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Thomas Cairns was born in Sunderland in 1854. In 1876, while employed a as a clerk with the Newcastle firm of Davidson and Charlton he was offered a partnership by Captain B B Starks who had just commenced business as a shipbroker and merchant. The new firm was styled Starks and Cairns. On the retirement of Captain Starks in 1883 Cairns formed a new partnership with his brother-in-law, William Joseph Noble, and Lindsay Young as Cairns, Young and Noble. Their first ship, the CAIRNGOWAN 1, was launched in June 1883.

In 1891 the Cairnglen Steamship Company was formed as the owner of the first vessel of that name. The formation of further single ship companies followed. In 1892 the Cairn Line of Steam ships was founded with Cairns, Young and Noble as the management company and these single ship companies were gradually merged with the Cairn Line, along with the Gaelic Steamship Company Limited, another associated company. By 1911 this process was complete.

With the retirement of Lindsay Young in 1903 the management company had become known as Cairn, Noble and Company. Thomas Cairns died in 1908. In that same year the company purchased the Thomson line of Dundee, a cargo concern specialising in services to Canada. Thomson entered the passenger trade in 1909 with two vessels, the CAIRNRONA and the TORTONA on the Newcastle-London-Canada route. A licence was acquired from the Italian Government for the conveyance of emigrants from Italy to Canada. In March 1911 as the third vessel intended for service, the GERONA, was nearing completion the goodwill of the passenger services and all there vessels were sold to the Cunard Steamship Company.

The company suffered heavy losses during the 1914-18 war- eight vessels were lost to enemy action. William Black Noble, son of William Joseph Noble, died on service in France.

In the post war period, William Joseph Noble and Russell Cairns, son of the founder continued as directors of Cairns, Noble and Company and the Cairn Line. Noble was created a baronet in recognition of his services to shipping. He retired in 1928 when Furness Withy and Company acquired the management company. The Cairn Line retained its separate identity and services.

The fleet numbered five at the outbreak of war in 1939. Of these vessels, only two the CAIRNESK III and the CAIRNVALONA, remained in 1945. Additions to this number in the following years were the CAIRNAVON IV, the CAIRNGOWAN IV and the CAIRNDHU IV.

In February 1967 agreement was a reached with Furness Withy and Company for the purchase of ordinary stock units of the Cairn Line not already beneficially owned by them. These amounted to approximately 85% of the total. The company thus became a wholly owned subsidiary of Furness Withy and Company.

Joined RN 1876; R Adm, Home Fleet, Portsmouth and President of Submarine Committee 1913; served World War One, 1914-1918; Commanding 5 Battle Sqn, Channel Fleet 1914-1915; Senior Naval Officer in charge of Gibraltar 1915; retired 1919.

The Hydrographic Department of the Admiralty was established by Order-in-Council in 1795 for the purpose of supplying up-to-date charts and hydrographic information to ships of the Royal Navy, in the first instance from a mass of undigested material accumulated at the Admiralty. In 1809 the Department also became responsible for supplying the fleet with chronometers. Through the nineteenth century the scope of the Department was steadily expanded until by the 1880s Great Britain became the first nation to offer a world coverage of charts and sailing directions on sale to shipping of all nations.

Coast Lines Ltd of Liverpool was formed by the merging of three lines in 1913 and until 1917 was known by their joint names, Powell, Bacon and Hough. The name of Coast Lines Limited was adopted in 1917, when the company was absorbed into the Royal Mail Group (q.v.). After the dissolution of the group in 1931, the company became independent under the chairmanship of Sir Alfred Read (1871-1955), who had previously been a director. From 1917 to 1951 Coast Lines acquired a controlling interest in a large number of coastal shipping companies, eventually numbering about twenty, of which the most important were: the British and Irish Steam Packet Company Ltd, acquired in 1917; City of Cork Steam Packet Company Limited, acquired in 1918; the Belfast Steamship Company Limited, acquired 1919; Burns and Laird Lines, acquired 1920 and 1919; and Tyne Tees Steam Shipping Company Limited, acquired in 1943. Some idea of the extent of the Company's activities, spanning the whole of the British and Irish seaboard and extending to the Scottish and Channel Islands, can be gained from the fact that during 1951, with a fleet of 109 ships, the total of cargo carried was in excess of four million tons, and of livestock more than half a million head, while over a million passengers were also carried. This period saw the high water mark of the British, as distinct from the cross-channel, internal freight and passenger trades. The British and Irish Steam Packet Company Limited was sold to the Irish Government in 1965, together with its subsidiary, the City of Cork Steam Packet Company. The last stage of the streamlining of the Coast Lines Limited and its associates took place when the company was acquired, in 1971, by the P and 0 Group. See E.R. Reader, 'The world's largest coaster fleet', Sea Breezes, February 1949.

Cunningham entered the Navy from the merchant service in 1775 and served in the West Indies throughout the American War. He was made lieutenant in 1782 and commanded the Admiral Barrington brig in that year. In 1788 he went to the East Indies and in 1790 was made commander of the ARIEL. He became a captain in 1793 and went to the Mediterranean, returning with Lord Hood's (q.v.) despatches. His next appointment was in 1796 to the CLYDE which was refitting at the Nore at the outbreak of the mutiny: he acted decisively and after seventeen days managed to bring his ship safely away. He was appointed, in 1803, a Commissioner of Victualling and, in 1806, Commissioner of Deptford and Woolwich dockyards. In 1823 he went to Chatham dockyard and retired with the rank of rear-admiral in 1829. In this year he published A Narrative of... the Mutiny at the Nore (Chatham, 1829).

