1
00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:09,920
It is the sea that defines Britain.


2
00:00:09,920 --> 00:00:13,760
Throughout our history,
it's been our line of defence


3
00:00:13,760 --> 00:00:16,160
against invasion by enemies abroad.


4
00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:21,400
In Shakespeare's words,
we are "a fortress built by nature",


5
00:00:21,400 --> 00:00:24,760
and the sea is our defensive moat.


6
00:00:28,280 --> 00:00:30,680
There's no better way
to explore these defences


7
00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:32,720
than from the sea itself.


8
00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:36,600
I'm sailing along our southern shore


9
00:00:36,600 --> 00:00:41,920
to discover how we kept
our frontier safe for 1,000 years.


10
00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,400
How we improved on the gift
that nature gave us


11
00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:52,520
to make our country invincible.


12
00:00:55,080 --> 00:00:57,880
How we built
the most powerful warships.


13
00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:01,520
Let me down about a foot.


14
00:01:04,560 --> 00:01:07,560
How we designed bastions
against our enemy.


15
00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:14,880
How are artists inspired us
and confused our foes.


16
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And how throughout history


17
00:01:18,040 --> 00:01:21,440
writers and painters have used
stories of the sea


18
00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:25,440
to strengthen our sense
of independence.


19
00:01:29,320 --> 00:01:31,680
Get back, you bloody fool!


20
00:01:59,960 --> 00:02:05,200
I'm sailing from Lymington, past
the Isle of Wight and Portsmouth


21
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and then along the Sussex coast
past Brighton,


22
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past Beachy Head, to Kent


23
00:02:11,520 --> 00:02:15,160
and on to my final destination,
the gateway to Britain


24
00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:17,560
at the white cliffs of Dover.


25
00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:35,480
We're setting off
from the harbour town of Lymington,


26
00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:37,360
on the edge of the New Forest
in Hampshire.


27
00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:42,600
My sailing boat Rocket,
my private passion,


28
00:02:42,600 --> 00:02:44,600
and the crew to sail her.


29
00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:50,640
John Holden, who looks after
the boat and keeps us out of danger


30
00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:55,200
and his dog Stanley,
who goes everywhere with him.


31
00:02:55,200 --> 00:02:59,800
What time have we got to be off?
About five minutes ago. Ach!


32
00:03:01,840 --> 00:03:05,000
'And for this voyage,
we're joined by Emily Caruso.'


33
00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,160
Hi, Emily. Hello. Welcome aboard.


34
00:03:08,160 --> 00:03:12,480
Emily's a professional sailor
who knows these waters well.


35
00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:18,320
I'm keen to catch the tide, have it
running with us, not against us,


36
00:03:18,320 --> 00:03:22,000
which can halve the time
our journey takes.


37
00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:24,560
9:15 we said we'd get away,
didn't we? We ought to, yeah.


38
00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:26,680
It's 9:30.


39
00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:34,560
Sadly, there's not a breath of wind
this morning,


40
00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:36,560
so we have to use our engine.


41
00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:41,480
Can I get you guys some cake?
That would be good.


42
00:03:41,480 --> 00:03:44,120
Stanley looks as if
he's rather interested in it.


43
00:03:44,120 --> 00:03:45,960
Stanley...


44
00:03:54,240 --> 00:03:59,360
Our first port of call is
the site of some of Britain's
greatest ever shipbuilding,


45
00:03:59,360 --> 00:04:01,800
the village of Buckler's Hard.


46
00:04:06,840 --> 00:04:11,440
So, Emily, I'll come very gently up
and you can just leap off. OK.


47
00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:17,880
The slipways have long gone


48
00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:21,960
but the shipbuilders'
18th-century cottages survive.


49
00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:25,520
Come on, then. Come on. Here.


50
00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:30,560
This is an idyllic summer scene.


51
00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:33,440
People picnicking on the lawns,


52
00:04:33,440 --> 00:04:36,680
this row of cottages,
pastoral, quiet.


53
00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:40,760
250 years ago, this would have been
a very different scene


54
00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:44,240
because Buckler's Hard was one
of the great shipyards of England,


55
00:04:44,240 --> 00:04:47,040
one of the places that built
the warships for the Royal Navy.


56
00:04:49,200 --> 00:04:52,120
Here they built 55 warships.


57
00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:55,240
There might have been three
being built at the same time,


58
00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,760
stretching from where I'm standing
right down to the water.


59
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Great ribs sticking into the sky.


60
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Carpenters at work.


61
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The noise would have been fantastic
- the sawing of wood,


62
00:05:08,280 --> 00:05:13,240
ironmongers hammering out nails
and metal fittings
that were required.


63
00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:16,360
The whole place a great hive
of activity.


64
00:05:20,480 --> 00:05:23,280
Some of the Navy's best ships were
made here


65
00:05:23,280 --> 00:05:26,120
and many that played a part
in the Battle of Trafalgar.


66
00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:35,480
HMS Agamemnon was described by
Nelson as the finest in the service.


67
00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:49,200
What made Buckler's Hard perfect
for shipbuilding


68
00:05:49,200 --> 00:05:53,760
is that it's right on the edge of
the huge expanse of the New Forest


69
00:05:53,760 --> 00:05:59,040
and thousands of acres
of perfect raw material.


70
00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:09,040
This is the home of the king
of trees, the mighty oak,


71
00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:14,000
a tree whose qualities make it ideal
for ships.


72
00:06:16,720 --> 00:06:19,520
Instead of being a straight tree
like a pine,


73
00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:22,360
an oak grows all twisted
and gnarled.


74
00:06:22,360 --> 00:06:24,800
And that's good for a ship


75
00:06:24,800 --> 00:06:28,440
because what you need is not
straight lines of wood,


76
00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:30,520
you need curved bits of wood.


77
00:06:30,520 --> 00:06:33,400
For instance, when you're fitting
the deck to the side there,


78
00:06:33,400 --> 00:06:36,200
you need a thing called a knee,
which goes down like that.


79
00:06:36,200 --> 00:06:38,960
Now, in these oaks,
you can find knees ready-made.


80
00:06:38,960 --> 00:06:41,440
You don't have to steam them
or bend them or force them.


81
00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:43,680
You just cut them
and put them into the ship.


82
00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:53,960
The amount of oak needed to build
ships like the Agamemnon


83
00:06:53,960 --> 00:06:56,040
was prodigious -


84
00:06:56,040 --> 00:07:02,680
up to 2,000 trees, about 40 acres
of woodland, for a single ship.


85
00:07:04,520 --> 00:07:09,400
The oak tree is still celebrated
by the Royal Navy even today


86
00:07:09,400 --> 00:07:13,280
because the oak was, after all, at
the very heart of our naval success,


87
00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:17,800
pieces of oak like this,
which used to lie literally
at the heart of the ships.


88
00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:19,560
And the Royal Naval anthem,


89
00:07:19,560 --> 00:07:22,240
which used to be sung
before they went into battle,


90
00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:26,480
goes, "Heart of oak are our ships,
jolly tars are our men.


91
00:07:26,480 --> 00:07:30,360
"We always are ready,
Steady boys, steady.


92
00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:34,840
"We'll fight and we'll conquer
Again and again."


93
00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:37,480
CHOIR: # Heart of oak are our ships


94
00:07:37,480 --> 00:07:39,960
# Jolly tars are our men


95
00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,160
# We always are ready


96
00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:47,280
# Steady, boys, steady


97
00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:51,520
# We fight and we conquer
Again and again! #


98
00:08:05,360 --> 00:08:07,640
'Part of the romance of sailing is


99
00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:10,760
'that you feel a bond
with the sailors of the past,


100
00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:15,080
'facing the same problems
that seafarers have always faced.'


101
00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:16,600
Are you all right?


102
00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:18,400
'Today, it's full moon


103
00:08:18,400 --> 00:08:22,800
'and that means the highest
and fastest tides of the month.


104
00:08:22,800 --> 00:08:27,240
'The wind is blustery,
the ebb tide's against us


105
00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,680
'and so we have to furl our sails,
which can be tricky in a seaway.'


106
00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:33,200
Watch out. Watch that dog!


107
00:08:34,800 --> 00:08:36,720
OK.


108
00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:41,760
The entrance to Portsmouth is narrow
and always busy.


109
00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:46,320
Stop filming. I want to get
this boat through here.


110
00:08:46,320 --> 00:08:48,360
Don't fiddle-faddle, please.


111
00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:51,040
I want to sail the boat.
The filming can take second place.


