28 Facts About Basil Lubbock

Alfred Basil Lubbock MC was a British historian, sailor and soldier.

Basil Lubbock was a prolific writer on the last generation of commercial sailing vessels in the Age of Sail.

Basil Lubbock was an early member of the Society for Nautical Research, served on its council and contributed to its journal, The Mariner's Mirror.

Basil Lubbock was born 9 September 1876 at Rowley Bank, Arkley, Hertfordshire, the second of five children.

Basil Lubbock was descended from Sir John Lubbock, 2nd Baronet.

Basil Lubbock spent most of his early life in the care of an uncle.

Basil Lubbock was expected to follow family tradition and attend King's College, Cambridge.

Basil Lubbock sailed to Alaska in the steamer City of Seattle and hiked over the Chilkoot Trail to the Yukon gold fields.

Basil Lubbock spent the summer of 1899 on Vancouver Island, intending to prospect for copper.

Basil Lubbock abandoned the idea and instead went to San Francisco where he briefly joined the California Cricket Club.

Basil Lubbock travelled to South Africa to serve in the Boer War.

Basil Lubbock was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Royal Field Artillery.

Basil Lubbock was mentioned in despatches on 8 August 1901 for helping to rescue another scout whose horse had been shot from under him.

Basil Lubbock was back in England by 1905 when he joined the recently formed Legion of Frontiersmen.

Basil Lubbock was from a large family and had 20 siblings, the youngest of whom was the noted cricketer, Plum Warner.

Basil Lubbock was a member of the Territorial Force by November 1914 when he and his wife boarded a steamship at Tilbury for India.

Basil Lubbock was awarded the Military Cross while serving on the Western Front.

Basil Lubbock reverted to the rank of lieutenant when he stood down from active service in April 1919.

Basil Lubbock had been yachting since at least 1905 and after the war he became more involved.

Basil Lubbock became the first Commodore of the Hamble River Sailing Club in 1919.

Basil Lubbock sailed extensively himself and worked with Alfred Westmacott to develop a new yacht design, the Hamble One Design Class.

Basil Lubbock had a long and active friendship with Captain Wilfred Dowman, the man who purchased the Cutty Sark back from the Portuguese; their friendship sprang from examining the work log of the Cutty Sark.

Basil Lubbock wrote two works that deal with that famous clipper: The Log of the Cutty Sark and Sail: The Romance of the Clipper Ships.

Basil Lubbock died on 3 September 1944 at Monks Orchard, East Blatchington, Sussex, aged 67.

Basil Lubbock is not regarded as a completely reliable source as a historian.

Basil Lubbock's books had no footnotes or bibliographies, as was common at the time.

Basil Lubbock relied on correspondence and interviews with captains and crewmembers, rather than documents and fact-checking.

Basil Lubbock's book The China Clippers was an inspiration for All the Tea in China by Kyril Bonfiglioli.