Philip K. Allan - Author
@philipkallan.bsky.social
Author of Naval Fiction, Writer and Speaker on Naval History
Visit my website to learn more at http://philipkallan.com
Visit my website to learn more at http://philipkallan.com
220 years ago today – Admiral Collingwood’s despatches with news of victory at Trafalgar and the death of Nelson, arrived in London, brought by HMS Pickle
The picture is HMS Pickle, Bringer of News, by British marine artist Richard Grenville
#RoyalNavy #OnThisDay #Trafalgar
The picture is HMS Pickle, Bringer of News, by British marine artist Richard Grenville
#RoyalNavy #OnThisDay #Trafalgar
November 6, 2025 at 8:33 AM
220 years ago today – Admiral Collingwood’s despatches with news of victory at Trafalgar and the death of Nelson, arrived in London, brought by HMS Pickle
The picture is HMS Pickle, Bringer of News, by British marine artist Richard Grenville
#RoyalNavy #OnThisDay #Trafalgar
The picture is HMS Pickle, Bringer of News, by British marine artist Richard Grenville
#RoyalNavy #OnThisDay #Trafalgar
Savannah by British Marine artist John Stobart.
Stobart is best known for his 19th century harbour scenes, many of American ports at night.
#MaritimeArt #Tallships #Ageofsail
Stobart is best known for his 19th century harbour scenes, many of American ports at night.
#MaritimeArt #Tallships #Ageofsail
November 4, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Savannah by British Marine artist John Stobart.
Stobart is best known for his 19th century harbour scenes, many of American ports at night.
#MaritimeArt #Tallships #Ageofsail
Stobart is best known for his 19th century harbour scenes, many of American ports at night.
#MaritimeArt #Tallships #Ageofsail
220 years ago today the Battle of Trafalgar was fought
Nelson’s final entry in his journal was a prayer
'May God grant to my country a great and glorious victory and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet.'
#RoyalNavy #FrenchNavy #SpanishNavy
Nelson’s final entry in his journal was a prayer
'May God grant to my country a great and glorious victory and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet.'
#RoyalNavy #FrenchNavy #SpanishNavy
October 21, 2025 at 8:13 AM
220 years ago today the Battle of Trafalgar was fought
Nelson’s final entry in his journal was a prayer
'May God grant to my country a great and glorious victory and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet.'
#RoyalNavy #FrenchNavy #SpanishNavy
Nelson’s final entry in his journal was a prayer
'May God grant to my country a great and glorious victory and may humanity after victory be the predominant feature in the British fleet.'
#RoyalNavy #FrenchNavy #SpanishNavy
Squadron of the Blue by 18th century maritime artist Dominic Serres
Showing Royal Navy officers, including the commanding admiral, returning to their ships from shore.
#MaritimeArt #RoyalNavy #Ageofsail
Showing Royal Navy officers, including the commanding admiral, returning to their ships from shore.
#MaritimeArt #RoyalNavy #Ageofsail
October 16, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Squadron of the Blue by 18th century maritime artist Dominic Serres
Showing Royal Navy officers, including the commanding admiral, returning to their ships from shore.
#MaritimeArt #RoyalNavy #Ageofsail
Showing Royal Navy officers, including the commanding admiral, returning to their ships from shore.
#MaritimeArt #RoyalNavy #Ageofsail
In 1794, British privateers captured French scientist Joseph Dombey sailing to the US. He was coming at the invitation of Thomas Jefferson with kilogram and meter standards to introduce the newly developed metric system there, but never arrived.
#USA #FrenchNavy #RoyalNavy
#USA #FrenchNavy #RoyalNavy
October 13, 2025 at 8:13 AM
In 1794, British privateers captured French scientist Joseph Dombey sailing to the US. He was coming at the invitation of Thomas Jefferson with kilogram and meter standards to introduce the newly developed metric system there, but never arrived.
#USA #FrenchNavy #RoyalNavy
#USA #FrenchNavy #RoyalNavy
HMS King George V on arctic duty in WW2. Churchill called the convoy route to Murmansk in the Soviet arctic the “worst journey on earth,” with good reason. U-boats, air attack, surface raiders and of course the cold.
