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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.

Papers of Capt Alfred Burton, comprising letters, 1811 to 1812, 1831 to 1834, including a series of twenty-nine to his mother for the latter period.

Papers of Cuthbert Ward Burton, comprising two series of letters. The first is of eighty-four letters written by Burton to his mother during his service on the China Station, 1853 to 1858, and the second is to his family, 1859 to 1860, 1862 to 1865 and 1871 to 1873.

Papers of Philip Carteret, including logs of the Guernsey and Endymion; a letterbook, 1779 to 1780, and a large number of loose papers including letters from Byron and others and various notes on his ships and voyages. The Endymion is the only ship for which there is much material, there being but few notes about his voyages of circumnavigation. His private journals for the years 1779 to 1789 cover the period in considerable detail and there are many letters relating to the movement for the increase in half-pay. The collection includes letters from Carteret's son, Samuel, to his mother, 1794 to 1796, some written from the Expedition at Plymouth, and the remainder from the Mediterranean and the West Indies. There are also letters from his other son, Philip (later Silvester, q.v.), relating to his voyage in the Lion with Lord Macartney's Embassy to China, 1794 to 1796.

Papers of Sir Philip Carteret Silvester, comprising logs, 1792 to 1798, 1801 and 1815 to 1817, letterbooks, 1806 to 1807 and 1811 to 1814, and correspondence, 1792 to 1815, including a series from Sir Erasmus Gower (q.v.), 1792 to 1814. Finally there are papers relating to the family and records of several tours made during his retirement.

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 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.

Papers of Sir James Whitley Deans Dundas, consisting of bound volumes of official and private correspondence for Dundas's Mediterranean command, 1851 to 1854. There are also letters, reports and memoranda of diplomatic importance in this period.

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 Sir Eric John Arthur Fullerton. They are mostly personal letters written between 1901 and 1955 to both Sir Eric and Lady Fullerton; the correspondents include Admirals Lord Fisher, Sir William Wordsworth Fisher, Sir William Goodenough, Lord Jellicoe (1859-1935), Earl Beatty (1871-1936), Sir John de Robeck (1862-1928), the Rt Hon W C Bridgeman and Captain Godfrey-Faussett, the King's Equerry (1896-1970). In addition, there are some letters received by Lord Fisher, including those from Lord Balfour (1848-1930) and Lord Charles Beresford (1848-1930).

Papers of Sir Francis Geary, consisting of letter and order books, 1757 to 1762, and 1769 to 1771.

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 Admiral Thomas Griffin consisting of a full run of logs from 1716 to 1749, letterbooks, 1732 to 1749, with letters inserted in 1751, 1755 and 1757, and books of orders received and issued, 1735 to 1745 There is also a purser's account book, 1742 to 1743.

Papers of Rear-Admiral Thomas Graves. They consist of logs, 1738 to 1744, an official letterbook, 1711 to 1738, a private letterbook, 1721 to 1740, and two order books, 1711 to 1728 and 1739 to 1741. There are some commissions and an abstract of orders received, 1739 to 1743.

Papers of Adml Thomas Graves including logs, 1742 to 1744, 1746 to 1748 and 1779 to 1782; a letterbook, 1793 to 1794; order books, 1788 to 1793; a book of sailing directions with some orders, 1755 to 1756; letters and a volume on courts martial, 1771 to 1780 and 1786 to 1787. There are some loose papers which relate to Graves' court martial and to his Governorship of Newfoundland. The latter contain some documents on hydrographic surveys, among which is a letter of 1764 to Graves from Captain James Cook (1728-1779) There are also some commissions, official letters and drafts, 1764 to 1767, 1777 to 1782, a few private letters, 1782 to 1797 and a biography of Graves up to 1790. Some papers of Admiral Sir Thomas Graves (c 1747-1814) another cousin of Lord Graves are also in the collection. They are orders received as Captain of the Savage, North American Station, 1779 to 1781, and official letters received, 1800 to 1804.

