Of the twelve volumes in this class, two relate to the society of East India Commanders; one, 1780 to 1833, records wagers between members and promises of gifts to the society upon such eventualities as marriage or leaving the service; the other is an account book, 1825 to 1879. The remaining eight volumes are 'Elements of Navigation' by pupils of Christ's Hospital Mathematical School; the earliest is dated 1723 and the latest is c 1845. All are very carefully executed and the subjects include arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, gunnery and navigation; the majority are illustrated with diagrams, maps, pen and ink sketches or watercolours.

Papers of Shaw Savill and Albion Co Ltd. The bulk of the correspondence files belong to the period 1947 to 1965, although the earliest paper is dated 1924. They are concerned with the building and trials of new vessels, ships in service, standard freight rates and routine instructions to masters. There are summaries of passage money and numbers of passengers, 1900 to 1946; analyses of passage money, outward, 1946 to 1960, 1970 to 1972; passage money, homeward, 1965 to 1968. the records cover chartered vessels as well as the Company's own ships. (Although there is some information about individual passengers, this is not a complete record of passengers carried: more comprehensive lists can be found in the passenger lists in the Board of Trade records at the Public Record Office.). In 1969 a series of refrigerator and engine logs, 1956 to 1962, were deposited as well as deck logs, 1944 to 1965.

Papers 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.

Papers of William and Dugald Dawson comprising 80 letters from Dugald Dawson (dated 1823-1840) and 64 letters from William Dawson (dated 1828-1843). Also included are 38 letters (including two private journals) from Captain William Dawson, addressed to his wife Barbara (dated 1849-1858), and a number of other letters and papers, chiefly of William's family.

Papers of Cicely Fox Smith, consisting of some manuscript material including logs of three East India merchant ships 1851 to 1854; a number of letters and photographs which she received from various correspondents; and a few articles and newspaper cuttings; there are also letters relating to the restoration of the VICTORY, 1920 to 1929. The collection has some useful materials for the study of the sailing ship.

Collection 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.

Papers of Samuel Grant, consisting of detailed diaries, 1793 to 1803 (some of them in shorthand), and correspondence and naval papers connected with his work as a purser, 1781 to 1803. These include passes, indentures for a clerk, certificates, financial papers, lists of stores and lists of ships There are also some financial and legal papers relating to the family property in Pembroke.

Records of the General Steam Navigation Co Ltd. They consist of: minutes of the Board, 1824 to 1859, 1861 to 1893, 1896 to 1970; minutes of the managing committee of the Board, 1833; Deeds of Settlement and printed extracts from Acts of Parliament relating to the company, 1825, 1840, 1845, 1874; two commercial agreements with other companies, 1874, 1906; Directors' half-yearly reports to shareholders, with balance sheets, 1825 to 1906; profit and loss accounts, 1896 to 1924; Employee Record of Service Book, 1850 to 1914; circulars and instructions to staff, 1874, 1875, 1884, 1903; Sailing Bills, 1839, 1844, 1874, 1875, 1939; books of time tables, 1876 to 1914; notes on various ships in the company, 1842 to 1904; copies of Certificates of British Registry, 1836 to 1965. Only a small amount of correspondence survives, including several letters to and from the Board, 1832 to 1922; some items concerning the working of the Holland to Hamburg mail contract, 1834, and a few letters from shareholders, 1902, 1906 and 1916 to 1920. There are also documents recording the history of the Company, including records of General Steam Navigation Company ships and men in the two world wars, copies of parliamentary papers, newspaper cuttings and photographs. In addition, there are records of three companies acquired by G.S.N. Moss Hutchinson Line Limited: the records consist of Memorandum and Articles of Association, with attendant papers, 1934 to 1968; Directors' minute book, 1941 to 1971; annual returns, 1941 to 1965, return of Directors and Secretaries, 1954 to 1964; balance sheets and profit and loss accounts, 1916 to 1971. Those for the New Medway Steam Packet Co Ltd include Directors' minute books, 1919 to 1968; annual returns, 1920 to 1937; annual reports and balance sheets, 1931 to 1938; profit and loss accounts, 1929 to 1960; and ledgers, 1920 to 1960. Grand Union (Shipping) Limited: these include Memorandum and Articles of Association, 1937; Directors' minute book, 1937 to 1957; and balance sheets and profit and loss accounts, 1938 to 1966. (Section 3: GSN/: 16ft: 488cm) Ships' Plans: these were presented in 1963. The collection consists of books with arrangements and particulars of twenty-nine G.S.N. ships in the 1920s and 1930s. Further details are available in the P and O collection.

