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The 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.

Papers 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.

Memoir of Brig Derrick Baynham, 1939-1942, including descriptions of assisting in the evacuation of Dunkirk, 1940; work in the Local Defence Volunteers, 1941; Special Operations Executive (SOE) training, including resisting interrogation and handling explosives; preparation for mission to support agents in occupied France and identify targets for sabotage; account of the mission including encounter with Milice (Vichy police), liasion with sympathetic French locals in Limoges, recovery of radio transmission equipment from the Milice, establishment of permanent base station in Perigueux and return to England, 1942. Also accounts of the attempted rescue of the surviving crew member of a crashed British bomber off the coast of Anglesey, 1941, for which Baynham was awarded the George Medal, and account of his capture by German troops and subsequent escape, Germany, April 1945.

Papers of Charles Ramsey Drinkwater Bethune comprising letters, written mainly by Bethune to his family, 1815 to 1835, and a number of watercolours.

Papers 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.

Papers 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.

Papers 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 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.

Papers 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.

Papers 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.

Papers 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.

Papers 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.

Papers of Sir Edward Codrington including logs, 1786 to 1791, 1794 to 1797, 1808 to 1813 and 1827 to 1828; an admiral's journal, 1831; official letter and order books, 1809 to 1815 and 1828 to 1848; private letterbooks, 1828 to 1848; muster books, 1808 to 1813; despatches and reports, 1801 to 1815, 1827 to 1828, and loose papers. Among these are letters to Codrington from the Duke of Clarence (later King William IV), Sir Pulteney Malcolm (q.v.), ministers, consuls, Greek government officials and various captains of the ships under Codrington's command, 1827 to 1828, and from Sir James Graham (1792-1861), in 1831. A small collection of additional material relating to Nelson and Codrington was deposited on loan by the family in 1974.

Papers of Sir Henry John Codrington including logs, 1825 to 1831, 1834 to 1835, 1839 to 1841, 1846 to 1850 and 1854 to 1856; letter and order books, 1834 to 1850, 1853 to 1856, 1858 to 1872, and loose papers, among which are personal letters from Codrington to his family, 1831 to 1855.

Papers of Cuthbert Collingwood, including two letterbooks containing private letters received between 1793 and 1809, the rest of the collection is composed of official letterbooks. There is one for the PRINCE and one for the EXCELLENT; ten others form part of the records for the Mediterranean command. Several, however, are clearly missing. There is an admiral's journal, 1801 to 1804, and another for the latter part of the Mediterranean command.

These 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.

Papers of Sir Willaim Cornwallis including logs, 1759 to 1760, 1789 and 1792 to 1793; admiral's journals, 1794 to 1796 and 1801 to 1806; letterbooks, 1768 to 1771, 1777, 1788 to 1794 and 1795 to 1815; order books, 1789 to 1791 and 1801 to 1806 and a purser's wine book, 1789 to 1795. The loose papers are mainly letters from the family, 1761 to 1779, 1790 to 1799 and 1800 to 1818 and there are some from Nelson, 1788 and 1803, Lord Hood, 1790 to 1791 and other naval officers, 1770 to 1818.

Published memoir by Cdr Peter Francis Reid Corson: Call the Middle Watch: An Account of Life at Sea in the Royal Navy 1905 to 1963 (Pentland Press, Edinburgh, 1997), narrating the naval career of his father, R Adm Eric Reid Corson (1887-1972), 1905-1941, and Cdr P F R Corson's own naval career, 1943-1963. Includes R Adm E R Corson's letters home, sketches and notes from Port Arthur, China, 1905, the West Indies, 1910, the Persian Gulf, 1913-1914, and the British Grand Fleet, 1916. Also Cdr P F R Corson's memoirs of service with the Eastern Fleet, 1944-1945, in the Persian Gulf, 1946-1948, the Malayan Emergency, 1948, Malta and Gibraltar, 1949-1950, Norfolk, Virginia, USA, 1950, service as trainer, Boys Training Squadron, Rosyth, Scotland, 1952-1954, service as naval respresentative, Joint Planning Staff, Middle East, Cyprus, 1956-1958, commanding HMS RUSSELL, Fishery Protection Squad, Iceland, 1958-1962; commanding HMS BARROSA, Radar Picket ship, Far East, 1962-1968.

Papers 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.

Personal diaries of Adm Bernard Currey, 1885-1914.

Papers relating to the military career of Gp Capt Montague Ellis Dawson, 1940-2003, including copies of three letters home describing bombing raids, 1940; account, 'The raid on the SCHARNHORST, La Pallice, 24th July 1941', describing a daylight bomb attack on the German cruiser SCHARNHORST for which Dawson was awarded the DFM, with annotated sketch map and navigation log relating to the raid, Jul 1941, and two letters from Harry Drummond, the pilot of the raid, 1970; essay 'An outline of my service experience and some lessons from it', prepared for a course at RAF Staff College, Bracknell, 1950; reminiscences for Dawson's 50th wedding anniversary, including list of Dawson's various postings; copy of obituary, 2003. Also typescript memoir by J Ralph Wood: 'My War Memories', detailing career in the Royal Canadian Air Force, 1939-1944.