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 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 William Hamilton, including a series of one hundred and fifty-five letters received by Hamilton between 1791 and 1800 and a series of sixty letters from Hamilton to Sir John Acton (1736-1811), Prime Minister of Naples, written between 1795 and 1800, was Hamilton's correspondents include Earl St Vincent (q.v.), Viscount Hood (q.v.), John Hampden-Trevor (1749-1824), British Minister at Turin, Lord Macartney (1737-1806) and the Marquis di Gallo, Secretary of State at Naples. There are also drafts of some of Hamilton's replies.

Papers of Captain Edward William Hereford. The manuscripts include his commissions, testimonial, logs for the TRAFALGAR, HAWKE and ACORN, 1851-7, which are illustrated, logs of the ARROGANT, 1862, the COLUMBINE 1872-3, Watch Bills and Quarter Bills, Letterbooks, 1881-1903, an illustrated notebook of gunnery instructions, gunnery notes and a list of medals.

Papers of Cpt Jenkin Jones, consisting of official service documents, logs, 1822 to 1839, 1841 to 1842, and a letterbook, 1822 to 1824 and 1839 to 1842. There are also a number of personal letters and papers relating to Jones's court martial.

Papers of Rowland Christopher Jerram, including journals, 1907-1914 and 2 large scrapbooks containing photographs, signals, orders and newspaper cuttings covering the first half of Jerram's career. Also present in the collection are 3 photograph albums, 1908-1932, and various letters, reports, newspaper cuttings, etc, relating to the major part of the Rear-Admiral's career, as well his civilian activities, such as his position as Commander of the St. John Ambulance in Cornwall, 1949-1958.

Papers of Sir Richard Goodwin Keats, consisting of letters received from naval officers, 1788 to 1828. The main section comprises those from Prince William Henry for the above dates. Other correspondents include Lord Nelson, 1803, Earl St. Vincent, 1800 to 1809, Sir James Saumarez (1757-1836), 1807-1809, Sir Edward Pellew, 1811 to 1812, and Sir Richard Strachan (1760-1828), 1809. There are also official service documents and some relating to Greenwich Hospital and the Chatham Chest; some of these are retrospective, dating back as far as 1696.

Papers of James Branch Kennedy, consisting of logs, 1845 to 1854, 1862 to 1870, letterbooks, 1853 to 1870, and account books, 1848, 1857 to 1873. There is also a notebook with newspaper cuttings and official forms which relate to the HORNET, when burned in 1868. In addition there is a midshipman's log of Lieutenant James Robert Branch Kennedy (d 1913), kept in the COMMONWEALTH, 1908 to 1909, ADVENTURE, 1909 to 1910, and COLLINGWOOD, 1910, all in home waters.

Papers of Leonard G Carr Laughton, consisting of mainly notebooks, both in his hand and that of his father's, containing their research at the Public Record Office, British Museum and other repositories, relating to various aspects of nautical history. Among these are notes on Nelson, extracts from Pepys' diary and notes for articles on HMS VICTORY. There are also blueprints used in the restoration of HMS VICTORY, together with the Technical Committee minutes of meetings, 1927-8 and the Advisory Committee minutes, 1929. There are a series of notes on lectures given by Professor Sir John Knox Laughton, including those given at the Royal Naval College at Greenwich in the early 1900s. The collection contains a typed copy of L G Carr Laughton's 'Nautical Dictionary'; a card index for Dictionary of National Biography entries; a number of albums containing newspaper cuttings; and various correspondence including letters with Dr R C Anderson, 1925-37. Finally, there are some manuscripts written by others including Harold H Brindley and a copy of a personal logbook kept by Dudley Stone on board the ship MONKBARNS, 1913, Buenos Ayres to Australia.

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 Osbert Charles Gresham Leveson-Gower, including letters home, circulars and telegrams bound into five volumes, 1893 to 1908, and loose letters to Miss Leveson-Gower, 1919 to 1928. There are also two logs, 1905 to 1908.

