The collection, consisting of nineteen volumes, relates to the administration of the Navy, naval policy during the war with France, 1690 to 1698, and questions of Admiralty jurisdiction, and falls into four main groups. The first, of six volumes, contains letters received by William Blathwayt between 1690 and 1703; they concern the conduct of the war and questions of naval administration, including some, 1697 to 1703, from Josiah Burchett, Secretary of the Admiralty (1666?-1746). The second group of four volumes relates mainly to the time of the Dutch Wars when Robert Southwell was a Commissioner for Prizes. It contains drafts, orders and precedents relating to the Commission, 1661 to 1705, as well as a volume devoted to the legal problems of wrecks, 1687 to 1705. There are also some letters from Blathwayt to Robert Southwell for this period. The third group of four volumes contains letters by Lord Nottingham, 1690 and 1692 to 1693, to Blathwayt and Sir Robert Southwell, some with draft replies. Apart from reporting on naval affairs, there are later private letters, 1711, 1716, and Irish affairs, 1703, are also mentioned. The final four volumes are miscellaneous in nature, including a volume relating to the conduct of the war, 1695 to 1697; a working reference book on the proceedings of the Commission of Prizes, 1665 to 1667; and two volumes of miscellaneous papers relating to all the subjects mentioned above, 1674 to 1708.
Sans titrePapers of Sir William George Tennant, including official service documents; midshipman's logs, 1905 to 1909; diaries of war service, written up in 1919, and one for the cruises of 1925; a work book, 1927; papers on the loss of the REPULSE , 1941; tactical and secret papers on the 'Mulberry' operations, 1944, and engagement diaries, visitors' books, notes for speeches and lectures, 1946 to 1949, as well as many general papers and notebooks relating to Tennant's historical interests and the role of the three services in defence strategy.
Sans titreBritish Army publications, 1963-2004. Volumes of the Army Field Manual including: 'The Armoured Division in Battle' (1990); 'Infantry Operations' (1990); 'Combat Service Support' (1992); 'Background to the Soviet Army' (1986); 'A Treatise on Soviet Operational Art' (1991); 'Soviet Tactics' (1991); 'Generic Enemy (Basic Forces): Operational Art' (1995); 'Operations in Specific Environments: Urban Operations' (1999); 'Battlegroup Tactics' (1990); 'The Infantry Battalion in Battle' (1990); 'Operations within the UK: Military Home Defence' (1990); 'Fighting in Built-up Areas' (1983); 'Chemical Operations' (1990); 'Cold Climate Operations' (1992); 'All Arms Tactics in Special Environments: Desert' (1995); 'Operations Other than War: Counter Insurgency Operations' (1995), 'Peacekeeping Operations' (1988) and 'Wider Peacekeeping' (1994); 'Combined Arms Operations: Formation Tactics' (1995 and 2002 Dec editions), 'Battlegroup Tactics' (1998 and 2002 Feb editions), 'Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR)' (2002 Mar), 'Countersurveillance, Opsec [operations security] and Deception' (1999 Oct), 'Operations in Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) Conditions' (2002 Oct), 'Training for Operations' (1997), 'Command and Staff Procedures' (1999 and 2002 editions) and 'Tactical Guidance for Operations Other than War' (2000).
Tactical and Doctrinal publications including: 'Keeping the Peace: Doctrine' (1963 Jan); 'Tactical Doctrine and Arms Directorate: The Army Tactical Doctrine Handbook' (1985) and 'Tactical Aide Memoire' (1988); 'Joint Warfare Publication: British Defence Doctrine' (1996); 'Design for Military Operations: the British Military Doctrine' (1996); 'Army Doctrine Handbook' (2000 Jul); 'Land Component Handbook: doctrinal notes' (2004 Nov); 'Army Doctrine Publications: Command' (1995 Apr), 'Logistics' (1996 Jun and 2000 Apr editions), 'Training' (1996 Dec), and 'Soldiering - the Military Covenant' (2000 Feb).
Land Operations manuals including: 'The Fundamentals Part 1: the application of force', 'Part 2: command and control', 'Part 3: the combat arms' and 'Part 4: fire support' (1968 -1977); 'Non Nuclear Operations Part 1: formation tactics', 'Part 2: battle group tactics', 'Part 3: combat team tactics in mechanised operations', 'Part 4: crossing and breaching obstacles' and 'Part 5: air defence of the field army' (1971-1977); 'Counter-Revolutionary Operations Part 1: general principles', 'Part 2: procedures and techniques', 'Part 2: internal security' (1969 version) and 'Part 3: counter insurgency' (1969-1977); 'Nuclear Operations Part 1: nuclear fire power' and 'Part 2: tactics' (1970-1971); 'Operational Techniques Under Special Conditions Part 1: mountainous country', 'Part 2: jungle', 'Part 3: desert', 'Part 4: cold climate' (1972-1979).
Standing Operating Procedures (SOPs) including: 'Army Formation Standing Operating Procedures (AFSOPs)' (1989); 'UK Land Forces: Formation Standing Operating Procedures' (1989 Jul); '1 British Corps: Standing Operating Procedures' (1991 Jan) and 'Land Component Handbook (Formation SOPs)' (2000 Sept).
Handbooks, guidebooks and manuals including: 'Administration in the Field' (MOD, 1975); 'Umpiring the Effects of Artillery Fire: A Guide for Umpires of All Arms' (1981); 'Administration in War', (MOD, 1984); 'Medical Interoperability Handbook' (German/English version) (1986 Feb); 'Data Protection Act 1984: A Guide to the Act' (MOD, 1987 Aug); 'Manual of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence Training on Land' (1988); 'Staff Officers Handbook' (1988); 'Unit Guide to the Administration of Personnel in War' (1989); 'Instructions for the Handling of Prisoners of War' (MOD, 1990); 'The Manual of Joint Warfare Volume VIII (JSP 7): Military Psychological Operations' (1992); 'Unit Battlefield Countersurveillance' (1994 Jun); 'Generic Enemy (Genforce) Handbook: Rest of the World Enemy (ROWEN)' (1995); 'Military Aid to the Civil Community in the United Kingdom' (1997); 'Generic Enemy (Genforce) Handbook: Mobile Forces' (1997); 'Staff Officers' Handbook' (2000 Jul); 'ABCA: Coalition Logistics Handbook' (Quadripartite Advisory Publication, 2003 Jun).
