WHAT SHIP, WHERE BOUND?
by David Craddock (58-62)

ISBN: 978-1-5267-84827; 96pp; £12.99; published by Seaforth in 2021

The title of this book is taken from the message often exchanged between passing ships at sea. It covers the history of visual communication, and the language of signalling, at sea from Byzantine times to the present.

The subject is far more complex than might appear at first glance. Achieving any sort of international standardization was a long process and took several hundred years. Navies and merchant shipping companies went their own ways. Admirals in battle had their own ideas.
Rival concepts constantly arose. The importance of the topic was widely recognised, given the implications for safety at sea, yet even in the present day all is far from uniform.

David Craddock is uniquely well placed to cover this subject matter. At the Nautical College, his own experience of visual signalling began under the redoubtable eye of Chief Petty Officer ‘Charlie’ Sewell who had been a young boy signaller in HMS Neptune at the Battle of
Jutland in 1916. Later Craddock joined P&O and spent five years at sea before coming ashore and studying Graphic Design at the London College of Printing.

Establishing David Craddock Design in 1979, he has spent the last 40 years involved in numerous high-profile design projects, including the Titanic Museum in Belfast and the Visitor Centre at Castle Drogo in Devon, while also being an active yachtsman. It shows. The
book is not only written but designed by David, is easy to read and is most attractively presented.

As Craddock acknowledges, this is actually the second book on the subject by an OP. In 1993 Capt Barrie Kent (36-39) RN wrote a definitive guide Signal! A History of Signalling in the Royal Navy. Things have moved on a bit since then. At the end of his book David describes a Flashing Light to Text Converter trialled by the US Navy in 2017 and 2020 – “a quick, error-free system” – which, rather amazingly, is based on the Morse Code patented in the United States in 1840.

Several sections of the book will be of interest to non-specialists including one in particular. This is a detailed analysis of the most famous signal in British maritime history – Nelson’s, before the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, “England expects that every man will do his duty.”
Reflecting the way this signal is embedded in the national culture, Craddock imaginatively includes some pages showing how designers like himself have adapted the signal for use in items such as souvenir mugs, signage and corporate brands.

This is an always interesting window on a little-known (by landlubbers) topic. It will, as the book’s publicity, puts it “both enlighten and entertain.”

by ROBIN KNIGHT