112
00:08:52,080 --> 00:08:55,720
INDISTINCT VOICE OVER RADIO


113
00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,160
We're just coming into
Portsmouth harbour,


114
00:08:58,160 --> 00:09:00,240
which is an absolute nightmare,


115
00:09:00,240 --> 00:09:04,360
because we've got a spring tide
against us, very strong tide
at about three knots or so.


116
00:09:04,360 --> 00:09:06,240
We've been creeping through
this channel.


117
00:09:06,240 --> 00:09:08,880
Big ships coming in,
another big ship coming in there,


118
00:09:08,880 --> 00:09:12,040
all these boats behind us.
We have to keep on this side.


119
00:09:12,040 --> 00:09:14,960
We have to ask permission
to cross over.


120
00:09:14,960 --> 00:09:16,960
It's quite a tricky little entrance,
this,


121
00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:19,480
and there are moments when the tide
is so strong,


122
00:09:19,480 --> 00:09:21,800
you almost feel
you're going backwards,


123
00:09:21,800 --> 00:09:23,960
just creeping, creeping ahead.


124
00:09:29,760 --> 00:09:31,840
I want to put in at Portsmouth


125
00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:35,720
because it's our finest monument
to our sailing past,


126
00:09:35,720 --> 00:09:40,320
the retirement home
of many of our greatest men of war.


127
00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:45,680
QHM, Rocket.
We're approaching ballast.


128
00:09:45,680 --> 00:09:48,000
Request permission to tie up. Over.


129
00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:50,240
'Yes, confirmed.' Thanks so much.
Thank you.


130
00:09:54,720 --> 00:09:58,040
The most famous ship here is
HMS Victory,


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lovingly preserved in dry dock.


132
00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:07,680
Victory was Nelson's flagship off
Cape Trafalgar


133
00:10:07,680 --> 00:10:10,680
when we trounced the French in 1805.


134
00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:14,960
The fame of that battle
soon reached Britain


135
00:10:14,960 --> 00:10:18,880
and painters were keen to record it
at the first opportunity.


136
00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:27,440
After the Battle of Trafalgar,
Victory was brought back,
badly damaged, to England


137
00:10:27,440 --> 00:10:30,400
and the first thing that happened
was artists came down,


138
00:10:30,400 --> 00:10:33,080
demanding to be allowed
to draw the ship


139
00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:37,440
so they could be first out
with a picture of the battle
as they saw it.


140
00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:40,400
And among those artists was
William Turner.


141
00:10:40,400 --> 00:10:43,240
He came down 1805, 1806


142
00:10:43,240 --> 00:10:46,720
and did a whole series of sketches
of the ship.


143
00:10:52,560 --> 00:10:56,720
There are little sketchbooks that
show detailed drawings he'd done.


144
00:10:58,680 --> 00:11:02,680
And it emerged in the end as
a great picture, a famous picture,


145
00:11:02,680 --> 00:11:04,800
of the Battle of Trafalgar.


146
00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:23,320
The painting was commissioned
to be a heroic record
of Britain's victory.


147
00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:28,920
But it was controversial because it
showed the price of that victory.


148
00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:34,520
The ship herself is battle-torn,


149
00:11:34,520 --> 00:11:37,800
the rigging and the sails are
in disarray.


150
00:11:40,160 --> 00:11:46,360
Her crew, dashed by the waves, are
clinging to wooden spars


151
00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:49,800
and even the Union Flag has been
brought low.


152
00:12:02,720 --> 00:12:05,640
One of the surprises of Victory
to the modern eye


153
00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:08,680
is her lavish interior decoration


154
00:12:08,680 --> 00:12:11,680
and the luxury in which
her officers lived.


155
00:12:15,440 --> 00:12:18,360
The Admiral's Cabin on Victory,
Nelson's cabin -


156
00:12:18,360 --> 00:12:22,040
elegant, painted pale green,
which was an admiral's colour.


157
00:12:22,040 --> 00:12:25,120
But it all comes apart
when you're going into battle.


158
00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:28,120
The panelling comes off here,
for instance -


159
00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:32,440
just taken away and revealing
the timbers of the ship,


160
00:12:32,440 --> 00:12:35,480
partly to lighten the weight
of the stern


161
00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:38,440
but also here's a gun port
with a bolt and a ring


162
00:12:38,440 --> 00:12:41,720
and this all pushes back
and a gun can be wheeled in.


163
00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:46,760
This is a strange thing.
This is a sort of megaphone,


164
00:12:46,760 --> 00:12:49,520
which I think Nelson
wouldn't have used onboard


165
00:12:49,520 --> 00:12:52,360
but it's said he did
used to bellow out at ships behind


166
00:12:52,360 --> 00:12:53,920
to get back.


167
00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:56,800
Get back, you bloody fool!


168
00:12:58,480 --> 00:13:01,840
Because he led the line into battle,
which wasn't usual.


169
00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:03,920
The Admiral's ship was usually
in the centre.


170
00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:06,680
And this is authentic.


171
00:13:06,680 --> 00:13:09,320
Nelson's table,
with a few instruments out.


172
00:13:09,320 --> 00:13:12,440
But this is the table
at which he used to write.


173
00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:16,920
Nelson's night cabin wasn't exactly
a place of luxury.


174
00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:18,360
There was a wash stand


175
00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:21,040
and this is a replica
of one he had specially made


176
00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:24,160
from another ship of the line,
HMS Foudroyant.


177
00:13:25,280 --> 00:13:28,280
Cannon, because, of course,
this was still a fighting ship.


178
00:13:28,280 --> 00:13:31,560
So he had to sleep
between two cannons.


179
00:13:32,880 --> 00:13:37,880
Then his bed. There are two beds,
one quite a nice solid wooden bed


180
00:13:37,880 --> 00:13:40,040
that he'd have used when conditions
were calm.


181
00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:41,800
But this is the cot,


182
00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:46,240
famously embroidered
by his long-time lover,


183
00:13:46,240 --> 00:13:48,320
the notorious Emma Hamilton.


184
00:13:49,080 --> 00:13:52,800
The idea of this being
that when the ship is leaning


185
00:13:52,800 --> 00:13:55,880
one way or the other, like that,


186
00:13:55,880 --> 00:13:59,520
you can still stay asleep because
the bed, like a hammock, moves.


187
00:14:03,600 --> 00:14:06,880
That's one deck
and then another one.


188
00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:15,560
That's better. Then this one.


189
00:14:21,280 --> 00:14:23,440
So this is the lower gun deck.


190
00:14:23,440 --> 00:14:28,040
This is where the heaviest guns are,
ranged all the way up.


191
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:32,880
Fire buckets beside them.
Horns for the gunpowder.


192
00:14:33,600 --> 00:14:37,320
These huge tools
to clean the barrels.


193
00:14:37,320 --> 00:14:43,280
On this side, great pumps to take
the water out of the bilges.


194
00:14:46,200 --> 00:14:49,600
Vast arrays of cannon balls.


195
00:14:50,400 --> 00:14:52,920
HE STRAINS
No, I think they're stuck in.


196
00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:58,040
You lived here, too. This would
all be hung with hammocks.


197
00:14:58,040 --> 00:15:00,920
450 people in this space.


198
00:15:00,920 --> 00:15:03,880
So it's quite low, quite dark,


199
00:15:03,880 --> 00:15:07,400
but the interesting thing is, at the
Battle of Trafalgar, for instance,


200
00:15:07,400 --> 00:15:11,000
of the 150 people who were killed,
only two were killed on this deck.


201
00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:14,000
It was actually the safest place
to be on the ship.


202
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:18,880
Because low down on the waterline
was not where
the main battle took place.


203
00:15:18,880 --> 00:15:21,200
The main battle took place
higher up,


204
00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:24,640
trying to capture the ship,
rather than sink it.


205
00:15:28,200 --> 00:15:32,440
By contrast, Nelson,
as Admiral of the Fleet,


206
00:15:32,440 --> 00:15:34,480
was on the upper deck,


207
00:15:34,480 --> 00:15:37,480
an easy target for a French sniper.


208
00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:53,120
It's difficult to exaggerate the
impact of his death on the country.


209
00:15:53,120 --> 00:15:56,560
Here was a man who was
a brilliant sailor,


210
00:15:56,560 --> 00:15:59,480
who'd delivered the freedom
of the seas to Britain


211
00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:01,920
and died at the moment
of his victory.


212
00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,320
That people mourned him is
to understate it.


213
00:16:09,320 --> 00:16:12,880
Thousands lined the streets of
London when he went to his burial.


214
00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:16,280
They spoke of Nelson
as though he was almost immortal,


215
00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:18,240
almost a saint.