Training guides including: 'Training for War: the Principles and Organisation of Training, Individual Training, Collective Training and Territorial Army' (1981).
Publications by other military forces including: 'On Point: The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom', by Col G Fontenot, LTC EJ Degen and LTC D Tohn (Fort Leavenworth, Kansas: Combat Studies Institute Press, 2004); Royal Netherlands Army Doctrine Publications: 'Military Doctrine' (1996), 'Combat Operations Against an Irregular Force' (2003), and 'Peace Operations' (1999).
Sans titreThe Admiralty records at the National Maritime Museum cover the administration of the Navy from 1688-1832 (when the Navy Board was abolished) in considerable detail. There are also a few records from 1832-1883. Together they consist of 7,497 bound volumes and a large mass of loose papers.
The majority of orders and letters are original documents, often minuted, but there are a few volumes of indexes, minute and letterbook copies of correspondence. The collection includes over 5000 Lieutenants' logs forwarded to the Navy Board in connection with the work of passing the Officers' accounts.
The Admiralty records now at the National Maritime Museum, consist of the original orders from the Admiralty to the Navy Board from 1688-1815 (ADM/A&N&RP&Q&P&OT), and the Navy Board replies from 1733-1831 (ADM/B&BP&D&DP&F&FP). Orders to the Navy Board relating to transports during the period when there was no Transport Board were bound up separately as were those relating to the special appointment of General Bentham, as Inspector General of Naval Works, during the Napoleonic War. The Navy Board letters respecting the fitting of ships from 1804-1809 were separated from the general correspondence, and bound with a chronological index at the beginning. In addition to these main series of orders from the Admiralty to the Navy Board, there are some copies of orders for the Ticket Office from 1774-1815, and some loose papers relating to the Marine Office and a few orders for the Office of Stores (ADM/J&K).
The Admiralty orders to the Victualling Commissioners from 1707-1815 (ADM/C) are included in this collection, as well as the abstract of Admiralty orders from 1694-1819 (ADM/G) and the Victualling Board's replies from 1703-1822 (ADM/H). The Admiralty orders to the commissioners for taking care of sick and wounded seamen from 1702-1806 form a complete series, supplemented by the Commissioners replies from 1742-1806 (ADM/E). Orders relating to prisoners of war were bound up separately and cover the years from 1743, some distinction being made for the different nationalities (ADM/M). Both these series of orders were continued when the Transport Boards took over the Commissioners; the former series has been preserved in this collection up to 1815 (ADM/ET), and the latter from 1796-99 (ADM/MT).
The Lieutenant's logs which total 5,205 volumes are bound according to the name of the ship, some Captain's logs being included (ADM/L). There are also bound up with some logs, accounts of expenses of paper and ticket books. The Lieutenant's log was accompanied by a certificate from his captain stating that he had complied with the printed instructions and not been absent from his ship. These journals were deposited first in the Admiralty Office and a certificate was made out, for which the chief clerk received 2s 6d.' though captains usually paid 5s 0d. The chief clerk then abstracted details of the voyage of each ship from her logs "specifying the day of her sailing - of her arrival at each port, her stay there and departure there from". The logs were then passed to the Navy Office where the clerk of the acts made out certificates "to enable the lieutenants and masters to receive their wages". It was also his duty to "arrange and keep the journals and log books of every ship that may be delivered of the proceedings from the time of such journals and log books". The logs in this collection have been preserved from the time of Pepys until 1809, when the procedure for keeping logs was altered, and contained much useful information. The logs were kept according to the nautical calendar, which counted the day as starting at mid-day, until 1805 when the civil practice was adopted.
The only records for the period after 1832, which are included in this collection, are those of the Surveyor's department for the years 1832-39. These letters, addressed to the Board of Admiralty, contain some interesting material on ship-building. There are also a number of volumes of papers relating to the preparation of naval estimates for the years 1849-1883, as far as the Victualling department was concerned.
Sans titrePapers of the Baynes and Nias Families:
Papers of Henry Compton Anderson Baynes inclusing official service documents, 1866 to 1901; an article on 'Armament of Battleships', undated; a letter, 1888, concerning Whitehead torpedoes; a few letters about Baynes's fishery protection work in the North Sea in the 1890s and three night order books, 1893, 1895 and 1901.
Papers of Sir Robert Lambert comprising official service documents, details of ships on the Pacific Station 1854 to 1860, an autobiographical outline of his career, 1810 to 1857, invitations to social events, and other personal papers.
Papers of Sir Joseph Nias, comprising letters and orders received, 1815 to 1867, and service papers, and eighteen letters from Sir William Parker to Nias while he was Senior Officer at Hong Kong, 1841 to 1842.
Sans titrePapers of Sir Willam Abdy, comprising logs, 1750 to 1753, and two combined letter and order books, 1761 to 1766. There are also copies, made by Abdy in his retirement, of despatches describing actions, 1778 to 1782 and 1793 to 1797, and of the Agamemnon's log, 1782 to 1783.
Papers of Capt Henry Caldwell, including one letter to Mary Caldwell, Henry's sister, written in 1865. Other than the papers include watch bills 1848 to 1851, 1856; a night order book, 1859 to 1862; printed papers; exercise books for the period at the Royal Naval College and remark books and notes relating to his various ships.
Papers of Sir Benjamin Caldwell comprising two collections. In the first collection consist of logs, 1768 to 1771, 1775 to 1777, 1780 to 1782, 1794 to 1795; letterbooks, 1776 to 1782, 1788, 1793 to 1795, and order books 1775 to 1783, 1788, 1794 to 1795. There is an account of the battle of the Saints. The second collection includes in-letters, 1775 to 1779, 1794 to 1795; a prize hook, 1777 to 1795; documents relating to the Agamemnon; Lord Howe? 5 signals, 1790; letters relating to the disagreements after the battle of First of June, and a personal signed copy of Rodney's defence of his conduct at St. Eustatius, 1781.
