Having been awarded my doctorate, now exactly fifty years ago, I was appointed to the Manuscripts Department of the National Maritime Museum as Deputy Custodian on 1 January 1974. The collections and staff expanded during the ensuing years, which also coincided with the arrival of computers. The early days were difficult, but the information revolution led to museum reorganisation, in which I was embroiled for most of the 1980s.

In the 1990s, I was deputy to the Director, Richard Ormond, with a wide range of maritime tasks, including acting as the link with the building of the National Maritime Museum, Cornwall, at Falmouth, long negotiations over the diving on the wreck of the Titanic, and the formation of a national policy and funding for the historic preserved ships in the country.

At the time of the Millennium celebrations, it was time for a change of regime, which resulted in my leaving the Museum. After a short break of two weeks, I started teaching at the postgraduate Greenwich Maritime Institute in the University of Greenwich. Here I taught Masters courses and supervised five Ph Ds and had the most interesting and enjoyable time under the leadership of Professor Sarah Palmer. It was here that the Leverhulme victualling project was administered. After a dozen years, it was time to leave, at the same time as Professor Palmer. But writing still continues.