CNRS Awards

News, September 2008: The CNRS Prizes for 2007 were announced at the Québec Annual General Meeting

The Keith Matthews Awards

The Canadian Nautical Research Society (CNRS) holds annual competitions for its prestigious Keith Matthews Awards. These prestigious awards are named after the renowned maritime historian from Memorial University who was also a founder and first president of the CNRS. Keith Matthews died in 1984 and the first award in his name was made the following year.

There are two kinds of awards:

1. The Keith Matthews Award for Best Book

The annual Keith Matthews Award is for the best book published in the previous calendar year on a Canadian nautical subject or by a Canadian on any nautical subject. Monographs and edited collections are eligible and subject matter can include oceanic and inland waters, naval or non-naval, from any discipline. The award is announced at the Society’s annual meetings. Since 2006 the Keith Matthews Award has come with a cash prize of $1,000 CDN, solidifying its reputation as Canada’s premier nautical book award.

Previous Winners of the Keith Matthews Award for Best Book

2007: Keith McLaren, A Race for Real Sailors: The Bluenose and the International Fishermen’s Cup, 1920-1938, (Vancouver: Douglas & McIntyre, 2006)

Honourable Mention: Daniel Sekulich, Ocean Titans: Journeys in Search of The Soul of a Ship (Toronto: Penguin Canada, 2006)

Honourable Mention: Peter A. Robson, Salmon Farming: The Whole Story (Nanoose Bay, B.C.: Heritage House, 2006)

Honourable Mention: Michael Whitby, Richard Gimblett, and Peter Haydon, eds., The Admirals: Canada's Senior Naval Leadership in the Twentieth Century (Toronto: Dundurn, 2006)

Honourable Mention: John G. Langley, Steam Lion: A Biography of Samuel Cunard (Halifax: Nimbus, 2006)

2006: Anthony B. Dickinson and Chesley W. Sanger, Twentieth Century Shore-Station Whaling in Newfoundland and Labrador (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 2005)

Honourable Mention: Michael Whitby, ed. Commanding Canadians: The Second World War diaries of Commander A.F.C. Layard (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2005)

Honourable Mention: Dennis Brown, Salmon Wars: the Battle for the West Coast Salmon Fishery (Madeira Park, B.C.: Harbour Publishing, 2005)

Honourable Mention: Noel Elizabeth Currie, Constructing Colonial Discourse: Captain Cook at Nootka Sound (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queens University Press, 2005)

2005: Julian Gwyn, Ashore and Afloat: The British Navy and the Halifax Naval Yard before 1820 (Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 2004)

Honourable Mention: Werner Hirschmann with Donald Graves, Another Place, Another Time: A U-Boat Officer's Wartime Album (Toronto: Robin Brass, 2004)

Honourable Mention: Fraser M. McKee, 'Sink all the Shipping there:' the Wartime Loss of Canada's Merchant Ships and Fishing Schooners (St. Catharines, Ont.: Vanwell, 2004)

Honourable Mention: Richard Gimblett, Operation Apollo: The Golden Age of the Canadian Navy in the War against Terrorism (Ottawa: Magic Light Publishing and the Department of National Defence, 2004)

2004: W.A.B. Douglas, Roger Sarty, Michael Whitby, Robert H. Caldwell, William Johnston, and William G. P. Rawling, No Higher Purpose. The Official Operational History of the Royal Canadian Navy in the Second World War, 1939-1943, Volume II, Part I (St. Catharines, Ontario: Vanwell Publishing, 2002)

Honourable Mention: Jerry Bannister, The Rule of the Admirals: Law, Custom, and Naval Government in Newfoundland, 1699-1832 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2003)

Honourable Mention: Julian Gwyn, Frigates and Foremasts: The North American Squadron in Nova Scotia Waters, 1745-1815 (UBC Press, 2003)

2003: John Jennings, The Canoe: A Living Tradition (Firefly Books, 2002)

