Records of Maudslay Sons and Field Ltd, marine and mechanical engineers and boiler makers, 1889-1904, consisting of agendas and draft minutes of directors' meetings and meetings of shareholders, cash books, sales records, production records and wages records.
Sans titreRecords of Binny and Company Limited, steamship agency, traders, textile mill operators and engineers, including articles of association; annual reports; financial accounts; investment ledgers; correspondence; memoranda; papers regarding company history; and photographs of staff, offices and works.
Sans titreRecords of MacKinnon, MacKenzie and Company, general merchants and agents of Calcutta, India; comprising: partnership deeds and other records concerning the establishment and regulation of the company, 1854-1955 (Ms 27793-6, 27838-41); private journals, 1929-51 (Ms 27797); correspondence, 1852-1955 (Ms 27798-814) operational records, 1847-1940 (Ms 27815-27); photographs, ca. 1905-31 (Ms 27828-8A); historical notes, c 1860-1955 (Ms 27829-34, 27847); and accounts, 1927-51 (Ms 27835-7, Ms 27842-6, 27848).
Sans titreRecords of George Brown, chandler, 1821-1843, comprising letter book dated 1821-1842, which contains information on Brown's business dealings including much comment on the state of shipping at various times, many references to steam vessels as early as 1821, and a large number of letters and memoranda relating to the seizure by the Portuguese of the steamship 'Lord of the Isles' in which Brown had an interest and subsequent attempts to get redress.
Also a memoranda book, 1833-1843, mainly recording brief memoranda of letters sent and received from 'George' or about 'George' who would appear to have settled in Canada and made attempts at farming and business. Evidence suggests that 'George' was the son of George Brown who was joined for a while in Canada by his mother and sisters. The book gives considerable information concerning shipping to and from North America; settlers in Canada and their acquisition of land; early government of Canada; references to the Canada Company, an account of 'stores required for a settler going to New Zealand' and details of goods sent out to 'George'.
Sans titreThis series comprises accounts of British packet services and overseas posts, including records of agents and postmasters, packet stations, and packet boats. The accounts cover income, expenditure, salaries, allowances and disbursements.
Sans titreTypescript text of talk by Tyrrell to Wimbledon Literary and Scientific Society [1985], entitled 'Some recollections of a prisoner of war of the Japanese', relating to his experiences as a POW in Zentsuji Camp, Shikoko Island, Japan, 1942-1945. Copies of eight certifications on Tyrrell by Commanding Officers of RN ships and establishments, 1933-1955, with copy of Tyrrell's Mention in Despatches citation for service on HMS ENCOUNTER, Mar 1942, copy of letter relating to the award of the Dutch Order of Orange Nassau, Aug 1948, and copy of newspaper cutting relating to Tyrrell's wedding, Dec 1947. Typescript address by R Adm William Terence Colborne Ridley at Tyrrell's memorial service, Jan 1995.
Sans titrePapers relating to the defence of Calais, May 1940, dated 1940-1971, notably including copy letter from Wright to Kathleen Howard (later Mrs L W Wright), 28 May 1940, detailing the events of his escape from Calais; typescript extracts of messages from the log kept by Control Wireless Station of No 12 Wireless Section at Vice Admiralty, Dover, 1940, copied in [1960-1970]; 'Personal experience in the defence of Calais', manuscript text compiled by Wright in 1946 from a report written for the War Office in 1940; press cuttings and copies of press cuttings, 1940-1962; correspondence relating to the rescue of a group of soldiers (including Wright) from Calais harbour by HMS GULZAR, May 1940, dated 1940 and 1968; 'Calais 1940 remembered', article by Lt J A Evitts reprinted from the Journal of the Royal Signals Institution vol 10 no 3, 1971. Other papers relating to Wright and his family, 1916, [1975], 1986, notably including newspaper cutting concerning the rescue from under enemy fire of Wright's father, 2nd Lt Leonard Wright, by Pte William Hall, 1916.