Papers of Henry Osborn comprising five logs, 1730 to 1742, and an order book, 1747 to 1757.
Sans titrePapers from the collection of Andre De Coppet consisting of sixteen documents. The earliest, 1618, is an estimate of expenditure on seven ships 'at the narrow Seas' signed by the Lord High Admiral, Charles Howard, Earl of Nottingham (1536-1624), the Comptroller of the Navy, Sir Guilford Slingsby (d 1632) and the Surveyor of the Navy, Sir Richard Bingley (fl 1590-1618). Two other seventeenth-century documents relate to prize money; a letter of 1667 from Lord Bellasis (1614-1689) to Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), with Pepys' draft reply. Three documents are addressed to Admiral Honore Ganteaume (1755-1818) from Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) and consist of an order, 1798, regarding the blockade of Alexandria, and two letters, 1798 and 1805; the former discusses possible courses of action open to the French fleet against the British in the Mediterranean. The eleven letters of Lord Nelson (q.v.), 1799 to 1805, which make up the rest of the collection, concern events in the Mediterranean after the Battle of the Nile and those leading up to the Battle of Trafalgar. Four of these are to Sir John Acton (1736-1811), Prime Minister to Ferdinand I of Naples and Sicily. Complaints about Lord Keith (q.v.) are the main subject in the letter, 1799, to Sir William Hamilton (q.v.).
Sans titrePapers of Sir Walter Henry Cowan containsing two logs, 1893 to 1897, an order book, 1914, and charts and photographs. There are also many semi-official letters received, 1896 to 1947, in particular from Admirals of the Fleet Viscount Cunningham (q.v.) and Sir Roger Keyes (1872-1945). There are also Cowan's letters to Admiral Sir Rudolph Bentinck (1869-1947), which were returned to Cowan; they are of a private rather than of an official nature. There are, however, some official papers relating to the Baltic campaign and a draft autobiography.
Sans titrePapers of Royer Mylius Dick, containing information on practically every aspect of Dick's career, from Royal Naval College to retirement and beyond. This is illustrated with letters, orders, reports, photographs, ephemera, etc, relating to different aspects of a varied career. Present in the collection are letters to Dick from Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, Earl Mountbatten of Burma and President Eisenhower. There is also material relating to the preservation of HMS Belfast through the work of the HMS Belfast Trust and transcripts of a series of interviews with Dick, recorded at the National Maritime Museum in 1986.
Sans titrePapers of Sir Barry Edward Domvile, consiting mainly of a series of detailed diaries extending from 1892 almost until Domvile's death. There is also a collection of paper cuttings and photographs relating to the Greenwich Pageant of 1933 and to Anglo-German relations.
Sans titrePapers relating to HMS Dryad consisting mainly of manuscripts relating to the education of naval officers in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It includes a 'Plan of Learning' executed by a student at the Royal Academy, Portsmouth, in 1754; the order book of the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth containing Admiralty and internal orders, 1839 to 1855; the regulations of the College, 1869, also with officers' signatures; and papers including a report on the sanitary conditions in the College, 1889 to 1890. There are also five notebooks, 1763, c 1770, 1812 and c 1850, kept by naval officers under training, containing navigational notes and calculations; and a small volume containing in question-and-answer form the information required for the Master's examination for the Channel, 1780. Other volumes and documents include: the illustrated log of the BOMBAY, 1864 to 1865, NARCISSUS, 1865 to 1868, BEACON, 1868 to 1869, and GREYHOUND, 1869, kept by Midshipman G E Morrison (fl 1864-76); the record of the BOMBAY includes an account of the loss of the ship by fire. The journal of the SYLVIA, 1876 to 1878, was kept by Sub-Lieutenant Edward Helby (fl 1869-1899) while the ship was surveying in the Korean archipelago and includes descriptions of the area. In addition there are some letters of Lord Kelvin (1824-1907) with reports on a device for taking soundings through a ship's hull, 1905 to 1908; and towing time tables for the sections of Mulberry harbours, 1944.
Sans titrePapers of Sir Erasmus Gower, consisting of a log, 1792 to 1794, with one watercolour sketch; two volumes of 'Nautical Observations on a Voyage to China', illustrated with views of coasts and harbours; a letterbook, 1794 to 1798, and a signal notebook, 1801.
Sans titreLetters of Edwin Thomas Hinde. The letters are divided into two groups: those written to his family from the ATHOLL, BLACK JOKE, FAIR ROSAMOND and DRYAD between 1829 and 1832 during service on the West Coast of Africa; and those written from the SERPENT from the West Indies between 1833 and 1836.
Sans titreThe collection contains material dating from 1689 to 1936, although the bulk of it is eighteenth century. There are fifty-eight printed and manuscript volumes and four documents; the majority are English, but some are French and Dutch. They consist of signal books, fighting instructions, convoy instructions, books on the theory of signalling and sheets of private signals. There are also three mid-nineteenth-century merchant shipping volumes. There are a number of French, English and Dutch sailing and fighting instructions, 1689 to 1693; the majority of these are French and were issued by the Comte de Tourville (1642-1701). Also in French are sheets of additional signals, orders of battle, some printed and some manuscript, for this period. The eighteenth-century volumes include sailing and fighting instructions and signal books for the Seven Years War; among them are printed instructions issued in 1760 by Admiral Charles Saunders (1713?-1775), and signals issued in 1759 by the Marquis de Conflans. Examples from the American Revolutionary War include signals issued by Lord Howe, 1776, 1782; by Rear-Admiral Richard Kempenfelt (1718-1782), 1782; a signal book by Lieutenant (later Admiral) Sir Charles Henry Knowles (1754-1831), printed in 1778; and a manuscript signal book used by the fleet under the command of Le Comte de Guichen (1712-1790) in 1781; this uses a tabular system with thirteen flags to each side of the table.