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 Adml William Henry Maxwell, Dec 1873 - Apr 1889, they begin with Maxwell's early childhood reminiscences and record his career in the Royal Navy. Significant events in Maxwell's naval service include: a visit to Pitcairn Island, where Maxwell encountered some of the BOUNTY mutineers' descendents; his involvement in the suppression of the slave trade; his extensive travels in Polynesia; and his role as Aide-de-Camp to Queen Victoria during the Jubilee celebrations in Hong Kong.

Papers of Sir Frederick Thomas Michell. They are a collection of commissions, appointments and letters which cover Michell's whole career, although the Crimean papers are the most numerous; these include landing orders, 1854, and orders for the bombardment of Sebastopol.

Papers of Sir David Milne. They consist of logs, 1779 to 1780, 1788 to 1790, 1793 to 1796, 1799 to 1802 and 1814. There is a collection of ship's books for La Seine, which includes a surgeon's journal kept by John Martin, 1799 to 1800. There are also letterbooks, 1804 to 1807 and 1808 to 1815. For the period of the North American command there is an out letterbook and order book, 1816 to 1819, and as Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, a standing order book, 1842 to 1843. In addition, there are a large number of letters concerning prizes, 1799, letters received, 1819 to 1842, and drafts of letters to Lord Melville, 1819, and Lord Dalhousie (1770-1838), 1818 to 1819. A number of documents with no immediate connection with Milne are also in the collection. They include the log of the PRINCE GEORGE, Captain Nathaniel Portlock, 1785 to 1787, on a voyage to the North Pacific; the log of the AFRICA, Alexander Purvis, 1793 to 1796, and the log of the United States privateer, HARLEQUIN, 1814.

Papers of Sir Alexander Milne, consisting of logs, 1817 to 1827 and 1837 to 1839, letterbooks, 1827 to 1839, and letters and papers, 1838 to 1847. There are also a number of ship's books relating to the SNAKE and the CROCODILE. For the North American command there are official out-letterbooks, letters received and memoranda to squadrons, 1860 to 1864, as well as private letters from the Duke of Somerset (1804-1885), First Lord of the Admiralty, and to and from Sir Frederick Grey (1805-1878), First Naval Lord, between 1861 and 1862. There are also notebooks and sailing orders for this period. For the Mediterranean Command there are letterbooks, general and squadron memoranda and sailing orders, 1869 to 1870. For his period at the Admiralty there are copies of private and semi-official letters, 1854 to 1855, 1869 and 1873 to 1876, and letters to his brother, David Milne Home, 1820 to 1847. There are a considerable number of official papers relating to the loss of the Megaera and the Captain and the first, second and third Reports of the Royal Commissioners appointed to enquire into the Defence of British Possessions and Commerce Abroad, 1882. Finally there are diaries for 1825, 1833 to 1835, 1837, 1840 to 1841, 1843 to 1845, 1849 and 1870.

Papers of Sir Archibald Berkeley Milne. They consist of logs, 1870 to 1875, 1879 to 1881 and 1889 to 1893, and a notebook of events in Egypt in 1882. A section of papers is devoted to the Zulu War. For Milne's later career there are copies of correspondence with Lord Charles Beresford, 1910, and letters and papers relating to the Mediterranean command, 1913 to 1914. There is a detailed section on the escape of the Goeben and the Breslau, including signal logs, telegrams received from the Admiralty, diaries, official correspondence and press cuttings. There are also a number of uncompleted private diaries, 1870, 1879, 1886, 1913 to 1919, and personal letters, 1879 to 1936.