Sans titreGeneral Records: This group contains a large vellum-bound volume of Spanish diplomatic papers, mainly dating between 1603 and 1672, but with a section dealing with the Armada, 1587 to 1588; two English documents relating to the expedition to Cadiz, 1596; an enquiry into the loss of ships in the convoy guarded by Sir George Rooke (1650-1709) and the Streights Squadron, 1693; a gathering of Italian papers relating to the capitulation of Malta, 1799 to 1807. There are also a number of items relating to Lord Nelson and his family, 1805 to 1845. (PHB/: PHB/P: 2 vols: 3 items) Merchant Shipping Records: relating to merchant shipping, including the journal of the Blackham on a voyage to Constantinople, 1696 to 1698; the log of H.E.I.C.S. Ceres, 1743 to 1745; of H.E.I.C.S. Wager, 1745 to 1746; and an account in verse of H.E.I.C.S. Ceres, 1812 to 1814, on a voyage to China. There is also a memorial of 1774 by a Harwich pilot to the Treasury, seeking to establish an excise cutter there. Among the documents are Bills of Sale, 1651, 1695, 1775; Letters of Marque, 1780, 1799. (PHB/: PLA/P: 4 vols: 12 items) Royal Navy: Administration: This group consists of nineteen volumes and four documents relating to the administration of the Navy. It includes the naval accounts from 1422 to 1427 of William Soper (fl.1410-1459), Clerk of the King<sup>1</sup>s ships; a list of ships' stores 'wasted' in the Prymrose after the Rochelle expedition, 1573; a volume of the records collected by Sir Robert Cotton (1571-1631), the antiquarian and collector, containing summaries of papers on naval matters and defence from the time of Henry III to Elizabeth I; a copy, dated 1638, of the first 'Discourse of the Navy of England' by John Hollond (fl 1624-1659); regulations for the Ordnance Office, 1683; an account, written by a clerk, of the dispute between Samuel Pepys and Colonel Middleton (d 1672) about the importation of cottons and kerseys, 1667 to 1668; two lists of official documents transferred by Pepys to his successor on leaving the Admiralty, 1689; two volumes of Navy Board orders to Deptford and Woolwich dockyards, 1644 to 1722; and eleven volumes of papers, bound by Phillipps in no particular order, relating to general administrative matters, including sea-men's pay, 1711 to 1790; however, among these papers are three letters from Vice-Admiral Benbow (1653-1702) written from Jamaica, 1699. Finally, there are a number of lists; of Admiralty Commissioners, 1673 to 1782; of ships, 1625 to 1636, 1705, 1706 to 1745, and of foreign navies, 1755 to 1778 (PLA/: PLA/P: 2 1/2ft: 76cm) Royal Navy: Law and Prize Money: This group consists of a volume, 1658 to 1673, containing a collection of sentences and decrees made at the Court of Admiralty; a volume of 1685 chiefly concerning the powers and rights of the Lord High Admiral, with an abstract of the judgements of Oleron, translated from the French; a further seventeenth-century volume concerning maritime customs and law from the time of Henry III; a French treatise of maritime law, 1690; a volume containing bound letters from senior naval officers expressing their opinion on the prize money dispute between Lord Nelson (q.v.) and Lord St Vincent (q.v.), 1801 to 1802; vindication of the conduct of Surgeon D.T. McCarthy, court-martialled 2 lines 1 field in 1804.
Sans titrePassenger Safety Certificates.
Sans titreMerchant Shipping: Signal Books and Signals including a Vane List c 1810 and a pendant board of the same date.
Sans titrePapers of South Western Steam Packet Company. They include Deeds of Settlement (later known as Articles of Association) of the Commercial Steam Packet Company, 1835 to 1837; the South Western Steam Packet Company, 1843; and the New South Western Steam Navigation Company, 1846. These documents give lists of shareholders and their occupations. There is a minute book covering shareholders' meetings of the South Western Company, 1842 to 1845; notices to shareholders and reports of the Commercial and South Western Steam Packet Companies, the New South Western and the London and South Western Railway, 1838 to 1847; mortgage deeds, Bills of Sale and Certificates of Sale. Of technical interest are two contracts of 1855 for a wrought iron steam vessel and a set of engines, and a 'Return of Rolling Stock owned by English, Welsh and Scotch Railway Companies', 1883.
Sans titrePapers and photographs relating to Alderson's RNVR and RN service, [1932]-1939, including photograph of Alderson as a Surgeon Sub Lt, Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve [1932]; loose pages from a photograph album with 87 captioned photographs relating to Alderson's service on HMS GLORIOUS, Mediterranean Fleet, 1935-1936, notably photographs of HMS COURAGEOUS, HMS HERMES, HMS REVENGE, HMS NELSON, individual RN and RAF officers, and flying operations from HMS GLORIOUS, 1935-1936; typescript memorandum entitled 'Medical organisation for war', HMS GLORIOUS [1937]. Papers relating to the loss of HM Submarine THETIS, Liverpool Bay, 1 Jun 1939, including typescript statement by Alderson, Assistant Medical Officer, HMS DOLPHIN, on his medical examinations of Capt Harry Percy Kendall Oram, RN, and Lt Frederick Greville Woods, RN, two of the four survivors to escape from HM Submarine THETIS, Jun 1939; correspondence between Alderson and other RN Medical Officers relating to the recovery of the survivors of HM Submarine THETIS, Jun 1939; typescript memorandum entitled 'DSEA (Davis Submarine Escape Apparatus)-effect of breathing oxygen under pressure' [1939]; typescript memorandum by Alderson entitled 'Summary of information as to the medical aspects of the sinking of HMS THETIS and the escape of four survivors by DSEA (Davis Submarine Escape