Curzon-Howe entered the Navy in 1863. From 1868 to 1871 he went round the world in the frigate GALATEA. He was made lieutenant in 1872 while serving in the HERCULES. It was not until 1888 that he was on active service again, when he was promoted to captain and appointed to the BOADICEA, which became the flagship of Sir Edmund Fremantle on the East Indies Station. Here, as Flag-Captain and Chief of Staff, Curzon-Howe took part in the operations against the Sultanate of Vitu. In the CLEOPATRA, in 1892, he spent a period as Senior Officer, Newfoundland, reporting on the fishing question. In 1894 he was called south to Bluefields to protect the Mosquito Indians, whose reservation had been invaded by the Nicaraguans. He subsequently returned to Newfoundland and remained there until 1895, when he went to the Mediterranean in the REVENGE, staying on the Station until 1900. In 1901 he was promoted to rear-admiral and became second-in-command of the Channel Fleet in the MAGNIFICENT until, in 1903, he went out to the East in the ALBION to become second-in-command of the China Fleet. Curzon-Howe returned to the Channel in 1905 and in 1907 was given command of the Atlantic Fleet. From 1908 to 1910 he was Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, and then Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, until his death.

Not a great deal appears to have been generally known about John Cowl and Sons save that it was one of five shipbuilding yards - of which the other 4 were Stribley, Rawl, Willment and Tredwen- located along the banks and in the shallow creeks of the Camel river at Padstow. The yard seems to have been opened in the early 1870s by John Cowl, whose indentures of apprenticeship (CWL/2) show that he began his time as a shipwright with John Tredwen, Carpenter of Padstow in 1836. Cowl appears to have put in some time at sea, though for how long it is difficult to say. Joseph Cowl, his father or more likely a brother or younger relative is credited (CWL/4) with having designed a number of Padstow built ships in the years 1855-70: e.g. the schooner JANE BANFIELD, in 1866 of 320 tons, built by Stribley's; the SAPPHO, also built by Stribley's and the EMPRESS OF CHINA, the same; the MORNING STAR, 480 tons, also built at Padstow, is said to have been designed by Joseph Cowl also.

The vessels built by the Cowl yard include the following:-

The EMMA, of 138 tons, in 1877 and the JANIE, of 134 tons, in 1878, both for Jenkins of New Quay, as was the KATIE, built by Cowl at Padstow in 1881, and which was in due course to become, in the hands of the Stephen family of Par, one of the last schooners still trading from a British port which had not been fitted with an engine. (CWL/12- appears to be the builder's specification for KATIE). Other ships built by the Cowl yard were the J. K. ALLPORT, of 100 tons, in 1876 for C ALLPORT of Plymouth, and the FAIRY GLEN, also of 100 tons, in 1879 for W. B. Williams. It would appear that the last clipper schooner built by John Cowl and Sons was the AMARANTH, in 1886 for WC Phillips. The company, which continued repairing ships into the 1890s, appears to have failed eventually with the demise of wooden shipbuilding at Padstow.

See individual sub-fonds for biographical details.

Dannreuther entered the Navy as a cadet in 1885 and trained in HMS BRITANNIA. In 1887 he went to sea as midshipman in HMS GARNET which was posted to the East Indies Station. He was in HMS INFLEXIBLE, Mediterranean, in 1891, after which he specialized in navigation. From 1892 to 1894 he served in HMS IRIS and HMS FOXHOUND in home waters. He was appointed lieutenant of HMS MELITA in 1894, serving in the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, and took part in the Dongola expedition of 1896. Dannreuther was in HMS LEANDER in the Pacific from 1897 to 1900. He subsequently served in HMS ARIADNE and HMS HOOD, Mediterranean, HMS LEVIATHAN, China Station, and HMS BACHANTE, HMS ROXBOROUGH and HMS VINDICTIVE in home waters. He was promoted to commander in 1905 and served in HMS LEVIATHAN and HMS AMPHITRITE on manoeuvres, 1895-1899 the Home Station from 1906 to 1907 and in HMS KENT on the China Station, 1907 to 1909. In 1911 he was appointed to command HME INTREPID, one of the early minelayers, and from 1914 to 1915 was engaged in the same capacity on HMS MARS. In 1915 he commanded HMS KINFAUNS CASTLE at the Cape of Good Hope and, from 1916 to 1919, HMS PATUCA, on convoy escort duties in northern waters. He was promoted to captain in 1918. Dannreuther's last appointment was as one of the Assistant Directors of Naval Intelligence from 1919 to 1921.

The son of Edward George Dannreuther (1844-1905), pianist and writer, Hubert Edward Dannreuther was born on 12 December 1880. Following in his older brother Tristan's footsteps, he joined HMS BRITTANIA as a naval cadet in 1895. He was appointed Chief Naval cadet in 1896 and in 1897 he went to the Australia Station as midshipman on HMS FLORA, and, whilst in Australia, served on HMS ORRLANDO and HMS ROYAL ARTHUR. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1902. From 1911-1912 he was a Gunnery Lieutenant on HMS EXMOUTH, flagship of the Mediterranean Fleet. Whilst in this post, he commanded a guard of honour for the official landing of the King in Malta in January 1912. During the First World War he saw action whilst Gunnery Lieutenant of HMS INVINCIBLE, then the flagship of Admiral Sturdee, at Heligoland Blight on 28 August 1914 and also, at the Battle of the Falkland Islands on 8 December 1914. In relation to the latter, he was mentioned in despatches and promoted to Commander in Jan 1915. Hubert Edward Dannreuther was the most senior of the survivors from HMS INVINCIBLE, then the flagship of Admiral Hood, when she was blown up at the Battle of Jutland on 31 May 1916 with the loss of 1025 men. After 20 minutes in the freezing waters, he was picked up by HMS BADGER. Mentioned in despatches and awarded the DSO and the Russian Order of St Anne, he was granted a special audience with the King and Queen at Buckingham Palace on 4 June 1916 to give an account of the action. From 1916-1918 Dannreuther served as Commander of HMS RENOWN and, from 1919-20, on HMS EXCELLENT. In 1917 he was awarded the French Croix de Guerre with palms. Made a Captain in 1920, he served as the Vice-President of the Chemical warfare Committee from 1920-1923 and served on HMS DAUNTLESS from 1924-1926. He was Captain - Superintendent of Training, HM Australian Navy and in command of the Flinders Naval Depot in Australia from 1927-1929. He was Captain of HMS EAGLE 1929-1930. From 1931-1932 he served as the Commodore of the Royal Naval Barracks in Portsmouth and was appointed Naval Aide-de Camp to the King from 23 Sep 1932 before being promoted to Rear-Admiral in the same year, whereupon he was put on the retired list. He married Janie Hay Thorborn in 1916 and they had 3 children, Hubert Harold (1917), Ion Alexander (1920) and Raymond Portal (1923).

