Professor Nicholas Rodger receives top Media Award

The prize for the top maritime media person of the year has been awarded to Professor Nicholas Rodger. He received the Desmond Wettern Media Award, an engraved ships decanter and a cheque for £1,000, from Countess Mountbatten of Burma, President of the Maritime Foundation, at a dinner held on board the MV Silver Sturgeon on 17th November.

Before presenting the Awards, Lady Mountbatten said: “We must continue to remind ourselves – Britain remains an island nation dependent on the sea for its economic well being and security. Shipping is central to Britain’s maritime industries and virtually every aspect of modern life in this country depends on sea transport. As we know at least 95% of freight still comes and goes by ship, and the maritime industries are an integral part of our commerce and defence.”

The Desmond Wettern Media Award

The Desmond Wettern Media Award was made in recognition of the matchless scholarship and extraordinary impact of his publication “The Command of the Ocean – A Naval History of Britain” and for the significant part he has played in improving popular understanding of how the Royal Navy has contributed to Britain’s growth in the world.

After receiving the Award Professor Rodger said: “I hope my book will make people think about how the sea shaped, and continues to shape, the history of these islands.”

The Mountbatten Maritime Prize

The second Award, The Mountbatten Maritime Prize, was made to Professor Roger Knight for his outstanding scholarship and wealth of information in his book “The Pursuit of Victory – The Life and Achievement of Horatio Nelson” which brilliantly combines a superb analysis with a remarkable depth of understanding of this great leader of men.

Receiving the engraved silver Armada Plate, Professor Roger Knight said: “Although I have been in the naval history field for many years, ‘The Pursuit of Victory” is my first book for a wider audience and to receive this Prize is a singular honour. The award is a very real reward for the many hours spent in the archives !”

Lord Strathcona, Chairman of the Trustees, presided at the dinner, which was attended by Admiral Sir James Burnell-Nugent, Commander in Chief Fleet and other senior members of the Royal Navy, the maritime industries and the media.

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Notes to Editors:

• Nicholas Rodger is Professor of Naval History at Exeter University and a Fellow of the British Academy. He was formerly Anderson Senior Fellow at the National Maritime Museum. Other publications are The Wooden World and The Admiralty as well as the highly acclaimed first volume his naval history of Britain, The Safeguard of the Sea. Further information from www.huss.ex.ac.uk/history/staff/rodger
• Professor Roger Knight is one of Britiain’s foremost experts on naval history and a renowned Nelson scholar. He was Chief Curator and Deputy Director of the National Maritime Museum from 1988 – 2000. He is now Professor of Naval History at Greenwich Maritime Institute. Further information from www.gre.ac.uk/pr/pressreleases/A1096.htm
• The Awards are made annually in memory of the late Desmond Wettern, writer on maritime affairs for over thirty years. They commemorate his single-minded dedication to the belief that the United Kingdom’s economic wellbeing and security are inextricably bound up with the sea and to encourage publicists and writers to draw attention to this linkage.
• The sponsors of the Awards include the Swire Group, BAE Systems, P&O Nedlloyd, the Chamber of Shipping, the George John Livanos Trust
• For further information, please call Anthony Harvey, Secretary, The Maritime Foundation on 020 7928 8100 / secretary@bmcf.org.uk or Sue Lloyd in the Defence Press Office on 020 7218 3258 / press@dgics.mod.uk.
• The web-sites and photographs can be found at www.mod.uk and www.bmcf.org.uk.

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Gallery

A selection of photos from the Maritime Media Awards 2005. More photos are available from the Maritime Foundation Flickr photostream.

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