Michael Barritt

He joined the Royal Navy as a University Cadet Entrant, and after service in an aircraft carrier and frigate, specialised in hydrographic surveying. He assisted in surveys in most of the regions described in his books, commanded three HM ships, and ended his naval career as  Hydrographer of the Navy and head of the specialisation that provides navigational charts for the British fleet and the wider maritime community, ensuring safe transit and application of sea power. As a specialist adviser he contributed to the capacity building work of the International Hydrographic Organisation, advocating investment in an often neglected and forgotten element of national governance. His extensive research, published in articles and books, seeks to raise awareness of precursors in this field and to encourage those following in their footsteps today.

He is a long-term member of the Navy Records Society, the Society for Nautical Research, and the Hakluyt Society, of which he is a former President. Much of his work has been published in the journals of the last two societies. He has also written articles for The Naval Review, Trinity House Fraternity Review, Aspects of History and other outlets. He is a contributor to the nineteenth century volume of The History of Cartography (in press with the University of Chicago). Eyes of the Admiralty, a study of navigational intelligence gathering on the enemy coast, illustrated by the drawings of John Thomas Serres, was published by the National Maritime Museum in 2008. His research into the origins of the Royal Navy’s hydrographic specialisation and the work of his early predecessors was published in July 2024 by Yale University Press.