To coincide with the Festival of the Sea (12-27 July) Aberdeen Maritime Museum volunteers have recorded a selection of stories relating to ships built in Aberdeen and the city’s maritime history.
Visitors can listen to the stories on the Bloomberg Connects free digital guide to the museum.
Donald Alexander, Colin Heling, Richard Leavett and Finlay McKichan regularly volunteer their time with the Aberdeen-built Ships project. This database holds records of the 3,000 ships built in Aberdeen at the shipyards of Alexander Hall & Co, John Lewis and Sons, Hall, Russel & Co, and Walter Hood & Co.
Many of the Aberdeen-built Ships volunteers have worked in the city’s maritime industries and they all share a passion for maritime history. This direct knowledge and experience benefits the understanding of the collection of objects, plans, films and photographs cared for by Aberdeen Archives, Gallery and Museums.
On the Bloomberg Connects digital guide, the volunteers highlight a number of objects and themes around the Museum, including
- Objects relating to the clipper ship Thermopylae, built in Aberdeen in 1868 by Walter Hood & Co. This was the age of the 'Tea Races' when fast clipper ships raced to be the first back to Britain with a cargo of tea. The Cutty Sark was one of Thermopylae’s rivals. Twice they raced each other from China. On both occasions Thermopylae reached the British ports first.
- The propellor and a model of the Arctic steam yacht Fox. The Fox was built for the landowner Sir Richard Sutton of Nottinghamshire (1798 – 1855). After Sutton's death the vessel was bought in 1857 by subscription at Aberdeen by Lady Jane Franklin in order to mount an expedition to discover the fate of her husband, Sir John Franklin and his expedition team, who had gone missing in the north of Canada.
- The bell cast for the RMS St Helena, the last ship to be built at the Hall, Russel yard.
The Aberdeen-built ships database contains extensive information about the vessels including technical details, stories discovered from original sources, data from the Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, newspaper accounts and information passed to the volunteers by relatives and researchers. It also contains information about some vessels which, although not built in the city, were associated with it through ownership, operation, or reconstruction.
Finlay McKichan, Aberdeen-built Ships volunteer, said: “Volunteering for the Aberdeen-built Ships Project gives me the opportunity to follow up on my interest in shipping with research which, through the website, may be read by enthusiasts and genealogists across the world.”
Councillor Martin Greig, Aberdeen City Council’s culture spokesman, said: “The Aberdeen-built Ships database is a remarkable record of Aberdeen’s rich maritime heritage which has been added to over the past 25 years thanks to the dedication of volunteers. We are incredibly grateful for all the knowledge and expertise the volunteers bring to the understanding of the collection. We look forward to sharing their insights with visitors on the Bloomberg Connects digital guide.”
Explore the Aberdeen-built Ships database at: Aberdeen-built Ships | Aberdeen City Council
The free Bloomberg Connects art and culture app can be downloaded at www.bloombergconnects.org
The Maritime Museum will be open until 8pm on Saturday 19, Sunday 20 and Monday 21 July during the Tall Ships Races Aberdeen. Admission is free and donations are welcome. For visiting information go to www.aagm.co.uk
Festival of the Sea 12 – 27 July
From sports camps to singing and storytelling, theatre and dancing to sea dragons and coastal discovery tours, and from exhibitions and creative writing to watercolour workshops, there's something for all ages to discover and enjoy during the Festival of the Sea. For details of what’s on go to https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/services/leisure-culture-and-parks/major-events-aberdeen/festival-sea-2025