Andy Gill
@andyfromwithin.bsky.social
Author, musician, actor and father currently doing MA Naval History. Love to talk about the Royal Navy in the Age of Sail and Exploration, and who was the best Mr. Darcy...Matthew Macfadyen, if you were wondering! 😉
ME: Nelson didn't wear an eye patch.
DAD: How do you know? Were you there?
ME: It doesn't appear in portraits, caricatures or statuary, nor is one mentioned in letters, diaries, newspapers, memoirs, ballads...
DAD: Were. You. There?
ME: No.
MY DAD: So you don't know.
ME: *Sigh*
#navalhistory
DAD: How do you know? Were you there?
ME: It doesn't appear in portraits, caricatures or statuary, nor is one mentioned in letters, diaries, newspapers, memoirs, ballads...
DAD: Were. You. There?
ME: No.
MY DAD: So you don't know.
ME: *Sigh*
#navalhistory
January 15, 2026 at 8:34 PM
ME: Nelson didn't wear an eye patch.
DAD: How do you know? Were you there?
ME: It doesn't appear in portraits, caricatures or statuary, nor is one mentioned in letters, diaries, newspapers, memoirs, ballads...
DAD: Were. You. There?
ME: No.
MY DAD: So you don't know.
ME: *Sigh*
#navalhistory
DAD: How do you know? Were you there?
ME: It doesn't appear in portraits, caricatures or statuary, nor is one mentioned in letters, diaries, newspapers, memoirs, ballads...
DAD: Were. You. There?
ME: No.
MY DAD: So you don't know.
ME: *Sigh*
#navalhistory
OTD in 1831, the weather was perfect for HMS Beagle to depart England and sail into history on her legendary second voyage. Unfortunately, much to Captain FitzRoy's chagrin, the crew were still drunk from the day before, so the opportunity was missed. The result? 134 lashes.
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
December 26, 2025 at 10:19 PM
OTD in 1831, the weather was perfect for HMS Beagle to depart England and sail into history on her legendary second voyage. Unfortunately, much to Captain FitzRoy's chagrin, the crew were still drunk from the day before, so the opportunity was missed. The result? 134 lashes.
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
The current orthodoxy among historians is that FitzRoy invited Darwin aboard the Beagle to be his "companion", and the "naturalist" part was a secondary concern or even a cover story. The evidence for this? None. Speculation presented as fact.
In this thread I debunk this theory 1/12
#navalhistory
In this thread I debunk this theory 1/12
#navalhistory
December 21, 2025 at 2:17 PM
The current orthodoxy among historians is that FitzRoy invited Darwin aboard the Beagle to be his "companion", and the "naturalist" part was a secondary concern or even a cover story. The evidence for this? None. Speculation presented as fact.
In this thread I debunk this theory 1/12
#navalhistory
In this thread I debunk this theory 1/12
#navalhistory
Spent 8 hours in Cambridge transcribing 7000 words from 176 pages of Captain FitzRoy's letters to his sister. They provide a lot of insight into his psychology & whether Darwin really was invited aboard Beagle as a "companion" more than a scientist, but I've not seen them used before.
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
December 18, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Spent 8 hours in Cambridge transcribing 7000 words from 176 pages of Captain FitzRoy's letters to his sister. They provide a lot of insight into his psychology & whether Darwin really was invited aboard Beagle as a "companion" more than a scientist, but I've not seen them used before.
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
Going to Cambridge on Thursday to read the letters Captain FitzRoy wrote to his sister while in command of HMS Beagle. In his letters to Beaufort, he mentions letters from home causing him stress. While those letters don't survive, perhaps there's a clue in his?
#navalhistory #maritimehistory
#navalhistory #maritimehistory
December 15, 2025 at 9:44 PM
Going to Cambridge on Thursday to read the letters Captain FitzRoy wrote to his sister while in command of HMS Beagle. In his letters to Beaufort, he mentions letters from home causing him stress. While those letters don't survive, perhaps there's a clue in his?
#navalhistory #maritimehistory
#navalhistory #maritimehistory
Charles Darwin's attitude towards the sea changed dramatically during his time on HMS Beagle. In Feb 1832, he wrote to his father: "I find a ship a very comfortable house, with everything you want, & if it was not for sea-sickness the whole world would be sailors." But four years later, homesick 1/2
November 17, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Charles Darwin's attitude towards the sea changed dramatically during his time on HMS Beagle. In Feb 1832, he wrote to his father: "I find a ship a very comfortable house, with everything you want, & if it was not for sea-sickness the whole world would be sailors." But four years later, homesick 1/2
Reading Cook's journal of his first voyage. So far a Master's mate went down with the anchor, two marines vanished overboard, a sailor drowned, a bosun's mate died of drink, and while the clerk was passed out drunk, someone "cut off a part of both his Ears"!