Hubert Harold Dannreuther, the son of Rear-Admiral Harold Edward Dannreuther and the brother of Captain Raymond Portal Dannreuther, entered the Navy as a cadet in 1934, training on HMS FROBISHER. He then served as a midshipman on HMS AJAX on the American and West Indies Station. He was appointed Sub-Lieutenant on HMS KENT, China Station, in January 1938. On the eve of the Second World War, in June 1939, he was promoted to lieutenant and during the war he served on HMS COSSACK before becoming an assistant gunnery officer on HMS HOWE. After attending the gunnery school at HMS EXCELLENT in Portsmouth in 1943, Hubert Harold Dannreuther was posted to HMS QULLIAM followed by HMS EURYALUS. On 30 Jun 1957 Hubert Harold Dannreuther was appointed a captain, having been a Commander since December 1951 in charge of HMS STRIKER, HMS DIAMOND AND HMS EXCELLENT. Hubert Harold Dannreuther retired from The Royal Navy in 1966. Hubert Harold Dannreuther married Oriole Angela Burdett-Coutts and they had two daughters and one son.

Raymond Portal Dannreuther, the son of Rear-Admiral Harold Edward Dannreuther and the brother of Captain Hubert Harold Dannreuther, entered the Royal Navy as a cadet attending the Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. He then served as a midshipman on the cruiser HMS KENYA, Home Fleet from September 1940, the destroyer HMS LAFOREY, Home Fleet and then on the battleship HMS MALAYA from June 1942. After attending gunnery school on HMS EXCELLENT in 1942 he was promoted to Sun-Lieutenant and posted to the destroyer HMS RELENTLESS, South Africa, Eastern Fleet. After being promoted to Lieutenant in 1944 he served consecutively on HMS LEWES, HMS PYTCHLEY, HMS CAMPERDOWN. Raymond Portal Dannreuther then attended the gunnery school at HMS EXCELLENT in Portsmouth and was then posted to HMS DRAKE, HMS CUMBERLAND and HMS PRESIDENT, being promoted to Commander in 1954. In 1960 he joined the staff of the Surface Division in the Weapons Department of the Admiralty. On 31 Dec 1962 Raymond Portal Dannreuther became a captain and was posted to HMS UNDAUNTED. From 1968 to 1969 he was the Director of Naval Operational Requirements, Ministry of Defence in the Navy Department. He became a Naval ADC to the Queen from 1971 to 1972 and retired from The Royal Navy in 1973. In 1961 Raymond Portal Dannreuther married Elizabeth Bourne and they had 2 sons.

Legge served with his cousin, Sir Edward Spragge (d 1673), in the Second Dutch War, 1665 to 1667. During the Third Dutch War, 1672 to 1674, he was Captain of the FAIRFAX, under Sir Robert Holmes (1622-1692) and took part in the battle of Solebay, 1672. In 1673, he commanded the ROYAL KATHERINE, under Prince Rupert (1619-1682). He held various posts in the household of the Duke of York and was Lieutenant-Governor, then Governor, of Portsmouth from 1670 to 1682, when he was appointed Master-General of the Ordnance; he was created Baron Dartmouth in the same year. In 1683 he was sent to Tangier to supervise the evacuation. After the accession of James II in 1685, he was appointed Admiral of the Fleet in 1688, in the hope that he would be able to use the fleet to prevent the invasion of the Prince of Orange. This he was unable to do and he took the oath of allegiance to William and Mary in 1689. In 1691 he was accused of plotting on behalf of the exiled James and died while imprisoned in the Tower of London.

HMS DAUNTLESS, a naval shore establishment at Burghfield in Berkshire, has been used by the Women's Royal Naval Service since 1946 as a training and drafting centre.

Davison started his career as a merchant and shipowner in the Canadian trade. He first met Nelson (q.v.) in 1782 and remained a life-long friend as well as his prize agent. Davison flourished as a government contractor, and, eventually, after obtaining the prize agency for the Nile Fleet, as a banker. His fortunes dwindled after dabbling with politics and after Nelson's death. DAV/2 and DAV/2 we're separate lots purchased at a Sothebys sale.

Dawkins entered the Navy in 1841. After becoming a lieutenant in 1848 he served in the RATTLER and was given charge of two Brazilian slavers as prizes in 1849. He then served in the MODESTE and in the GLATTON, a floating battery which went to the Crimea, 1855 to 1856. After this he was in the ESK commanded by Sir Robert McClure (q.v.) in a cruise to the Far East, and was present in the BITTERN at the attack on Canton in 1857. He returned home in the COMUS. He was commander in the MARS, Channel Squadron, in 1859, was promoted to Captain in 1863 and in 1866 went to the Pacific in command of the ZEALOUS. In 1873 he was appointed to the VANGUARD, which in September 1875 sank after colliding with the IRON DUKE. At the subsequent court martial Dawkins was held responsible for the accident. After 1875 Dawkins made several unsuccessful applications to the Admiralty for employment and for a reconsideration of his case. He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1878 on the retired list but the finding of the court martial was never reversed.

