Maritime Historian Cornwall
Maritime Business History
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  • Current research

    My task at the moment is a commission for the ss Great Britain Trust. Since they opened their new Brunel Institute they have added to their collection of documents and more blog posts

Maritime Historian

Helen Doe is a maritime and aviation historian, author and lecturer. She specialises in maritime business history, which has produced some fascinating stories of every type of business including smuggling. Her research now includes air power, particularly thw Second World War

Her particular interests and expertise include:

  • women shipbuilders and shipowners
  • smuggling
  • marine insurance clubs
  • navy wives and widows
  • RAF in Second World War

Helen has published widely. Her books include:

  • An Introduction to Cornish Maritime History
  • Jane Slade of Polruan: The inspiration for Daphne du Maurier’s first novel
  • Enterprising Women and Shipping in the Nineteenth Century
  • From Coastal Sail to Global Shipping:  A History of the Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association, 1909 to  2009

A popular speaker, Helen has spoken at several literary festivals, has appeared on television and been heard on Radio 4. She has advised on TV programmes including most recently a BBC programme on
wrecking and one on containerisation. See a list of her recent talks.

About Helen

Helen DoeHelen is a lecturer, author and maritime historian. She is a Teaching Fellow at the University of Exeter, where she gained her doctorate in maritime history. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS), and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA).

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Research

Helen Doe has research expertise in a wide range of different types of maritime business, including the well organised smuggling trade. She has a particular interest in the era of sailing ships and the men and women who built, owned and sailed them.

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