On Friday 16 May the Manx Museum will play host to one of Britain’s foremost experts on naval warfare.

Professor Eric Grove, of Liverpool Hope University will give a lecture on the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company vessel Ben My Chree which was requisitioned by the Royal Navy during the First World War. As HMS Ben My Chree she carried seaplanes, and launched the first airborne strike against an enemy vessel in the history of warfare. The lecture will cover her conversion, her active and wide-ranging career and her sad loss to Turkish artillery in 1917.

Professor Eric Grove, works as a naval history consultant and is the author of a number of books including: The Royal Navy since 1815, The Future of Sea Power, and Vanguard to Trident.
The talk is part of the Manx Museum lecture series and supports the current exhibition This Terrible Ordeal, which charts the experience of the people of the Isle of Man during the First World War.

Doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start, and tickets are priced ?10 available from the Manx Museum Gallery Shop and online at www.manxnationalheritage.im. A 10% discount is available to members, ACE cardholders and students.