216
00:16:40,560 --> 00:16:43,880
The bows of Victory,
the front of the ship,


217
00:16:43,880 --> 00:16:48,200
are missing one of the key symbols
of dominance and aggression


218
00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:52,760
that was carried by all warships
at the time - the figurehead.


219
00:16:55,040 --> 00:16:59,200
Victory's original figurehead has
rotted away


220
00:16:59,200 --> 00:17:03,560
but a unique record
of what it was like survives...


221
00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:07,240
in miniature.


222
00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:13,640
This is a model
of Victory's figurehead.


223
00:17:14,400 --> 00:17:18,680
The real thing was 24-foot high.
This is under a foot high.


224
00:17:19,560 --> 00:17:23,600
This is a really intricate
work of art,


225
00:17:23,600 --> 00:17:27,760
full of very fine, delicate carving


226
00:17:27,760 --> 00:17:31,640
and each part sending
a different message.


227
00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:38,480
At the head, the jowly figure
of George III, the king,


228
00:17:38,480 --> 00:17:41,720
triumphant in majesty,


229
00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:46,560
Britain demonstrating
that it is victorious over
all the countries of the world.


230
00:17:46,560 --> 00:17:49,720
Beneath him, there's a shield
with the Union Flag,


231
00:17:49,720 --> 00:17:54,320
the four winds, all smiling
and blowing in Britain's favour.


232
00:17:55,600 --> 00:18:01,720
Just on the edge here,
the British lion,
standing on the defeated enemies -


233
00:18:01,720 --> 00:18:07,520
the figure of Europe and here, of
America, borne by Native Americans.


234
00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:12,840
So the whole figurehead
designed to give


235
00:18:12,840 --> 00:18:17,920
the feeling of power, of conquest,
of success,


236
00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:19,520
of victory,


237
00:18:19,520 --> 00:18:23,720
and meant to inspire the people
who sailed on this ship.


238
00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:41,080
Today, figurehead carving is
almost a lost art,


239
00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:43,920
but one man keeps
the tradition alive.


240
00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:49,880
Andy Peters makes figureheads
from scratch


241
00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:51,560
and he restores them.


242
00:18:51,560 --> 00:18:55,080
This one dates back
more than a century and a half.


243
00:18:59,200 --> 00:19:01,920
It's supposed to be a representation
of Pocahontas,


244
00:19:01,920 --> 00:19:04,960
American Indian... Princess.
..Princess, yeah.


245
00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:06,880
It's stupendous, this figure.


246
00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:08,520
Can I touch it? Yes, yes.


247
00:19:08,520 --> 00:19:11,200
Is this...? Is this...?
This looks like plaster. Is it?


248
00:19:11,200 --> 00:19:13,880
No, that's wood. It's all wood? Yeah.


249
00:19:15,120 --> 00:19:17,600
Extraordinary how smooth this is.


250
00:19:17,600 --> 00:19:22,320
And the paint is not sort of plaster
and paint together?
It's just ordinary paint?


251
00:19:22,320 --> 00:19:23,760
It's just paint onto the wood


252
00:19:23,760 --> 00:19:27,200
and the smoothness is achieved
purely by hand tools.


253
00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,440
Can we have a look at this?
This is one in construction?


254
00:19:30,440 --> 00:19:33,200
Yeah, this is made in the same way.
And who is it of?


255
00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:37,480
It's going to be a figure of Neptune


256
00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:40,240
based on a figure
that's in a museum in Toulon.


257
00:19:40,240 --> 00:19:42,520
So this is a scaled-down version.


258
00:19:42,520 --> 00:19:45,360
Now, this isn't one piece of wood,
is it? No.


259
00:19:45,360 --> 00:19:48,920
It's made up from planks of wood.
You can see the joins in them here.


260
00:19:48,920 --> 00:19:53,160
And how do you get a smooth finish,
as if it were, almost, plaster?


261
00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:58,560
Well, once you get it
to a certain stage


262
00:19:58,560 --> 00:20:04,440
like that, you can then turn
to just using finishing hand tools.


263
00:20:05,760 --> 00:20:07,920
You'd need to be very patient
to do this.


264
00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:10,680
Yeah, a figure like this
will probably take about a month,


265
00:20:10,680 --> 00:20:12,800
from start to finish.


266
00:20:12,800 --> 00:20:17,800
So at its peak, what proportion
of the cost of a ship


267
00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:21,280
went on decoration and figureheads?


268
00:20:21,280 --> 00:20:27,160
Erm, the painting, gilding, carving
could be sort 20%
of the cost of the ship.


269
00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:29,760
Really? Yes, yes. 20%! Yes, yeah.


270
00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:33,320
That's extraordinary. Yeah.


271
00:20:35,160 --> 00:20:37,960
Why did the tradition of figureheads
suddenly stop?


272
00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:42,680
Well, coming to the sort of
mid-1700s, late 1700s,


273
00:20:42,680 --> 00:20:46,160
science was coming into the design
of ships


274
00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:49,160
and they wanted to be faster,
to carry bigger guns


275
00:20:49,160 --> 00:20:53,400
and the practicality
of large carvings was


276
00:20:53,400 --> 00:20:55,840
just not the important thing
any more.


277
00:21:02,080 --> 00:21:07,960
By the 1830s, a new industrial age
of steam power was taking over.


278
00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:14,840
The age that had belonged to Victory
now belonged to Warrior.


279
00:21:17,080 --> 00:21:22,160
Built in 1860, it was Britain's
new terror of the seas.


280
00:21:23,640 --> 00:21:26,760
OK, if I can get you
to just slip this harness on.


281
00:21:30,240 --> 00:21:34,200
This is loose. Very loose.
Yeah, yeah. There we go.


282
00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:35,800
Ow!


283
00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:37,600
I've never had much
of a head for heights


284
00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:40,280
but I wanted to see Warrior close up


285
00:21:40,280 --> 00:21:42,320
to see the work her welders
had done.


286
00:21:42,720 --> 00:21:44,920
Whoo!
LAUGHTER


287
00:21:46,200 --> 00:21:48,880
If you... If we just ease you out...


288
00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:52,240
Lower away a little bit, Bob.
Right, down we go. Whoops...


289
00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:54,280
From a distance,
the hull may look the same


290
00:21:54,280 --> 00:21:56,440
as every wooden ship before it.


291
00:21:56,440 --> 00:21:58,400
Lower away, Bob.


292
00:22:00,480 --> 00:22:04,760
Close up, there's no mistaking
a whole new world of engineering.


293
00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:08,160
Let me down a foot
so I can put a foot here
and I'll stop swinging.


294
00:22:08,160 --> 00:22:11,240
Down about a foot.
There are kind of steps here.


295
00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:15,280
I think this'll do.
Yeah? Are you happy with that? OK.


296
00:22:15,280 --> 00:22:18,240
Well, this is the way to see
this ship.


297
00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:20,080
Over 400 feet long,


298
00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:25,120
the first all-iron battleship
delivered to the Royal Navy.


299
00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:27,880
She was launched in 1860.


300
00:22:27,880 --> 00:22:30,880
It's lovely seeing this
from close to


301
00:22:30,880 --> 00:22:32,960
because you get the feel of this.


302
00:22:32,960 --> 00:22:38,480
It's not smooth - rather rumpled,
dimpled cast iron.


303
00:22:38,480 --> 00:22:43,280
It was all done
at the Thames ironworks on
the north bank of the River Thames


304
00:22:43,280 --> 00:22:45,600
by West Ham.


305
00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:49,200
West Ham the football team is known
as the Hammers


306
00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:52,160
because of the noise
from these great steam hammers


307
00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,160
pounding the side,
night after night.


308
00:22:56,800 --> 00:22:58,960
Three masts, all with sails,


309
00:22:58,960 --> 00:23:04,920
as well as 1,250 horse power
steam engines to drive her.


310
00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,120
40 guns in all, just on one deck.


311
00:23:08,120 --> 00:23:12,640
Dickens said that these gun ports
were as terrible
a row of incisor teeth


312
00:23:12,640 --> 00:23:15,360
as ever bit a French frigate.


313
00:23:15,360 --> 00:23:20,120
It was because Britain was so far
ahead in the industrial revolution


314
00:23:20,120 --> 00:23:22,800
that building a ship like this
was possible.


315
00:23:22,800 --> 00:23:26,720
We had the technology,
we had the know-how to do it,


316
00:23:26,720 --> 00:23:28,160
which nobody else really did.


317
00:23:28,160 --> 00:23:32,960
And that's why she was, for a time,
the supreme ship of the seas


318
00:23:32,960 --> 00:23:38,520
and a supreme demonstration
of Britain's industrial might.


