Howard Cook MA FRGS
Enrichment, Destination and Port Speaker

Howard Cook is an Historian and lecturer (MA University of Birmingham) and Historic Aircraft Pilot. Howard is an experienced speaker in history and has lectured for museums and various groups and historical societies.

He has travelled extensively throughout the world, is a qualified Destination and Port Speaker with particular expertise in the Arctic, Norway, Scandinavia, the Baltic and Mediterranean and is keen to bring destinations and subjects to life for cruise guests with his love of History and Geography.

Eminently flexible for the changes in schedule and destinations that often arise, this does not faze him at all, and Howard enjoys working with the Ship’s company. When requested Howard has covered both Destination and Enrichment subjects on the same voyage. He does not see his work ending with his talks as he often provides personal destination advice to guests – on board and in port - and has provided bridge commentaries (such as in Greenland).

Howard is a Freeman of the City of London, a Liveryman of the Honourable Company of Air Pilots, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society (FRGS) and was Honorary Commander of the 493rd Fighter Squadron US Air Force from 2006-21.

Howard has been involved in the world of historic aircraft for more than 30 years and has flown a wide range of aircraft, from Tiger Moth to Spitfire. Howard is a Black Belt 3rd Dan and Instructor in Kendo (Japanese "Way of the Sword") and enjoys mountain biking, History and Geography.

DESTINATION AND PORT LECTURE REGIONS

Norway
Scandinavia and Baltic
Greenland
Iceland
Mediterranean
France and Iberia

Enrichment lectures and preambles

Norway specialist

Norway’s Geographical Grandeur
With a population of 5 million and some of the most striking and inspiring geography and phenomena in the world, Norway and its fjords and grandeur is a place to visit time and time again.

Norway’s Most Famous
Some will be known to you and some will not but there are many peoples, statesmen and women, sportsmen and women with inspiring stories making their mark on history

Norway - Invasion and Occupation
Invaded in 1940 neutral Norway endured years of Nazi occupation. The first allied victory against the Nazis took place here and was the scene of many raids by the allies, including many clandestine operations

Bergen - Gateway to Norway and the Fjords
Dating back to 1070 and surrounded by seven mountains, the UNESCO World Heritage City of Bergen is the gateway to Norway’s fjords.

Norway/Denmark/Sweden/Iceland

The Age of the Vikings
The race of warriors from present-day Norway, Denmark and Sweden that changed the face of exploration from the 8th to the 11th Centuries and made a huge impact on the medieval history of Europe

Viking Explorers – heading west
Reaching out from their conquests in Europe, the Vikings moved to Iceland, Greenland and Vinland (North America) as their maritime skills took then across the Atlantic centuries before Columbus

Iceland

Iceland’s Geographical Grandeur
The “Land of Ice and Fire”, part of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge has awesome geographical grandeur with its geysers, volcanoes, lava fields and thermal pools, constantly changing and the greatest reason for coming to this unique island

Greenland

Greenland’s Geographical Grandeur
Fjords, jagged mountains and small communities with Viking and Inuit heritage on the world’s largest island with an ice sheet second only to Antarctica which still generates thoughts of wilderness

Ireland

Ireland’s Unique Maritime History
From St Columba to the Vikings, Spanish Armada and French invasion, to mass emigration from famine and the great ocean liners, Ireland’s maritime history is truly unique

Belfast: Giants, Ships and a Troubled but unique History
Although famous for the Troubles, Belfast is so much more that this with its historic landmarks and world class museums, reputation as ‘Britain’s Victorian city’, as ‘Linenopolis’ and the way to the breath taking drives of County Antrim and the Giants Causeway

Dublin - Viking port, hotbed of rebellion, cultural gem and UNESCO City of Literature
From Viking slave port to the Easter Rising of 1916 Dublin, literary giants like Joyce, Shaw, Wilde and Becket to unique sights like Trinity College and the Book of Kells, EPIC Emigration Museum, Temple Bar - and Guinness Storehouse

After the Titanic
Following the tragedy of the disaster, stories of how life moved on for some of the survivors of the Titanic

Exploration

After the South Pole
Stories of triumph and tragedy for the men of Roald Amundsen and Captain Scott’s polar expeditions after their attempts to be first to the South Pole

Polar explorer, Scott’s Antarctic Expedition member, pioneer aviator – and tarnished hero
The only Norwegian who went with Scott’s doomed expedition to the South Pole, Tryggve Gran became an aviation pioneer and RAF fighter pilot – but wrong choices tarnished his reputation

General interest/Remembrance

Stars in Uniform
Some you may know and some you may not, these are extraordinary stories of stars of screen, TV, sport and literature when they served in uniform

Rarest of the Rare – Bravest of the Brave
Rare and surprising stories of the highest courage of men of men and women in the trials of conflict; Victoria Cross, George Cross, Medal of Honor and Knights Cross as their badge of courage

Flying Historic Aircraft - the Icons of the Air
Historic aircraft pilot Howard Cook brings to life what it is like to fly some of the most iconic aircraft in aviation history from the generation of the last aerial face to face gladiators

Restoring historic and vintage aircraft
The challenges of restoring many of the greatest aircraft in aviation history at a time when many skills are being lost and how this is overcome is a great story of engineering resurrection and persistence.

Learning to fly the Spitfire – Excalibur with wings
Perhaps the most famous and desired seat in flying, Howard Cook describes what it is like to fly – and how you train to fly the legend that is the Spitfire.

Hurricane – the unsung hero
Veteran of the Battle of Britain, Malta, North Africa, Greece and Burma and flown by pilots of all nationalities, the Hurricane is very much the unsung hero of aviation history

Great Grandmother flew Spitfires
Stories of the pioneering “Spitfire women” of the Air Transport Auxiliary

The Shetlands in the Second World War
These small islands - only 140 miles from occupied Norway - made a significant international contribution to the war effort, including many clandestine operations.

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.