My novel 'The Wolves in Winter' is set here.
#Arctic #WW2 #RoyalNavy
My novel 'The Wolves in Winter' is set here.
#Arctic #WW2 #RoyalNavy
October 8, 2025 at 8:13 AM
HMS King George V on arctic duty in WW2. Churchill called the convoy route to Murmansk in the Soviet arctic the “worst journey on earth,” with good reason. U-boats, air attack, surface raiders and of course the cold.
My novel 'The Wolves in Winter' is set here.
#Arctic #WW2 #RoyalNavy
My novel 'The Wolves in Winter' is set here.
#Arctic #WW2 #RoyalNavy
Photo taken within the wreck of HMS Terror. She was part of Franklin’s doomed last expedition to find the Northwest Passage in the 1840s, and was rediscovered off King William Island by Parks Canada ten years ago.
I have the same plates on my dresser
#Arctic #Canada #RoyalNavy #PolarExploration
I have the same plates on my dresser
#Arctic #Canada #RoyalNavy #PolarExploration
October 2, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Photo taken within the wreck of HMS Terror. She was part of Franklin’s doomed last expedition to find the Northwest Passage in the 1840s, and was rediscovered off King William Island by Parks Canada ten years ago.
I have the same plates on my dresser
#Arctic #Canada #RoyalNavy #PolarExploration
I have the same plates on my dresser
#Arctic #Canada #RoyalNavy #PolarExploration
Born on this day in 1758, Horatio Nelson
This portrait by Lemuel Francis Abbott was done shortly after he lost his arm – temporary black ribbons can be seen securing the seam of his right sleeve to permit access to the wound.
#Nelson #Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Trafalgar
This portrait by Lemuel Francis Abbott was done shortly after he lost his arm – temporary black ribbons can be seen securing the seam of his right sleeve to permit access to the wound.
#Nelson #Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Trafalgar
September 29, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Born on this day in 1758, Horatio Nelson
This portrait by Lemuel Francis Abbott was done shortly after he lost his arm – temporary black ribbons can be seen securing the seam of his right sleeve to permit access to the wound.
#Nelson #Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Trafalgar
This portrait by Lemuel Francis Abbott was done shortly after he lost his arm – temporary black ribbons can be seen securing the seam of his right sleeve to permit access to the wound.
#Nelson #Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Trafalgar
Farewell to England - HMS Victory leaving St. Helen's at dawn, 15 September 1805.
A new picture by Geoff Hunt
#Nelson #Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Trafalgar
A new picture by Geoff Hunt
#Nelson #Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Trafalgar
September 25, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Farewell to England - HMS Victory leaving St. Helen's at dawn, 15 September 1805.
A new picture by Geoff Hunt
#Nelson #Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Trafalgar
A new picture by Geoff Hunt
#Nelson #Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Trafalgar
Trimming the sails by British marine artist Montague Dawson
Born in 1890, he was a keen sailor who served in the Royal Navy during WW1. His firsthand experience of ships and the sea gives his work a gritty authenticity.
#Tallships #Ageofsail #Sea
Born in 1890, he was a keen sailor who served in the Royal Navy during WW1. His firsthand experience of ships and the sea gives his work a gritty authenticity.
#Tallships #Ageofsail #Sea
September 1, 2025 at 7:38 AM
Trimming the sails by British marine artist Montague Dawson
Born in 1890, he was a keen sailor who served in the Royal Navy during WW1. His firsthand experience of ships and the sea gives his work a gritty authenticity.
#Tallships #Ageofsail #Sea
Born in 1890, he was a keen sailor who served in the Royal Navy during WW1. His firsthand experience of ships and the sea gives his work a gritty authenticity.
#Tallships #Ageofsail #Sea
Damage to the conning tower of U-37 sustained from a depth charge after being attacked by Royal Navy destroyers HMS Keppel and HMS Watchman in October 1939.
The image has been colourised.
#WW2 #BattleoftheAtlantic #RoyalNavy #GermanNavy
The image has been colourised.
