At the start of WW1 German Navy was trying to lure part of the Royal Navy out so that they could wage a war of attrition at sea similar to the one happening in the fields of Flanders. They planned a the raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool and Whitby. It would earn them the label of "baby killers" in the British press, but there would be a surprise waiting for them as they headed home.

The British devised a plan to ambush German destroyers on their daily patrols. The Germans send out cruisers to thinking that it is just a raid by British destroyers, not understanding quite how much force the Royal Navy had committed to the raid. The script and sources for this video can be found on our website https://www.thebluejackets.co.uk/video/BattleHeligolandBightRoyalNavyOffensive

In 1914 a former ferry set out on a secret mission with a deadly cargo, which would lead to the first British shots fired during the First World War. An annotated version of the script and all of the source can be found on the Bluejackets Reenactment Society website 

As the Victorian period went on the net tightened around the Atlantic slave trade. Cudjo Lewis was on the last ship that managed to make the trip from Africa to America. This is his story.

The United States banned the slave trade in the same year that Britain did. It Looking at why demonstrates the reason that the West African Squadron was so important. An annotated script and sources can be found on our website: https://www.thebluejackets.co.uk/video/WestAfricaSquadronSeeingStarsStripes

At one point Cuba was one of the largest markets for slaves, but this time the Royal Navy's West African Squadron couldn't strong arm them into abolition the way that they had with Brazil. This time it was going to be a game of political manoeuvring.

In the 1850s Royal Navy raided into Brazilian ports in order to capture slave trading vessels. This was a blatant violation of international law daring the Brazilians to fight them. The Brazilians had a choice to make. They could continue give up the Atlantic Slave Trade, or they could go to war with the most powerful of the Great Powers. An annotated script and the sources for this talk are available on our website: https://www.thebluejackets.co.uk/video/WestAfricanSquadronRaidParanaguaBrazil

Joseph Denman was a naval officer and a passionate abolitionist. He hated the slave traders operating out of the Gallinas, but he had a solution: fire ... lots of fire. All the sources for this video can be found on our website: https://www.thebluejackets.co.uk/video/WestAfricanSquadronJosephDenmanGallinas

The West African Squadron was tasked stopping the salve trade by with hunting down slavers and arresting them, but they were not going to stop without a fight. Britain managed to sign treaties with most of the other maritime powers, but is was an African people that proved to be their best ally in the fight. The script and sources can be found on our website https://www.thebluejackets.co.uk/video/WestAfricaSquadronHuntingSlavers

Robert Thorpe an early judge at the admiralty court in Sierra Leone, where he set the rules of engagement for the West Africa Squadron as they went out to fight the Atlantic Slave Trade. All the sources can be found on the Bluejackets website

As Britain entered WW1 The Duke of Westminster was the richest man in the kingdom. He personally paid to raise a squadron of the Royal Naval Armoured Car Division. His squadron was sent to Egypt where it was part of the force that defeated an invasion of Egypt by Islamic insurgents known as the Senussi. All of the sources are available on our website https://www.thebluejackets.co.uk/video/SeaSandCampaignSenussiNorthAfrica

After the western front became bogged down in the trenches there was not much that the Royal Naval Armoured Card Division could do there. Some ended up at Gallipoli. Some ended up in Africa, but a young and ambitious naval officer called Commander Oliver Locker Lampson took his squadrons out to Russia to fight on the Eastern Front. The script and sources can be found on our websitehttps://www.thebluejackets.co.uk/video/SeaGrassRoyalNavyRussianSteppe

The Battle of the Somme was one of the deadliest battles in human history. This is the story of the sailors from the Royal Navy who fought to capture Beaucourt Hamel, and how their commanding officer won the Victoria Cross. An annotated script and all of the sources can be found on the bluejackets website 

Before the First World War the Kaiser joked that he did not have to worry about Britain as they could not put wheels on a dreadnought. So the Admiralty decided to do just that, and this is how they did it.