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Rearview Mirror Chronicles
Keith Hockton, FRAS, is a publisher, podcaster, writer and author based in Penang, Malaysia. He is South East Asian Editor for International Living, a lifestyle based magazine. He lectures internationally on history and Malaysia and is passionate about making history fun and accessible to all. Keith is a Fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland.
His published books include:
• Atlas of Australian Dive Sites - Travellers Edition (Harper Collins Australia, 2003).
• Penang - An inside guide to its historic homes, buildings, monuments and parks (MPH Publishing, 2012; 2nd Edition 2014; 3rd Edition 2017).
• Festivals of Malaysia (Trafalgar Publishing, 2015).
• The Habitat Penang Hill: a pocket history (Entrepot Publishing, 2018)
• Alana and the Secret Life of Trees at Night (Entrepot Publishing, 2018)
• Penang Then & Now: A Century of Change in Pictures (Entrepot Publishing, 2019; 2nd Edition 2021)
• Bersama Lima - Five Together (Entrepot Publishing, 2022)
Rearview Mirror Chronicles
Master and Commander - Thomas Cochrane - Part 1
Thomas Cochrane's meteoric rise to Post Captain was a whirlwind of audacity, brilliance, and defiance. In 1801, after just a few years of service, Cochrane's relentless daring at sea earned him the rank, Master and Commander, of the tiny HMS Speedy, a 14 gun sloop with just 54 men and boys. Against all the odds, he captured or sank 53 French and Spanish vessels, including the much larger Spanish frigate El Gamo, which boasted 32 guns, carrying a crew of around 319 men.
His exploits not only embarrassed the powerful Spanish and French Navy but also caught the attention of the Admiralty. Cochrane's bold tactics and unyielding courage catapulted him to the top of Napoleon Bonaparte's wanted list, nicknaming him "Le Loup des Mers" or the Sea Wolf.