Papers of Sir Evan Nepean. The first two sections consists of letters from Earl St. Vincent, 1793 to 1803. There are also two series from agents, one of fifty-four letters, 1796 to 1801, which include some from Sir Sidney Smith and the second of seventy-one letters from William May, 1797 to 1798. There is also a secret account book kept by Charles Wright, Chief Clerk to the Admiralty, between 1795 and 1804. This was purchased from Maggs Bros. in 1969. (3 vols, 2 boxes) In the Gosse collection of papers relating to piracy there are letters received by Nepean, 1817 to 1819.

Papers of Vice Admiral R Don Oliver. They consist mainly of family correspondence, but there are some official service documents; Vice Admiral Robert D Oliver's recollections; files of personal papers from the 1960s and 1970s; papers of both his first wife, Mrs Torfrida L.A. Swann (nee Huddart) and the Huddart family, and those concerning his second wife, Mrs Marion Joyce Glendinning Van de Velde; diaries for 1960-1978; newspaper cuttings and photographs. There are also papers belonging to his father, Colonel William James Oliver, and his uncle, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Francis Oliver: these include Sir Henry Oliver's recollections, 100th birthday letters and letters of condolence to his wife, Dame Beryl Oliver, on his death in 1965.

They consist of eleven log books, the first of which was written by Osborn as a Mate, with the rest by him as Master. Ranging between 1853 to 1875, they span the majority of Osborn's career at sea. As well as containing the standard information one would expect, ( bearings, weather details, journal entries, etc), the logs also contain nearly 100 drawings and sketches in ink, pencil and watercolour of various ships, coastline profiles, sea-birds, etc.

Papers of Sir Augustus Phillimore. They consist almost entirely of Phillimore's private and semi-official correspondence from 1835 until the end of his life. These include many letters from relatives, including Phillimore' s numerous brothers and sisters, and some of his letters to them. The remainder are mostly from naval officers. Admiral Sir George Ommaney Willes (1823-1901) was a regular correspondent from the 1840s onwards. There are official letterbooks, papers relating to Jamaica and some papers for the Channel Squadron, a few letters and official service documents and some biographical notes.

Papers of Sir George Pocock. They cover only one period of Pocock's career in detail, that of his time in the East Indies, 1754 to 1760, and include letters from the Admiralty, the East India Company Secret Committee at Madras, Company officials and local officials. The papers relating to the capture of Chandernagore in 1757 include the capitulation, papers signed by General Thomas Lally (1702-1766) and letters from Robert Clive (1725-1774). The private correspondence consists of letters received by Pocock between 1763 and 1789 from the Nabob of the Carnatic, 1766, and other native rulers in India. The collection also contains some papers of Pocock's son, Sir George Pocock (1765-1840), and his grandsons, Robert and Edward; this section is mostly of bills, receipts and accounts for the years 1792 to 1862.

Papers of Sir Henry Daniel Pridham-Wippell, comprising operational orders, signals and letters relating to the Mediterranean, including fleet narratives and reports on operations in the Western Desert, 1940 to 1941; and the Dover Command War Diaries, 1940 to 1944.

Papers of the Royal Indian Navy (1612-1947) Association, including papers of the Association, 1750-1986. The majority of documents relate to individual naval personnel, 1914-1947, from the RIN, RIM, RINR, RINVR and WRINS services.

The papers of Edward Montagu, the first Earl, consist of five volumes containing papers relating to his political career 1656-1669. The papers of John Montagu, fourth Earl of Sandwich, consist of five volumes of appointment books, 1771 to 1782, purchased from the Montagu family in 1957 and transcripts. In 1956 and 1960 the Secretary of the Navy Records Society deposited on loan transcripts of Sandwich's papers, 1771 to 1782, not included in the Society's publication. The Heritage Lottery Fund has supported the purchase of additions to this collection.

Papers of William Henry Shirreff. There are three letterbooks for the years 1818 to 1820, one for 1830 to 1837 at Gibraltar, another for 1838 to 1841 and a report on dockyards made to the Admiralty in 1846.

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.

