Thursday, November 7, 2019

The Press Gang is a shorthand term for the Impress Service of the Royal Navy. Historians have been critical of their operation and doubts expressed as to what they actually achieved. Recent research using original musters from the Press Gang tenders is providing a wealth of new information that places their work in a different light. Other, previously unknown, means of recruitment for the navy has also been studied including the unrecognized work of British Consuls in other European countries. The presentation includes the identification of violent resistance to the press by seamen and the public. The Navy did not want men who were unfit, too old or unlikely to become a useful seaman, they also did not want criminals that could disrupt the cohesion of a vessel’s crew. The research is beginning to identify how the Navy tried to achieved its aims.