2002: James McDermott, Martin Frobisher: Elizabethan Privateer (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2001)

2001: Brian Tennyson and Roger Sarty, Guardian of the Gulf: Sydney, Cape Breton and the Atlantic Wars (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2000)

2000: Thomas H.B. Symons, Meta Incognita: A Discourse of Discovery - Martin Frobisher's Arctic Expeditions, 1576 - 1578 (Hull, Quebec: The Canadian Museum of Civilization, 1999)

1999: Emerson W. Baker and John G. Reid, The New England Knight: Sir William Phips, 1651 - 1698 (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998)

1993: James R. Gibson, Otter Skins, Boston Ships, and China Goods: The Maritime Fur Trade of the Northwest Coast 1785 - 1841 (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1992)

Honourable Mention: Barry M. Gough, The Northwest Coast: British Navigation, Trade, and Discoveries to 1812 (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1992)

Honourable Mention: G.P.V. Akrigg and Helen B. Akrigg, H.M.S. Virago in the Pacific 1851 - 1855: To the Queen Charlottes and Beyond (Victoria: Sono Nis Press, 1992)

1992: Michael Hadley and Roger Sarty, Tin-Pots and Pirate Ships: Canadian Naval Forces and German Sea Raiders 1880 - 1918 (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1991)

Honourable Mention: Rosemary E. Ommer, From Outpost to Outport: A Structural Analysis of the Jersey-Gaspé Cod Fishery, 1767 - 1886 (Montreal and Kingston: McGIll-Queen's University Press, 1991)

1991: Eric W. Sager with Gerald E. Panting, Maritime Capital: The Shipping Industry in Atlantic Canada, 1820 - 1914 (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1990)

Honourable Mention: Jean-François Brière, La Pêche française en Amérique du Nord au XVIIIe siècle (Editions Fides, 1990)

1990: Brian Loring Villa, Unauthorized Action: Mountbatten and the Dieppe Raid (Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1989)

Honourable Mention: Eric Sager, Seafaring Labour: The Merchant Marine of Atlantic Canada, 1820 - 1914 (Montreal and Kingston; McGill-Queen's University Press, 1989)

1989: Gordon Stead, A Leaf Upon the Sea: A Small Ship in the Mediterranean, 1941 - 1943 (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1988)

Honourable Mention: W.A.B. Douglas, ed., The RCN in Transition, 1910 - 1985 (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1988)

1988: J.F. Bosher, The Canada Merchants, 1713 - 63 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1987)

Honourable Mention: Aliette Geistdoerfer, Pêcheurs acadiens, pêcheurs madelinots: Ethnologie d'une communauté de pêcheurs (Quebec: Presses Universitaires de Laval, 1987)

Honourable Mention: Clyde Sanger, Ordering the Oceans: The Making of the Law of the Sea (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987)

1987: Ian K. Steele, The English Atlantic 1675 - 1740: An Exploration of Communications and Community (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986)

1986: Michael L. Hadley, U-boats Against Canada: German Submarines in Canadian Waters (Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1985)

1985: Barry M. Gough, Gunboat Frontier: British Maritime Authority and the Northwest Coast Indians, 1846 - 1890 (Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 1984)

2. The Keith Matthews Award for Best Scholarly Article

In 1986 the CNRS extended its Matthews Awards to include articles on nautical affairs published in scholarly journals or as essays or chapters in edited volumes. Beginning with awards made in 2000 it was decided to limit eligibility for this award to the best article published in the society's own refereed journal, The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord. Since 2005, the award for best article carries a prize of $250 CDN.