Dick entered the Royal Navy in 1914, following an education at both Osborne and Dartmouth Royal Naval Colleges. As a Midshipman, Dick saw action at the Battle of the Falklands, Jutland and at Archangel in North Russia. Dick was promoted to Lieutenant in 1918, Commander in 1933 and Captain in 1940, serving as Deputy Chief of Staff, Mediterranean Station (Matapan), 1940-42. Then as Commodore, was Chief of Staff to Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, Mediterranean Station, 1942-44. After the war, Dick served as the Captain of HMS Belfast, 1944-46, before taking several land-based positions, including Director, Tactical and Staff duties, Admiralty, 1947-48 and Chief of Staff to Flag Officer, Western Europe, 1948-50, before his promotion to Rear-Admiral. Dick was then Naval ADC to the King for one year, after which he served as Flag Officer, Training Squadron, 1951-52, before being offered the NATO post of Standing Group Liason Officer to North Atlantic Council, which he held for three years, before retiring in 1955.

The partnership of Devitt and Moore was started in 1836 by Thomas Henry Devitt (1800-1860) and Joseph Moore (fl 1836-1870). They began as trading brokers for a number of merchants who owned sailing vessels on the Australia run. On the death of Thomas H Devitt in 1860 his eldest son, Thomas Lane Devitt (1839-1923), who had joined the company in 1855, and Joseph Moore Jr became partners with Joseph Moore Sr. Under the direction of Thomas L Devitt, the business was greatly expanded and in 1863 the company purchased their first sailing ships and began their long association with the passenger and cargo trade to Australia. In 1870 they purchased their only steamship. In December 1878 Devitt and Moore joined with F Green and Co of London. As the importance of the sailing ship in the Australian trade began to decline the company turned its attention to the training of sea cadets, and The Ocean Training Scheme, devised by Lord Brassey and Thomas Lane Devitt, was begun in 1890. Known as the 'Brassey Scheme', its vessels were owned jointly by Lord Brassey and Devitt and Moore but managed by the latter company. The object was to develop a method of training officers for the Merchant Marine. Apart from practical seamanship, training instructions were provided on board the vessels to teach the cadets arithmetic, algebra, geometry, navigation and nautical astronomy. The first vessels acquired for the new scheme were the iron ships Harbinger and Hesperus. The four-masted barque PORT JACKSON was acquired in 1906. Another four-masted barque, the MEDWAY, was purchased in 1910 and the training scheme extended under a new company, Devitt and Moore Ocean Training Ship Ltd. The MEDWAY remained in service until 1918. In 1917 Devitt purchased 'Clayesmore', a large country house near Pangbourne and, together with his youngest son Philip Henry Devitt (1876-1947) founded the Nautical College. In 1929 the firm of Verne, Son and Eggar took over the shipbroking and chartering business of Devitt and Moore. In 1931 the company was reconstructed and renamed Devitt and Moore Nautical College Ltd.

Born at Whitchurch, Hampshire, on 19 November 1904, Sir Norman Egbert Denning joined the navy as a special entry cadet in 1921, leaving Andover grammar school. He joined the paymaster branch instead of becoming an executive officer due to his eyesight. He excelled in this branch and was quickly rewarded for his competency, appointed secretary to senior executive officers. In 1937, paymaster lieutenant-commander Denning was appointed to the Admiralty's intelligence division. He then became chief adviser to the First Sea Lord of the Admiralty. Denning acted as the link between the operational intelligence centre (OIC) and components of the naval intelligence division including the Ministry of Economic Warfare, the army, the Secret Intelligence, the Special Operations Executive and Bomber commands of the RAF. Denning was later promoted paymaster-commander, 1941 and then paymaster-captain, 1951. After World War Two, Denning was appointed director of administrative planning in the Admiralty, later becoming director of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich in 1956. In 1958 Denning was promoted to rear-admiral on the general list. In 1958, he became deputy chief of naval personnel and director of manpower in the Admiralty, 1959. From 1964 to 1965 Denning acted as deputy chief of defence staff. Denning was appointed OBE in 1945, CB in 1961, and KBE in 1963. Retiring in 1967 he was secretary of the services, press and broadcasting committee, otherwise known as the 'D Notice Committee'. He died at Micheldever, Hampshire, on 27 December 1979.

De Vitre, a naval chaplain who joined the service in 1898, served in the Mediterranean before the First World War and in the Canopus in the Dardanelles. He later retired to a parish in Berkshire.

Entering the service in 1893, Dewar specialized in gunnery. He was a lieutenant in 1900 and became a commander in 1911. In 1912 he won the Royal United Service Institution Gold Medal for his essay on the influence of overseas commerce on the operations of war and its past and present effects. He was Assistant Director of the Plans Division of the Admiralty in 1917, was promoted to captain in 1918 and commanded cruisers on the North America and West Indies Station, 1922 to 1924. Between 1925 and 1927 he was Deputy Director, Naval Intelligence Division. His command of the ROYAL OAK in the Mediterranean in 1928 ended in the notorious 'incident'. In 1929 he became a rear-admiral, was retired the following day and advanced to vice-admiral in 1934. During the Second World War, however, he served again at the Admiralty. He stood as Labour candidate for Portsmouth in 1931. Dewar was one of the founder members of The Naval Review and a strong advocate of naval reform and of improved staff training. He wrote an autobiography, 'The Navy from within' (London, 1939).