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
October 14, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Reading Cook's journal of his first voyage. So far a Master's mate went down with the anchor, two marines vanished overboard, a sailor drowned, a bosun's mate died of drink, and while the clerk was passed out drunk, someone "cut off a part of both his Ears"!
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
Think I might have become a little obsessed with my dissertation, tentatively titled, "Stress, Anxiety and Created Communities: the Voyages of Darwin, Huxley and Hooker." It's not even due till September but I'm itching to start writing it. It's all I can think about!
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
October 11, 2025 at 6:44 AM
Think I might have become a little obsessed with my dissertation, tentatively titled, "Stress, Anxiety and Created Communities: the Voyages of Darwin, Huxley and Hooker." It's not even due till September but I'm itching to start writing it. It's all I can think about!
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
Seeking advice. For my dissertation I'm researching the surveying expeditions of the 1820s-50s, but I have cPTSD caused by a direct descendant of one of the key figures. They even share the same name & every time I see it in the sources, I feel sick. Don't know how to make this work.
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
October 1, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Seeking advice. For my dissertation I'm researching the surveying expeditions of the 1820s-50s, but I have cPTSD caused by a direct descendant of one of the key figures. They even share the same name & every time I see it in the sources, I feel sick. Don't know how to make this work.
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
Walked into my bedroom to discover the sun, trees and my HMS Victory model painting a pretty picture on the wall 😍
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
September 28, 2025 at 3:42 PM
Walked into my bedroom to discover the sun, trees and my HMS Victory model painting a pretty picture on the wall 😍
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
I'm writing a no-holds-barred book about what it's like to be a male survivor of domestic abuse. It takes the form of questions and answers so if you have any questions, please feel free to ask & I'll try to include/answer them. Thanks 😊 🫂
#domesticabuse #domesticviolence
#domesticabuse #domesticviolence
August 10, 2025 at 8:24 AM
I'm writing a no-holds-barred book about what it's like to be a male survivor of domestic abuse. It takes the form of questions and answers so if you have any questions, please feel free to ask & I'll try to include/answer them. Thanks 😊 🫂
#domesticabuse #domesticviolence
#domesticabuse #domesticviolence
Reposted by Andy Gill
This account is unashamedly francophilic, and has no truck with the Anglo prejudice that the French are obsessed with sex.
The official museum of the French army, on the other hand...
The official museum of the French army, on the other hand...
July 20, 2025 at 9:17 PM
This account is unashamedly francophilic, and has no truck with the Anglo prejudice that the French are obsessed with sex.
The official museum of the French army, on the other hand...
The official museum of the French army, on the other hand...
According to staff, this is a popular place for proposals. Have they even seen the movie!? "I love you most ardently." "You are the last man I could ever be prevailed upon to marry!"
#prideandprejudice
#janeausten
#stourhead
#prideandprejudice
#janeausten
#stourhead
July 7, 2025 at 2:29 PM
According to staff, this is a popular place for proposals. Have they even seen the movie!? "I love you most ardently." "You are the last man I could ever be prevailed upon to marry!"
#prideandprejudice
#janeausten
#stourhead
#prideandprejudice
#janeausten
#stourhead
As historians, it is incumbent upon us to alter our arguments in light of new discoveries, even when it adds unwanted complexity to a topic we thought we understood. In that vein, I wish to amend my last thread about the death of Pringle Stokes, first commander of HMS Beagle. #navalhistory 1/9
June 30, 2025 at 4:53 PM
As historians, it is incumbent upon us to alter our arguments in light of new discoveries, even when it adds unwanted complexity to a topic we thought we understood. In that vein, I wish to amend my last thread about the death of Pringle Stokes, first commander of HMS Beagle. #navalhistory 1/9
Asked my kids if they'd ever heard of Charles Darwin.
"Yes," they said. "He's the bad guy in Star Wars." 🤔
"Yes," they said. "He's the bad guy in Star Wars." 🤔
June 24, 2025 at 5:01 PM
Asked my kids if they'd ever heard of Charles Darwin.