Apparatus)', 3 Jun 1939. Papers and photographs relating to Alderson's service as Medical Officer, HMS KELLY, 5 Destroyer Flotilla, Home Fleet, 1939-1940, and to HMS KELLY reunions and commemorations, 1958-1959, including typescript copy of news-sheet 'K D F News' (K Destroyer Flotilla News), relating to the return to the UK from France of HRH Prince Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David, Duke of Windsor and Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, on board HMS KELLY, 13 Sep 1939, with photograph of the Duke and Duchess on board HMS KELLY with Capt Lord Louis (Francis Albert Victor Nicholas) Mountbatten, 1939; two photographs of Mountbatten, three photographs of HMS KELLY, and one HMS KELLY Christmas card, 1939; typescript routine orders, Medical Section, 5 Destroyer Flotilla, Home Fleet, Nov 1939; correspondence between Alderson and Mountbatten, 1939-1940, relating to Alderson's appointment as Medical Officer, 5 Destroyer Flotilla, and to Mountbatten's recovery from jaundice, Jan-Feb 1940; correspondence, memoranda and notes relating to patients from HM Destroyers KIMBERLEY, KELLY and KELVIN, treated by the Medical Section, 5 Destroyer Flotilla, 1939-1940; lists of medical stores and routine medical supply orders, 5 Destroyer Flotilla, 1939-1940; printed and manuscript medical reports detailing the overall health of the ship's companies of HM Destroyers KELLY, KELVIN, KHARTOUM, KIMBERLEY, KINGSTON and KIPLING, 1939-1940; typescript list of dead and wounded, following German torpedo strike, HMS KELLY, 9 May 1940, with detailed manuscript casualty reports for individual ratings, and photograph of the damage to HMS KELLY, May 1940; eight photographs of Alderson and AF Rt Hon Louis (Francis Albert Victor Nicholas) Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, at ceremony at the grave of an HMS KELLY crew member, Hebburn, County Durham, Nov 1958, and at an HMS KELLY reunion, 1959. Photograph album entitled 'Singapore Commission, Jan 3rd 1950-June 30th 1952', containing 150 photographs, 1949-1952, relating to the voyage to Singapore and Alderson's subsequent service at the Royal Naval Sick Quarters, HMS TERROR, Singapore, 1950-1952.
Sans titrePapers principally comprising text of lecture on the outbreak of hostilities between Japan and China in 1937, including a detailed account of the Battle of Shanghai as witnessed from HMS DANAE, 1937; draft of lecture recounting his experiences on board HMS DIDO during the evacuation of Crete, Apr-Jun 1941, [1945].
Sans titrePapers relating to early career, including material on early aviation, 1911-1913, and texts of lectures given at the RAF Staff College, Andover, 1922-1926. Material relating to post as Air Officer Commanding, British Forces in Iraq, 1928-1935, including correspondence, memoranda and telegrams relating to operations in Iraq and Kuwait, 1928-1930, and negotiations for the Anglo-Iraq Treaty, 1930; news cuttings and notes relating to political and military affairs in Iraq, and the situation of the Assyrians and Kurds, 1930-1935. Papers created as Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Air Defence of Great Britain, 1933-1935, mainly relating to a Royal Review of the RAF at Mildenhall, Suffolk, and Duxford, Cambridgeshire. Papers relating to post as Air Officer Commanding in Chief, Middle East, notably memoranda, cypher signals, letters and notes, 1931-1936, relating to RAF operations, mainly planning and preparation for the possibility of war between the League of Nations and Italy following the Italian invasion and annexation of Abyssinia; correspondence with ACM Sir Edward Leonard Ellington, Chief of Air Staff, 1935-1936; memoranda, telegrams, correspondence and newscuttings on operational matters relating to the Arab Rebellion against the British Mandate in Palestine, 1936; material collated by Brooke-Popham for lectures on the Middle East, 1930, 1936; correspondence, memoranda and minutes relating to the formation and working of an Executive Committee on Assyrian Settlement, 1943-1947. Papers relating to the creation and implementation of the Empire Air Training Scheme in Canada and South Africa, 1939-1945, including personal correspondence with Arthur William Street, Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Air, 1940. Papers relating to post as Commander in Chief, Far East, notably telegrams and memoranda relating to the requirements of the RAF and Army in the Far East, 1940-1949; personal correspondence with Maj Gen Sir Hastings Lionel Ismay, Secretary to the Committee of Imperial Defence, 1940-1941; semi-official correspondence with Street, 1940-1941; material relating to the replacement of Brooke-Popham as Commander in Chief, Far East, Nov 1941; telegrams relating to reconnaissance sightings of Japanese convoys, the decision not to launch Operation MATADOR, the outbreak of war with Japan, and the sinking of RN battleships HMS PRINCE OF WALES and HMS REPULSE, Dec 1941; papers, correspondence and proofs relating to the publication of various despatches and reports concerning operations in Malaya, 1941-1947. Papers created whilst Inspector General of the Air Training Corps, 1942-1947, 1950-1952, mainly comprising inspection reports and material relating to the post-war organisation of the Air Training Corps. Booklets, memoranda, and reports collated by Brooke-Popham relating to RAF training, policy and operations, [1914]-1946. Material relating to research for and writing of articles, lectures and pamphlets, mainly relating to history, aviation or training, 1923-1952. Printed material, 1890-1953, mainly relating to aviation. Maps and photographs, 1917-[1945], including aerial photographs of the Western Front during World War One, 1917-1918.