Probably the leading naval architect of his day, Tennyson D'Eyncourt was trained at Armstrong's yard at Elswick and at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich. On completion of his apprenticeship, he remained with Armstrong's until 1898 when he became naval architect to Fairfields on the Clyde. In 1902 he returned to Armstrong's and made a reputation both for technical competence as well as skill in securing foreign orders. In 1912, D'Eyncourt was appointed Director of Naval Construction and thereby became responsible for the British wartime shipbuilding programme, as well as for the development of tanks and airships. He retired in 1924 and rejoined Armstrong's until they amalgamated with Vickers in 1927. Afterwards he acted as a consulting naval architect and was connected with numerous institutions such as the National Physical Laboratory, the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights and the Royal Institution of Naval Architects He published an autobiography, 'A shipbuilder's yarn; the record of a naval constructor' (London, 1948).

Duff entered the Navy in 1875, passed as a sub-lieutenant in 1881 and as a lieutenant in 1884, after which he specialized in torpedo duties. He was promoted to commander in 1897 and to captain in 1902. In 1911 he became Director of Naval mobilization and two years later was promoted to rear-admiral. During the first half of the war he was second-in-command of the Fourth Battle Squadron, flying his flag in the EMPEROR OF INDIA in 1914 and in the SUPERB at Jutland, 1916. Duff was then appointed as Director of the Anti-Submarine Division. In 1917 he was made Assistant Chief of Naval Staff. He was promoted to vice-admiral in 1918 and from 1919 to 1922 was Commander-in-Chief on the China Station. He retired in 1925.

Dixie entered the Navy in 1795 as a first-class volunteer and was captured by the French in 1797. After ten months in captivity he joined La Pomone, serving in the Mediterranean and then joined the Orion in the West Indies. In 1804 he was with Nelson (q.v.) who confirmed him as a lieutenant; he was present at the battle of Trafalgar, 1805. Until 1814 he was in North America. He retired in 1815 and in 1851 was promoted to captain on the retired list.

Born James Whitley Deans, he took the name of Dundas on marrying his cousin in 1808. He entered the Navy in 1799, served in the Mediterranean and Channel fleets and was made lieutenant in 1805. For the rest of the Napoleonic War he served in the Baltic or the North Sea. After a succession of peacetime commands, he was made rear-admiral in 1841, and briefly, a member of the Board of the Admiralty. From 1846 to 1847 he was Second Naval Lord and was First Naval Lord from 1847 to 1852. He was Member of Parliament for Greenwich, 1832 to 1834 and 1841 to 1852 and for Devizes, 1836 to 1838. In 1852 he was made Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, and a vice-admiral. He was in command when the Crimean War started and his responsibilities included the transport of the army to the Crimea and support of the allies in the battle of Alma and at Sebastopol. Having completed the usual term of command he was relieved in January 1855. He was promoted to admiral in 1857 but saw no further service.

Domvile entered the Navy in 1892 and served in the SOVEREIGN in the Channel. From 1895 to 1897 he went to the CRESCENT, flagship in North America, followed by a period in the ACTIVE, Training Squadron. After promotion to lieutenant in 1898, Domvile was in the REVENGE in the Mediterranean before taking the specialist gunnery course in EXCELLENT, after which he was a staff officer there. From 1903 to 1907 he was on the Mediterranean Station, firstly as gunnery officer in the MONTAGU and then in the LEVIATHAN. His next appointment was with the Home Fleet, from 1907 to 1901 It was at this time that he ran foul of Sir John (later Lord) Fisher (1841-1920) over an essay which won the Gold medal of the Royal United Service Institution in 1907. Promoted to commander at the end of 1909, Domvile commanded the destroyers BONETTA and RATTLESNAKE in home waters, 1910 to 1912, after which he became Assistant secretary to the Committee on Imperial Defence until 1914. He spent the whole war with the Harwich Force in command of the MIRANDA, LIGHTFOOT, ARETHUSA, CARYSFORT, CENTUAR and CURACAO, the latter four being Admiral Tyrwhitt's (1886-1951) flagships. Domvile was Director of the Plans Division at the Admiralty from 1919 to 1922, then Chief of Staff to the Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean between 1922 and 1925. He commanded the ROYAL SOVEREIGN in the Atlantic Fleet, 1925 to 1926. In 1927 he reached flag rank and became Director of Naval Intelligence from 1927 until 1930. After commanding the Third Cruiser Squadron in the Mediterranean between 1931 and 1932, he ended his service career as President of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, 1932 to 1934. Subsequently he became known for his pro-German views and in June 1940 was detained under the Defence Regulations. He was released from Brixton Prison in 1943. Domvile wrote two autobiographical works: 'By and large' (London, 1936) and 'From admiral to cabin boy' (London, 1947).

John Donaldson was born in Aberdeen, later studying Engineering at Glasgow University. It was here that he met fellow pupil John Isaac Thornycroft, who became a lifelong friend. After graduating, Donaldson worked in Calcutta for the Department of Public Works. It was whilst in India that he married John Thornycroft's sister, Frances. Returning to England in 1873 due to Frances' ill health, Donaldson joined Thornycroft as a partner in his boatyard at Chiswick. It was here that Donaldson's skill as an engineer came into its own, designing and working on various craft, especially fast torpedo boats, for which the company became famous. John Donaldson lived and worked in Chiswick until his relatively early death in 1899, aged 58.

Douglas saw early service in the IPSWICH, 1734 to 1735, and in the SALAMANDER, 1739. He became a lieutenant in 1732, a captain in 1744 and in 1745, in the VIGILANT, was present at the capture of Louisburg. In 1760, in the DUBLIN, he commanded a squadron in the Leeward Islands and in the following year led a successful expedition to capture the island of Dominica. When Admiral Rodney (1719-1792) relieved him in the Leeward Islands in 1761, he was given command of the Jamaica Squadron and was with Rodney as his second-in-command at the capture of Martinique, 1762. He was made rear-admiral in the same year and became a vice-admiral in 1770. From 1773 to 1776 he was Commander-in-Chief, Portsmouth, flying his flag in the BARFLEUR and the RESOLUTION and was made an admiral in 1778. Douglas was Member of Parliament for Orkney and Shetland, 1754 to 1768.