Papers of Commander Alexander Montgomerie. There are account books for the BWSBOROUGH, 1777 to 1781; a letterbook, 1786 to 1788, and a log book of the BOMBAY CASTLE, 1793 to 1794.

Papers of Capt Archibald Hamilton, consisting of journals, owners' instructions, accounts of stores, navigational work books, cash books, as well as accounts of the engagement off Pulo Aor and the subsequent court of enquiry. There are also private and general trade accounts and several items of economic interest, including a fabric pattern sample book the papers relate to Montgomerie Hamilton, younger brother of Archibald. There are a number of logs of other East India Company ships, 1765 to 1785, and some papers of William Reid, relating to trade with North America, 1734 to 1735.

The 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.

This category includes single documents concerned with particular events relating to merchant shipping. Among the six items are an account by a passenger of an eventful voyage in 1829 in the ISAAC HICKS from Liverpool to New York; and a small diary of a voyage in a deep-sea trawler, the BELGAUM of Grimsby, in 1964.

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

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

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

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

Papers of London and Rochester Trading Company Ltd., comprising the company's financial and business records including contract agreements for ship specifications for the building of company barges, bills of sale for various barges, general arrangement plans and miscellaneous material re: company's lease arrangements and other business records.

General 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 King¹s 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.

Merchant Shipping: Signal Books and Signals including a Vane List c 1810 and a pendant board of the same date.

Records of Albyn Line Ltd, comprising Directors' and shareholders' minute books, 1901 to 1966, containing an unbroken series of balance sheets and profit and loss accounts; a full series of cash books and ledgers, 1901 to 1966; ships' voyage books, 1953 to 1966, containing information on costs, types of cargo, freight rates, rates of hire, fuel costs etc; voyage papers for some of the voyages of the last three ships from 1962 to 1966; insurance records, 1952 to 1966, and a random collection of chief officers' log books, 1960 to 1966. There are also the records of Allan Black and Company, the managers, relating to internal office administration, 1958 to 1966 and papers relating to the voluntary liquidation, 1966. There is no correspondence apart from two out-letterbooks.

Papers of Roger Charles Anderson, relating in the main to the Royal Navy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but also includes papers on merchant shipping and on the French, Dutch, Spanish, Swedish and Venetian navies. One of the earliest is a volume containing documents written in the seventeenth century relating to the part played by Sir Thomas Fairfax (1612-1671) in the English Civil War; a copy of the account by Sir Walter Raleigh ([1552]-1618) of his expedition to the Orinoco, 1617, and an 'Explanation of Sea terms', a shortened version of the 'Seaman's Dictionary', c 1620, by Sir Henry Mainwaring (1587-1653). Connected with merchant shipping is a group of eight Bills of Sale of shares in merchant ships, seven of which are dated between 1637 and 1643.

