The 22nd October 1707 saw one of the worst tragedies in Royal Navy history when four warships returning home to Portsmouth from Gibraltar were wrecked upon the remote Western Rocks of the Isles of Scilly, around 1,450 sailors losing their lives. One of these vessels was the 90-gun Association, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Cloudesley Shovell’s lavishly appointed flagship.

Admiral Shovell, as famous in his day as Admiral Lord Nelson would be a century later, also lost his life.

The loss of Admiral Shovell and his ships was due to a navigational error, largely brought about by an inability to establish their longitude (east-west position) with any accuracy at sea.

As a result of the tragedy, in 1714 parliament introduced the Longitude Act, offering a reward of £20,000 (over £4 million today) to anyone who could solve the longitude problem.

Many tried, but it was John Harrison’s chronometers permitting accurate timekeeping at sea that won the prize – by knowing the time at a given land spot and the time at sea, ships could establish with reasonable accuracy their east-west position. It’s impossible to estimate the number of seafaring lives that would have been saved over the years in consequence.

The wreck of the Association was discovered in 1967 with many historic artefacts salvaged, and to commemorate the ship’s loss, and that of her approximately 750 crew, TMB and Onoto have collaborated on this remarkable fountain pen edition, the Longitude Pen, crafted involving historic metals recovered from the Association.

To find out more please click here: The Longitude Fountain Pen | Onoto The Pen