Papers of Adml John Lort Stokes. They include logs, 1837 to 1843, 1848 to 1849, 1851 and 1859 to 1863, letter-books, 1841 to 1843, 1848 to 1851 and 1860 to 1862, and correspondence, 1844 to 1858. There are no papers for the first voyage of the BEAGLE. For the second and more famous voyage, 1831 to 1836, on which Charles Darwin sailed, there are some official service documents of Stokes, some orders, notes on surveying, rough notes on navigation in South American waters and a few rough sketches. For the third voyage, 1837 to 1843, there are survey notebooks, some letters and orders, a night order book, a game book, a list of the crew, some accounts, an album of sketches and some loose sketches. The bulk of the collection relates to the voyage of the ACHERON. There is a draft narrative of the first part of the voyage, together with survey notebooks, an abstract of the ship's positions, miscellaneous letters and papers and views, sketches and rough charts. This last group comprises about 150 single items, mostly coastal views. Some of the more finished sketches can be identified as the work of William Swainson (1789-1855), Frederick John Owen Evans (1815-1885), later Hydrographer to the Admiralty, and W.J.W. Hamilton, an artist who accompanied the expedition. His sketchbook is also in the collection. Finally there are survey notebooks and a calculations book for the English Channel survey.

Papers of William Stokes Rees, including logs, 1868 to 1870 and 1872 to 1873, two workbooks, 1897, out-letterbooks, 1898 to 1901, and loose papers which relate to the expeditions in Africa, 1895 to 1897. There is also a typescript, 'Yarns from an Admiral's Reminiscences', as retold to Commander Stokes-Rees.

Papers of Sir William Eric Campbell Tait containing two logs, 1903 to 1905, a photograph album, 1908 to 1914, and loose papers; these include letters of proceedings, 1929 to 1930, remarks on the officers and men of the Argentine Navy, on Brazilian and American naval personnel, and intelligence reports, 1932 to 1933.

Papers of Gerald William Vivian, 1904-1921, including memoranda, appointments, sailing orders and Admiralty letters, 1904 to 1918; correspondence, 1913 to 1921; reports on the dockyard at Esquimalt and on the landing party for the protection of British subjects at San Quentin, Mexico, 1911, and reports and papers relating to the Air Department, 1915 to 1918.

Papers of Capt George Alexander Waters, consisting of logs, 1842-1843, and 1852-1861. There are loose letters, 1857-1858, including those from Captain Peel and the officers of the Naval Brigade concerning the Indian Mutiny and a book in Chinese endorsed 'taken from the house three or four miles below Nanking, 26 Aug. 1842', which is a coal-merchant's receipt book.

Documents - This class contains single documents and small collections of documents which are of a biographical nature. It includes a pardon of alienation on the property left in the will of John Frettleton (d 1597), with the Great Seal (Elizabeth I) appended; letters, memoranda and certificates, 1852 to 1896, realting to the career of Dr William James Baird (1831-c 1906); , Fleet Surgeon, who became a naval surgeon in 1852, served in the Crimean War with the Royal Marine Brigade in China, 1858 to 1859, and in the Ashanti War of 1874; papers relating to John Hoskin (b 1769), who was Master Shipwright at Bermuda Dockyard, 1811 to 1824, and his family, including a letter of 1805 from Captain (later Admiral) Thomas Masterman Hardy (1769-1839); and the certificates and letters of Captain Joseph Besant Fowler (b.1826), merchant seaman, which gives a detailed record of his career from the time of his indenture of apprenticeship in 1843 to his application for admission to the almshouse in 1886.

Papers of Sir Edward Belcher comprising letter and order books, 1843 to 1847 and 1852 to 1854. There is a watch and signal book, undated, and some official service documents.

Papers 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.