There are four volumes of orders, patents and instructions relating to the administration of the Navy after the Restoration, including those issued to the Navy Board in 1662 and to the Victualling Board in 1683. Of the same period are the letterbook of the Chatham dockyard Commissioner, 1670, and an account of the construction of docks at Plymouth, 1698. The building and equipment of ships for the Navy is the subject of several volumes: one contains dimensions and costs of His Majesty's ships by William Keltridge, 1675, with later additions; another, by Edward Battine (fl 1679-1692), is entitled 'The Method of Building, Rigging, Apparelling and Furnishing His Majesty's Ships of War', 1689; a later notebook, dated 1793, contains illustrations and explanations related to shipbuilding. Detailed estimates of the 'charge' of maintaining the Navy are given in several volumes, 1672, 1689, 1701, 1800. One provides the establishment of men and guns for each ship, corrected to 1685; five contain lists of ships and vessels in the Navy, 1688, 1701, 1750, c 1797, 1846. Numerous other notes and lists on the establishment of the Navy, some made by Anderson himself, supplement these originals. Naval operations are represented by the letterbooks of Commodore Curtis Barnett (d 1746), 1744 to 1746, when he was in command of the British squadron in the East Indies. Less official records include some early journals: the 'Discourse of a voyage' made by the captain of the Fellowship of Bristol, employed on the King's service on the coast of Ireland, 1641 to 1642; extracts from journals relating to the proceedings of Prince Rupert's fleet, 1648 to 1650, 1651 to 1652, 1652; 'The daily motion and public transactions of His Majesty's fleet' under Prince Rupert and the Duke of Albemarle, 1666; a copy of the journal of Captain (later Admiral) John Narbrough (1640-1688) on board the Prince, 1672, and St Michael, 1673, with accounts of the Battle of Solebay, 1672; an account of a voyage to the coasts of Africa, the Straits of Magellan, Brazil, Guyana and the Caribbean islands, 1695 to 1696; a copy of the journal of Sir George Rooke (1650-1709), 1700 to 1703 (printed by the Navy Records Society, ed. 0. Browning, 1897); and a copy of 'A Pirate's Journal' kept by William Davidson (d 1797), 1788 to 1789.

Papers 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.

Papers of Coast Lines Ltd. They include: seven minute books of the Board and General Meetings of the parent company, 1913 to 1969. There is less information on the associated companies, although there are minutes of the General Meetings of the Belfast Steamship Company Limited, 1852 to 1943. Miscellaneous early documents include the Deed of Constitution of 1836 for the City of Cork Steam Packet Company Limited, and an agreement of 1837 between the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company and the City of Dublin and British and Irish Steam Packet companies, to the effect that the two Irish companies should not trade on overseas routes covered by the English Company. The financial records consist of: four ledgers of the Queenship Navigation Company Limited, 1899 to 1925; published accounts and balance sheets, mostly for the 1950s; a series of vessels' pro forma voyage accounts for eight companies of the group, 1965 to 1966, with a consolidated summary, traffic returns and trade figures for the main associated companies, 1955 to 1964; conference minutes and freight rates, 1871 to 1934, give an insight into the structure and operations of the Irish and English, Scottish and Irish and Belfast trades. The associate companies reported to the parent company weekly, in letter form, giving the position of their vessels and other information. Letters of this type in the collection cover the period 1955 to 1964. Otherwise there are only a few isolated letters and no letterbooks. The greater part of the collection consists of publicity material, brochures and advertisements: a large number of photographs, of ships, staff, wharves and warehouses; and draft histories of the companies making up the Group. The records of the following Coast Line associates are to he found elsewhere: the Ayr Steamship Company Ltd, the Burns and Laird Lines, and William Sloan and Company Limited at the Strathclyde Regional Archives; the Tyne Tees Steam Shipping Company Limited records at the Tyne and Wear Archives Department.

Papers of Sir Alexander Duff, consisting of letters received from Lord Jellicoe (1859-1935) and Sir Charles Madden (q.v.), 1916 to 1933, and a few letters from Jellicoe to Lady Duff, 1934; a series of notes and letters, 1914 to 1919, on the convoy system; papers on mercantile shipping, conferences and convoys, 1918, and some of Duff's retrospective views on convoys written in 1931 and a private diary kept between 1914 and 1916.

MSS. 5958-5963 comprise journals of A B Barton, mainly written while he was a medical officer in the service of the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company (P & O), 1853-1858. They cover his journeys between Bombay, Singapore and Hong Kong; to the Crimea; and to the Far East. They include descriptions of the progress of the Chinese rebellion (MS. 5959), tending to and transporting the sick and wounded from Balaclava to Scutari (MS. 5960), and his shipwreck off the coast of Ceylon, together with General Henry Havelock, on the steamer Erin (MS. 5962). Some are manuscript or typescript copies. MSS. 7589-7594 comprise journals and sketches mainly relating to the Yangtse expedition, led by Captain Thomas W Blakiston, on which Barton served as a medical officer, 1861. One journal, MS. 7591, also records the end of the expedition and Barton's journey to Ceylon via Singapore, with entries on hunting expeditions in Ceylon. The journals are all fair copies. MS. 7592 comprises a narrative of the Yangste expedition read by Barton to the Royal Geographical Society, based on his journals. MS. 7593 is a series of mainly topographical illustrations relating to the expedition, comprising sketches by Barton, plus photographs and engravings based on other sketches by Barton, some of which were used to illustrate Five Months on the Yang-Tse by Thomas W Blakiston (London: John Murray, 1862). MS. 7594 comprises later papers of Brian M Gould relating to Barton and his journals, 1967 and n.d.