Dare first went to sea in 1878 as an apprentice with Shallcross and Higham of Liverpool and much of his early service was spent on the west coast of South America. He took his second mate's certificate in 1883, but was dogged by ill health and did not take the first mate's and master's certificates until 1891 and 1894. He then went into steam, sailing first with the Bedouin Steam Navigation Company and later with F. Leyland and Company, both of Liverpool. Failing health finally forced him to leave the sea in 1901 and he retired to his home town of Leicester.

Bethune was the son of the army officer and historian Colonel John Drinkwater (d 1844) and it was not until 1837 that he took the name Bethune. He entered the Navy in 1815 as a first-class volunteer in the NORTHUMBERLAND and sailed in her from 1815 to 1816 on the voyage taking Napoleon to exile in St Helena. In 1817 he joined the LEANDER in North America; he then went to South America, where he served in the SUPERB and the CREOLE from 1819 until 1823. Still on this station, he was promoted to lieutenant, 1823, and joined the DORIS and then the BARHAM until promoted to commander in 1828. From 1828 to 1829 he commanded the ESPIEGLE, Jamaica Station. He was promoted to captain in 1830. At Palmerston's request, in 1835, he joined the Embassy of the Earl of Durham (1792-1840) to Russia to report on the naval installations in the Black Sea. Later he served in the East Indies and in the China War. He was made rear-admiral in 1855, vice-admiral in 1862, admiral in 1866 and retired in 1870.

The naval school of navigation, HMS Dryad, was founded in 1903. It was based at Portsmouth until 1941 when it moved to Southwick near Fareham in Hampshire. In 1974 it became the School of Maritime Operations, though retaining the name of Dryad. See B B Schofield, The Story of HMS Dryad (Havant, Hampshire,1977).

In the early years of the nineteenth century Zachary MacAulay and William Wilberforce established a fund for the relief of distressed seamen. The committee appointed to manage the fund met for the first time on 8 March 1821 and from this meeting was formed the Seamen's Hospital Society. The purpose of the new society was the establishment of a hospital solely for seamen. The 48 gun GRAMPUS was loaned by the Admiralty for conversion as a hospital ship and she was moored at Greenwich in October 1821.

Within the next ten years it became clear that the accomodation in the GRAMPUS could not meet the demand and in 1831 the Admiralty agreed to replace her with a larger hulk, the DREADNOUGHT, previously used by the Royal Navy as a hospital ship at Milford Haven. In 1833 the hospital was incorporated by Act of Parliament as 'The Seamen's Hospital Society'.

In 1832 the high incidence of cholera prompted the Central Board of Health to convert the DOVER as an isolation hospital and she joined the DREADNOUGHT at Greenwich. The Society took over the maintenance of this ship in 1835, also taking responsibility for other ships as time went on to combat outbreaks of disease. The DREADNOUGHT in turn proved inadequate to cope with the numbers, principally merchant seamen, requiring medical treatment and in 1857 she was replaced by the 120 gun CALEDONIA, renamed DREADNOUGHT by special permission of the Admiralty.

Debate arose in 1860 as to whether the hospital ship should move to a more convenient mooring or whether a new base should be sought ashore. Application was made to the Admiralty for the tenancy of the then little used Greenwich hospital, and in 1867 it was agreed that part, at least, of the building should be made available. After further negotiations, the Admiralty in 1870 leased the Infirmary, together with Somerset Ward to the Society at a nominal rental. The DREADNOUGHT hulk remained in use at Greenwich until 1872 as isolation accomodation.

The Society continued to expand, opening branch hospitals and other establishments including, in 1877, the Dreadnought School for Nurses. With the advent of the National Health Service in 1948 the hospital and its branches were handed over to the Minister for Health, the Dreadnoght Hospital itself surviving as a hospital for seamen, administered by the Seamen's Hospital Management Committee until 1974. This committee was succeeded by the Greenwich and Bexley Area Health Authority and later, in 1982, by the Greenwich Health Authority. The hospital was closed in 1986.

Bibliography:

McBride, A. G, 'The History of the Dreadnought Seamen's Hospital at Greenwich', Seamen's Hospital Management Commitee, Greenwich, 1970.

Plumridge, J. H 'Hospital Ships and Ambulance Trains', London 1975.

(Both of these volumes are available in the Library as PBN7334 and PBB4449 respectively)

Doughty entered the Navy as a cadet in 1847 in the VICTORY. He went to the Mediterranean in the Rodney and remained there firstly in the HOWE and then in the BULLDOG. From 1850 to 1854 he was in the PORTLAND on a voyage to Pitcairn Island and, still on the Pacific Station, he joined the CENTAUR in 1855, the year in which he became a lieutenant. From 1860 Doughty was in the Mediterranean as First Lieutenant of the FOXHOUND until 1864. He was appointed to command the WEAZEL in 1866 on the China Station and returned to the Shannon in 1868 to take up coastguard duties in the VALIANT. His next commission was to the East Indies in the MAGPIE, 1870 to 1872, and he was promoted to captain in 1875. Between 1878 and 1881 he commanded the CROCODILE, an Indian troopship, until he was sent to the Constance on the Pacific Station, 1882 to 1886, during which time he court-martialled his first lieutenant. The REVENGE, the flagship at Queenstown, was his last command, in 1887, and he was placed on the retired list as rear-admiral in 1890.

