As well as the British Library, there are two other major repositories of logbooks - the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich and the National Archives in Kew - with a few other smaller ones around the country.
Usually, logs can be consulted only by adult pass holders, but during SeaBritain 2005 (see page 10), there will be opportunities for younger enthusiasts to see examples of these ancient volumes on display. The Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth has some personal journals, such as officers’
memoirs (but no official logs) and the Merseyside Maritime Museum has a miscellaneous collection. This includes the log of the Unity, a slaving ship which, in 1769, travelled from Liverpool to Calabar, West Africa, on a quest for human cargo. More than 5,000 ships set out from the port on similar abhorrent missions, and a museum gallery now recognises the significant role Liverpool played in the slave trade, before it was abolished in 1807. (A microfilm copy of the Unity log is viewable on request.)