"Yes," they said. "He's the bad guy in Star Wars." 🤔
"Yes," they said. "He's the bad guy in Star Wars." 🤔
When you hear the name HMS Beagle, you think of Darwin. If you're into #navalhistory, you might know of Fitzroy. But have you heard of Pringle Stokes, Beagle's captain on her first voyage to Patagonia? He is the reason Fitzroy (and indirectly Darwin) became bound up with that little 10-gun brig 1/5
June 20, 2025 at 10:12 PM
When you hear the name HMS Beagle, you think of Darwin. If you're into #navalhistory, you might know of Fitzroy. But have you heard of Pringle Stokes, Beagle's captain on her first voyage to Patagonia? He is the reason Fitzroy (and indirectly Darwin) became bound up with that little 10-gun brig 1/5
Ahoy shipmates, with only four Patrick O'Brian left I need some recommendations for naval fiction in the Age of Sail. I've already read the Hornblower, Bolitho, Drinkwater and Kydd series. Is Ramage any good?
#navalhistory
#historicalfiction
#navalhistory
#historicalfiction
May 20, 2025 at 8:50 AM
Ahoy shipmates, with only four Patrick O'Brian left I need some recommendations for naval fiction in the Age of Sail. I've already read the Hornblower, Bolitho, Drinkwater and Kydd series. Is Ramage any good?
#navalhistory
#historicalfiction
#navalhistory
#historicalfiction
When the optician says "early signs of cataracts" and "unusual at your age", those are bad things, right? 😬
May 16, 2025 at 6:11 AM
When the optician says "early signs of cataracts" and "unusual at your age", those are bad things, right? 😬
Having been told at school that I have no musical talent, I am now officially listed as a composer. To those teachers who crushed my spirit as a child: I have taught myself to play piano, cello and guitar, and apparently I'm quite musical after all, so be careful when you tread on children's dreams.
May 8, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Having been told at school that I have no musical talent, I am now officially listed as a composer. To those teachers who crushed my spirit as a child: I have taught myself to play piano, cello and guitar, and apparently I'm quite musical after all, so be careful when you tread on children's dreams.
I have to admit, I'm not a fan of reading hardbacks, so after finding them in a charity a year ago I kept putting off reading them...now I've found them in paperback, I'm hoping to read these soon (after finishing HMS Beagle, so that'll be three ship biographies in a row) 😁
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
May 4, 2025 at 4:55 PM
I have to admit, I'm not a fan of reading hardbacks, so after finding them in a charity a year ago I kept putting off reading them...now I've found them in paperback, I'm hoping to read these soon (after finishing HMS Beagle, so that'll be three ship biographies in a row) 😁
#navalhistory
#navalhistory
I can thoroughly recommend the podcast "Maritime History with Chris Sam's (Live and Unplugged)" by @jerijerod14.bsky.social
I've been listening over the last few months and his knowledge and passion for the subject are enthralling.
#navalhistory
I've been listening over the last few months and his knowledge and passion for the subject are enthralling.
#navalhistory
May 1, 2025 at 11:45 AM
I can thoroughly recommend the podcast "Maritime History with Chris Sam's (Live and Unplugged)" by @jerijerod14.bsky.social
I've been listening over the last few months and his knowledge and passion for the subject are enthralling.
#navalhistory
I've been listening over the last few months and his knowledge and passion for the subject are enthralling.
#navalhistory
April 23, 2025 at 12:32 PM
I'm doing a nude photoshoot tomorrow for the play I'm in where I will be tastefully concealed behind my cello (a la Austin Powers). Definitely wasn't on my 2025 bingo card! 🤣🤣
April 5, 2025 at 11:45 AM
I'm doing a nude photoshoot tomorrow for the play I'm in where I will be tastefully concealed behind my cello (a la Austin Powers). Definitely wasn't on my 2025 bingo card! 🤣🤣
Reposted by Andy Gill
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
H&S Wisdom is entirely tomato-free. It's also in rather a pickle...
H&S Wisdom is entirely tomato-free. It's also in rather a pickle...
Cargo ship runs aground in Humber near Brough
A vessel tracker website shows H&S Wisdom departed Rotterdam on Saturday for a port near Scunthorpe.
www.bbc.co.uk
March 5, 2025 at 11:00 PM
Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.
H&S Wisdom is entirely tomato-free. It's also in rather a pickle...
H&S Wisdom is entirely tomato-free. It's also in rather a pickle...
I'm currently reading about the difference between wooden and iron-hulled ships. It's riveting!
I'll show myself out... 😂
#navalhistory
I'll show myself out... 😂
#navalhistory
February 9, 2025 at 8:18 AM
I'm currently reading about the difference between wooden and iron-hulled ships. It's riveting!
I'll show myself out... 😂
#navalhistory
I'll show myself out... 😂
#navalhistory