Orkney Image Library

I just finished a book about cox and the raising of the high seas fleet not five minutes ago. Very interesting read, too!

Cox is one of those forgotten great British engineers, I read Gerald Bowman's book about Cox's exploits in raising the German High Seas Fleet from Scapa when I was a boy some 40 years ago. The picture of his floating dock gives some idea of the scale of his achievement

Local men were employed at the rate of 10 shilings a tide to wind the winches as the tide ebbed and so to bring the smaller ships into shallower water and then salvage them.My Grandfather went to do this as it was good pay in the 1920s.Drifters came into Longhope to pick up as many men as were willing to go I suppose men went from other places as well. John Budge

i am the great niece of ernest cox i live in wolverhampton i would like to get in touch with any relative of ernest cox i know he had a daughter nick named bunty his wife was named jenny jack miller

I had the pleasure of the company of two army veterns from Caithness on a train journey to Inverness last week.
Wm Gunn, told me his father was in Lyness working at the raising of the German ships.
An agent needing accommodation for Mr Cox and his engineers asked a landlady if she had room for five men and explained that it would be four without Cox, to which she replied "Oh I know its been an awful war!!"

I have read this book cover to cover many times it is enthralling. In reply to the relatives query above, his daughter "Bunty" married a JOHN MOORE who lent many photos in the book to its publishers, they might be able to help the questioner.

What is the name of the book by Gerald Bowman please? I would be interested in reading it too. Thanks, Brian.

My name is Julie, i am the great niece. Brian the book you are looking for by Gerald Bowman is The Man Who Bought a Navy- I have a copy.

The book seems to be widely available and can be bought new from the Orcadian bookshop for £19.95. It's a good book. The first 45 pages can actually be downloaded from here.

Thanks very much Julie and Steven.

This photograph seems to be taken at the north end of the Golden Wharfe and if the date is correct then when was the Wharf built. I thought it was later, in or near the outbreak of WW2 does anyone have dates?.

In W.S. Hewisons book "This Great Harbour" it says that Admirality HQ moved to Lyness in 1919 from Longhope.

Julie Tranter I see that you are interested in meeting relatives of my grandfather Ernest Cox. His only daughter, my mother had her 100th birthday last week.

There is now a far better book about my grandfather. How can I help.

Jon Moore eldest grandson

Brian Robertson
I am Jon Moore the eldest son of Bunty and John Moore.
Can I Help further

I read (many years ago), the book "the man who bought a navy"; and also "jutland to junkyard" by s.c. George;-absolutely fascinating stuff, it still amazes me that ernest cox achieved what he did with no experience whatever of marine salvage-and nobody to ask either! His technique of making patches for the holes in the various hulls, then pumping in compressed air to float the wrecks was pioneering stuff; he must have been an exceptional man with incredible resolve-sadly largely unsung in present times...

Read 'Man Who Bought a Navy' the best part of 30 years ago and loved it and am now looking for a copy for gift for my son. I cannot believe all the comments on this site and the general interest on the subject but am glad to know I am not alone. Merry Christmas Mike Hopkinson

I know its almost a year since my first offering! Scapa and the book by Bowman about Mr. Cox continue to fascinate me so much that i shall be making a 3rd visit to Orkney this summer. Only when you see for yourself Scapa Flow and Lyness can you fully appreciate what Mr Cox did. It is a sad reflection on society that in 2009 only a Graduate would be thought capable and trustworthy to carry out such work. The changeable weather has to be experienced to be believed; how the divers managed what they did 70 years back is truly astounding. If you have the time and interest to visit I can tell you how it can be done without breaking the bank! ( I live south of London). The book can be obtained by ordering from a public library.

Hi I did some diving up in scapa flow some years ago and went on to read The Man Who Bought a Navy Mr Cox was an amazing man. Having seen whats left of the fleet on the bottom to think at the time he devised how to lift somthing so big is just amazing. I was serching for a piece of Cox and Danks memorabilia when I came across this site so if anyone could tell me where I could buy somthing I would be grateful.

I am in contact with Mr Coxs grandson and we are trying to get a blue plate to his memory at Lyness. I have communicated with the three naval Princes and been told this is with his Lord Lt for Orkney. I have also been in touch with the Orkney MP, the CE of the Highland Council and a RN Captain in Whitehall who has the ear of the senior Sea Lord. No names allowed.
Mr Moore the grandson emails me and if you wish I will pass your enquiry to him
I wont divulge his email without his consent.

I shall be in the Lyness area in July to see who I can stir up!!

I also know Mr Moore will be in London at the end of July, near Trafalgar Square
but I cannot say more without his consent.

If any of you have "friends in high places" please bring this to their attention!

I served my time with Fawcett, Prestons who were in the Metal Industries Group along with Cox and Danks and others.
It was a fantastic time because you were given a blank canvas. Fawcetts did some of the first tower cranes in the country in the early 1950s, and the first of the modern compressed refuse lorries.
Like Cox the engineers had amazing tales to tell.

Paul Thompson- As I am sure you know memorabilia of my Grandfathers work at Lyness are like hens teeth but if you snoop about Kirkwall and Stromness antique dealers you will find some trinkets. Don't think that you will get a bargain though - they are Scots you know!

Jon Moore Cox's eldest grandson

Hi fellow enthusiasts, I had a copy of a book which I lent to a fellow diver, called I Bought a Fleet, it was written by Ernest G Cox, himself, it was a hardback and had many photos I have tried many sources to locate this book over a number of years. I would be very grateful for any help.

I can remember my Dad (sadly no longer with us), buying "The man who bought a Navy" in the mid-sixties, since he had been a clearance diver in the Royal Navy, and had a natural interest in marine salvage. I read the book many years later, and to this day remain impressed by the achievements of this great man and his team. I agree that official recognition is long overdue; In an age when it's possible to pick up a Knighthood for warbling a few mediocre pop songs, surely pressure can be brought to bear in the right quarters........

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