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Women and the Navy in the Age of Sail – Lecture

A painting of Van de Velde, an English ship in a gale at sea,

Dr Elaine Murphy, University of Plymouth, explores some of the ways in which women engaged with the navy in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Thursday 19 September, 7.30pm.

At the height of the First World War the Women’s Royal Naval Service (WRNS) was formed in 1917. Long before the 20th century women went to sea on Royal Navy ships and worked for the navy.

Dr Elaine Murphy, Associate Professor of Maritime History at the University of Plymouth, explores some of the ways in which women engaged with the navy in the 17th and 18th centuries. Her talk looks at women who went to sea on board men-of-war, sometimes in disguise but more usually quite openly. It examines the women who did business with the navy, and sometimes cheated it. It also investigates the position of sailor’s families on shore and how they coped and survived with their husbands/fathers/brothers away at sea.

About Dr Elaine Murphy

Dr Elaine Murphy

Dr Elaine Murphy is Associate Professor of Maritime History at the University of Plymouth. She has written extensively on naval history and piracy in the 17th century and her current research focuses on women and the early modern navy.