Sans titrePapers of Augustus Keppel, consisting of two groups. The first, deposited on permanent loan in 1944, is a collection of letters, 1778, from the Admiralty and Keppel's replies. There are also court martial resolutions on Admiral Byng, 1757. The second, purchased in 1946, is a series of order books, 1748 to 1778, and two Quarter Deck order books, 1761 to 1762, 1778.
Sans titrePapers of Rhoderick Robert McGrigor, containing material relating to most aspects of Admiral McGrigor's naval career, often accompanied by several photographs. Present in the collection are orders, letters, newspaper cuttings, etc, relating to his early eduction at Osborne and Dartmouth naval colleges, his service during World War One, the non-intervention patrol during the Sapnish Civil War, his service in various theatres during World War Two, and his post-war service with the Admiralty.
Sans titrePapers of Sir James Porter, almost entirely comprising letters to his family, 1889 to 1913, and include accounts of various battles during the South African War. There are some Gallipoli signals and letters arranging for hospital trains, 1914 to 1917. Also included in the collection are about one hundred letters relating to the family, into which Porter married, of Inspector-General of Hospitals and Fleets M W Cowan (1830-1903).
Sans titrePapers of Greive, William Samuel, containing logs, 1845 to 1847, and 1851 to 1855; a letterbook, 1871 to 1874; commissions, 1851 to 1884, and a few single documents.
Papers of Cpt William Wrey. They include logs, 1882 to 1885; photographs, 1882 to 1918; office diaries, 1918 to 1919, and secret sailings, reports, statistics of troops embarked and disembarked at Southampton and other official papers, 1914 to 1918. There are also papers of the following relatives: General John Tatton Brown, R.M., notes and memoranda, 1823 to 1826 and 1849; Commander John Bathurst (d.1866), commissions, 1838 to 1860; Captain Lord Francis Granvill Godolphin Osborne (1864-1924), a log, 1888 to 1889, and notebooks, 1887 to 1889.
Sans titreBad trip to Edgewood consists of, interview transcripts, research files and videos for a television documentary on US Army testing of chemical and biological warfare agents on human 'guinea pigs' between 1955 - 1975, and includes files of mainly photocopied documents, reports, scientific articles, letters and newspapers articles, with some printed brochures, as well as videotapes. There is also a video copy of Bad trip to Edgewood which was produced by Michael Bilton, Yorkshire Television, and broadcast as a First Tuesday film in March 1993.
The files focus on secret projects carried out by the US Army Chemical Corps at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, Edgewood, Maryland USA, between 1955-1975, in which US Army volunteers were used to test the effects of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), benzilates such as BZ (3-quinuclidinyl benzilate, also known a QNB) and glycolates.
The testing programs were suspended in 1975 when information about them became public. A number of volunteers claimed to have suffered long term mental health effects from the tests. They also claim they were not informed at the time of immediate or long term effects of the agents tested. In 1977 US Army notified 686 volunteers who has been tested with LSD and conducted a follow up study of their health. The LSD follow-up study report released in 1980 found 'the majority of subjects evaluated did not appear to have sustained any significant damage from their participation in the LSD experiments'.
There are notes and transcripts of interviews conducted with former US Army personnel who were volunteers in the research programmes, individuals involved in the running testing programs, medical experts and lawyers.
Several files relate to particular law suits including that of Sgt James B Stanley, US Army, volunteer at Edgewood during 1958. In 1977 he was informed by the army that he had been given LSD as part of the testing program. In 1987 a controversial judgement by the US Supreme Court found against Stanley, effectually granting immunity from liability for money damages for all federal officials who intentionally violate the constitutional rights of those serving in the military.
Other notable cases frequently mentioned in the files include that of Frank Olson and Harold Blauer. Dr Frank R Olson, US Army scientist at Fort Detrick, apparently suicided, on 28 November 1953. In 1975 the Commission on CIA Activities within the United States (the Rockefeller Commission) revealed Olson had been given LSD without his knowledge while attending a meeting of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) personnel eight days before his death. A civilian, Harold R Blauer died on 8 Jan 1953 after being given a lethal injection of Experimental Agent 1298 supplied by the US Army Chemical Corps to the New York State Psychiatric Institute where he was a patient. A 1975 Senate investigation revealed the facts of his death. Files also contain material on bacteriological testing by the Army and the CIA carried out in Washington DC, Florida, San Francisco, and New York. Particular reference is made to the case of Edward Nevin, a civilian, who died on 1 Nov 1950 in San Francisco as a result of a rare bacterial infection Serratia Marcescens, which coincided with a significant and unexplained outbreak of this infection between Oct 1950 and Feb 1951. In 1976 it was revealed that the US Army had conducted bacteriological warfare experiments with Serratia Marcescens over San Francisco Bay during September 1950.
There is a small amount of material relating to the role of American Citizens for Honesty in Government, a Church of Scientology sponsored organisation who campaigned during 1979 for a full investigation of the testing and storage of BZ and compensation for volunteers suffering long term effects from testing of the substance, and to chemical testing carried out in the UK at Porton Down, Wiltshire, UK and production of chemical agents at Nancekuke Base, Cornwall, and Anglo American cooperation in this area.
Sans titrePapers of John William Brackenbury. The bulk of the collection is a series of letters written by Brackenbury to his wife, 1870 to 1902. Other than these there are logs, 1862 to 1863, 1879; a diary, 1888; official service documents; official correspondence, 1879, 1881 to 1882, 1884, 1887 to 1892 and 1896; letters from other naval officers, 1879 to 1912, and papers relating to the Vitu operations and the VICTORIA and CAMPERDOWN disaster.
Sans titrePapers of William Hans Blake. Apart from official service documents, they refer chiefly to the latter part of his career, there being letterbooks, 1863 to 1867; diaries, 1867, 1873 to 1874 and official letters and orders from the Admiralty and senior officers. There is also a letter, 1865, of appreciation from the British residents in Valparaiso and sixty-two certificates, letters and also a journal relating to Capt Blake's career 1846-74.