319
00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:02,160
Warrior was meant to be
the ultimate deterrent,


320
00:24:02,160 --> 00:24:04,880
but no sooner was she launched
than the government embarked


321
00:24:04,880 --> 00:24:06,840
on another plan to defend Britain.


322
00:24:06,840 --> 00:24:08,840
They didn't think the Navy was
enough.


323
00:24:08,840 --> 00:24:11,480
There'd been a great row between
the government and the Navy.


324
00:24:11,480 --> 00:24:13,400
The Navy said, "We can handle it."


325
00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:15,960
The government said,
"What if you're defeated at sea?


326
00:24:15,960 --> 00:24:19,480
"What if there's a storm?
We must do better
if we're to be absolutely certain."


327
00:24:19,480 --> 00:24:24,160
And so they set about building
a chain of forts
around every harbour in Britain


328
00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:27,640
at huge cost -
in modern money, £1 billion.


329
00:24:27,640 --> 00:24:31,920
And we're heading
for one of these forts -
Spitbank, just off Portsmouth.


330
00:24:40,160 --> 00:24:46,040
This gloomy grey stump is
a giant circular gun platform.


331
00:24:49,080 --> 00:24:52,960
Building it was a supreme test
of 19th century engineering.


332
00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:57,520
It was constructed
to withstand attack and invasion.


333
00:24:57,520 --> 00:24:59,080
Oi!


334
00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:02,440
But also the relentless battering
of the seas.


335
00:25:02,880 --> 00:25:04,720
There's a lot of movement here.


336
00:25:06,480 --> 00:25:08,000
Good afternoon. Ow!


337
00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:17,440
Today, Spitbank serves
a new purpose.


338
00:25:17,440 --> 00:25:20,200
It's the ultimate island retreat,


339
00:25:20,200 --> 00:25:23,360
a luxury hotel set
in the middle of the sea.


340
00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:31,840
There were gun emplacements
right round the fort.


341
00:25:31,840 --> 00:25:33,760
This is one of them.


342
00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:36,680
Hooks in the ceiling
to hold all the equipment,


343
00:25:36,680 --> 00:25:40,160
to lift the gun, shell-loaded.


344
00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:44,520
A track round here so the gun could
get its arc of fire,


345
00:25:44,520 --> 00:25:46,760
moving this way and that.


346
00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:50,000
And there were guns
right the way round the fort,


347
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:53,720
these ones facing towards Portsmouth
in case the French broke through


348
00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:57,320
and they still had a chance
to fire on them.


349
00:25:57,320 --> 00:26:00,600
The main guns, out that way,
the big guns, looking out to sea.


350
00:26:01,840 --> 00:26:06,880
It's a typical Victorian building.
Beautiful brickwork.


351
00:26:06,880 --> 00:26:10,200
Look at these bricks.
Each one cut slightly differently


352
00:26:10,200 --> 00:26:14,040
to make the curve of the arch.


353
00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:15,880
Very fastidious.


354
00:26:32,560 --> 00:26:36,480
Spitbank remained an active part
of Britain's coastal defences


355
00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:39,560
until the end
of the Second World War.


356
00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:52,920
Next morning, a short distance
across the bay,


357
00:26:52,920 --> 00:26:56,080
but 500 years back in history,


358
00:26:56,080 --> 00:27:00,640
to see a much earlier
but even more impressive example


359
00:27:00,640 --> 00:27:03,320
of coastal defence.


360
00:27:09,800 --> 00:27:13,040
Southsea Castle squats
here on the coast,


361
00:27:13,040 --> 00:27:18,200
protecting the eastern entrance
to Portsmouth Harbour.


362
00:27:18,200 --> 00:27:22,640
Built by Henry VIII, it looks like
a modern nuclear bunker.


363
00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:29,600
It's constructed
in a complex geometrical form


364
00:27:29,600 --> 00:27:31,960
to give its gun emplacements
protection


365
00:27:31,960 --> 00:27:35,120
while allowing them to fire
from every angle.


366
00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:44,600
The design is radical.


367
00:27:44,600 --> 00:27:49,000
They were called Henrician castles
after the King.


368
00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:55,520
Britain's obsession with having
a strong navy


369
00:27:55,520 --> 00:27:57,880
goes back hundreds of years


370
00:27:57,880 --> 00:28:03,200
to an event which created
more enemies for us than we'd
ever had before in our history.


371
00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:07,880
It was Henry VIII's decision
to divorce his wife,
Catherine of Aragon,


372
00:28:07,880 --> 00:28:11,080
and then to split
from the Roman Catholic church.


373
00:28:11,080 --> 00:28:15,320
And as a result, the whole of
continental Europe, led by the Pope,


374
00:28:15,320 --> 00:28:16,560
was against us.


375
00:28:16,560 --> 00:28:20,240
Henry VIII had to build castles
like this at Southsea


376
00:28:20,240 --> 00:28:22,440
and all the way along the coast,
east and west,


377
00:28:22,440 --> 00:28:26,480
to protect us
from a possible threat of invasion.


378
00:28:30,600 --> 00:28:34,840
In 1545, just a few months
after completion,


379
00:28:34,840 --> 00:28:39,400
Southsea found itself
on the front line.


380
00:28:39,400 --> 00:28:44,000
These tranquil waters of the Solent
were the scene


381
00:28:44,000 --> 00:28:46,080
of an attempted invasion
by the French.


382
00:28:51,120 --> 00:28:55,600
This picture, a copy - the original
was lost in a fire -


383
00:28:55,600 --> 00:29:01,160
shows what happened 450 years ago,
right here in front of me.


384
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:08,000
So here is the English coastline...


385
00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:12,880
with Southsea Castle,
armed with cannons.


386
00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:15,840
And there is Henry VIII
on his horse,


387
00:29:15,840 --> 00:29:20,240
two years before his death,
already a great, fat figure.


388
00:29:20,240 --> 00:29:24,560
And the town of Portsmouth, which is
right round the corner there.


389
00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:26,720
This is where the French were trying
to get,


390
00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:29,360
to unload their troops.


391
00:29:29,360 --> 00:29:31,480
Now, this is the French fleet.


392
00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:36,440
230 ships, 30,000 troops.


393
00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:39,320
The French decide the best thing
to do to start with


394
00:29:39,320 --> 00:29:42,800
is to send their galleys in
towards the English fleet


395
00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:46,200
and open fire -
poof, poof, poof, poof.


396
00:29:46,200 --> 00:29:48,400
And the British respond. Boom!


397
00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:50,040
And it's pretty inconclusive.


398
00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:55,120
We only had 60 ships
and 12,000 men here to defend.


399
00:29:55,120 --> 00:29:57,960
There were two great ships
in the fleet.


400
00:29:57,960 --> 00:30:03,920
One, Henry VIII's flagship, the
Great Harry - Henry Grace a Dieu.


401
00:30:03,920 --> 00:30:06,400
And the other, the Mary Rose.


402
00:30:06,400 --> 00:30:08,680
There is the Great Harry, there.


403
00:30:08,680 --> 00:30:11,000
Where is the Mary Rose?


404
00:30:11,000 --> 00:30:16,320
She came round here,
fired a broadside at the French,


405
00:30:16,320 --> 00:30:19,760
capsized and sank.


406
00:30:20,640 --> 00:30:25,000
And all that's left in this picture
is the tip of two masts,


407
00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:26,520
with a man on top of one


408
00:30:26,520 --> 00:30:30,240
and one or two people swimming
and being rescued by boats.


409
00:30:32,280 --> 00:30:35,200
The Mary Rose sank just out there.


410
00:30:35,200 --> 00:30:38,840
Only 35 of her 500 crew survived.


411
00:30:40,400 --> 00:30:42,120
One of the quirks
of this painting is


412
00:30:42,120 --> 00:30:45,360
that Henry VIII seems
completely impassive.


413
00:30:45,360 --> 00:30:47,640
He's even got his back turned
to the Mary Rose


414
00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:50,360
and I think that's just the way
the painter did it.


415
00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:54,320
I'm sure in reality there was
serious shock and horror


416
00:30:54,320 --> 00:30:56,480
because they could see it all
happening.


417
00:30:56,480 --> 00:30:58,080
The Mary Rose was out there


418
00:30:58,080 --> 00:31:00,920
and they could see this great ship
that he loved so much


419
00:31:00,920 --> 00:31:04,320
disappearing from sight
before his very eyes.


420
00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:17,960
30 years ago
in a breath-taking display of skill,


421
00:31:17,960 --> 00:31:21,760
the Mary Rose was raised
from the mud of the Solent.


