British Commission for Maritime History (BCMH) are pleased to announce the Masters Prize 2025 has been awarded to Nicola Johnson (University of Stathclyde) for their thesis To what extent did the Titanic Relief Fund support social mobility among fatherless and orphaned children, and what genealogical value can be found in the Fund’s records?

One of the privileges of working on the BCMH Masters Dissertation Prize is the chance to get some insight into the future of maritime history. The first independent steps of future researchers, writers, and other media communicators on the subject is evident in these works. Those that achieve a distinction not only demonstrate a mastery of the key academic skills and the opportunities for new research, but, often, also provide evidence of how the subject is evolving. 

The submissions for 2025 have provided more evidence that the subject has a bright future. Choosing a winner was difficult, as it always is, given the breadth of the discipline and the high quality of the work. This year the BCMH Masters Prize Panel finally agreed that the award should go to Nicola Johnson.

To what extent did the Titanic Relief Fund support social mobility among fatherless and orphaned children, and what genealogical value can be found in the Fund’s records?

What made this dissertation particularly stand out was the completeness of the work within the terms of reference that the author had set. The Titanic Relief Fund papers are largely untapped and the subject of Edwardian charities relatively unexplored. The author explained the source material in relation to its context and its potential. She focused on a careful selection of recipients (280 stokers), explaining the purpose of the selection, the refinement process, and the method of analysis. The result was a persuasive examination of the Fund’s contribution to social mobility among this particular occupational group. The reader is taken through a statistical demonstration, enlivened by the social and cultural elements of the application of the Fund, towards some clear conclusions.

Highly Commended

The panel also highly recommended Rainey Warren for their thesis Journal of a Voyage: The Early Nineteenth Century Logbook as a Design Artifact

The logbook is a familiar source of evidence for maritime historians. This thesis examined the logbook as an artifact of required by professional bureaucracy, but embellished with personal commentary, reflection and iconography. The importance of these log books to historians with many interests is highlighted and the opportunities for future research clearly identified.

You can find out more abour Masters Prizes and how to make a nomination here: Masters Prizes : British Commission for Maritime History