Man who dedicated over four decades serving the Mary Rose gets “distinguished” award
He performed a number of roles in his time
A man who dedicated over four decades serving the Mary Rose was “bowled over” when he received a “distinguished” award.
The Mary Rose Trust was “delighted” to announce the Society for Nautical Research’s Victory Medal for Christopher Dobbs.
During his 40-plus years he worked on excavation, raising, interpretation and display of the Mary Rose and other contributions to the maritime heritage during. He was presented with the Victory Medal at the start of the Society’s Annual Conference on the Daffodil in Liverpool on Thursday, June 18.
Christopher joined the Mary Rose Trust in 1979 as one of the diving archaeologists during the excavation and raising of the ship. Over the years he has held a number of key roles including managing the Ship Hall during the conservation of the timbers as well as serving as head of public services and later head of interpretation before retiring in 2023.
Although now retired Christopher, who lives in Scotland with his family, can be seen and heard several times an hour projected as the Master Carpenter into the Carpenters Cabin within the hull of the Mary Rose. He continues to support the Mary Rose Trust in his role as Curator Emeritus.
Following the award, Christopher said: “I was bowled over when I heard of this distinguished award. It is wonderful to have our work recognised by our peers. In accepting the award, I paid tribute to Alexander McKee and Margaret Rule and acknowledged that it was really an award for all the different teams that I have worked with or led over the last 48 years of my career.”
Dominic Jones, chief executive Officer of The Mary Rose Trust, said: “We are delighted that Christopher has been presented with this well-deserved medal. Throughout his career, Christopher has made an extraordinary impact, from excavating, documenting, and interpreting the ship and her artefacts, to bringing archaeology to life for audiences of all ages.
“His work has reached schools, universities, specialist groups, and international conferences, and has played a major role in shaping how underwater cultural heritage is understood and shared.
“Christopher has also been a passionate advocate for involving avocational divers in archaeological work and has been a leading figure in the Nautical Archaeology Society, helping to develop and deliver its educational programmes.
“He has made significant contributions to the International Congress of Maritime Museums and to the protection of cultural heritage worldwide as the UK’s representative on The International Committee on Underwater Cultural Heritage.”
He continued: “His boundless enthusiasm, diligence, and maintaining the opinion that experiences are paramount, Christopher delighted audiences through public demonstrations such as ‘The Tudor Shipwright’ and ‘The Cook and Cooking.’ You can also hear his voice as one of our divers in Dive the Mary Rose 4D telling the story of the excavation and raising of the Mary Rose.
“The Mary Rose Museum contains ‘a lot of Christopher’. Not only in the design concept, but also in the choices of objects, the methods of interpretation and the attention to details such as ambient lighting and sound.”