422
00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:26,840
20,000 objects were retrieved,


423
00:31:26,840 --> 00:31:30,560
a unique insight
into Tudor life at sea.


424
00:31:33,920 --> 00:31:35,720
So this is a cast-iron shot.


425
00:31:35,720 --> 00:31:39,720
Archaeologist Alex Hildred was part
of the salvage operation.


426
00:31:39,720 --> 00:31:42,840
So we had about 200, 250 of those.


427
00:31:42,840 --> 00:31:45,920
It weighs how many pounds?
This weighs just under 5lbs.


428
00:31:45,920 --> 00:31:51,040
And with this monogram or letter
on it. Yeah. That's H for Henry.


429
00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:54,640
Some of the other objects we've got
have got an HI,


430
00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:56,840
which is Henricus Invictissimus
in Latin


431
00:31:56,840 --> 00:31:59,200
and translated, that's,
"Henry the most invincible".


432
00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:01,560
So every time you loaded a gun,


433
00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:04,320
you knew on whose behalf
you were firing it? Absolutely.


434
00:32:04,320 --> 00:32:06,920
Because I think a lot of it is
power and glory


435
00:32:06,920 --> 00:32:10,840
and that's why some of guns
are so beautifully embellished
with his name


436
00:32:10,840 --> 00:32:13,600
and King of Ireland
and all the various attributes


437
00:32:13,600 --> 00:32:16,600
that he bestowed upon himself
or had bestowed by other people.


438
00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:18,600
What kind of damage could it do?


439
00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:22,560
I mean... What would it do?
Go through the side of ship?


440
00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:24,800
When we've done trials of ones
slightly bigger,


441
00:32:24,800 --> 00:32:28,400
we actually punched a hole
straight through the side of a ship


442
00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:30,600
that was built on the same size
as the Mary Rose


443
00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:33,520
and it went straight through
at a fair distance,
so they pack a punch.


444
00:32:33,520 --> 00:32:35,920
And if you have a lot of small guns -


445
00:32:35,920 --> 00:32:39,600
you can pepper the side of a ship
more quickly than you can
if you have bigger balls -


446
00:32:39,600 --> 00:32:42,680
you're actually making
more small holes, if you like.


447
00:32:48,760 --> 00:32:53,440
I want to get some idea of the size
and effect of Henry's fire power.


448
00:32:54,960 --> 00:32:58,120
We're hauling an exact replica
of one of his cannon


449
00:32:58,120 --> 00:32:59,680
onto the battlements.


450
00:32:59,680 --> 00:33:01,880
OK. Forward together.


451
00:33:04,160 --> 00:33:06,000
Watch your toes.


452
00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:10,520
It's filled with gunpowder,


453
00:33:10,520 --> 00:33:14,040
though not, of course, with
one of his monogrammed cannon balls,


454
00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:15,680
and set ready to fire.


455
00:33:15,680 --> 00:33:17,240
There's a lot going in. Yes.


456
00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:22,720
I'm expecting a few seconds delay
when I light the powder.


457
00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:24,840
I think that's OK.


458
00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:28,880
But not at all. One touch
with the linstock is enough.


459
00:33:29,400 --> 00:33:31,280
Fire!


460
00:33:33,600 --> 00:33:35,400
It's quite a good bang!


461
00:33:38,560 --> 00:33:40,560
Sorry. It's all right.
It's just a gun.


462
00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:47,200
Guns and coastal defences kept us
safe for 1,000 years


463
00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:51,360
but before that,
with no navy to protect us,


464
00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:55,160
we could be easy prey.


465
00:33:58,800 --> 00:34:01,520
We're sailing to the oldest port
in Sussex,


466
00:34:01,520 --> 00:34:04,160
a landing place
which has been attacked


467
00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:06,800
since the dawn
of our recorded history.


468
00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:11,120
With the wind behind us,
I'm holding out the foresail
to catch the breeze.


469
00:34:11,120 --> 00:34:13,400
How far do you think we'll get on
today, David?


470
00:34:13,400 --> 00:34:16,040
The way you're sailing her,
no distance at all.


471
00:34:16,040 --> 00:34:17,080
LAUGHTER


472
00:34:18,760 --> 00:34:21,880
Our destination is a few miles
into Chichester Harbour,


473
00:34:21,880 --> 00:34:26,200
one of the most beautiful expanses
of water along the south coast.


474
00:34:34,680 --> 00:34:38,840
This is a fine place to sail
but the channel is shallow.


475
00:34:38,840 --> 00:34:43,080
We've gone about as far as we can
without going aground.


476
00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:46,920
Are you OK, there? Yeah.
It's time to drop anchor.


477
00:34:49,720 --> 00:34:51,520
OK. Let me go.


478
00:34:58,160 --> 00:35:01,400
I'm rowing into this very pretty
little village of Bosham


479
00:35:01,400 --> 00:35:03,040
on the edge of Chichester Harbour,


480
00:35:03,040 --> 00:35:06,200
rowing because Rocket can't get up
here - it's too shallow.


481
00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:09,240
We're going to see it
because it's been at the heart


482
00:35:09,240 --> 00:35:12,720
of all the big invasions of England,
one way or another.


483
00:35:12,720 --> 00:35:16,760
The Vikings came here,
the Romans were here, of course.


484
00:35:17,600 --> 00:35:21,600
And Harold, the man who lost
the Battle of Hastings,


485
00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:25,560
that led to the invasion of England
by William of Normandy,


486
00:35:25,560 --> 00:35:28,160
he actually lived here at Bosham.


487
00:35:33,320 --> 00:35:35,840
The Romans were the first invaders
to spot


488
00:35:35,840 --> 00:35:38,560
the strategic importance of Bosham.


489
00:35:38,560 --> 00:35:41,720
They turned it into a busy port.


490
00:35:42,920 --> 00:35:47,760
But after the Romans had gone,
Bosham was again vulnerable.


491
00:35:50,920 --> 00:35:53,320
We know for certain
that the Vikings came here,


492
00:35:53,320 --> 00:35:59,000
marauding hordes, because this sea
and the open arms of this coast


493
00:35:59,000 --> 00:36:01,040
almost would have welcomed
the invader.


494
00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:04,560
It's said that once they attacked
the old church here


495
00:36:04,560 --> 00:36:06,760
and stole the two church bells


496
00:36:06,760 --> 00:36:08,960
and then they were seen off


497
00:36:08,960 --> 00:36:11,680
and set off down the harbour
in a boat with the bells,


498
00:36:11,680 --> 00:36:15,240
the boat capsized, the bells fell
to the bottom of the sea


499
00:36:15,240 --> 00:36:17,320
and according to
the people of Bosham,


500
00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:19,720
if you listen very carefully
at certain states of tide


501
00:36:19,720 --> 00:36:21,640
you can still hear
the bells ringing,


502
00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:23,200
which I rather doubt.


503
00:36:26,800 --> 00:36:30,880
Today, the church prefers
to celebrate the local link
with King Harold,


504
00:36:30,880 --> 00:36:36,280
and through him, one of the greatest
works of art of the 11th century.


505
00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:55,200
King Harold had a manor here
and he came to Bosham


506
00:36:55,200 --> 00:36:58,760
and this is a scene taken
from the Bayeux Tapestry,


507
00:36:58,760 --> 00:37:00,520
just an excerpt of it.


508
00:37:00,520 --> 00:37:03,560
His courtiers on their way,
coming to the church.


509
00:37:03,560 --> 00:37:07,280
The tapestry explains the story
not just in pictures but in words.


510
00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:14,080
At the top here,
Harold and his soldiers ride
"ad Bosham", to Bosham,


511
00:37:14,080 --> 00:37:15,920
to the church.


512
00:37:19,280 --> 00:37:22,040
The prayers of Harold were
to no avail.


513
00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:26,080
When he and William of Normandy met
on the battlefield at Hastings


514
00:37:26,080 --> 00:37:29,480
on 14th October 1066,


515
00:37:29,480 --> 00:37:32,200
the French forces were victorious.


516
00:37:37,760 --> 00:37:41,360
Harold was defeated
and William crowned King of England.


517
00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:49,600
It's said that Harold,
after he'd been killed at Hastings,


518
00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:53,120
the arrow through the eye, was
brought here to Bosham church


519
00:37:53,120 --> 00:37:56,880
to be buried by his wife
because this was his manor.


520
00:37:56,880 --> 00:38:00,280
So that's Bosham at the heart
of three great invasions -


521
00:38:00,280 --> 00:38:03,920
the Romans, the Vikings
and the Norman Conquest.


522
00:38:16,320 --> 00:38:20,880
From Bosham we're sailing east
towards the fortress of Dover


523
00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:25,200
but not before pausing
at the seaside town of Brighton.


