To Raise the Mary Rose! By Lt. Cdr. Peter Whitlock, RN (Ret.)
FOREWORD By His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales, KG, KT, PC, GCB For several years now I have had a considerable interest in the work being carried out on the wreck of the Mary Rose. Ever since I was first invited to dive on the site of the wreck I have been fascinated by this unique example of the Tudor navy and could not help but hope that one day it would be possible to raise the ship and put her on public display. For the last four or five years I have tried very hard to visit the diving team once during the summer season and inspect the progress of the excavation. Each time I have dived I have become increasingly enthused by what I have seen. Each time the artifacts recovered have been more interesting or unique than the last and it is impossible not to become excited about the prospect of reconstructing what remains of the old ship on the surface, with the well-preserved evidence of Tudor maritime life in situ. Living, tangible history of this sort is irresistible and makes the process of learning so much more fun-especially in a country whose heritage is so closely involved with the sea. That is why I am absolutely determined we should raise the Mary Rose, however hard the task and however difficult it is to raise the money required for such a major.engineering operation. Apart from anything else, I believe we owe it to the relays of dedicated divers, many of them volunteers, to the archaeological director and to the man who located the site of the wreck in 1965; all of whom have contributed a large part of their lives to this rather romantic project. I also believe that succeeding generations will be exceedingly grateful if we succeed in our objective.
A history-making English longbow (left) is raised from the wreck. Only a handful of these weapons existed before the Mary Rose excavation. Now there are over one hundred-including many found in the chest in which they were shipped (below). All photographs are Š The Mary Rose Trust.
SEA HISTORY, WINTER 1982
A pewter flagon and candlesticks, some gold coins and ring, a wooden comb in a leather case and a wooden bowl-these personal items shed light on how officers lived aboard.
A diver escorts a wrought iron, breech loading gun to the surface. This gun was found on the weather deck in the waist of the ship, still mounted on its wooden carriage and wheels.
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