Papers 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.).

Papers 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.

Papers 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.

Papers of Adm Sir James Douglas, including logs, 1734 to 1735, 1739, 1741, 1745, 1760 to 1762; order books, 1760 to 1763, 1774 to 1777; letterbooks, 1760 to 1762; a private account book for Douglas's estates, 1766 to 1770, and a list of dispositions for the ships of the squadron, 1760 to 1761.

Papers 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.

Papers of John Henry Godfrey covering the majority of Godfrey's long career in the Royal Navy, as well as his very active retirement. Amongst the wide-ranging collection, present are official records of Godfrey's early service, copies of lectures given at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, and various papers relating to his time as DNI, including several NID monographs that offer detailed analysis of various wartime and post war topics. There is also present a large amount of material relating to Godfrey's time as FOCRIN, including letters, reports, promotional recruitment publications, etc. There are also diaries from 1931-1971, and a complete set of Godfrey's unpublished memoirs in 8 volumes.

Papers 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.

Papers of Vice-Admiral Harold Baillie Grohman. The collection can be divided into two groups of files of official papers The larger relates to the Naval Mission to China, 1931 to 1933, and the second is concerned with the preparations for the Dieppe Raid, 1942. There are restrictions on access to the second section. In addition, there is a small number of personal letters.

Papers of Captain Henry George Hamilton, consisting of official service documents, letters to his family, 1822 to 1830, and from Australia, 1839 to 1843.

Papers of Adml Sir Frederick Tower Hamilton, consisting of logs, 1870 to 1872, 1877 to 1881, 1885 and 1915 to 1916, and semi-official letters received, 1914 to 1917, including some from Admirals Lord Fisher (1841-1920), Jellicoe (1859-1935), Beatty (1871-1936), Sir Charles Madden and Prince Louis of Battenburg (1854-1921). In addition, there is detailed material on the resignation of Lord Fisher in 1915. There are also a large number of private papers and letters received, 1889 to 1917, letters to his son Louis Henry Keppel Hamilton, 1906 to 1915, scrap and photograph albums, official service documents, notes on manoeuvering the HOOD, 1893 to 1894, and reports and memoranda, 1917.

Papers of Sir Louis Henry Keppel Hamiltom. The diaries cover most of his career and all periods afloat from 1908 to 1928. There are also diaries for journeys in the merchant ships Lagos, 1915, and in the Usaramo to Lisbon in 1924. In addition there are official reports and signals for the time when Hamilton commanded the First Cruiser Squadron and a very full collection of letters written by him to his family, 1906 to 1956. There are also photograph albums of Osborne and Dartmouth, 1903 to1907 of the Durbar, 1911, and of other periods in Hamilton's life. Finally, there are lecture notes and memoranda from Dartmouth, 1922 to 1924, and papers relating to Australia, 1947.

Papers of Sir Henry Keppel, consisting of logs, 1824 to 1825, 1830 to 1831, 1834 to 1835, 1842 to 1845, 1847 to 1851, 1853 to 1857, 1860 to 1861; private journals, 1867 to 1869; annual diaries, 1834 to 1838, 1842 to 1844, 1855 to 1857, 1867 to 1869; private letterbooks, 1867 to 1869, 1874 to 1875 and loose papers. These are mainly letters received, 1841 to 1900, the bulk of which date from 1870. Of the two groups of Keppel's letters to his family, one covers the Crimean War and the other his tour of the Far East, 1897 to 1900.

Papers 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.

Papers 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.

Papers 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.

Letters 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.

Papers 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.

The 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.

Papers 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.

Papers 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.