#WW2 #BattleoftheAtlantic #RoyalNavy #GermanNavy
August 22, 2025 at 7:46 AM
Damage to the conning tower of U-37 sustained from a depth charge after being attacked by Royal Navy destroyers HMS Keppel and HMS Watchman in October 1939.
The image has been colourised.
#WW2 #BattleoftheAtlantic #RoyalNavy #GermanNavy
The image has been colourised.
#WW2 #BattleoftheAtlantic #RoyalNavy #GermanNavy
August 18, 2025 at 9:52 AM
Escaping Smuggler by Montague Dawson
‘Brandy for the Parson, 'Baccy for the Clerk.’
High import duty on luxury goods during the 18th century resulted in violent battles between smugglers and the Excise service in British coastal waters.
#Ageofsail #smuggling #sea
‘Brandy for the Parson, 'Baccy for the Clerk.’
High import duty on luxury goods during the 18th century resulted in violent battles between smugglers and the Excise service in British coastal waters.
#Ageofsail #smuggling #sea
August 5, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Escaping Smuggler by Montague Dawson
‘Brandy for the Parson, 'Baccy for the Clerk.’
High import duty on luxury goods during the 18th century resulted in violent battles between smugglers and the Excise service in British coastal waters.
#Ageofsail #smuggling #sea
‘Brandy for the Parson, 'Baccy for the Clerk.’
High import duty on luxury goods during the 18th century resulted in violent battles between smugglers and the Excise service in British coastal waters.
#Ageofsail #smuggling #sea
Midshipman Blockhead Finding things not exactly what he expected by George Cruikshank
One of a series of cartoons by Cruikshank showing how some ashore imagined the Regency navy.
#Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Satire
One of a series of cartoons by Cruikshank showing how some ashore imagined the Regency navy.
#Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Satire
July 31, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Midshipman Blockhead Finding things not exactly what he expected by George Cruikshank
One of a series of cartoons by Cruikshank showing how some ashore imagined the Regency navy.
#Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Satire
One of a series of cartoons by Cruikshank showing how some ashore imagined the Regency navy.
#Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Satire
Cutting out of the Curieux by marine artist Mark Myers
She was a French corvette launched in 1800 and operated as a commerce raider. On a night in 1804, the British 74 HMS Centaur sent in her boats to successfully cut her out from Fort Royal harbour, Martinique.
#Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #FrenchNavy
She was a French corvette launched in 1800 and operated as a commerce raider. On a night in 1804, the British 74 HMS Centaur sent in her boats to successfully cut her out from Fort Royal harbour, Martinique.
#Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #FrenchNavy
July 28, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Cutting out of the Curieux by marine artist Mark Myers
She was a French corvette launched in 1800 and operated as a commerce raider. On a night in 1804, the British 74 HMS Centaur sent in her boats to successfully cut her out from Fort Royal harbour, Martinique.
#Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #FrenchNavy
She was a French corvette launched in 1800 and operated as a commerce raider. On a night in 1804, the British 74 HMS Centaur sent in her boats to successfully cut her out from Fort Royal harbour, Martinique.
#Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #FrenchNavy
July 21, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Corner of a hand-stitched sail from the 1800s. Every warship had a sailmaker who played a vital role in making and maintaining the huge number of sails required to power the ship in all weathers.
#Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Tallships
#Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Tallships
July 15, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Corner of a hand-stitched sail from the 1800s. Every warship had a sailmaker who played a vital role in making and maintaining the huge number of sails required to power the ship in all weathers.
#Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Tallships
#Ageofsail #RoyalNavy #Tallships
Last night I was in Newcastle giving a talk to the Collingwood Society. What a splendid gathering, a really good audience of well-informed and hospitable people. The admiral’s memory is in safe hands.
#trafalgar #ageofsail #royalnavy
#trafalgar #ageofsail #royalnavy
July 11, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Last night I was in Newcastle giving a talk to the Collingwood Society. What a splendid gathering, a really good audience of well-informed and hospitable people. The admiral’s memory is in safe hands.
#trafalgar #ageofsail #royalnavy
#trafalgar #ageofsail #royalnavy
July 7, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Musket ball found lodged in the timbers of HMS Victory during her ongoing restoration. Probably fired during the battle of Trafalgar from the French ship Redoubtable.