Duckworth went to sea in 1759 and became a lieutenant in 1771. He saw service in North America during the War of American Independence. He was made Commander of the ROVER in 1779 and a captain in 1780, serving in the West Indies until 1781. He commanded the BOMBAY CASTLE during the mobilization of 1790. In 1793 be was appointed to the ORION, under Lord Howe (q.v.) in the Channel fleet, and fought at the battle of the First of June 1794. In 1795 he returned to the West Indies as Captain of the LEVIATHAN and commanded the fleet for a time in 1796. After a short period in home waters, he joined Earl St. Vincent (q.v.) in the Mediterranean and was in command of the naval forces at the capture of Minorca, 1798. He was promoted to rear-admiral in 1799 and continued to serve in the Mediterranean until 1800. He then took command of the blockading squadron off Cadiz, captured a Spanish convoy, and in the same year was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Leeward Islands Station. He received a knighthood for his services against the colonies of the Northern Confederation in 1801. In 1803 he was appointed Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica, and brought about the surrender of the French army in San Domingo. He was promoted to vice-admiral in 1804. After Trafalgar, he was ordered to join Collingwood (q. V.) in the blockade of Cadiz and when there, heard that a French squadron had escaped; he defeated it at San Domingo on 6 February 1806. Afterwards he returned to Cadiz and the Mediterranean. In February and March 1807 he commanded the squadron which forced the passage of the Dardanelles. The ineffectual outcome of this mission caused Duckworth to be severely criticized. He was ordered to join the Channel fleet. Subsequently he remained in home waters until 1810 when he was promoted to admiral and appointed Commander-in-Chief and Governor of Newfoundland, returning home in 1813. He was elected Member of Parliament for New Romney in 1812. Shortly before his death he was appointed Commander-in-Chief at Plymouth.

After serving his time as a midshipman, Dudman joined the CUMBERLAND as fifth officer in 1808. On his next voyage, in 1812, he left her at Whampoa to join the INGLIS. He stayed with this ship until 1834, having taken command of her in 1828. Dudman's family owned a shipyard at Deptford which built warships and East Indiamen and two other commanders of East India Company ships also came from the family. In 1836 Dudman went into partnership with Thomas Bush, a hop and seed merchant of Southwark.

Duff was promoted to the command of the TERROR bomb vessel off the coast of Scotland in 1744 and then to the Anglesea between 1747 and 1748 off the coast of Ireland. In 1755 he was appointed to the ROCHESTER in the Channel. He contributed to the victory of Quiberon Bay, 1759, by leading the French in pursuit of his small squadron to bring them within range of the main British fleet. His next command was the FOUDROYANT in the West Indies where he was present at the reduction of Martinique in 1762. In 1775 he was promoted to rear-admiral and appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief, Newfoundland. His last command was as Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean, in the PANTHER between 1777 and 1780. He was promoted to vice-admiral in 1778.

The majority of the correspondence and papers is formed of letters addressed to William Dawson (1779-1844), a merchant from Tarbert, Argyllshire, from his two sons, Dugald and William. Dugald Dawson (1805-1841) was an overseer of a sugar plantation in Trinidad, during which time he witnessed poor harvests due to bad weather and changes brought about by the efforts of Missionaries to free the slaves: he died at sea in Mar 1841, aged 36 years. William Dawson Jnr (1810-1858) was an Argyllshire merchant sea captain who sailed all over the world, including California, New Zealand, Africa and Madras, in the barque "Cornwall": he died in Singapore on 27 Jul 1858, aged 48.

Anne Dixon was the sister of Admiral Lord Gardner.

In 1873 the Government of Queensland contracted with four British and Australian merchants to carry mail between Singapore, the Dutch East Indies, Queensland and Sydney (later extending at both ends, to Hong Kong and Melbourne respectively). This was the genesis of the Eastern and Australian Mail Steamship Company Ltd. In 1880 the mail contract was not renewed: the original company was wound up and a new company formed, the word 'Mail' being omitted from the title. This company concentrated on the Australia to Hong Kong trade, eventually extending its operations to Shanghai and Japan. A second reconstruction of the company took place in 1894. In 1919 it was taken over by the Australasian United Steam Navigation Ltd, although it continued to operate as a more or less independent entity until the end of the Second World War. Although Lord Inchcape, chairman of P and O, held extensive shareholdings in the Australasian Steam Navigation Company at the time of its takeover of Eastern and Australian, it was only in 1946 that it became directly connected with P and 0. In that year a new company was formed in which P and O, as opposed to Inchcape, held the majority shareholding. Thereafter the fleet, never a large one, numbering six at most, was maintained by the transfer of ships from other P and O group companies, until 1954, when a fast new geared steam turbine vessel, the Arafura, was acquired. Manned at first by British and later by Australian officers and engineers, the Eastern and Australian ships played a significant part in the development of the Australian Merchant Marine. Starting as mail and passenger carriers, they became successively passenger and cargo vessels and finally cargo only, constituting a fast cargo link between Australia and the Far East. With the advent of containerization, Eastern and Australian, with China Navigation, constituted the Overseas Containers' share in the Australia/Japan Container Line. Their last two ships were sold in 1975. See William Olson, Lion of the China Sea (Sydney, 1976); and W.A. Laxon, 'The Eastern Mails: the story of the Eastern and Australian Steamship Co Ltd', Sea Breezes, October 1963.

Edgell was promoted to lieutenant in 1828, to commander in 1837 and to captain in 1846. He was appointed to command the TRIBUNE in 1855 when she was in the Crimea. During this commission she went to the Pacific and finally to China. In 1857 Edgell was the Senior Naval Officer at Hong Kong and he transferred into the BITTERN tender commanding the gun boats on the Canton River during the hostilities with the Chinese. In 1858 be was given command of the squadron in Indian waters, during which time he commanded the CHESAPEAKE and later the RETRIBUTION. The latter returned to England and was paid off in 1860. Edgell had no further active employment and was promoted on the retired list, reaching the rank of vice-admiral in 1871.

Born in Bristol, Eggins spent several years at sea and in 1922 gained a master's ticket. In that year he became a Falmouth pilot, retiring in 1958.