Previous Keith Matthews Awards for Best Scholarly Article

2005: Benjamin H. Trask's "The World of 'Septic Vapours': Yellow Fever and United States Shipping, 1798-1905"

Honourable Mention: Robert L. Davison's "'Auxillium ab Alto:' the Royal Navy Executive Branch and the Experience of War"

2004: Stephan Vanfraechem, "’La peur du rouge:’ Communist Action Committees in the Port of Antwerp during the 1930s and 1940s"

2003: Timothy Wilford, "Decoding Pearl Harbor: USN Cryptoanalysis and the Challenge of JN-25 in 1941"

2002: Julian Gwyn, "The Halifax Naval Yard and Mast Contractors, 1775 - 1815"

2001: Michael L. Hadley, "Grand Admiral Doenitz (1891 - 1980): A Dramatic Key to the Man behind the Mask"

2000: Richard Gimblett, "’Too Many Chiefs and Not Enough Seamen:’ The Lower-Deck Complement of a Postwar Canadian Destroyer - The Case of HMCS Crescent, March 1949"

1999: William E. Schrank, "Benefiting Fishermen: Origins of Fishermen's Unemployument Insurance in Canada, 1935 - 1957," Journal of Canadian Studies, 35, No 1, (Spring 1998)

1992: Colin Howell & Richard Twomey, (eds), Jack Tar in History, (Fredericton, NB: Acadiensis Press, 1991). N.B.: Rather than single out one article, the Committee recognized this entire volume for its significant contribution to maritime studies.

Honourable Mention: R.V. Kubicek, "The Colonial Steamer and the Occupation of West Africa by the Victorian State, 1840 - 1900," Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, XVIII (1990)

1990: Marc Milner, "The Implications of Technological Backwardness: The Royal Canadian Navy 1939 - 1945," Canadian Defence Quarterly, Vol 9 No 3, (Winter 1989)

Honourable Mention: Garth Wilson, "The Great Lakes Historical Ships Research Project: An Innovative Approach to Documentation and Analysis of Historic Hull Design," International Journal of Maritime History, Vol 1 No 2, (December 1989)

1989: C. Knick Harley, "Ocean Freight Rates and Productivity, 1740 - 1913: The Primacy of Mechanical Invention Reaffirmed," Journal of Economic History, XLVIII, No 4, (December 1988)

Honourable Mention: John Mannion, "The Maritime Trade of Waterford in the Eighteenth Century," in William J. Smith and Kevin Whelan, (eds.) Common Ground: Essays on the Historical Geography or Ireland (Cork: Cork University Press, 1988)

1988: James Pritchard, "From Shipwright to Naval Contractor: The Professionalization of 18^th Century French Shipbuilders," Technology and Culture XVIII, No 1 (January 1987)

Honourable Mention: W.J. Jurens, "The Loss of H.M.S. Hood - A Re-examination," Warship International, XXIV, No 2, (1987)

1987: T.J.A. LeGoff, "Les gens de mer devant le système des classes (1755 - 1763): résistance ou passivité?" in Alain Lottin, Jean Claude Hochquet et Stephane Lebecq, (eds.) Revue du Nord: Acts du colloque de Boulogne-sur-mer, juin 1984, published as a special number of Revue du Nord in 1986

1986: Carl Swanson, "American Privateering and Imperial Warfare, 1739 - 48," William and Mary Quarterly, 1985

The Awards Committee

A three-person Keith Matthews Awards Committee consisting of a Chair and two Society members is elected at the Society's Annual General Meeting for a term of three years. Terms can be extended for a further three years.

Award Criteria:

1. The books and articles considered for this award must be published in the year for which they are judged.
2. Books and articles must be either written or edited by a Canadian author or be on a Canadian maritime topic.
3. Books and articles do not have to be published by a Canadian publisher.
4. Books and articles must have a maritime focus and can include works of history, geography, sociology, anthropology or other disciplines.
5. Authors or members of CNRS may self-nominate.
6. If no book or article is deemed worthy of an award in a given year, no award is given.