#Nelson #Trafalgar #RoyalNavy
#Nelson #Trafalgar #RoyalNavy
June 30, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Musket ball found lodged in the timbers of HMS Victory during her ongoing restoration. Probably fired during the battle of Trafalgar from the French ship Redoubtable.
#Nelson #Trafalgar #RoyalNavy
#Nelson #Trafalgar #RoyalNavy
The bark Europa in the Arctic.
Perhaps it’s the heatwave currently engulfing Western Europe that made this appeal to me.
#Arctic #Tallships #Ageofsail
Perhaps it’s the heatwave currently engulfing Western Europe that made this appeal to me.
#Arctic #Tallships #Ageofsail
June 19, 2025 at 4:03 PM
The bark Europa in the Arctic.
Perhaps it’s the heatwave currently engulfing Western Europe that made this appeal to me.
#Arctic #Tallships #Ageofsail
Perhaps it’s the heatwave currently engulfing Western Europe that made this appeal to me.
#Arctic #Tallships #Ageofsail
Lynx helicopter leaving Leander-class frigate HMS Minerva in heavy seas, taken c1989.
Landing it again looks a challenge.
#Helicopter #Storm #RoyalNavy
Landing it again looks a challenge.
#Helicopter #Storm #RoyalNavy
June 2, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Lynx helicopter leaving Leander-class frigate HMS Minerva in heavy seas, taken c1989.
Landing it again looks a challenge.
#Helicopter #Storm #RoyalNavy
Landing it again looks a challenge.
#Helicopter #Storm #RoyalNavy
On this day in 1941 – The Bismarck was sunk. Crippled by air attack from the carriers Ark Royal and Victorious, she was sunk by gunfire, revenging the loss of the battlecruiser Hood 3 days earlier. Out of her crew of over 2,200 men, only 114 survived.
#WW2 #GermanNavy #RoyalNavy
#WW2 #GermanNavy #RoyalNavy
May 27, 2025 at 8:20 AM
On this day in 1941 – The Bismarck was sunk. Crippled by air attack from the carriers Ark Royal and Victorious, she was sunk by gunfire, revenging the loss of the battlecruiser Hood 3 days earlier. Out of her crew of over 2,200 men, only 114 survived.
#WW2 #GermanNavy #RoyalNavy
#WW2 #GermanNavy #RoyalNavy
HMS Ville de Paris by Dereck Gardner
A Royal Navy 1st rate launched in 1795. Her name comes from the French flagship, captured at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782. The Royal Navy sometimes adopted names of foreign ship that had fought well.
#AgeofSail #Napoleonic #RoyalNavy
A Royal Navy 1st rate launched in 1795. Her name comes from the French flagship, captured at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782. The Royal Navy sometimes adopted names of foreign ship that had fought well.
#AgeofSail #Napoleonic #RoyalNavy
May 26, 2025 at 8:42 AM
HMS Ville de Paris by Dereck Gardner
A Royal Navy 1st rate launched in 1795. Her name comes from the French flagship, captured at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782. The Royal Navy sometimes adopted names of foreign ship that had fought well.
#AgeofSail #Napoleonic #RoyalNavy
A Royal Navy 1st rate launched in 1795. Her name comes from the French flagship, captured at the Battle of the Saintes in 1782. The Royal Navy sometimes adopted names of foreign ship that had fought well.
#AgeofSail #Napoleonic #RoyalNavy
The dreadnought HMS Superb, launched on Tyneside in 1907, coming down the river like a dragon leaving its den. Her masts have been secured flat to allow her to pass under bridges on her way to the sea.
#WW1 #GrandFleet #RoyalNavy
#WW1 #GrandFleet #RoyalNavy
May 20, 2025 at 8:23 AM
The dreadnought HMS Superb, launched on Tyneside in 1907, coming down the river like a dragon leaving its den. Her masts have been secured flat to allow her to pass under bridges on her way to the sea.
#WW1 #GrandFleet #RoyalNavy
#WW1 #GrandFleet #RoyalNavy