Sans titrePapers of Henry Theodore Augustus Bosanquet including seven volumes of personal papers and newspaper cuttings, 1879-1955. Bosanquet's service afloat is covered by logs and watchbills, 1883 to 1894. Bosanquet's notes on historical and technical subjects are elsewhere in the Museum manuscript collections.
Sans titrePersonal diaries of Adm Bernard Currey, 1885-1914.
Sans titrePapers of Charles Ramsey Drinkwater Bethune comprising letters, written mainly by Bethune to his family, 1815 to 1835, and a number of watercolours.
Sans titrePapers of the Elliot family including:
Papers of Lord Gilbert Elliot, 1st Earl of Minto, comprising sixty-two volumes and covering the official correspondence of Lord Minto when he was Commissioner at Toulon and Viceroy of Corsica. In addition, there is an account of the attack and defence of Toulon, 1793, a journal for March 1794, a few loose papers and some correspondence between Elliot, Nelson and Lady Hamilton.
Papers of Lord Gilbert Elliot, 2nd Earl of Minto consisting of correspondence and papers covering the period when he was First Lord of the Admiralty. There are forty volumes of in-letters and some draft replies in his own hand including the letters from commanders connected with the events of the Carlist war, 1836 to 1841. There are also loose papers which consist of reports and memoranda and correspondence on a wide variety of naval topics. Further naval papers of the 2nd Earl form part of the Minto collection in the National Library of Scotland.
Papers of Sir Gilbert Elliot, 3rd Baronet, content is mainly official and consists of account rolls of the Treasurer of the Chambers, 1762 to 1770, and an account made as Treasurer of the Navy, 1776 to 1777. There are some miscellaneous papers and a few letters, some personal and some official, relating to the settlement of Elliot's naval accounts. There are other papers relating to Elliot as Treasurer of the Navy and as Lord of the Admiralty in the National Library of Scotland.
Papers of George Eliott, consisting of three cases of orders and letters relating mainly to the siege of Gibraltar.
Papers of of Hugh Elliot consisting of diplomatic correspondence, 1803 to 1806, and contain sixty-two letters from Nelson (q.v.), together with drafts and copies of Elliot's replies and correspondence with Admiral Collingwood (q.v.). There are also intelligence reports and other material which throw light on the diplomacy of the Neapolitan Court.
Papers of Adm John Elliot, consisting only of one volume, containing a biographical note and seventy-two letters sent mostly by Elliot to his father or brother, 1745 to 1805. There are also letters received, including some from Lords Sandwich (q. v.) and Barham (q.v.). Also included is a description by Captain Erasmus Gower (q.v.) of Lord Macartney's Embassy to China in 1793 and another of the First of June, 1794.
Three logs kept by Willaim Elliot between 1803 and 1810.
Sans titreThis class is made up of contemporary first-hand narrative accounts, contained in sixteen volumes. Narratives of naval actions include a volume of accounts of the Battle of Beachy Head, 1690, for presentation to the King; and an illustrated pocket-book of Lieutenant Lewis Stephen Davis (fl 1777-1799) containing accounts of various actions including the First of June, 1794, Cape St Vincent, 1797, and the Nile, 1798. There are five volumes relating to wrecks and salvage including an account of the loss of the merchant ship LUXEMBURGH , 1727; of the CENTAUR, 1782, by Captain John Nicholson Inglefield (1748-1828) with the verdict of the court martial, 1783. (A version of this was first published in 1782 in London as Captain Inglefield's narrative concerning the loss of His Majesty's ship the Centaur of seventy-four guns.) There is an account of wrecks and disasters on the north Norfolk Coast, 1880 to 1939, by William John Harman (1854-1944), a local fisherman; and also an account of the wreck of and salvage work carried out on the LUTINE which was sunk in 1799, written in 1898 by the salvage engineer Johan J Fletcher (fl.1893-1900). There are two foreign narratives in this section; one, a French manuscript, is 'Campagne Navale de M de Tourville' (1642-1701), which is an account of the movements of the French fleet in the Mediterranean in 1693, with pen and ink drawings and coloured illustrations of flags, probably written by Captain Longeron of the L'ORGUEILLEUX. There are also four annotated printed works, including the author's copy of the 1790 edition of A History of the late siege of Gibraltar, 1779-1783 by Colonel John Drinkwater (later Bethune, 1762-1844) with annotations and additional illustrations, and the galley sheets of The Submarine Peril, published in 1934 by Earl Jellicoe (1859-1935), with manuscript corrections and additions.
Sans titrePapers of Adml Edward Hawke. They contain a virtually unbroken series of letter and order books relating to Hawke's career afloat from June 1743 onwards. The only gap appears in the in-letters between November 1759 and April 1762; otherwise chronological omissions correspond with Hawke's periods ashore. There is nothing relating to his service as First Lord of the Admiralty.
Sans titrePapers of Sir John Donald Kelly, consisting of reports on the unsuccessful attack on the Goeben; on the Dardanelles, February to May 1915, and on a German raider in West Indian and South American waters, December 1916 to March 1917. There are orders relating to the Dardanelles, 1915, to the surrender of the German High Seas Fleet, 1918, to the Chanak incident of 1922, to the Invergordon mutiny in 1931 and to Kelly's final commands. The letters are mainly official but the private correspondents include Prince Louis of Battenburg (1854-1921), 1903, Earl Beatty (1871-1936), 1918 and 1932, Lord Louis Mountbatten (1900- ), 1929, Sir Roger Keyes (1872-1945), 1930 to 1931, and Lord Chatfield, 1932 to 1936. In addition, a small collection of fifteen letters, 1831 to 1847, relate to Captain, later Vice-Admiral, William Kelly (c 1795-1874), and are mostly concerned with the attack on the forts of Tamatave, Madagascar, in 1845. William Kelly is believed to have been a relative of Sir John Kelly.
