Ian has a lifelong passion for history. For him, studying history is all about:
- understanding past worlds
- bringing the past to life (but not living in it!)
- communicating his fascination with history to others
His knowledge and interests include maritime history, archaeology, Britain from the Romans to the 17thcentury, English local history, architecture, aviation and 20th century military history.
Ian is currently an Expert Advisor to Historic England on shipwrecks and maritime history. He was a member of the Advisory Committe on Historic Wreck Sites from 2009 to 2014, and from 2014 to 2016 belonged to the English Heritage (later Historic England) Historic Wrecks Panel.
Other highlights of Ian’s career to date include:
- Medieval Historian at the National Maritime Museum (NMM), Greenwich
- a key member of the team that staged the NMM’s 1988 blockbuster Armada exhibition (500+
16th-century items on display, 600,000 visitors, £1 million to stage), working as an historian, editor, cartographer, contributor co-ordinator and exhibition copywriter - author of three major books on maritime history – see Publications
- development of over 40 museum exhibitions – see Select List of Exhibition Work
- elected a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London (FSA) in 2000
- author of plays and other fictional works that use history as a springboard for the imagination –
see Writer - public speaker and lecturer, giving hundreds of talks in this country and abroad – see Talks & Voices From History
- leader of many guided walks – see Talks & Voices From History
- broadcaster on radio and TV – see Media Work