The collection consists of diaries, correspondence and other papers from the period in which Ross was medical officer of the coolie ship Hong Bee, travelling between Penang and the China coast via Hong Kong. MS.6117 includes a temporary commission in the Royal Army Medical Corps, 1916.

Papers relating to Weston's career, 1916- 1945, including manuscript notes by Weston entitled 'Some notes on the discipline of Imperial troops in convoy on HM Transport LLANSTEPHAN CASTLE from Durban to Suez', 1941; notebook containing manuscript 'Standing orders for POWs', 1943; typescript report on the sinking of the EMPRESS OF CANADA, 1943; typescript instructions and duties of Draft Conducting Officers on board troopships [1943]; typescript memorandum by Weston on the co-ordination of Movement Control in South Africa, 1944, with typescript reports on officers attached to Imperial Movement Control, South Africa (IMPCON), 1944; printed material including memorandum on the German attack near Givenchy, Western Front, 1918, with printed map annotated with dispositions of German 4 Ersatz Div during attack north of Cuinchy, France, 9 Apr 1918, scale 1: 10, 000; trench map entitled France. Sheet 57D SE. Edition 3A, scale 1:20,000 (GSGS 2742, 1916), annotated with features near La Boisselle, Pozieres and Courcelette, Battle of the Somme, 1916, Field Service Pocket Book, Orders and intercommunication (HMSO, London, 1939), Rifle Drill illustrated (Gale and Polden, Aldershot, 1940), Restricted War Office booklet 'Standing instructions for Officers Commanding units and drafts ordered overseas', 1943.

This series relates to conveyance of mails within the United Kingdom and Ireland by sea. The majority of records are on the Irish and Scottish packet services, with a few contracts for mail services to the Scilly Isles, Lundy Island and the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands, placed at the end of the series.

The packet report series (POST 39 and 41) comprises reports to the Postmaster General from the Secretary to the Post Office, on the packet boat service and overseas mail arrangements. These are the surviving reports from those listed in POST 41.

POST 39 therefore consists of the actual Reports which are still in existence, with any enclosures. POST 41 consists of indexed volumes containing a copy of every Report submitted to the Postmaster General (including those which have since been destroyed) and is the only guide to the contents of POST 39. The Postmaster General's decision on each case is recorded. Examples of incidents recorded in the reports include the capture of packet ships, possibly due to pirates, smuggling of dry goods, loss of crew, terms and conditions of ship hire, victualling of crew and route changes and times.

In 1811 a parallel series entitled Packet Minutes (POST 29 and POST 34) was created. Cases for the attention of the Postmaster General were sometimes recorded in both series, but at other times in only one of the two series. Upon the cessation of the Report series POST 29 and POST 34 continued alone.

For further details of how this class relates to the other report and minute classes, see the following section 'Related Material'.

This series consists of a series of quarterly accounts of salaries and allowances due and payable by incidents to the officers, clerks and tradesmen employed by the General, Twopenny and London District Post Offices (the Twopenny Post was replaced by the London District Post in 1844). Items 6/4-6, covering 1794-1799, also include separate quarterly accounts of tradesmen's bills and incidental warrants paid out of the revenue of the Bye and Cross Road Letter Office. Accounts cover a wide variety of items and are arranged under general subject headings, such as 'pensions', 'packets', 'tradesmen' and 'rents'. Entries include what the bill is for, name of person owed and the amount. The date of the Treasury warrant authorising payment is often included at the end of each quarterly account. Volumes are not indexed. The accounts include bills for:

• Pensions, salaries and allowances to chief and senior officers, clerks, sorters, messengers and servants working in London headquarters departments, including offices of the Secretary and Accountant General, and the Foreign, Inland, Express, Mail Coach, Dead Letter, Ship Letter and Bye Letter offices; packet agents; surveyors; postmasters inspectors of mails, letter receivers and carriers and packet ships; commanders and mates of packet ships, or their widows; letter receivers and carriers in London; and mail guards

• Expenses for mail conveyance by sea, including costs incurred by packet ships operating from Falmouth, Harwich, Dover, Whitehaven, Donaghadee, Weymouth, Milford Haven and Holyhead, and in the West and East Indies, notably hire charges, lighting dues, arms and ammunition stores, wages and victualling for captains, officers and crew whilst at sea, out of employ or while the ship is undergoing repairs; and ship letter mails

• Expenses for inland mail conveyance, notably for payments to mail coach contractors; road, bridge and ferry tolls; supply and upkeep of fire arms, time pieces, mail bags and mail guards uniforms; mail coach maintenance; and railway and steam packet company charges

• Compensation for abolished positions or duties

• Items supplied or work done by tradesmen

• Legal expenses notably relating to investigation, detection, capture, and trail of felons

• Rents, taxes and rates for offices in London

• Stationery printing costs

• Transit postage and tonnage dues to foreign post offices

• Travelling expenses, particularly surveyors'

Item 6/11, covering 1805-1809, is different to the rest of the series. It contains certified accounts of the quarterly salaries and allowances paid by incidents upon which the Civil List deduction, or tax, of six pence in the pound is chargeable. Each account lists the 'salaries' and 'incidents' of individual officers and clerks at the General Post Office headquarters in London, including the Postmaster General, Secretary and other senior officers, and the total duty payable each quarter.

These accounts probably originate from the office of the Receiver General, who was in charge of all moneys received and paid out of the revenue of the Post Office.

Papers of Hamburg-Amerika linie, 1939, comprise of a notice from the Breslau office of the Hamburg Amerika Linie, travel company, regarding sailings and prices for illegal emigration to Palestine.

Letter from John Taylor of the Cannon Coffee House, Charing Cross to Alexander Dalrymple Esq, 17 Feb 1795. Covering letter to a 1794 proof copy of Captain Taylor's Considerations on the practicability and advantages of a more speedy communication between Great Britain and her possessions in India [advocating the superiority of the overland route above the usual sea voyage]. 'I hope I have profited by the advice you was kind enough to give me some time ago in regard to the accompanying plan ... I have ... condensed the subject and am now busy in arranging what authorities I have been able to collect ...'.

Autograph, with signature.

Papers relating to property of John Michie, Director of the East India Company, at 'Muffets' or North Mimms, Hertfordshire, comprising a list of the fields, woods, etc. with their acreages, dated May 1780. There is also a list of those paying land tax, with the amounts, headed 'Present rate of North Myms Common' 7 Jul 1780.
On the reverse of one list is a brief memorandum headed 'By the Joint Committee of private Trade and Shipping', concerning an enquiry into the conduct of captain Peter Douglas of the Queen and Captain John Coggan of the Shrewsbury for 'parting company outward bound contrary to the orders of the Secret Committee' in 1777, dated 5 May 1780, initialled by four of the Company directors, and with a note that it was read in court. The documents are accompanied by a wrapper endorsed 'Muffets. (Account of Grounds by Messrs. Michie'.

Photocopies of 13 letters, 1882-1899, from Alexander Russell to his sister, Barbara Russell, recounting trips on missionary and other vessels in the South Pacific, including visits to Sydney (Australia) and Fiji.

Typescript transcript of letters and extracts of letters, and some photocopies of original letters, 1818-1821, from Thomas and Abigail Beighton to family and friends, recording problems encountered on the journey from England to Madras; local customs; and missionary work in Malacca and Penang, particularly their work in education; also including much discussion of family matters and of relationships among the missionary communities.

Medical log of the slave-ship LORD STANLEY, kept by Christopher Bowes the ship's surgeon between 23 March-26 July 1792. The ship traded between the African coast and the Isle of Grenada, West Indies. Of the 389 slaves on board, 16 died. The log gives the daily sick rate and there are brief notes of the cases and treatment.