Sans titrePapers relating to his service in the RN, 1960-1976, dated 1960, 1964-1965, 1973 and 1981, principally comprising 'Management improvement in the Royal Navy', a report of the Fleet Management Technique Panel headed by Nigel C Willmott, Head of Fleet Work Study, Oct 1960, with related correspondence, 1964-1965; The Naval Electrical Review vol 17 no 1, Jul 1963, including 'A report on defective material or design', an article by Brooks based on his work in the naval section of the Post-Design Division, Admiralty Surface Weapons Establishment, 1959-1962. Letter from A K Hall to Capt J W M Pertwee, Naval Assistant to the Naval Secretary, Ministry of Defence, regarding Hall's nomination to succeed Brooks as Capt, HMS DEFIANCE, dated 26 Aug 1975.
Sans titreTypescript memoir entitled 'Ships in bottles' covering his life and naval career, 1902-1952, notably his service in the North Sea and the English Channel, 1915-1916, off the West coast of Ireland, 1917-1918, in Turkey, 1922, China, 1927-1929, the Mediterranean, 1934-1936 and 1939-1940, the North Sea, 1941-1942, the Indian Ocean, 1942-1944, at destroyer base HMS DEFENDER, Liverpool, 1944-1945, and in West Africa, 1945-1946.
Sans titreCopies of papers and photographs relating to Hobbs' career, 1888-1912, including eighteen manuscript letters home from Singapore, 1892, and from the Sudan, 1897-1900. Correspondence, newspaper cuttings, obituaries and records of service, 1888-1912, including newspaper cuttings relating to the campaign in the Sudan, 1897-1898, notably the Battle of Omdurman, Sep 1898,and manuscript letter to Hobbs from Col Sir (Francis) Reginald Wingate, Sirdar of the Egyptian Army, on Hobbs' resignation from the Egyptian Army, 5 Nov 1901. Thirty photographs, [1888]-1908, notably the officers of HMS MERCURY, 1893, and soldiers of 11 Sudanese Bn, Sudan, 1902.
Sans titre'Special service', typescript memoir covering his life and naval career, 1913-1945, notably his service in Norway, 1940 and 1942, his involvement in Motor Torpedo Boat operations in Norway, 1942-1943, his service with 12 (Special Service) Submarine Flotilla, 1943-1944, and his reconnaissance work with 30 Assault Unit in France, Belgium and Germany, 1944-1945, written in [1960-1970],with photographs, [1943-1946].
Sans titreNotebook containing telegrams transmitted from and received by HMS RAJAH, 1944, and notes on transmitting equipment and mechanical supplies, [1944].
Sans titreGroup photograph of Taiping Signals Troop, [Singapore], 1957; thirteen photographs of 22 Signals Regt, Royal Corps of Signals, winter warfare training exercise WHITETHRUST, Norway, 1966, with edition of The wire, the Royal Corps of Signals magazine, with article on the exercise by Morrison, Apr-May 1966; edition of The wire, with obituary for Morrison, Oct-Nov 1972.Sixteen photographs relating to the military career of Lt Frank Morrison, Intelligence Corps (father of Lt Col Stanley Paton Morrison), including thirteen photographs of bomb damage in Kiel, Germany, including scuttled German heavy cruiser ADMIRAL HIPPER, and damage to armoured cruiser ('pocket battleship') ADMIRAL SCHEER, Apr 1945. Papers and photographs relating to Lt Robert Harley Nowland, Morrison's brother in law, who served with Gull Force, Australian Imperial Forces, 1941-1942, and was taken prisoner by the Japanese on Ambon, Dutch East Indies, Feb 1942, including copy of letter home by Nowland from HMAS LATROBE, and relating to hisrelease from Amboina prison camp, Ambon, Dutch East Indies, and to his health, Sep 1945; printed article by Nowland, from unknown publication, entitled 'Return to Ambon', relating to the formation of Gull Force, the capture of Ambon by Japanese forces, his time as a POW, and his return to Ambon for an Anzac Day memorial service [1980]; newspaper cuttings from the Brisbane Telegraph relating toreports of Japanese atrocities in POW camps, Sep 1945, and the Anzac Day parade, Brisbane, Australia, Apr 1949; six photographs including artillery exercise and group of Australian officers [1915]; 27 Australian Infantry Bde on parade, Bathurst, Australia, May 1941; Anzac Day parades, Brisbane, Australia, 1936 and 1949.
Sans titrePapers of Lt Col Robert Malcolm Parker, 1945-1946, relating to his career in the Royal Engineers, comprising account of the operations of 8 Corps in North West Europe, Mar-May 1945, entitled 'The River Rhine to the Baltic Sea: a narrative account of the pursuit and final defeat of the German Armed Forces, March-May 1945', with a foreword by Lt Gen Evelyn Hugh Barker, as Commanding Officer, 8 Corps; account of the Finkenwärder U Boat pen, Hamburg, Germany, with site plan, and description of the intended method of demolition, by 224 Field Coy, Royal Engineers, and 8 Corps Troops, Royal Engineers, [1945]; papers relating to Exercise SWANSONG, Germany, Mar 1946, including Royal Engineer commands and staff planning for the assault crossing of wide rivers, accounts of exercise operations, situation reports, printed maps and sketch maps; uncaptioned official Army photograph of the construction of a large bridge, [Germany, 1945]; telegram announcing German surrender, 4 May 1945 and chart of Allied formation badges, in colour, 8 May 1945.
