Sam Warwick – författare

The Union-Castle Line’s heritage spans over a century. It provided the mail service to South Africa for 120 years and established an unrivalled reputation for punctual schedules. From the middle of the nineteenth century it ran ‘like clockwork’ until its demise in 1977, a victim of emerging competition from jet aircraft, increasing fuel costs and the containerisation of cargo. As a company, the Union-Castle Line used the latest technical innovations of the day, constantly striving to improve speed, reliability, customer comfort and safety. Its lavender-hulled ships were some of the most impressive vessels of the time. Yet the story of the Union-Castle Line is also one of people – the passengers and crew ensured that the line survived for so long. This book tells some of their fascinating stories, including tales of shipwrecks, war service, missing gold bullion, escaped wild animals and even the occasional murder on board. Utilising previously unpublished diaries, letters and photographs, this illustrated volume chronicles the shipping line from its glorious beginning to its tragic end. It is a multifaceted history of the Union-Castle Line, which examines some of the company’s shipwrecks as well as the fond legacy of the line today.

The rich history of the P&O Line began in the 1830s when steam power was still in its infancy, and this, coupled with longer voyages, meant that shipwrecks became inevitable – all part of the risk of running a pioneer shipping company at that time. Shipwrecks of the P&O Line explores these losses, starting with the inaugural mail service sailing of the wooden paddle steamer Don Juan, which ran aground in fog in 1837, and ending 120 years later with the cargo liner Shillong (2), which sank following a collision in the Red Sea in 1957. Sam Warwick and Mike Roussel include a detailed history of each vessel leading up to the time of its loss and meticulously investigate the events surrounding the wrecking of each vessel, with exclusive accounts from divers who have explored the wreck, along with striking underwater images. Complete with practical data for divers, this unique history offers a fresh analysis of maritime history, of interest to maritime history enthusiasts as well as the many who have taken up diving as a leisure sport.

This fascinating book provides a unique record of the careers and final underwater resting places of ships of the Cunard Line, whose rich history spans over 300 ships and nearly two centuries. Many books have been published on Cunard’s heritage but the final fate of these ships is often little more than a footnote of history. Authors Sam Warwick and Mike Roussel have taken the shipwrecks as a starting point to create a vivid new history. Featured vessels include the well-known Caronia, Lancastria, Campania, Lusitania, Malta, Oregon, Scotia and Carpathia, famous for rescuing the survivors from the Titanic, as well as many others. Events surrounding the wrecking of each vessel are thoroughly explored and unique diver accounts are incorporated, along with never-before-seen underwater images of the wrecks. Finishing off with practical data for interested divers, this book offers a fresh analysis of Cunard’s maritime history.