The fifty-four letterbooks which have been acquired individually are predominantly naval, dating from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. The Napoleonic war period and the nineteenth century are most fully represented. Unless stated otherwise, it can be assumed that the items are copy letterbooks and not bound volumes of original letters. Of the six seventeenth-century letterboooks the largest is that of official correspondence of Samuel Pepys (1633-1703), 1662 to 1679, which also contains some shorthand in his own hand. (Some of these letters are reproduced in Helen Truesdell Heath, ed., The letters of Samuel Pepys and his family circle (Oxford), 1955)) There is a bound volume of 15 original letters and legal documents written by Sir Anthony Deane ([1638]-1721), shipbuilder and member of the Navy Board; the letters, dated from 1662 to 1679, are to a merchant, Sir Robert Clayton (1651-1704). For the same period there is a letterbook of George Monck, Duke of Albemarle (1608-1670), with some shorthand, written between 1665 and 1666 while he was joint Commander-in-Chief. Additionally, a small volume containing two letters by Monck, 1652 and 1663, includes some contemporary pamphlets and prints. A slim letterbook of Sir John Narbrough (1640-1688), when in command of the FORESIGHT, 1687 to 1688, consists of letters and reports written by him when recovering treasure from a Spanish wreck off Hispaniola. There is also an early eighteenth-century volume of copies of over a hundred letters written by James II to George Legge, Lord Dartmouth (q.v.) between 1679 and 1688. The earliest letterbook of the eighteenth century is that of Vice-Admiral John Baker (1660-1716), aboard the STIRLING CASTLE commanding in home waters and the Mediterranean, 1708 to 1709. A private letterbook of an officer who cannot be positively identified, kept between 1727 and 1731, includes a list of men killed and wounded at the siege of Gibraltar, 1727. It gives detailed dimensions of the ROSE at the same period, a description of travels in Italy, 1731, and of St John's, Newfoundland, 1732. Six letterbooks (some of which also contain orders) of Admiral Sir Piercy Brett (1709-1781) all relate to the Channel when Brett was in the LION, 1745 to 1746, the NORFOLK, 1757 to 1758, DEPTFORD, 1760, ST GEORGE, 1760 and the NEWARK, 1761. There is a small volume of in- and out-letters and orders to and from Prince William Henry (1765-1837). These date between 1786 and 1788 when the Prince was in command of the PEGASUS in home waters, 1786, in the West Indies from 1786 to 1787, and in Canada in 1787. Finally for this period is a letterbook of John Pearse, commander of H.E.I.C.S. EDGECOTE, 1747 to 1750. Thirty-one volumes relate to the Napoleonic Wars, the first of which is a bound volume of eighteen original letters, 1793 to 1804, from Admiral Collingwood (q.v.) to Sir Edward Blackett (d.1804). There follows a book of seven private original letters from Lord Mulgrave (1755-1831) to Collingwood , 1807 to 1809; a letterbook of Admiral George Berkeley (1753-1818) when in command on the coast of Portugal, 1809 to 1810; original letters from Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren (1753-1852) to Lord Melville (1771-1851), First Lord of the Admiralty, written mainly between 1812 and 1814 from Halifax, Nova Scotia, when he was Commander-in-Chief, North America ; a letterbook of John Jervis, Lord St Vincent for 1806 and 1807, when Commander-in-Chief of the Channel Fleet, and a letterbook of Admiral Sir Charles Penrose (1759-1830), 1813 to 1814, when commanding the PORCUPINE. At this time the ship was off the coast of France, collaborating with the army under the Duke of Wellington (1769-1852), to whom a large number of the letters are addressed. Examples of volumes belonging to officers of lesser rank include that of Lieutenant (later Captain) Robert Ramsay (fl 1779-1815), in the EURYDICE, home waters and North America, 1807 to 1808, and in the MISTLETOE.

Papers 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.

Papers of Sir Arthur Henry Limpus, including official service documents; logs, 1878 to 1879, 1880 to 1882, 1884 to 1885; notes, photographs and diaries for the Boer War period; an official out-letterbook, 1912 to 1913; a diary kept by Limpus's wife during their stay in Turkey and letters from Limpus to his wife, 1912 to 1916. There are also letters concerning the Dardanelles Campaign from Admirals de Roebeck (1862-1928) and Wemyss (1864-1933) and Field-Marshal Methuen (1845-1932), Governor of Malta.

Papers of Thomas Louis, 1796-1806, comprising thirty-eight items relating to the official honours Louis received for his services.

Papers of John Louis, 1811-1848, comprising personal letters and official appointments.

Papers of Adml Thomas Leeke Massie, including copies of his official letterbooks, 1842 to 1861, logs, 1831, 1833 to 1836 and 1850 to 1854, and diaries, 1847 to 1849 and 1862 to 1880. There are also official service documents and twenty-one letters written to his family, 1826 to 1828 and 1840 to 1841.

Papers 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.

Papers of Lt Vernon Merry. They demonstrate the social life that Admiral Bruce Fraser had to lead and they shed light on Anglo-American relations in the Pacific during the formation of the British Pacific Fleet and during the early post-war period following the surrender of Japan.

Papers 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.

This 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.

Papers of Adml David Thomas Norris. They contain official letters and memoranda for 1915, papers relating to Norris's commands in the Caspian Sea and in Persia, as well as photograph albums, 1892 to 1926.

Papers of Sir Henry Francis Oliver, they include papers relating to the establishment of the Navigation School, and to the Dardanelles Operations, 1915 to 1917; included in the latter are minutes and notes by Churchill. There is also a Report of the Grand Fleet Committee on Officers' Pay and Prospects, 1919. Other letters and papers span Oliver's career, 1914 to 1965, although thinly. There is a diary, 1925 to 1927, a draft autobiography and official service documents.

Papers of Adml Benjamin William Page. They consist of Page's official and private correspondence 1778 to 1841, contained in three volumes and loose papers.

Papers 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.