Shipwrights’ Company visit to the UK Hydrographic Office Archives – Friday 10 July 2026

A small party representing the Shipwrights’ Company had the opportunity to make a special visit to the premises of UKHO in Taunton on 10 July. We had received an invitation from the chairman of their Audit and Risk Committee, an executive director of the office.

It proved a special privilege to make this visit. We were treated to a two hour tour of the premises by their archivist Mr Andrew Leitch together with a briefing on the scope of the work of the UKHO and how it seeks to support its mandate ‘to support safe, secure and thriving oceans’. These words hide a wide range of responsibilities including obligations under SOLAS, and supporting the UK’s defence policy and ‘Integrated Review’. It guards some of the Nation’s most important oceanic heritage and secrets too.

Most of our time was spent reviewing elements of the UKHO’s vast collection of charts, oceanographic surveys and historical items. The archivist had prepared a ‘Tour Highlights’ collection for us which proved absolutely riveting to his audience over our two hour visit. Within these highlights we studied various of the charts and surveys to support the allied D Day landings and operations before during and after 6 June 1944. Detailed maps of all of he beaches and their defences, the planned placements of the Mulberry Harbours and the logistical support operations to get the vast array of ships and men over the English Channel in what was and still is the largest integrated sea operation in history.

We were then treated to charts from an array of places around the world including of the Caribbean around 1647 detailing the area from the viewpoint of the Spanish Main and piracy potential there, of the search for the North West Passage and for TERROR and EREBUS over several voyages, of Shackleton’s Antarctic voyages of exploration with ENDURANCE and before that NIMROD, of detailed drawings of ship operations during the naval blockade in the Napoleonic Wars and of the harbour area around Brest, which included superb depictions of vessels such as HMS MARS and HMS SUPERB, and many, many more. It was simply overwhelming to experience just what is secured in this enormous archive. The surroundings are kept at low temperatures to maintain the environment and the charts are carefully arranged and displayed so as not to cause potential damage.

We couldn’t have been made more welcome and we were happy to present a vote of thanks to our hosts, together with a memento of our visit gifted both to the archive and on an individual basis to our guide Mr Leitch.

Mike Kelleher

Honorary Historian

13 July 2026.