524
00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:38,680
I've never seen Brighton
from the sea before.


525
00:38:38,680 --> 00:38:43,560
It's quite spectacular. Just long
rows of very expensive flats


526
00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:45,280
looking out over the sea.


527
00:38:45,280 --> 00:38:47,880
And Brighton Pier.


528
00:38:51,600 --> 00:38:55,080
Despite its image as
a fashionable seaside resort,


529
00:38:55,080 --> 00:38:58,000
Brighton remembers a darker time


530
00:38:58,000 --> 00:39:02,240
when this coast lived
in fear of a French invasion


531
00:39:02,240 --> 00:39:04,840
at the beginning
of the 19th century.


532
00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:14,880
A collection of pottery here
celebrates our defender -


533
00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:17,560
the British sailor.


534
00:39:29,960 --> 00:39:32,440
At the time these pots were made,


535
00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:35,640
the sea was really important to
Britain. Everything depended on it.


536
00:39:35,640 --> 00:39:38,840
The food came that way
and it defended us
and the Channel was important.


537
00:39:38,840 --> 00:39:41,280
So the sailor was a kind of hero.


538
00:39:41,280 --> 00:39:45,680
Dressed in his dark blue, navy blue,
which is where the word came from,


539
00:39:45,680 --> 00:39:47,520
cheap blue dye.


540
00:39:47,520 --> 00:39:49,680
And this is
a particularly lovely couple.


541
00:39:49,680 --> 00:39:52,240
Here is the sailor saying goodbye.


542
00:39:52,240 --> 00:39:55,200
He's got his little bag
with his possessions in.


543
00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:59,400
And here he is, with her looking
a good deal happier,


544
00:39:59,400 --> 00:40:03,040
with his arm around her,
back from sea


545
00:40:03,040 --> 00:40:05,760
with a box of dollars at the bottom.


546
00:40:05,760 --> 00:40:10,200
Of course, there's always
the old assumption that
a sailor has a wife in every port


547
00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:12,440
and that's illustrated on this one.


548
00:40:12,440 --> 00:40:14,680
It's a rather dapper sailor


549
00:40:14,680 --> 00:40:17,400
in striped trousers and a waistcoat
on shore leave


550
00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:20,920
and a girl with a bonnet on


551
00:40:20,920 --> 00:40:23,560
and they're setting off,
having a high old time,


552
00:40:23,560 --> 00:40:26,280
and at the bottom it says,
"A sailor's life's a pleasant life


553
00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:28,760
"He freely roams
from shore to shore.


554
00:40:28,760 --> 00:40:30,640
"In every port he finds a wife -


555
00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:33,000
"What can a sailor wish for more?"


556
00:40:33,200 --> 00:40:36,920
But the pottery was also used
for political purposes


557
00:40:36,920 --> 00:40:41,240
and round about 1803,
when we made war against Napoleon,


558
00:40:41,240 --> 00:40:47,080
there were a number of pots made
that are serious propaganda,


559
00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:49,400
angry propaganda.


560
00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:52,760
This is a lovely one.
A Cock And Bull Story.


561
00:40:52,760 --> 00:40:56,840
And on the left it has the cockerel,
the symbol of France,


562
00:40:56,840 --> 00:40:58,840
with Napoleon's head on it,


563
00:40:58,840 --> 00:41:03,160
and on the right,
John Bull representing Britain.


564
00:41:03,160 --> 00:41:07,760
And the French cockerel is saying,
"Cock-a-doodle-do,
I'll soon come over to you.


565
00:41:07,760 --> 00:41:10,560
"I'll fight true game
and crow my fame


566
00:41:10,560 --> 00:41:13,240
"And make you all look blue."


567
00:41:13,240 --> 00:41:16,040
And the bull is replying,


568
00:41:16,040 --> 00:41:18,680
"You impertinent cock,
I'll have you to know


569
00:41:18,680 --> 00:41:21,840
"on this side the brook
you never shall crow."


570
00:41:23,760 --> 00:41:28,640
This monumental object displays
a special contempt for Napoleon.


571
00:41:28,640 --> 00:41:31,480
It is a giant chamber pot


572
00:41:31,480 --> 00:41:36,280
and inside, a bust of Napoleon


573
00:41:36,280 --> 00:41:39,880
with the words "Pereat" -
"May he perish".


574
00:41:39,880 --> 00:41:43,680
And its purpose is obvious.


575
00:41:43,680 --> 00:41:45,720
I won't demonstrate it.


576
00:41:50,200 --> 00:41:55,080
So there was a lot of propaganda
because there was a terrific fervour
at the time.


577
00:41:55,080 --> 00:41:57,320
People were really scared
there would be an invasion


578
00:41:57,320 --> 00:41:59,000
and this pottery was very popular


579
00:41:59,000 --> 00:42:01,680
because it just said
what people felt.


580
00:42:01,680 --> 00:42:03,680
"Napoleon, bugger off."


581
00:42:13,600 --> 00:42:17,240
The threat of a Napoleonic invasion
frightened people


582
00:42:17,240 --> 00:42:20,560
all along this south coast
in the early 1800s.


583
00:42:22,160 --> 00:42:25,880
And it was a terror that returned
in 1914.


584
00:42:30,600 --> 00:42:34,240
Early in the First World War,
German submarines mounted


585
00:42:34,240 --> 00:42:39,040
a campaign against merchant shipping
bringing vital supplies to Britain.


586
00:42:42,080 --> 00:42:46,840
There was a real danger
Germany would starve Britain
into submission.


587
00:42:48,680 --> 00:42:51,560
No boat was spared.


588
00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:58,400
Then the strangest of plans was
hatched to defeat the U-boat.


589
00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:05,240
This is an extraordinary painting


590
00:43:05,240 --> 00:43:07,640
by an artist
called Edward Wadsworth.


591
00:43:07,640 --> 00:43:10,720
It shows a ship in dry dock


592
00:43:10,720 --> 00:43:14,000
apparently being painted
by a gang of men


593
00:43:14,000 --> 00:43:18,800
in the most astonishing abstract,
almost surreal shapes.


594
00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:23,640
Stripes, black, white, grey.


595
00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:26,040
All haphazard, higgledy-piggledy.


596
00:43:26,040 --> 00:43:30,720
It looks like some sort of crazy
Cubist invention but it's not.


597
00:43:30,720 --> 00:43:35,240
It's reality. This is how
merchant ships were being painted


598
00:43:35,240 --> 00:43:36,720
during the First World War.


599
00:43:36,720 --> 00:43:39,800
And the pictures of the ships are
just astonishing,


600
00:43:39,800 --> 00:43:42,720
this one with great black stripes
at the stern


601
00:43:42,720 --> 00:43:44,840
and a zigzag at the bow.


602
00:43:44,840 --> 00:43:51,320
Here's another one with diagonal
stripes down and up on each side.


603
00:43:51,320 --> 00:43:54,040
They're all black and white
all over.


604
00:43:54,040 --> 00:43:55,520
The idea was this.


605
00:43:55,520 --> 00:43:58,360
If you could break up the silhouette
of a ship


606
00:43:58,360 --> 00:44:00,680
by having it black, white, black,
white, black, white,


607
00:44:00,680 --> 00:44:03,400
so you couldn't actually tell
what you were looking at,


608
00:44:03,400 --> 00:44:06,840
then you wouldn't be able to focus
on that ship from the submarine


609
00:44:06,840 --> 00:44:09,080
and fire a torpedo accurately.


610
00:44:09,080 --> 00:44:11,880
Edward Wadsworth was one
of a group of artists


611
00:44:11,880 --> 00:44:15,920
who worked to create
shapes and patterns for ships


612
00:44:15,920 --> 00:44:18,880
that would deceive submarines.


613
00:44:18,880 --> 00:44:21,960
And this one,
looking as though it's got teeth -


614
00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:24,320
great flares.


615
00:44:24,320 --> 00:44:26,200
It became known as dazzle painting,
this.


616
00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:31,000
By the time the Second World War
came, of course, it was all over


617
00:44:31,000 --> 00:44:33,120
because radar had been invented


618
00:44:33,120 --> 00:44:36,240
and with radar you could see
where the ship was,


619
00:44:36,240 --> 00:44:37,480
which way it was going


620
00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:40,000
and you could aim your torpedo
accurately.


621
00:44:46,160 --> 00:44:51,240
During the Second World War,
this length of coast
came under sustained attack.


622
00:44:51,240 --> 00:44:55,800
and nowhere was more at risk
than our next port of call.