After attending the Royal Naval Colleges at Osborne and Dartmouth, Elkins joined the Atlantic Fleet, 1921 to 1923, as a midshipman in the HOOD, WRYNECK and WILD SWAN successively. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1924, qualified as an Interpreter (German) in 1928 and specialised in gunnery in 1929. During the Invergordon incident of 1931 he was the lieutenant in charge of the VALIANT'S shore patrol on the evening when the trouble began. In 1937 he became a commander and in 1939 took command of the BIDEFORD in China and the Mediterranean. In 1940 as Naval Liaison Officer he was sent to assist the intended evacuation of the 51st Highland Division from St Valery-en-Caux but fog prevented the main withdrawal Elkins was captured but he and Captain Lesley Hulls of the Gordon Highlanders escaped and sailed to England. After this Elkins served in the RENOWN which was one of the four ships that bombarded Genoa in February, 1941. Elkins was appointed to the Naval Ordnance Department at Bath and was promoted to captain in 1942 He then went to the DIDO, Home Fleet (Tenth Cruiser Squadron) in 1944 and was at Copenhagen when the Germans surrendered. In 1952 Elkins was aide-de-camp to King George VI and to Queen Elizabeth II, becoming a rear-admiral in that year and a vice-admiral in 1955 From 1955 to 1956 he was second-in-command on the Far East Station and then, from 1956 to 1958, was Flag Officer, British Joint Staff Mission, Washington He retired in 1959.

For individual biographies see the subfond descriptions.

Gilbert Elliot was called to the Scottish Bar in 1743 He entered Parliament in 1753 as Member for the county of Selkirk, but from 1765 until his death sat for the county of Roxburgh. In 1756 he was appointed a Lord of the Admiralty until 1761 when he became a Lord of the Treasury. He also became Treasurer of the Chamber in 1762 and, in 1766, Keeper of the Signet in Scotland. In 1770 he was made Treasurer of the Navy, which post he held until his death.

Gilbert Elliot, eldest son of Sir Gilbert Elliot, 3rd St. (q. v.), was called to the English Bar in 1774 and entered Parliament two years later as the Member for Morpeth, transferring to Roxburghshire in 1777. He gave independent support to the government during the War of American Independence, only going over to the Opposition in 1782. Having lost his seat in 1784, he was returned for Berwick in 1786. In 1790 he was returned for Helston, Cornwall, and in 1793 transferred his allegiance to Pitt's government. In this year he was appointed Civil Commissioner at Toulon and served as Viceroy of Corsica between 1794 and 1796. He attempted to make Corsica the centre of British power in the Mediterranean and it was through him that Nelson (q.v.) attacked Porto Ferraio. In September 1796 he was ordered to withdraw from Corsica to Naples, after which he returned to England in March 1798. In 1799 he was appointed Envoy Extraordinary to the Court of Vienna and was Governor-General of India, 1806 to 1813. He was created Baron Minto in 1797 and Earl of Minto in 1813. See Countess of Minto ed. , 'Life and letters Of Sir Gilbert Elliot, first Earl of Minto...' (London, 1874).

Gilbert Elliot was the eldest son of Gilbert Elliot, first Earl of Minto (q. v.) and was trained for the diplomatic service. He was a Member of Parliament for Ashburton, 1806 to 1807 and for Roxburghshire, 1812 to 1814. He supported the Whigs and in 1832 was appointed Ambassador to Berlin. In 1835 he succeeded Lord Auckland as First Lord of the Admiralty and served as such until 1841. In 1846 Minto became Lord Privy Seal. He left office in 1852, after which he took no further part in politics.

After an early period of military service abroad, Hugh Elliot, second son of Sir Gilbert Elliot (q.v), had a varied diplomatic career until, in 1803, he was appointed to Naples. Here he encountered a complicated situation. The Queen of Naples wished, and so influenced Elliot, that the English army should remain to defend Naples. However, the British military commander insisted that the army should go to Sicily, the Fleet duly escorted the Royal Family there and Elliot was recalled. He was later appointed Governor of the Leeward Islands and finished his career as Governor of Madras. See Countess of Minto, 'A memoir of the Right Honourable Hugh Elliot' (Edinburgh, 1868).

William Elliot was the fourth son of Gilbert Elliot, first Earl of Minto. He served in the ARDENT and MEDUSA in the Channel between 1803 and 1806 and in the AURORA and MODESTE in the East Indies under his brother, George, later Admiral Sir George Elliot (1784-1863). He was promoted to lieutenant in 1808 and on the same station served in the PROCRIS between 1808 and 1810 and in the BUCEPHALUS until his death in India.

John Elliot, brother of Sir Gilbert Elliot 3rd Bt., (q.v.), went to sea in the AUGUSTA in 1745. He was made a lieutenant of the SCARBOROUGH in 1756 and gained promotion to command the HUSSAR in the following year under Hawke (q.v.) and then under Anson. In 1758 he commissioned the AEOLUS and in 1760 captured the small French squadron which was attempting a raid on Belfast. He was appointed to the GOSPORT, a forty-gun ship, but soon went back to his frigate off Brest. In 1761 he went to the Mediterranean in the Chichester. During the peace he commanded several ships and in 1777 was appointed to the TRIDENT which carried the Peace Commission of Lord Carlisle to Philadelphia. From the end of 1779 he commanded the EDGAR and was present at the first relief of Gibraltar. This was then followed by service in the Channel and in 1781, under Kempenfelt (1718-1782), he assisted in the capture of the French convoy. In 1782 Elliot went to the Romney. From 1786 to 1789 he was Governor and Commander-in-chief, Newfoundland, and in 1787 was made rear-admiral. He became a vice-admiral in 1790 and hoisted his flag in the Barfleur. Although promoted to admiral in 1795, he saw no further service.