The history of the Second World War is one rich in stories and those of cableships are no less courageous and hazardous than those of warships. Learn about a ‘friendly’ fire incident with the cableship Monarch.
What is a cableship?
Discover the history of cableships from the early ships repurposed to lay the first telegraph cables across the Atlantic, to the development of purpose built cableships that lay and repair fibre optic cables today.
Meet the team behind the PK150 Connected Collections project
Meet the team behind the PK150 Connected Collections project as they share their experience of researching the PK Archive and exploring new perspectives.
PK150 Connected Collections Symposium
Held on the 10 September 2021, the PK150 Connected Collections Symposium presented the research projects by the 2021 Citizen Curators and International Student Volunteers.
The Lady and the Wolfpack
Our cableship blog series continues with this account from the Second World War. In 1943, cable repair ship, Lady Denison-Pender, is escorted on hazardous duties by an armed convoy, in what is to be a very close call with a U-boat wolf-pack near the Spanish Sahara.
The Naval Shipworm
Jay Hollis explores how the naval shipworm (Teredo navalis) had an intricate part to play in the history of telegraphy. Jay also shares his blog series STRANDS created as part of his research into the PK Archive.
The End of the Grappler
Duncan Mackenzie explores the fateful story of the cableship Grappler which got caught in the pyroclastic flow of the Mont Pelée volcano eruption of 1902. Part of our cableship blog series.
Colonia vs the U.S. Navy
Duncan Mackenzie continues his cableship blog series with a story about the British cableship Colonia being fired upon by the US Navy in 1920!
Strategic Implementation of the Telegraph in India
International student Prabhat Rathva, India, has investigated gutta-percha, a material used in cable insulation, and the ecological impact this has had on the forests of Southeast Asia.
Recovering the Titanic’s Dead: the Mackay-Bennett
Our Digital Collections Officer, Duncan Mackenzie, looks at the cable ship the Mackay-Bennett and it’s role in recovering the deceased from the Titanic.
India Then & Now
Hannah and Rutvi have created the film India Then & Now, a short film exploring the impact of the telegraph system on language use in India.
Living and Working in the Far East: Singapore Telegraph Station
Jasmine and Nadia’s project explores the life of telegraph workers at the Singapore station. They have created a website and a film that shows the archival material at PK that links to the Singapore station.