Papers of Sir William Archibald Howard Kelly, consisting of a draft of his memoirs which is very detailed until 1933; after this period it has only a few notes and observations on Turkey. The diaries for 1899, 1901, 1903, 1905 to 1907, 1910, 1914 to 1916, 1919 to 1921, 1923 to 1929 and 1931 to 1933 are also detailed. The correspondence forms two groups; the first, 1914 to 1917, includes letters from Earl Beatty (1871-1936), Admiral Tyrwhitt (1870-195T) and Lord Jellicoe (1859-1935); the second group, 194G to 1944, includes those from Admirals Cunningham (q.v.), Harwood (1888-1950) and Willis (1889-1976). Some notebooks, news cuttings and articles complete the collection.
Sans titrePapers of Lord Terence Lewin. The bulk of the collection relates to the period following Lewin's retirement from the Navy. There are substantial numbers of lecture notes, together with correspondence concerning Defence policy and organisation, the Falklands conflict, the George Cross Island Association, the Siege of Malta anniversary and memorial and various maritime societies. Also featured are a small amount of naval documents, including midshipman's journals from HMS VALIANT, Order books for HMS CORUNNA, URCHIN and HERMES, Lewin's paybook from 1949 and his 'metioned in dispatches' certificates. Also included are a folder concerning the loss of HMS SOMALI, (a destroyer that was torpedoed and then broke in two whilst being towed by HMS ASHANTI), photo albums of the aircraft carrier, HMS HERMES, and a notebook kept by Lewin as Chief of Defence Staff during the Falklands campaign. The 'Personal Papers' section includes school reports and certificates, together with honours such as his Barony, Grant of Arms and Warrant of Appointment. The collection is also well served with photos of Lewin at varying stages of his career.
Sans titrePapers of Sir Geoffrey John Audley Miles. The papers chiefly cover the period of Miles' naval career, starting with his examination reports from the Naval College and ending with his time as Commander-in-Chief of the RIN. The papers include top secret correspondence, reports, directives, intelligence reports, photographs, newspaper cuttings, honours, certificates etc. The correspondence includes several letters from Lord Louis Mountbattern.
Sans titrePapers of Adml Benjamin William Page. They consist of Page's official and private correspondence 1778 to 1841, contained in three volumes and loose papers.
Sans titreNotebooks comprising lists of air-raid warnings in London, giving details of times, dates and areas affected, with related newspaper cuttings pasted in.
Sans titrePapers of Sir Cecil Fiennes Thursby. The papers include a number of official orders and reports, some relating to Thursby's time as Captain of HMS SWIFTSURE in 1909. Many more concerned with the Dardenelles campaign, especially the Gallipoli landings and subsequent evacuation. Also present in the collection are British Adriatic Reports for 1916-17, reports on the 1917 Conference of Corfu, letters to Thursby during his time in the Eastern Mediterranean and reports on the use of submarine chasers.
Sans titreThese include transcripts of documents dating from the sixteenth century: the earliest is a description of Drake's preparations for his expedition in 1585. There are also transcripts of official letters, 1718 to 1720 to Admiral Sir George Byng, 1st Viscount Torrington (1663-1733), when he was in command of the British fleet in the Mediterranean; a copy of a letter describing the sinking of the GREAT BRITAIN in the St Lawrence River, 1842; and transcripts of letters from the Duke of Windsor and Prince Albert (later King George VI) to Admiral Sir Campbell Tait (1886-1946), 1913 to 1919.
Sans titrePapers of the Troubridge and Cochrane Family. Correspondence includes Sir Edward Thomas Troubridge, 2nd Baronet and his family, Sir Thomas St. Vincent Hope Cochrane Troubridge, 3rd Baronet and his family circa 1800 to 1900. The collection also includes correspondence within the Cochrane family involving Sir Alexander Forrest Inglis Cochrane and his wife, Thomas Cochrane, Louisa Cochrane and Andrew Cochrane. The nature of the correspondence is personal and undated. Also included is correspondence with the Noel family, a collection of 'verse and poetry', miscellaneous prints, drawings and sketches (10 items), invitations, business cards and miscellaneous pamphlets 1808-1948. In addition, Louis Shennan's research and biographical information on the Troubridge family is included (TRO/407/1-10)
Papers of Sir Edward Thomas Troubridge, comprising Orders from the Admiralty in this collection are wide ranging covering the period 1810-52. Including memorandum, commissions, provisions, transport orders for the ARMIDE during the Anglo- American War, 1812-14 and orders for the STAG, 1831-34. Official correspondence, 1810-52, includes Sir A. F.I. Cochrane, Napier, Elphinstone and papers concerning Sir Edward Thomas's father's Neapolitan pension. Also included is letters re: the action fought by the GREYHOUND in company with the HARRIER in 1806 against the Dutch Company's brig's QUEEN ELIZABETH and BELGICA. Personal correspondence includes letters to his wife Anna Maria, his sons Edward Norwich and Thomas St. Vincent Hope Cochrane and his daughters Charlotte and Louisa. There are also letters from the Cochrane family.
Papers of Adml Sir Ernest Charles Thomas Troubridge. The collection includes his scrapbook album, 1889-99, a pocket notebook, correspondence as President of the International Danube Commission (1920-4), correspondence from a variety of individuals, 1895-1921 and volume listing his commission dates, entitled 'recollections in ranks'.
Sir Thomas Herbert Cochrane Troubridge including letters 1933-6 and a certificate dated 1879 from the Royal Military College and three invitations to dinner parties.
Papers of Sir Thomas Hope Troubridge, including training guidelines whilst as a gunnery officer 1922-1944, Naval orders 1925-1926, Admiralty papers 1945-1946, two commissions 1915 and 1943, and lecture notes, syllabuses and essays whilst at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, 1924-1925.