Sans titrePapers relating to his career with the Royal Naval Reserve, 1926-1950, dated 1926-1950, 1985-1986, 1989, 1994 and 1995, notably including commands, reports, correspondence and notes concerning his service on HMS GLOXINIA, North Atlantic and Mediterranean, 1940-1942, on the staff of Flag Officer, Liverpool, HMS EAGLET, 1942-1943, on HMS DELHI, Mediterranean, 1943-1945, and on the staff of Cdr in Chief, Mediterranean Fleet, 1945-1946. Text on Gen Sir Bernard Law Montgomery's role in the North Africa campaign, 1942-1943, by Peter Solly-Flood, 1986.
Sans titrePapers relating to his life and RN career, 1902-1956, dated 1956, [1968-1977], 1983, 1987, 1989 and 1994, principally comprising photographs relating to the mining of the HMS SAUMAREZ, Corfu Channel, 1946; 'Memoires (sic) of a salthorse', an illustrated account of his life and career, 1902-1956, notably covering his service on HMS MASHONA, North Sea, Norway and Atlantic, 1940-1941, and HMS ONSLAUGHT, Russian convoys, 1942-1944, as Chief of Staff, Londonderry, 1944-1945, on HMS SAUMAREZ, Mediterranean, 1946-1947, and in South Africa, 1950-1952, and Greece, 1953-1955, written in 1989 for private circulation.
Sans titreTypescript transcripts of letters home from Street, 1932, May-Sep 1938 and 1941-1944, including accounts of Allied evacuation from Greece, 1941, and Street's escape from an Italian submarine as a POW, 1943. Two narrative diaries relating to service in Palestine, Aug-Oct 1939, and Kenya, Jun-Dec 1940. Volume entitled 'Long ago and far away', typescript memoir by Annette Street, widow of Maj Gen Vivian Wakefield Street, foreword by Sir Fitzroy Hew Maclean, 1st Bt, with seven photographs, 1938-1945. Sixty one photographs relating to Street's career, 1938-1960, including rebellion in Palestine, 1938-1939, and Middle East, 1940-1943. Edition of Blackwood's Magazine, Mar 1947, with article by Street entitled 'Some men have nine lives', an account of the escape from the Italian submarine, 1943. Printed programme of official visit to Aden by Julian Amery MP, Under Secretary of State for War, and Gen Sir Geoffrey Kemp Bourne, Commander-in-Chief, Middle East Land Forces, Sep-Oct 1957, with typescript itineraries of visit and four photographs. Newspaper cuttings and related papers on the award of the MC to Street, Palestine, 1938, the evacuation from Greece, 1941, and the escape from the Italian submarine, 1943.
Sans titreSee sub-fonds level descriptions for individual scope and contents.
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 Algernon Hardy Oliver. They comprise a series of logs, some watch, station and quarter bills, a sights book, 1872 to 1876, three diaries, 1879 to 1881, and a notebook, 1888.
Papers of Adml Richard Aldworth Oliver. They consist of a notebook kept in the QUEEN; a general order and memoranda book, 1840 to 1850; a letterbook, 1847 to 1851, and a diary, 1848 to 1850, kept in the FLY, describing Oliver's time in New Zealand and a voyage to the New Hebrides.
Papers of Robert Dudley Oliver. There are three standing order books, one for Plymouth and Spithead, 1798 to 1799, probably when Oliver was Captain of the NEMESIS, and two for the MARS, 1804, 1805 to 1806. There are also two letters written by Nelson to Oliver's father-in-law, Sir Charles Saxton.
Papers of Cpt Richard Oliver-Bellasis. They consist of standing orders and routines for some of the ships in which he served. There are also papers for a course at the Royal Naval College in 1936 and for a damage control course in 1943.
Sans titrePapers of Capt Henry Bethune comprising a series of logs for the above ships and a notebook on navigation and steam.
Sans titrePapers of Francis Godolphin Bond comprising forty letters from William Bligh to Bond, twenty-eight of which deal with the voyage of the PROVIDENCE, three with the mutiny on the BOUNTY and the remainder with Bligh's efforts to promote Bond's career. There are also letters from others on the PROVIDENCE and some notes by Bond on the voyage about Bligh .
Sans titrePapers of Harry Woodfall Brent comprising two volumes of official service documents, 1851 to 1887; an order book of the BELLEROPHON; a volume of correspondence relating to the HIMALAYA and a log of the MONARCH, 1886, Channel Station, kept by Henry Dacres Menzie Brent.
Sans titrePapers of Sir Cyprian Arthur George Bridge including a few watch bills and other papers relating to the AUDACIOUS, 1874 to 1877; out-letterbooks, 1881 to 1885 and 1898; private letters received, 1895 to 1898, 1901 to 1904, and admiral's journals, 1895 to 1898.