623
00:45:02,560 --> 00:45:05,080
Looks nice and sheltered in there.
Yeah, it is.


624
00:45:05,080 --> 00:45:07,040
Yeah, it looks good, doesn't it?


625
00:45:10,440 --> 00:45:13,680
I'm going to come down
towards the right-hand breakwater.


626
00:45:13,680 --> 00:45:16,760
When we're past the lighthouse,
I'll turn up into the wind.


627
00:45:21,600 --> 00:45:26,840
Newhaven is the only deep-water port
between Portsmouth and Dover.


628
00:45:27,840 --> 00:45:31,240
You can get in here
at any state of the tide.


629
00:45:31,240 --> 00:45:34,600
It would have been a valuable prize
for invading Germans.


630
00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:38,480
John? That's fine.
Can you tie her up? Yeah.


631
00:45:38,480 --> 00:45:40,000
I'm going to go and say hello.


632
00:45:40,920 --> 00:45:43,400
How are you? Hello. Nice to see you.
Thanks very much.


633
00:45:43,400 --> 00:45:45,920
Thank you very much indeed.
That's very kind of you.


634
00:45:45,920 --> 00:45:47,600
Thanks. Hello.


635
00:45:47,600 --> 00:45:52,280
Newhaven is a very special place,
with an atmosphere all of its own.


636
00:45:52,280 --> 00:45:57,480
In the 1930s, two young English
painters, later to become famous,


637
00:45:57,480 --> 00:45:59,200
visited here -


638
00:45:59,200 --> 00:46:01,680
Eric Ravilious and Edward Bawden.


639
00:46:01,680 --> 00:46:04,600
And this is the pub
where they stayed.


640
00:46:09,600 --> 00:46:14,120
Hi, there. Hi. Sussex Best.
That would be great. Certainly.


641
00:46:20,760 --> 00:46:23,040
Edward Bawden was captivated
by Newhaven.


642
00:46:23,040 --> 00:46:25,600
His pictures show him excited
by the ships


643
00:46:25,600 --> 00:46:28,720
down the jetty in the harbour,
there.


644
00:46:30,280 --> 00:46:34,360
This harbour and then the downs
behind on either side.


645
00:46:41,000 --> 00:46:43,760
The day that Ravilious arrived
there was a storm blowing.


646
00:46:43,760 --> 00:46:47,600
He went out to the end of the jetty
and said it was like being
in a painting by Turner,


647
00:46:47,600 --> 00:46:51,600
all just shapeless - shapelessness
and great waves.


648
00:46:51,600 --> 00:46:54,400
Anyway, his paintings are
rather different.


649
00:46:54,400 --> 00:46:56,880
They're sort of settled,
quiet, calm.


650
00:46:56,880 --> 00:47:03,640
Newhaven in the pre-war years -
peaceful, quiet.


651
00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:11,600
Interestingly, Ravilious,
with no people, not even an animal.


652
00:47:30,720 --> 00:47:35,120
When war came, Ravilious and Bawden
were appointed official war artists


653
00:47:35,120 --> 00:47:37,800
to paint the war, the battle scenes.


654
00:47:37,800 --> 00:47:40,760
Bawden was sent to France
and ended up in Dunkirk.


655
00:47:40,760 --> 00:47:43,360
Ravilious came back here
to Newhaven.


656
00:47:43,360 --> 00:47:46,280
"Newhaven as good as ever," he said,
"but much changed."


657
00:47:46,280 --> 00:47:48,360
And his painting was much changed.


658
00:47:48,360 --> 00:47:53,440
What he was painting was
the defence of this part
of the coast of England.


659
00:47:57,720 --> 00:48:01,160
Gone are the tranquil scenes
of summer.


660
00:48:01,160 --> 00:48:05,360
Now the seaside is all barbed wire
and gun emplacements.


661
00:48:09,880 --> 00:48:13,640
This is the English coast
as the front line of defence,


662
00:48:13,640 --> 00:48:17,120
caught up in all the paraphernalia
of modern warfare.


663
00:48:23,760 --> 00:48:28,720
And across the Channel, Bawden was
observing the retreat to Dunkirk


664
00:48:28,720 --> 00:48:31,000
in the face
of the advancing German army.


665
00:48:31,000 --> 00:48:34,840
It's where boats like Rocket
would have gone in 1940,


666
00:48:34,840 --> 00:48:40,080
small ships to help rescue trapped
Allied soldiers from the beaches.


667
00:48:42,360 --> 00:48:45,720
Bawden's pictures capture
the reality


668
00:48:45,720 --> 00:48:48,080
of what it was like
to be at Dunkirk.


669
00:48:51,960 --> 00:48:55,440
His pictures have a sort of menace -


670
00:48:55,440 --> 00:48:58,480
dark clouds and flashes of light


671
00:48:58,480 --> 00:49:05,040
where people are milling about
waiting to be taken off the beach.


672
00:49:05,040 --> 00:49:07,640
People going down
into air-raid shelters


673
00:49:07,640 --> 00:49:10,640
to escape from the bombs.


674
00:49:10,640 --> 00:49:14,720
People having a cup of tea or
a cup of coffee while they waited.


675
00:49:14,720 --> 00:49:18,240
Very quick sketches, quite unlike
his normal way of painting


676
00:49:18,240 --> 00:49:22,560
but giving a rather vivid picture
of what is was like
to be on those beaches,


677
00:49:22,560 --> 00:49:25,440
something that the grand scene,
the big photographs,


678
00:49:25,440 --> 00:49:30,240
indeed, the movies that are made,
don't really quite get across.


679
00:49:35,600 --> 00:49:39,680
Everyone who sails these seas now
in peacetime


680
00:49:39,680 --> 00:49:42,400
is in debt
to that earlier generation,


681
00:49:42,400 --> 00:49:45,680
who volunteered their ships
to the Dunkirk rescue.


682
00:49:55,600 --> 00:50:00,600
Along the coast, one of those famous
little ships is being restored.


683
00:50:00,600 --> 00:50:02,560
The tug Challenge,


684
00:50:02,560 --> 00:50:07,960
saved from the scrap yard as
a reminder of the heroism of 1940.


685
00:50:07,960 --> 00:50:10,400
How long is it all going to take?
When will you be finished?


686
00:50:10,400 --> 00:50:13,160
Well, I hope to be finished
by the summer.


687
00:50:13,160 --> 00:50:15,640
Really? Yes - next summer.


688
00:50:15,640 --> 00:50:18,400
Mick Wenban's father,
also called Mick,


689
00:50:18,400 --> 00:50:22,160
was one of the volunteers
who answered the urgent call


690
00:50:22,160 --> 00:50:24,640
to sail to Dunkirk.


691
00:50:28,280 --> 00:50:31,520
This is the day they returned
from Dunkirk.


692
00:50:31,520 --> 00:50:36,280
And the gentleman at the front is
Taff Weekes, the fireman,


693
00:50:36,280 --> 00:50:39,200
and he was the one that told me
about Dad saving those people.


694
00:50:39,200 --> 00:50:43,040
Which is your dad? That's the one -
the man with the trilby. Yeah?


695
00:50:43,040 --> 00:50:44,640
MICK LAUGHS


696
00:50:44,640 --> 00:50:47,960
Do you have any memories
of what your father did?


697
00:50:47,960 --> 00:50:49,600
Did he leave any record of all this?


698
00:50:49,600 --> 00:50:54,400
Well, Dad didn't tell me everything
but when I came afloat on the tugs,


699
00:50:54,400 --> 00:50:56,600
I sailed with people
that were with my father


700
00:50:56,600 --> 00:51:00,440
and, dare I say it,
I think he was quite brave, actually.


701
00:51:00,440 --> 00:51:07,200
Because at one stage while they were
assisting a ship, it got blown up.


702
00:51:07,200 --> 00:51:10,360
And obviously there were
lots of people in the water.


703
00:51:10,360 --> 00:51:13,800
And apparently without thinking,
Dad just dived over the side


704
00:51:13,800 --> 00:51:17,120
and saved about a dozen soldiers
and brought them back onto the ship.


705
00:51:17,120 --> 00:51:21,200
The unfortunate part was
it was through thick oil,


706
00:51:21,200 --> 00:51:23,440
so consequently he lost all his hair


707
00:51:23,440 --> 00:51:25,720
and it affected his eyesight
somewhat.


708
00:51:25,720 --> 00:51:28,120
But apart from that,
they came through unscathed


709
00:51:28,120 --> 00:51:33,160
and just thought it was
part of their... You know,
doing their bit for King and country.


710
00:51:33,160 --> 00:51:36,320
Did he have time to tell the family
he was off and what he was doing?