Papers of Sir Thomas St. Vincent Hope Cochrane Troubridge. Official letters include work concerning the improvement of army uniform, 1856-59 and letters on his award of the Companion of the Bath, 1855. Personal correspondence includes his account of the events leading up to the Battle of Alma and Inkerman, 1854, during the Crimean War. He recounts his time in Hospital and being severely wounded at the Battle of Inkerman. Letters also recount his voyage from Southampton to Sevastopol, 1854. Letters also include correspondence with his wife, Lady Louisa Troubridge (nee Gurney) and his children, 1854-67.
Papers of Sir Thomas Troubridge. The papers include orders, 1795-1801, commissions of Sir Thomas Troubridge and his son Sir Edward. Correspondence and orders, 1801-1807, correspondence relating the Battle of Copenhagen, 1801, the court martial of Calder, 1801, HARRIER and GREYHOUND, 1806, re: destroying Dutch Company's brigs CHRISTIAN ELIZABETH and BELGICA. The collection also consists of 12 letters detailing prize money, 1798-1802, purchased via Maggs in 1982.
Sans titreBetween 1962 and 1965 Captain Vaughan presented his father's collection of original documents, mainly relating to the operations of Plymouth and Gibraltar dockyards and to victualling, 1678 to 1832. In 1978 Mrs I. M. Vaughan presented some official and private papers and the reminiscences of her late husband, Captain H R H Vaughan, together with the residue of her father-in-law's papers. The documents relating to Plymouth dockyard mainly consist of individual letters extracted from the yard's official administrative records. They consist of letters to the yard commissioner from the Admiralty, 1695 to 1832; from the Navy Board, 1695 to 1820; from the dockyard officers, 1695 to 1816; from sea officers, 1696 to 1828; from the Commissioners of Victualling, 1716, 1824 to 1831; from the Plymouth Victualling Office, 1697 to 1779; letters from the yard commissioner to the Admiralty, 1697 to 1701, contained in a complete letterbook; to the Navy Board, 1706 to 1708; orders to yard officers, 1809; standing orders 1678 to 1766, contained in one volume; letters to the yard officers from the Navy Board, 1694 to 1758; officers' reports to the Navy Board, 1696 to 1791; accounts of ships' stores, 1713 to 1793; Admiralty letters to and from naval officers, 1696 to 1832. The documents relating to Gibraltar yard include two of the Commissioner's letterbooks containing letters to the Victualling Commissioners and naval officers, 1755 to 1763, and to yard and naval officers, 1803 to 1805. Instructions and specifications relating to victualling are contained in one volume, c 1820. The papers of H R H Vaughan include a journal of a voyage from Bombay to Basnah, 1928; some private letters received, 1929 to 1931; copies of official intelligence reports to the Commander-in-Chief, East Indies station, concerning affairs in the Persian Gulf, 1929; a copy of the official report of the Flag Officer, Narvik, April to June 1940; and his own handwritten reminiscences 1911 to 1945.
Sans titrePapers of Sqn Ldr Cyril Edward Roberts comprising his memoirs [1988] covering the period 1909-1987, including his service as confidential clerk under Gen Sir Richard O'Connor, 1937-1941 in Palestine and Egypt, annotated with notes by Roberts, and personal letters from O'Connor to Roberts, 1963-1981.
Sans titrePapers of Lt Col Robert Verelst Boyle, 1897-1943, including: Battalion standing orders of the 1st Battalion The Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire) (Gale & Polden, Aldershot, 1930); notes and correspondence regarding the Combined Operations Training Centre, Comox, Vancouver Island, Canada, 1942-1943; papers relating to lectures given while GSO1, HQ Combined Chiefs of Staff, USA, including: text of lecture on commandos, Economic Society, Detroit, 4 May 1942; article on commandos in Military Review, Command and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, Jul 1942; text of lecture considering how to attack a strongly defended coast, Junior Staff College, RMC Kingston, Ontario, Canada, Aug 1942; text of lecture on commandos given to the Annual Convention of American Newspaper Editors, New York, 1942; text of lecture on ship-to-shore operations, given at the US Army Amphibious Training Centre, 1942; text of lecture on preparations for the resumption of the land offensive, given to US Army Armoured Training Centre, 1942.
Formal photographs of Combined Chiefs of Staff events at Fort Benning and Fort Jackson, USA, including photographs of FM Sir John Dill, General George Marshall, Chief of Staff, US Army, Admiral Louis Mountbatten, Chief of Combined Operations, Lt Gen Mark Clark and Lt Col Dennis Price, meeting troops, watching parades, demonstrations and exercises, and inspecting weaponry. Also photograph labelled 'My official yacht whilst I started and commanded the Canadian Combined Operations Training Centre at Comox, Vancouver Island, 1942-43'.Photograph album, invitation and programme of events for the Presentation of New Colours to the Loyal Regiment (North Lancashire), in Famagusta, Cyprus, 7 Oct 1949.
Also items belonging to Boyle's father in law Lt Col Adrian Grant Duff: The Pathan Revolt in North-West India by H Woosnam-Mills (Civil and Military Gazette Press, Lahore, India, 1897) and Razmak station standing orders (Commercial Steam Press, Dera Ismail Khan, India, 1931).