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 of Cowper Phipps Cole, consisting of three large albums of newspaper cuttings which relate to the Navy and to ship design and were collected by Coles himself between 1862 and his death. There are a number of later cuttings to 1878.
Sans titrePapers of Chatham Dockyard comprising 1,063 letterbooks containing the correspondence between yard officials, the Admiralty and Navy Boards, 1669 to 1900, together with internal yard records. There is also a collection of sixty-seven plans of the yard, 1718 to 1867. The volumes can be divided into three main groups: those relating to the Resident Commissioner; to the Commissioner's administrative successor, the Admiral Superintendent; and to the yard officers.
RESIDENT COMMISSIONER'S RECORDS: These consist of: Admiralty letters to the yard Commissioner, 1716 to 1764, 1788 to 1817 (13 vols); two copy letterbooks record in-letters during the period 1754 to 1788; Navy Board letters to the Commissioner, 1697 to 1698, 1791 to 1792, 1797, 1800 to 1829 and 1832 (57 vols); abstracts of Board orders to the Commissioner, 1788 to 1803 (1 vol); letters to the Commissioner from the yard officers, 1802 to 1808 (1 vol); local in-letters, 1809 to 1810, 1813 to 1815, 1818 to 1819, 1820 (5 vols). Out-letters from the Resident commissioner consist of: letters to the Admiralty, 1716 to 1733, 1774 to 1817 (6 vols); to the Navy Board, 1689 to 1695, 1696 to 1702, 1703 to 1757, 1760 to 1764, 1789 to 1794, 1795 to 1817, 1818 to 1822, 1826, 1828 to 1829 (51 vols); warrants to the yard officers, 1781 to 1817 (4 vols); memoranda to the officers, 1810 to 1821 (5 vols); in- and out-correspondence with sea officers, including the Port Admiral, 1793 to 1819, is recorded in four letterbooks.
ADMIRAL SUPERINDENDENT'S RECORDS: These consist of: abstracts of Admiralty orders to the Commissioner and Admiral Superintendent, 1766 to 1829, 1831 to 1867, 1870 to 1872, 1873, 1874 to 1875, 1876 to 1877 and 1882 to 1883 (25 vols); Admiralty letters (originals) to the Superintendent, 1832 to 1852, 1853 to 1900 (651 vols). Fifteen volumes contain indexes to Admiralty letters and orders, 1852 to 1854, 1878 to 1879, 1880 to 1882, 1884 to 1887 and 1890; one, memoranda from the Superintendent to the yard officers, 1846 to 1853.
DOCKYARD OFFICERS RECORDS: These consist of: copies of Navy Board orders to the yard officers, 1796 to 1801, 1803 to 1814, 1814 to 1815, 1816 to 1817, 1818 to 1819 and 1820 to 1821 (32 vols); letters and warrants (originals) from the Board, 1672 to 1675, 1717 to 1781, 1783 to 1795, 1796 to 1822 and 1829 to 1831 (154 vols); copies of officers'letters to the Navy Board, 1695 to 1698, 1790 to 1792, 1796 to 1801, 1802 to 1809, 1810, 1811 to 1820 (30 vols); and one letterbook containing copies of letters to the Superintendent, March to May 1869.
MISCELLANEOUS RECORDS: Three volumes record orders and letters to the officers at Sheerness from the Navy Board, 1690 to 1691; from the Chatham Commissioner, 1694 to 1697; and from both Board and Commissioner, 1769 to 1772. Further single volumes include records of stores issued and received, 1669 to 1770; of contracts, 1792 to 1823; of charts received and issued, 1809 to 1832; and a survey book of sails of ships, 1764 to 1788.
PLANS: These include nine general plans of the yard and surrounding land, 1733 to 1846; twenty plans of docks and slips, 1747 to 1861; and thirty-eight plans of yard buildings, 1718 to 1750.
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 Cairn Line Of Steamships Limited including minutes and related records of the Cairn Line and associated companies from 1891; annual reports and balance sheets, 1893-1971, copies of annual returns, 1909-1972; registers of shareholders, 1892-1964; records of ships' movements, 1908-51; officers' records of service, c 1939-69; and papers relating to the offer made in 1967 by Furness Withy and Co Ltd for Cairn Line stock. There are also some papers of the "K" Steamship Co Ltd, including balance sheets and profit and loss accounts, 1920-75.
Sans titrePapers of Admiral Curzon-Howe comprising logs, 1868 to 1873, fishery reports, Newfoundland, 1892 to 1895, memoranda, 1888 to 1893, 1909 to 1910, and notes on manoeuvres, 1895, 1899.
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 titreCollection includes a register of work 1746-1818, ships accounts 1715- 1803, log books including the NEWCASTLE (b 1859), LORD WARDEN (b 1862), DOVER CASTLE (b 1858) and WINDSOR CASTLE (b 1857), work book of Henry Green 1824, ship voyage accounts 1836-60 and other miscellaneous material.