711
00:51:36,320 --> 00:51:38,640
Well, he couldn't get a message
to my mother


712
00:51:38,640 --> 00:51:41,760
because she was a staff nurse
at Gravesend Hospital


713
00:51:41,760 --> 00:51:43,520
and she was on duty.


714
00:51:43,520 --> 00:51:47,440
So he shot off but when he got
to Dover the next day,


715
00:51:47,440 --> 00:51:50,120
he managed to write a little letter


716
00:51:50,120 --> 00:51:54,520
and got someone to post it to my mum,
which I've still got.


717
00:51:54,520 --> 00:51:56,800
What, you've got the letter?
I have the letter here.


718
00:51:56,800 --> 00:51:59,880
What does it say? Read it.
It says, "To my darling wife.


719
00:51:59,880 --> 00:52:04,640
"We are soon putting out
for a little job.


720
00:52:04,640 --> 00:52:09,200
"which, to put it mildly,
could be rather dangerous."


721
00:52:09,200 --> 00:52:12,280
And the bit that I thought was
quite sweet at the back, it said,


722
00:52:12,280 --> 00:52:14,840
"If things go wrong,
don't worry about the boat


723
00:52:14,840 --> 00:52:18,400
"because I have asked Dad to sell it
to give you some money


724
00:52:18,400 --> 00:52:20,080
"if I don't come back."


725
00:52:20,080 --> 00:52:23,800
And it's signed, "With lots of love,
Mick," and lots of crosses.


726
00:52:33,000 --> 00:52:35,560
Is our Stanley all right?
He's good, yeah.


727
00:52:35,560 --> 00:52:38,400
Is he asleep?
He's having a little dream.


728
00:52:46,360 --> 00:52:51,360
On our way east, we pass one of the
south coast's most dramatic sights,


729
00:52:51,360 --> 00:52:54,400
the Seven Sisters and Beachy Head,


730
00:52:54,400 --> 00:52:58,600
where the gleaming white chalk
of the Sussex Downs swoops


731
00:52:58,600 --> 00:53:00,680
seven times towards the sea.


732
00:53:10,760 --> 00:53:13,960
It's not that easy, drawing at sea
with a bit of a swell


733
00:53:13,960 --> 00:53:16,840
but until 70 years ago or so,


734
00:53:16,840 --> 00:53:20,440
all naval officers were taught
to draw


735
00:53:20,440 --> 00:53:23,520
and there was
a very practical reason for it.


736
00:53:23,520 --> 00:53:26,720
The Admiralty realised way back,
200 years ago,


737
00:53:26,720 --> 00:53:29,440
the danger of being at sea is
not being out there


738
00:53:29,440 --> 00:53:31,640
but being here, by the shore.


739
00:53:31,640 --> 00:53:33,440
That's where you get into trouble


740
00:53:33,440 --> 00:53:36,840
and so these very meticulous
drawings were done


741
00:53:36,840 --> 00:53:38,800
and the one I'm drawing,
Beachy Head -


742
00:53:38,800 --> 00:53:42,600
I'm doing a very rough sketch of,
like that -


743
00:53:42,600 --> 00:53:46,400
is actually in this book
as a drawing.


744
00:53:46,400 --> 00:53:48,840
The Channel Pilot, Volume 1.


745
00:53:48,840 --> 00:53:54,880
And it's showing Beachy Head
and it's dated 1896.


746
00:53:54,880 --> 00:53:58,360
That's a drawing from 1896.


747
00:53:58,360 --> 00:54:00,400
And some of these drawings are
very beautiful.


748
00:54:00,400 --> 00:54:04,080
They've been coloured in and they're
works of art in their own right.


749
00:54:07,880 --> 00:54:10,280
They were all part
of a great collection


750
00:54:10,280 --> 00:54:13,600
of the seas not just around Britain
but all over the world,


751
00:54:13,600 --> 00:54:17,240
so that gradually,
a record was built up.


752
00:54:26,000 --> 00:54:27,840
There's my drawing.


753
00:54:27,840 --> 00:54:30,480
I wouldn't recommend
you try and navigate by it.


754
00:54:40,800 --> 00:54:46,040
The last stage of our journey is
along the rather bleak coast
towards Dover,


755
00:54:46,040 --> 00:54:50,680
bleak because there are
no natural harbours along the way
to seek shelter.


756
00:54:50,680 --> 00:54:56,080
Our destination is
the so-called key to England.


757
00:54:57,200 --> 00:55:00,960
Capture that key
and England is yours.


758
00:55:05,720 --> 00:55:07,640
I'll get tied on now, Emily.


759
00:55:10,960 --> 00:55:14,200
I'll check it. Are you all right,
there, John? Good, yeah.


760
00:55:15,280 --> 00:55:19,480
Thank you, Emily.
It's been a fantastic trip.
And a history lesson. Yeah!


761
00:55:19,480 --> 00:55:21,560
Come on!


762
00:55:29,760 --> 00:55:33,280
The austere outline of Dover Castle
stands guard


763
00:55:33,280 --> 00:55:36,480
over the narrowest point
of the English Channel,


764
00:55:36,480 --> 00:55:40,320
where Britain is closest
to mainland Europe.


765
00:55:43,360 --> 00:55:46,800
The castle carries
the marks of our history


766
00:55:46,800 --> 00:55:50,640
over all the centuries
we've travelled on this journey.


767
00:55:54,080 --> 00:55:57,400
There were fortifications here
when the Romans invaded


768
00:55:57,400 --> 00:56:02,160
and they built a lighthouse
which could be seen from France.


769
00:56:02,160 --> 00:56:06,320
It was a favourite fortification
of William the Conqueror.


770
00:56:06,320 --> 00:56:09,840
It's huge - the biggest castle
in Britain


771
00:56:09,840 --> 00:56:11,920
and much of it hidden from view.


772
00:56:18,440 --> 00:56:20,640
There are nearly four miles
of tunnels here -


773
00:56:20,640 --> 00:56:23,960
extraordinary enterprise -
under the cliffs, under the castle.


774
00:56:23,960 --> 00:56:27,880
We're about 25 metres
under the chalk here


775
00:56:27,880 --> 00:56:31,000
and these tunnels were built
at the time of the Napoleonic wars


776
00:56:31,000 --> 00:56:33,280
to house soldiers,


777
00:56:33,280 --> 00:56:37,160
so the garrison could be safe
and protected under here.


778
00:56:44,440 --> 00:56:48,440
Dover Castle saw active service
in World War Two.


779
00:56:48,440 --> 00:56:54,960
It was in these underground rooms
that the emergency evacuation
from Dunkirk was conceived


780
00:56:54,960 --> 00:56:56,840
and executed.


781
00:57:11,720 --> 00:57:15,120
This journey's taken us
along Britain's southern shore,


782
00:57:15,120 --> 00:57:18,840
this frontier between us
and the outside world.


783
00:57:18,840 --> 00:57:25,040
The seas of the English Channel
which have created this island


784
00:57:25,040 --> 00:57:27,280
and in a sense defined it.


785
00:57:27,280 --> 00:57:29,920
We've always had
these fixed frontiers,


786
00:57:29,920 --> 00:57:31,880
whereas on continental Europe,


787
00:57:31,880 --> 00:57:34,400
distinctions have always
been blurred.


788
00:57:34,400 --> 00:57:41,240
Here, provided by nature,
we've had a clear-cut space


789
00:57:41,240 --> 00:57:43,360
that belongs to us


790
00:57:43,360 --> 00:57:45,600
and it is perhaps that
that's given us


791
00:57:45,600 --> 00:57:48,600
some of our defining
national characteristics,


792
00:57:48,600 --> 00:57:52,720
in particular,
a sort of truculent defence


793
00:57:52,720 --> 00:57:54,920
of our independence.


794
00:58:18,800 --> 00:58:20,400
On our next journey,


795
00:58:20,400 --> 00:58:24,560
Rocket heads for the wild and
romantic west coast of Scotland,


796
00:58:24,560 --> 00:58:28,280
to some of
the most beautiful scenery


797
00:58:28,280 --> 00:58:31,280
our island nation has to offer.


798
00:58:33,360 --> 00:58:38,240
But this has been a working part
of Britain's coast for centuries.


799
00:58:39,560 --> 00:58:43,160
Trade, which brought prosperity.


800
00:58:43,160 --> 00:58:45,760
Fishing, which still thrives today.


801
00:58:46,480 --> 00:58:49,880
And shipbuilding,
where it all began.


802
00:58:53,680 --> 00:58:55,480
Goodbye!


803
00:58:55,480 --> 00:58:57,600
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