SHIP NOTES, SEAPORT & MUSEUM NEWS
The American Neptune Enjoy the leading scholarly journal of maritime history and arts in the US. The American Neptune, a quarterly publication of the Peabody Essex Museum, is a great read for collectors, model makers, and all who love ships and the sea. We offer Sea History readers an opportunity to subscribe to The American Neptune for $33, a $6 savings over our regular subscription rate ($36 for non-US residents. Institutions: call for rates). To start your subscription, send a check or money order to:
The American Neptune Peabody Essex Museum East India Square Salem, MA 01970 (508) 745-1876 You may charge your subscription by fax at (508) 744-6776, or e-mail dori_phillips@ pem.org. We accept VISA, MasterCard and American Express.
Visit our website at www.pem.org/neptune
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INVENI PORTAM ALEXANDER ANTHONY HURST (1917-1999) Alex Hurst, the well-known British sailor, aurhorand publisher, died suddenly in early May from a stroke and heart compli cations. Alex grew up in the idyllic countryside of southern England, and first acquired a love of shipping near Southampton on the So lent. Later he had the opportunity to get afloat in Watkins's tugboats on London River, towing sailing ships to sea and others to their discharging berths in the London docks. He next went to sea in deepwater, square-rigged sailing ships in the fleet of Finnish shipowner Gustaf Erikson, our of Mariehamn; the last stronghold of square sail. It was in these vessels that Alex spent some years in the Cape Horn trade. At the outbreak of the Second World War he made a voyage in steam to the Antipodes to gain specialized cargo handling experience, rather than the bulk cargoes carried by sailing ships. He next joined a tanker for a voyage to the Caribbean and North American ports. Homeward bound he experienced the fury of war at sea when his ship was Alex H urst in England, torpedoed and lost in the English Channel. He successfully sat for his Second Mate's Certificate in 1987 (Courtesy Os Brett) London at the height of the German bomber raids known as the Blitz, joining his next ship, the Dalhousie, as second mate. After some adventurous voyaging, this vessel had the misfortune to encounter the formidable commerce raider Michel. In the exchange of gunfire, Alex, as gunnery officer, was wounded, but luckily survived the deadly German broadsides. Taken aboard the auxiliary cruiser as a prisoner, he was later transferred, with other merchant seamen, to the prison ship Charlotte Schlieman, a former Norwegian tanker. From her he was put ashore in Japan where he remained for the weary duration of the war. While Japanese militarism was anathema to him, he liked the people and the country. Home in England and in poor health after the peace, he married. He and his wife Deryn, settling in on England's south coast, established a family. There Alex embarked on a writing career. This eventually led to the founding of his own publishing house, Teredo Books, which publishes a remarkable series of books on maritime history and marine art. A wonderful series of seafaring books flowed out of Teredo, culminating in The Maritime History ofthe World (1985). Alex's autobiography was recently published by Square One Publications, Worcester, UK. Entitled A Succession ofDays, it makes fascinating and colorful reading, and is highly recommended. - O SWALD L. BRETT Levirrown, New York ZACHARY FISHER, 1910-1999 A knee injury prevented Zachary Fisher from joining the Marines when he tried to enlist in 1942. Instead Fisher, who served his country during World War II assisting the Army Corps of Engineers in building coastal defense installations, used the wealth accumulated through the successful family construction and real estate business to aid America's servicemen and women and their families. Fisher's most notable contribution was spearheading the founding of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum, now the largest naval museum in the world. Fisher established the Intrepid Museum Foundation in 1978 to rescue the deteriorated aircraft carrier, and the museum opened in 1982 on Pier 86 in New York City.
SEA HISTORY 91 , WINTER 1999-2000