Sans titreBusiness records of various insurance companies, mainly the Grimsby Steam Fishing Vessel's Mutual Insurance and Protecting Co. Ltd, based in North East Lincolnshire. The records include lists of vessels insured, minute books, and registers of members.
Sans titrePapers of Sir Charles Boyles comprising an out-letterbook, 1810 to 1811, and copies of letters to the Sicilian court, 1811.
Papers of Adml Edward Hawker. They consist of logs covering Hawker's service afloat, two order books for the BELLEROPHON and BRITANNIA and a notebook of vessels captured 1805 to 1806. There is also a letterbook of his father, Captain James Hawker, kept during his command of the IRIS, 1779 to 1781, on the North America and West Indies Station.
Sans titreThe papers in the Museum relate to the Henleys' shipping and other commercial interests between 1771 and 1830. From about 1784, when Joseph seems to have taken charge, the records become fairly systematic and the 'ships' collections' begin. Most of the 109 wooden boxes (now replaced) related to individual ships, but 24 related to general matters. A small number of the ships were owned jointly with someone outside the family, usually the master; only one seems to have been divided into sixteenths. The bulk of the collection consists of ships' boxes, containing correspondence from masters, agents, brokers, merchants, government boards and sailors and their families. Masters' voyage accounts and vouchers have nearly always survived from 1784 on onward, together with some Articles of Agreement, portage bills, crew lists and wages and receipts; sometimes, and especially during the last decade of the eighteenth and the first decade of the nineteenth centuries, memoranda books were kept detailing Henleys' own expenditure on ships; and papers relating to freights including Charter Parties, Bills of Lading, manifests, protections, customs documents, freight and brokers' accounts were often retained. 'Transport papers', relating to voyages under charter to the Government, include agents' orders and certificates, individual orders and receipts for victualling ships, and forms with details of troops victualled. The subjects range over every aspect of the employment of the ship, including building, maintaining, victualling and manning, the process of chartering or seeking cargoes, and the convoys in which she sailed. The general boxes contained books with accounts, receipts, memoranda and lists covering all Henleys' activities and are the main source of information for the early years from ca.1771. There are detailed records of their activities as coal merchants, especially for the last years of the eighteenth century; there is a continuous series of cash books, 1807 to 1824, with various 'weekly expense' books and petty cash books kept by individual clerks. The Henleys ran their own sail loft and there is a run of account books from 1813 to 1824, in addition to material covering other years. The rest of the general boxes contained papers on other aspects of their activities: boxes of loose receipts covering business and domestic expenditure, a box relating to the premises at Wapping containing correspondence about leases, building and repairs, with detailed receipts for building and rebuilding the Henleys' three houses, counting house and warehouse; boxes with accounts, receipts and correspondence relating to shipping matters generally and sometimes to particular ships or groups of ships. At different times it was the practice to keep freight papers separate from ships' papers. There were four boxes relating to the supply of coal to government departments, particularly the dockyards and the Ordnance Board, 1790 to 1802 and 1807 to 1820. There were three boxes of correspondence and accounts reflecting the activities of James Kirton, 1800 to 1825; he had been successively carpenter, mate and master in Henley ships from the earliest years and set up as a shipowner and agent in Newcastle at the turn of the century. There is also correspondence with agents in other places.
Sans titreRecords of C.W. Kellock and Co. The greater portion of the records forms an almost complete collection of copies of sale contracts for the Liverpool office, 1850 to 1949, and five volumes of copies of sale contracts for the London office, 1867 to 1883. These sale agreements give the name of the vessel, its tonnage, name of purchaser and seller, selling price and conditions of sale. Many of these are indexed in the early years and a copy of the British shipping register is often included. In many cases, copies of correspondence, special agreements and Charter Parties are also included. For example, the papers of the sale of the GREAT BRITAIN in London in 1885 for £26,000 include a complete inventory of the vessel. In addition there are three volumes of conditions of sale, 1890 to 1931; ten volumes of valuations (sail and steam), 1895 to 1913, 1922 to 1924; four volumes of records of sales, 1895 to 1945, of vessels built up to 1905 (sail and steam); nine volumes of ledgers 1851 to 1895; six volumes of journals 1880 to 1882, 1916 to 1919; three volumes of Charter Parties, one each for Stoddard Bros, 1866 to 1869, Taylor Cameron and Co, 1889 to 1891 and C.W. Kellock and Co, 1897 to 1907. These papers give a detailed picture of the value of British shipping for both sail and steam from the middle of the nineteenth to the middle of the twentieth century.
Sans titrePapers of Frederick North. The collection consists of his diaries in the ALERT, 1878 to 1882. There are also photograph albums relating to North in the Department of Pictures.
