Tuesdays 10th March 2026 Sandwich Filler talk in the Franklin Hall, Spilsby was given by Ray Emery on John “LONGITUDE” Harrison 1693 – 1776. Craftsman of Genius”.
As we have come to expect from Ray, an excellent talk, well researched, full of details, containing video clips and animations, entertaining, easy to understand and enjoyable to watch.
John Harrison’s family moved to Lincolnshire to carry on their work as clock makers, John’s ambition was to improve accuracy. Clocks had been made for many years and were slowly getting more accurate but there was a great need to know the EXACT time for navigation. Ships had sailed the high seas for years plotting their voyage by celestial observation, and “dead reckoning.”(guess work), many ships and men had been lost because of this. The Navy needed to be able to plot Longitude to pinpoint the position of their ships at sea and this needed a chronograph (accurate time piece) that would work on a moving ship. So much so that they offered a prize for who ever designed one. £20,000 in 1714 that is about £3.8 Million in today’s money.
Ray’s talk described how John Harrison was able, over a long period of time and many changes, to achieve his aim and take the prize.