Papers of Clumber House. The collection mainly consistis of eleven volumes of copies, some of them contemporary, of original documents. Dating from the early seventeenth century is a copy of 'Admiralli Angliae a tempore regis Edwardi secundi ano 1307 ad anui domini 1590'; some notes added to the text in a different hand extend this list of admirals to cover the years 1264 to 1618. Slightly later is a seventeenth-century copy of judges' opinions regarding the payment of ship money, 1638. There is a collection of bound documents relating to naval administration which includes copies of 'A brief discourse of the Navy', 1638, and 'The Navy Ript and Ransact', c 1659, by John Hollond (fl 1624-1659) (printed in Hollond's Discourses, ed. J.R. Tanner, Navy Records Society, 1896). Also relating to politics and maritime affairs is a volume of original seventeenth- and early eighteenth-century documents compiled c 1815 by an antiquarian, William Hamper (1776-1831). Four volumes, possibly compiled for or by Josiah Burchett, Secretary to the Admiralty, ([1666]-1746), contain notes, transcripts and some original documents relating to the Navy, 1659 to 1743; they include copies of orders issued by the Admiralty and King in Council and a volume of accounts, tables and orders relating to the equipment, management and expense of maintaining the Navy, including the dockyards, c 1732. Notes and transcripts, c 1799, formerly belonging to William Locker (1731-1800) comprise two volumes; these were compiled for a history of the Navy and include some biographical sketches of naval officers. Finally, there is the log of the H.E.I.C.S. Melville Castle, 1786 to 1788.

Papers of George Legge, consisting of twenty-seven volumes, partly of Dartmouth's own papers and partly of journals by his contemporaries. In the first category is the log of the ROYAL KATHERINE, 1673; the letter and order book of the Sub-Commissioners of Prizes at Portsmouth, 1672 to 1674; papers relating to Tangier, which include three letterbooks, two order books and a journal of the proceedings of Samuel Pepys and others, enquiring into the properties of the papers not directly relating to Dartmouth include a commonplace book, 1666; two logs, 1671 to 1672, 1672 to 1673, of Sir Edward Spragge; a log of the RESOLUTION, Captain Sir Thomas Allin (1612-1685), 1669 to 1670, Mediterranean; the log of the ASSISTANCE, Captain Sir Richard Munden (1640-1680), during the expedition to St Helena in 1673; a log of the SAUDADOES, Captain James Jenefer, 1672 to 1673, on a voyage to Lisbon; a log of the CENTURION, Captain Charles Wyld on a voyage conveying Sir John Finch (1626-1682), as ambassador to Constantinople, 1673 to 1674, and a log of Captain Grenvile Collins (fl 1679-1693), surveying in home waters, 1688 to 1689. There is a letterbook, 1666, of Prince Rupert and George Monck, Duke of Albemarle (1608-1670), joint Commanders-in-Chief. This was published as 'The Rupert and Monck Letterbook, 1666', ed. J R Powell and E K Timings (Navy Records Society, 1969). There are copies of the Duke of York's Sailing and Fighting Instructions, 1672 and 1673, accounts of the battle of Solebay, an account of the battle of Texel by Sir John Narbrough (1640-1688) and notes on seventeenth century naval affairs. A further volume, a 'Discourse on the state of the Navy', 1660 to 1661, by Sir Robert Slingsby (1611-1661), was presented by Mr J. Ehrman in 1951.

Papers of Sir Robert Francis Elkins, comprising Elkin's midshipman's journal, 1921 to 1923, his summaries and reports on Invergordon, 1931, and a later report written in 1967 for Captain Stephen Roskill's (1903- ) use in his History on Naval Policy between the Wars (London, 1968) as well as Elkin's wartime 'Line' books. These include accounts (as well as his official report, (1947) of his escape from St Valery, and of the proceedings for the surrender of the German squadron at Copenhagen. The remainder of this group consists of arrangements for ceremonial Royal occasions, 1948 to 1951, and a selection of sea shanties, arranged for orchestra. The second group, relates to the publication of Len Wincott's book Invergordon mutineer (London, 1974) and the publicity given to his visit to England, also in that year.

Papers 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.