Sans titreThis class contains six bound manuscript copies of ships' newspapers. They are generally of a humerous nature and include short stories, verse, riddles and jokes, and ship's news and gossip; nearly all are illustrated. There are two examples from the Royal Navy; 'The Young Idea', the weekly papers of the CHESAPEAKE, 1857 to 1859; and 'The Rocket', 1868 to 1869, newspaper of the MINOTAUR. The 'Sierra Cordova Magpie' is an example of a ship's paper, with colour illustrations, from the square-rigged sailing ship SIERRA CORDOVA, 1901 to 1902. The remaining three volumes are of papers edited by passengers; 'The Nautical Magazine', the EQUESTRIAN, England to Bombay, 1849; the 'Matilda Athenaeum', paper of the MATILDA WATTENBACH, 1859 to 1860, on a voyage to Calcutta; and the 'Loch Garry Magazine', covering a voyage of the LOCH GARRY from Melbourne to Glasgow, 1877.
Sans titrePapers of New Zealand Shipping Co Ltd. Apart from one missing volume, 1876 to 1879, there are continuous minute books of Directors' meetings in London from 1874 to 1971; copies of the 'Colony' Board minutes, 1890 to 1904, illustrate the changeover from New Zealand to London management. There is also a volume of minutes of General Meetings of shareholders held in London, 1888 to 1971. The Directors' minute books of the Federal Steam Navigation Company cover the period 1892 to 1964. Routine account books are not part of the collection, although there are isolated cash books, journals and ledgers of the affiliated companies: three early cash books of the company, 1873 to 1892; and a series of private ledgers both for the company, 1900 to 1954 and the Federal Line, 1904 to 1936. Files on contracts and agreements exist for the period 1912 to 1943. The company's interest in the New Zealand passenger trade is well documented in the minutes and correspondence; details of the early homeward voyages date from 1883 to 1887 and there is a long series of 'outward' (i.e. London to New Zealand) passenger books, 1894 to 1955. These contain names only and are unindexed. Passengers apart, there are general steamers' movement books from 1906 to 1971. Two books set out the early victualling scales, 1876 and 1879. A good sample of vessels' voyage files survives, 1966 to 1971. Early correspondence is limited to three private letter and telegram books, 1912 to 1936, of C.J. Cowan (d 1944) who was chairman of the company from 1928 until his death. The bulk of the letter files is concerned with exchanges with London, Wellington and Sydney, and with conference letters and circulars, 1960 to 1971. A series of files, 1940 to 1970, relates to subjects like freight negotiations, research and programming. The launching and operations of the three Federal Line tankers, 1958 to 1960, are also on file. The private files of C.A.W. Dawes (1919- ) chairman of the company from 1966 to 1970, deal with the specialized situations which call for the attention of senior management. On the technical side there are Marine Superintendents'reports, 1901 to 1971, together with vessels'plans and handbooks for use on board ship. Records of the affiliated companies mentioned above are as follows: New Zealand and African Steam Shipping Company Ltd, minute books, 1902 to 1911, register of members, 1902 to 1909, Memorandum and Articles of Association; Montreal Australia New Zealand Line, account books 1956 to 1971; American and Australian Steamship Line, account books, 1956 to 1971; Avenue Shipping, minute book, 1954 to 1962; Crusader Line, correspondence and information, 1965 to 1967; Dolphin Line, correspondence and circulars, 1967 to 1970. (Section 3: NZS/: 275ft: 84m) Ships' Plans: there are also plans for ships of the company in the P&O collection of plans.
Sans titreA selection of prospectuses from the 1960s (with a few, possibly earlier ones, undated) and student record cards* ca. 1950s and 1960s.
*Note: Requests involving personal data will be handled in accordance with GDPR (Data Protection) and on a case-by-case basis.
Sans titreLetter from Sir Joseph Banks of Soho Square, London to an unknown recipient, 12 Aug 1815. Relating to 'the undertaking now in hand for exploring the rapid Currents of the Zaira'. Reference is made to the mutiny of the Bounty, 'which began by turning the Commander adrift and ended in the Peopling of Pitcairn's Island. A less economical Outfit succeeded and the business was happily effected. Hence I deduce that in all matters of Naval Equipment it is better to adopt a Plan of sufficient extent at first than to do it after a failure, which if attributable to parsimony will in a Country like this meet with censure.' He advocates the use of a steamboat, 'a Fort impregnable to Native Armies and capable of sending out a subordinate Expedition'. This letter appears to be either a copy or a draft letter made by an amanuensis.
Sans titreLetter from Hugh Hamilton to an unknown recipient, [c1661-1678]. 'Richt Honorabill, your lords[hip] was pleased to remembir his mgisty of his promeissing me on prays [prize] schip and to deseyr me to seick out the naim of on ...'. Hamilton had found the officers unwilling to give him information, sent an express to Plymouth, and so discovered that the 'Toun of [?]Dantzicke', a 260-ton ship carrying French salt, was to be sold on 8 May. Asking his correspondent to speak to the King [Charles II], so that he 'may gett his warren [warrant] for the forsaid schip with all furniter and tackling', and the correpsondent is to say that 'hir ladning of frensch salt is of no considerebill walleu [value]'. He should consider it a great favour and obligation from his correspondent if the king would 'bestou ye schip and ladning upon me ...'.
Autograph, with signature: 'Heugh Glenauly'.
Sans titre