Dr Sam Willis is a maritime historian and archaeologist. His writing is infused with his own experience and knowledge of seafaring.

 

Sam is the author of numerous books on maritime and naval history including the bestselling ‘Hearts of Oak’ Trilogy and the ‘Fighting Ships’ Series.

Sam has also published a number of articles on a wide variety of subjects in maritime history. He has written for The Sunday Times, The Mail on Sunday, The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph, BBC History Magazine, War in History, The Journal of Military History, The Journal of Maritime Archaeology, The International History Review, The Journal for Maritime Research and The Mariner’s Mirror.

 

Sam is an experienced square-rig sailor and seaman. He has worked on the Hornblower TV series and on Channel 4’s award winning film Shackleton. The Shackleton project involved building a replica of Shackleton’s ship the 'Endurance' and sailing her into an arctic ice pack. In 2012 Sam was part of a team that portaged a replica eighteenth-century batteau from Lake Champlain to Lake George, the first time that this has been done for two hundred years. In the summer of 2013 Sam will be part of a team recreating the 1869 John Wesley Powell expedition - the first time that anyone rowed the length of the Grand Canyon. The expedition will be broadcast on BBC2 and the Discovery Channel.

Sam has recently made a film for BBC4 about Antigua in the Age of Sail and is currently filming a three-part series on Shipwrecks for the BBC. He has appeared on BBC's Coast, NBC America's Who Do You Think Your Are and the History Channel's Museum Secrets.

 

Sam has worked as a maritime history consultant for Christie's, the BBC, Channel 4, The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, National Geographic Channel and National Public Radio [Boston

 

Sam is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

 

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