David James sat down with Ports, Past and Present to share the fascinating story behind Pembroke Dock's 80-foot tall ginkgo tree and its link with the creation of Japan's modern navy.

Until the mid-nineteenth century, Japan was a feudal state governed by a network of powerful families and warlords led by its Shogun, isolated from the rest of the world. At that point, there was a growing realisation that China and Russia were…