Terms of Reference:

1. On behalf of the Committee, the Chair contacts publishers to solicit books for review by the members. Publishers may also submit books they consider worthy of review.
2. Once Committee members have reviewed the submissions and reached a consensus, the Chair advises the successful authorsand their publishers of the decision.
3. Formal announcement of the Matthews Awards is made at the Society's AGM.
4. The Chair ensures that award recipients in both categories receive a certificate signed by the President of CNRS and the Chair of the Matthews Awards Committee. When more than one article or book is worthy of note, an Honourable Mention certificate may be awarded.
5. The cash prizes and other costs related to the Matthews Awards will be authorized by the Treasurer.
6. The Chair will report to Council on the activities of the Committee and to the society's membership at the AGM.

The CNRS Jacques Cartier MA Prize

The CNRS, founded in 1981, has a mandate to encourage research and to promote knowledge of maritime affairs relating to Canada. In keeping with this mandate the Society has chosen to award a prize annually named after Jacques Cartier, navigator of Saint-Malo, master mariner and explorer of France, who voyaged into the Gulf and River St. Lawrence which he named and in three voyages traced details of a watery entry into the heart of a continent. From aboriginal inhabitants he learned of a river, the Ottawa, leading to a fresh water sea, the Great Lakes, and a passage beyond which might lead to Cathay.

To encourage graduate studies at the Master's level at Canadian universities and institutes of higher learning where such studies may be carried out, the Society intends to award annually at its next subsequent meeting the prize, which carries a nominal value of $500 CDN. Areas of research include, but are not limited to, history, political studies and political economy, literature, archaeology, underwater archaeology, anthropology, geography, sociology, ecology, and any other branch of learning related to human uses of the seas, oceans, rivers or lakes. Theses demonstrating inter-disciplinary approaches beyond history and the arts are encouraged.

Candidates shall be, in the first instance, Canadian citizens or landed immigrants attending a Canadian university or institution of higher learning or a similar foreign institution writing on a Canadian maritime topic. Three printed copies of the thesis, which must have been successfully completed and examined (leading to successful completion of the degree), are to be submitted to the Society, to the address shown below by January 1 of the year in which the prize is to be awarded. The Society cannot bear the cost of downloading electronic submissions.

Awarding the prize shall be at the discretion of the judges who may also award honourable mentions. The thesis as submitted becomes the property of the Society to be added to its archives. The judges may recommend publication of the award-winning thesis, in whole or in part, in The Northern Mariner, or other publication.

Applicants shall provide a covering letter in which biographical details of the author and particulars of mailing address, telephone numbers, and e-mail address are supplied. A letter from a head of department or dean of faculty in the university or institute in which the thesis is completed stating the the thesis has passed examination must include the dates of submission and examination. Some universities have cognate essays or extended research papers, and provided they demonstrate original research of an extended order and are at least 70 pages in length, they may also be considered; but in first instance preference will be given to theses submitted and successfully defended.

Submissions and nominations are to be made to:
The Chair of the Awards Committee
Canadian Nautical Research Society,
P.O. Box 511,
Kingston, ON.
Canada K7L 4W5

The Gerry Panting Award for New Scholars

The Gerry Panting Award is a financial award of not more than $1,000 CDN to assist a new scholar in the field of nautical research to present a paper (in English or French) at the CNRS annual conference. The person selected should be in the early stages of his or her career in the field of maritime research.

1996 Daniel Conlin, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Conference at HMCS Cataraqui, Kingston, Ont.

1997 David Clarke, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Conference in St. John, NB

1998 Dr. Joseph Maiolo, London School of Economics and Political Science
'Deception and Intelligence Failure: Anglo-German Preparations for U-Boat Warfare in the 1930s'
Conference in Calgary, Alta.

1999 Bradley T. Shoebottom, University of New Brunswick
'The Shipbuilding Career of Gaius Samuel Turner of Harvey Bank, New Brunswick, 1874-1892'
Conference in Corner Brook, Nfld.