Papers of Gp Capt Albert Peter Vincent Daly on his Army and RAF service, 1910-1945; comprising papers on service as Private with 1st Canadian Expeditionary Force, Aug-Dec 1914; notebook 'My Experiences with the British Expeditionary Force, France, 1915' giving account of service with 4th Connaught Rangers, 6-11 May 1915; transcripts of letters to his mother, 1914-1918; copy of Daily Sketch, 13 July 1915, containing paragraph on Daly; papers on service with 8 Sqn and 29 Sqn, Royal Flying Corps, Western Front, 1916-17, including account of being shot down by Lt Werner Voss on 1 Feb 1917, and subsequent imprisonment as prisoner of war; cutting from German newspaper (with English translation), 24 April 1918, article by W Scheuermann, 'Richthofen's Last Flight' on the death of Baron Von Richthofen; papers on service with RAF, 1919-1939, including copy of The London Gazette, 1 Aug 1919, containing list of officers granted permanent commissions in the RAF; service with Inter-Allied Aeronautical Commission, Bulgaria, 1920; service with 60 Sqn, North West Frontier Province India, 1922-1923, including two "Blood Chits"; and service as Air Attaché, British Embassy, China, 1930, including Chinese passports; account of service in World War Two, as Station Commander, RAF Marham, 1937-1940, St Athan, Wales, 1940-1942; Base Commander, North Africa and Italy, 1942-1944; President of Courts Martial, Italy, 1944-1945; Representative of British Red Cross, Sweden, 1945; photographs of Daly, his decorations and of RAF Marham, 1939, with Fairy Hendons of 38 Squadron and Handley Page Harrows of 115 Squadron
Sans titreCollection of documents removed from a partly Grangerized copy of Old and New London compiled by Edward Walford, comprising: narrative of the Walcheren expedition to the Netherlands, 1809; receipt for purchase of Consolidated £3% Annuities by Isaac Noquet; letter to Edward Walford from C. H. Bowden, Chaplain's House, Guy's Hospital, S.E., noting Guy's capacity in beds, its income, numbers of inpatients and outpatients; letter to Edward Walford from Eliza [Carver] of Dulwich College, asking him to tea before a concert; newspaper cutting concerning the opening of the first block of buildings of the Victoria Dwellings Association at Battersea Park.
NB - To 'grangerize' a volume is to add or interleave clippings or cuttings from other sources to the pages.
Sans titrePapers of Sir Frederick George Denham Bedford including logs, 1852 to 1858; diaries, 1875 to 1879, and letters concerning the Huascar incident. There are no papers for Bedford's later career. In the Department of Pictures are six albums containing watercolours and photographs. Two of them cover his service in the SHAH, 1876 to 1878, and the third his career in the TRIUMPH, 1879.
Sans titrePapers of Sir Geoffrey Blake covering Blake's career from 1914 but not in great depth. There are official service documents; photographs of his service in the First World War and official papers relating to his period in America; papers covering affairs in Samoa, 1930, and other items relating to the New Zealand appointment. In addition, there are semi-official and personal letters, 1937 to 1940, from Admirals Sir Dudley Pound (1877-1943), A.B. Cunningham (q.v.), Sir Charles Little (1882-1973), and Admiral Stark (1880-1972), United States Navy, 1945, as well as post-war correspondence with Admiral Stark, Lord Louis Mountbatten (1900- ), General Lord Ismay (1887-1965) and Professor Marder (1910- ). There are also some notes on the attack on Oran, 1940, and on Operation Torch, 1942.
Sans titrePapers of Sir Edward Eden Bradford chiefly relating to Bradford's earlier career and include detailed log books and journals from 1873 to 1883, official progress certificates, reports, etc, as well as letters and reminiscences. Contained in one journal are entries regarding the events in the Solomon Islands whilst serving on HMS SANDFLY and elsewhere in the collection are newspaper articles and poems relating to this incident.
Sans titrePapers of Sir Julian Stafford Corbett, comprising correspondence with publishers including Longmans and Macmillans; manuscript drafts, working papers, notes and essays, lecture notes for the Royal Naval War College, Portsmouth, reports, press cuttings for his Naval reviews. Also included is correspondence from Naval Officers, Corbett's parents, from his wife E.R.C (previously Edith Rosa Alexander), the Fisher Correspondence and letters to Sir John Pakington, Admiralty, 1858/9, including a series of letters from Sir Houston Stewart to Pakington.
Sans titrePapers of Sir George Cockburn, relating largely to Napoleon's transportation and imprisonment in St. Helena and there is also a very detailed personal diary, 1797 to 1818. There are no papers for his later career.
Sans titrePapers of Sir William Wordsworth Fisher. This small collection of memoranda and letters, 1912 to 1936, consists of Fisher's ideas and opinions on policy rather than of material closely related to his career. The subjects covered include First World War operations, antisubmarine warfare, the Disarmament Conference, 1929 to 1930, comments on Invergordon, 1931, and papers concerning relations with Egypt and the Fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean, 1919 to 1922, and in 1936.
Sans titrePapers of Admiral Henry Dennis Hickley, consisting of two short diaries and a watch bill from HMS DIADEM; appointment papers detailing the rise of Henry Dennis Hickley from Ordinary Seaman in 1857 to Admiral of Her Majesty's Fleet by 1892; Navy pay records and statements of service; letters and telegraphs between Hickley and the Admiralty from 1869 to 1890; and a small number of documents relating to the domestic life of the Hickleys between 1842 and 1888. The address book of his wife, Mrs H D Hickley, also features in the collection.
Papers of Lieutenant John Dennis Hickley containing several papers relating to J D Hickley's education and training; a few short letters written just before his death; his naval records from 1876 to 1886; as well as a short pamphlet entitled 'An Account of the Operations on the Benin River in August and September, 1894', written by Hickley and printed by Royal United Service Institution. However, the majority of material on Lt. Hickley deals with the circumstances of his death and burial, apparently a reflection of a Victorian obsession with tragic heroes.
Sans titrePapers of Sir Benjamin Hallowell Carew. The papers were acquired in several parts. Some loose papers, which came to the Museum in 1934, are of unknown provenance, while Sir James Caird presented a signal book in 1933. A further collection of papers was purchased, covering the period 1812 to 1814 and includes letters, mainly received by Hallowell, and his out-letter drafts. There are a number of documents relating to the Peninsular War, in particular to the siege of Tarragona, 1813, and also a small collection of letters from Sir Edward Codrington (q.v.), 1827 to 1828.
Sans titrePapers of Commander Cyril Beaumont Hampshire, including two logs, 1890 to 1894, but no papers survive for Hampshire's subsequent peacetime service. The loose papers and charts relate to the Aegean, 1915 to 1919.
Sans titrePapers of Sir Henry Bradwardine Jackson containing items that cover the majority of Jackson's career in the Royal Navy. Within the collection are records and logs from Jackson's early career, essays on the use of radio, etc, as well as various official letters that illustrate Jackson's role in many of his appointments, up to the end of his career.
Sans titre