The Scottish Maritime Museum will commemorate International Women’s Day with a special talk and book launch by engineering historian and former seafarer Dr Nina Baker OBE at 6pm on Saturday 7 March.
Held in the Museum’s striking glass-roofed Linthouse on Irvine Harbourside, the event will shine a light on the Scottish women seafarers who lost their lives during wartime last century.
Dr Baker’s presentation draws on research from her newly published book: “Supposed Killed or Drowned by Enemy Action at Sea”: Scottish Merchant Navy Women Who Died as a Result of Enemy Action in the First and Second World Wars.
The book, launching at the event, includes the first comprehensive record of Scottish female Merchant Navy seafarers who lost their lives to enemy action.
Dr Baker was one of the first women to serve as a navigation officer. She began her career in 1972 joining as a navigating cadet onboard the British Petroleum (BP) Tanker Vessel British Willow aged 18 years.
Eva Bukowska, Exhibitions and Events Officer at the Scottish Maritime Museum, says: “We are honoured to welcome the eminent Dr Nina Baker OBE to mark International Women’s Day. Dr Baker’s own story following her childhood passion for sailing to forge a career in the traditionally male maritime industry despite many initial rejections, is one of determination. She became a beacon for so many other women to follow.
“Her talk promises to be moving and insightful as she reveals the bravery and sacrifice of the courageous women seafarers who gave their lives in wartime, many of whom have no grave but the sea.”
Speaking about her motivation for writing the book, Dr Nina Baker OBE adds: “I began this research after wondering who the women were behind the names on the National Merchant Navy Roll of Honour. Some of these names are read out at Merchant Navy Memorial Day events yet little is known about their lives. My findings also revealed that the National Roll is incomplete. My book corrects that, bringing together, for the first time, a full record of all the known Merchant Navy women who died in action during the First and Second World Wars.
“I also wanted to recognise the vital contribution of Merchant Navy seafarers during wartime. Public war memorials predominantly commemorate military men, with a very few given for Merchant Navy seafarers, who sailed voyage after voyage knowing that each one might be their last. Among those Merchant Navy seafarers were the brave women whose stories I am proud to share.”
Dr Baker was awarded an OBE for services to the history of women in engineering in 2023. Today, Dr Baker is a full-time independent researcher on the history of women in engineering and other aspects of engineering and construction history.
Tickets priced £6.50 can be purchased on Eventbrite and include a complimentary hot or cold drink on arrival.
Doors open at 5.30pm and the event, which will include an audience Q&A, will conclude at 7.30pm.
Copies of Dr Nina Baker’s new book will be available for purchase at the event.