2000 Michael Dove, University of Western Ontario
'Laying the Keel: The Evolution of the Hudson's Bay Company's Shipping Operation, 1670 -1730'
Conference in Ottawa, ON

2001 Kimberley Monk, East Carolina University
'"A prince among Welland Canallers"?: Documenting the History of the Schooner-barge Sligo'
Conference in Kingston, ON

2002 William Miles, Memorial University of Newfoundland
'Some Aspects of Squadron Deployment to North America, 1689-1713'
Conference in Halifax, NS

The Gerald Panting New Scholar's Award is a financial award of not more than $1000 to assist a new scholar in the filed of nautical research to present a paper at the CNRS annual conference. The person selected as a Gerald Panting New Scholar should be in the early stages of his or her career in the field of maritime research.

Committee Selection:

Each year, a three-member committee consisting of a Chair and two members will select the Gerald Panting New Scholar Recipient. This committee will be chaired by the Awards Committee Chair and comprise members of the annual conference organising committee, including the Programme Chair. It will review applications from new scholars.

Award Criteria:

1. A "new scholar" is generally defined as a person with less than five years experience in the academic field, particularly in maritime studies.
2. To be eligible for the award, new scholars can be Canadian students at Canadian or foreign universities working in the field of maritime studies, or researchers from other countries working on Canadian maritime topics.
3. The award committee will take into account the merit of the applications received, previous work by applicants as well as their proposed paper, recommendations from professors and the level of need for financial assistance.
4. Members of CNRS, aside from Committee members, may self-nominate for this award.

Terms of Reference:

1. The Committee will ensure that the conference announcement, call for papers and all references to the conference mention the Gerald Panting New Scholar Award.
2. Nominations for the Gerald Panting New Scholar's Award are reviewed by the Council at its mid-winter meeting.
3. Once selected, candidates will be advised immediately of their award by the Committee Chair.
4. The recipient will be announced in Argonauta and identified in The Northern Mariner/Le marin du nord, especially if his or her paper is published.
5. Formal announcement of the recipient will be made at the Society's AGM.
6. Costs incurred for the Gerald Panting New Scholar's Award will be authorized by the Treasurer.
7. Members of the Award Committee are not eligible for the award during their tenure.
8. The Chair will report to Council on the activities of the Committee and to the society's membership at the AGM.

The CNRS Merit Award

The CNRS Merit Award is a discretionary award by which the society acknowledges excellence. It is applicable to individuals or institutions such as museums, archives or educational organizations. The first 2002 award recognizes the editorial contribution of Professor Lewis R. "Skip" Fischer, who co-founded and served as editor of the CNRS journal, The Northern Mariner/ Le Marin du nord from its first issue in January 1991 to January 2001.

A second Merit Award recognizes the work of Dr. Olaf U. Janzen, a founding co-editor of the journal and Book Review Editor from 1991 to 2000.

The CNRS Merit Award is a discretionary award by the Society to acknowledge excellence in Canadian nautical research applicable to individuals or institutions such as museums, archives or educational organizations.

Committee Selection:

The Keith Matthews Awards committee will serve as the Merit Award Committee.

Award Criteria:

1. Primary consideration will be given to Canadian individuals and institutions
2. In the case of museum exhibitions, the display may be shown outside the country, but it must have a Canadian maritime focus,
3. Foreign individuals, archives or institutions contributing to the preservation of Canadian nautical material are also eligible for this award,
4. Individual awards may also recognize lifetime contributions to Canadian nautical research by Canadian or foreign researchers or curators,
5. Members of CNRS, with the exception of members of the Committee, may self-nominate for this award.

Terms of Reference:

1. The Committee will solicit nominations for the Award through the Society's publications Argonauta, the Northern Mariner/Le Marin du Nord or on the web
2. Nominations will be reviewed by Council at the mid-winter meeting.
3. Once selected, candidates will be advised immediately of their award by the Committee Chair.
4. Formal announcement of the Merit Award will be made at the Society's AGM.
5. Costs incurred for a certificate for the Merit Award will be authorized by the Treasurer.
6. The Chair will report to Council on the activities of the Committee and to the society's membership at the AGM.