At the end of the manuscript, Christopher Bowes states it is a "just and true journal" which he then presents to Custom House, at St George, Grenada in 1792. This is witnessed and signed by George Ferguson [Possibly George Ferguson, Governor of Tobago c1781]. The next page of the volume contains a statement signed by George Ferguson, saying that this is a "true copy of the original journal", and is dated September 5th 1792. Therefore it is likely that this manuscript is a copy of the original journal, which was perhaps retained in Grenada.

At the front of the volume is a letter to Arthur Bowes Elliot (grandson of Christopher Bowes) dated 5th October 1911, from Sir Ronald Ross (FRCS) 1857-1932, regarding the contents of the volume, and the diseases the slaves were suffering from.

Papers of and relating to Sir Robert Hart, 1866-1954, comprising two series of private letters from Sir Robert Hart to his personal representative in England, J D Campbell, one dating from 1868-1879 and one from 1879-1906; a run of semi-official letters to Campbell, 1874-1906; a file on the Chinese Fleet, 1876-1894; correspondence and papers, 1866-1954, concerning the letters, including their ownership. A run of Campbell's letters to Hart, 1874-1877, is also included in the collection.

Files of the Port Health and Environmental Services Committee, 1948-1958, on subjects including air pollution, Basildon New Town, the disposal of condemned food, Denton Hospital, houseboats and the inspection of ships.

Records of the New India Assurance Company Limited, comprising a salvage book giving details of insurance claims on shipping.

Minute book of the Java Agency Company Limited, shipping agents.

Journal of A G R Sutherland, apprentice on the Merchant Vessel "British Renown".

Records of Harrisons and Crosfield Limited relating to insurance; including Insurance Department reports, financial accounts, papers and policy journals; and papers relating to insurance claims, particularly for cargoes diverted or requisitioned during the Second World War.

Records of the companies making up the Inchcape Group, including:

• Adamson, Bell and Company: see Dodwell and Company;
  • Adamson (W. R.) and Company: see Dodwell and Company;
  • African Marine and General Engineering Company: see Smith, Mackenzie and Company;
  • African Wharfage Company: see Smith, Mackenzie and Company;
  • Alexandra Brickworks Limited: see Borneo Company;
  • Anglo Siam Corporation: see Anglo Thai Corporation;
  • Anglo Thai Corporation: Ms 27001-034;
  • Arbuthnot, Ewart and Company: see Anglo Thai Corporation;
  • Argonauts Investments Limited: see Assam and African Investments Limited;
  • Assam and African Holdings Limited: see Assam and African Investments Limited;
  • Assam and African Investments Limited: Ms 27035-45;
  • Assam Company Limited: Ms 8794-8803; 9924-9936; 11497-504; 23723-5 and 27046-103;
  • Assam Estates Limited: Ms 27104-7;
  • Australasian United Steam Navigation Company: 27108-45;
  • Baghdad Light and Power Company: 27146-7;
  • Bahrein Slipway Company: see Gray, Mackenzie and Company;
  • Bally Paper Mills Company: see Borneo Company;
  • Bangalore Woollen, Cotton and Silk Mills Company: see Binny and Company;
  • Barnagore Jute Factory Company: see Borneo Company;
  • Barry and Company: see Macneill and Barry;
  • Barry, J. B. and Son: see Duncan Macneill and Company;
  • Bhooteachang Tea Company: Ms 27148;
  • Binny and Company: Ms 27149-73;
  • Borneo Agencies Limited: see Borneo Company;
  • Borneo Company: Ms 27174-474;
  • Borneo Motors Limited: see Borneo Company;
  • Brae and Chingoor Tea Estates Limited: Ms 27475-7;
  • British India and Queensland Agency Company: Ms 27478-9;
  • British India Associated Steamers Limited: Ms 27480-6;
  • Bruseh Tin and Rubber Estates Limited: see Borneo Company;
  • Bulkships Limited: Ms 27487;
  • Cawnpore Electric Supply Corporation: Ms 27488;
  • Cheerie Valley Tea Company: Ms 27489;
  • Child, Macfarland and Company: Ms 27490-1;
  • Dalhousie Jute Company: Ms 27492;
  • Delmege, Allen and Company: Ms 27493-4;
  • Delmege, Forsyth and Company: 27495-7;
  • Dilmun Navigation Company: see Gray, Mackenzie and Company;
  • Dodwell and Company: Ms 27498-526;
  • Dodwell, Carlill and Company: see Dodwell and Company;
  • Dodwell Motors Limited: see Dodwell and Company;
  • Duncan Macneill and Company: Ms 27527-90;
  • Eastern and Australian Steampship Company: see Australasian United Steam Navigation Company;
  • Ewart, Latham and Company: see Anglo Thai Corporation;
  • Ewart, Lyon and Company: see Anglo Thai Corporation;
  • Ewart, Ryrie and Company: see Anglo Thai Corporation;
  • Ganges Transport and Trading Company: Ms 27591-2;
  • Garden Reach Spinning and Manufacturing Company: Ms 27592A;
  • Garden Reach Workshops Limited: see Rivers Steam Navigation Company;
  • Gibb, Livingston and Company: Ms 27593-6;
  • Gillanders, Ewart and Company: see Anglo Thai Corporation;
  • Gilman (Holdings) Limited: Ms 27597;
  • Gourepore Company: Ms 27598;
  • Gourepore Electric Supply Company: Ms 27599;
  • Gray, Dawes and Company: Ms 27600-87;
  • Gray, Mackenzie and Company: Ms 27688-745;
  • Gray, Paul and Company: see Gray, Mackenzie and Company;
  • Greenwood Tea Company: Ms 27746-52;
  • Haboko Tea Company: see Borneo Company;
  • Hain (Edward) and Son: see St Mary Axe Securities Limited;
  • India General Navigation and Railway Company: Ms 27753-65;
  • India General Steam Navigation Company: see India General Navigation and Railway Company;
  • India Rivers Steam Navigation Company: see Rivers Steam Navigation Company;
  • Islay, Kerr and Company: Ms 27766-9;
  • Java Agency Company: Ms 27770;
  • Kalline Tea Company: Ms 27771-4;
  • Kenya Landing and Shipping Company: see Smith, Mackenzie and Company;
• Kilburn and Company: see Macneill and Barry Limited;
  • Kilburn, Brown and Company: Ms 27775-82;
  • Koyah Tea Company: Ms 27783;
  • Macdonald, Hamilton and Company: Ms 27784-7;
  • Mackay and Company: Ms 27788-92;
  • Mackay, Lynch and Company: see Mackay and Company;
  • Mackinnon, Mackenzie and Company: Ms 27793-848;
  • Mackinnon (W.) and Company: Ms 27849-50;
  • Macneill and Barry Limited: Ms 27851-94;
  • Macneill and Company: see Macneill and Barry Limited;
  • Macneill and Kilburn Limited: see Macneill and Barry Limited;
  • Macneill and Magor Limited: see Macneill and Barry Limited;
  • Macneill, Barry and Company: see Duncan Macneill and Company;
  • Majagram Tea Company: Ms 27895;
  • Mediterranean Transport Company: Ms 27896-902;
  • Mesopotamia Persia Corporation: see Gray, Mackenzie and Company;
  • Metro-Dodwell Motors Limited: see Dodwell and Company;
  • New Rivers Company: see Rivers Steam Navigation Company;
  • Ngambo Limited: see Assam and African Investments Limited;
  • Northern Dooars Tea Company: Ms 27903-8;
  • Nuddea Mills Company: Ms 27909;
  • Pahang Consolidated Company: see Borneo Company;
  • Pakistan River Steamers Limited: see Rivers Steam Navigation Company;
  • Pakistan Rivers Steam Navigation Company: see Rivers Steam Navigation Company;
  • Rejang Agencies Limited: see Borneo Company;
  • River Steamers Company: see Rivers Steam Navigation Company;
  • Rivers Steam Navigation Company: Ms 27910-28101;
  • St Mary Axe Securities Limited: Ms 28102-5;
  • Salonah Tea Company: Ms 28106-11;
  • Sarawak Rubber Estates Limited: see Borneo Company;
  • Sarawak Steamship Company: see Borneo Company;
  • Scottish Assam Tea Company: Ms 28112-16;
  • Siam Forest Company: see Anglo Thai Corporation;
  • Silonibari Tea Company: Ms 28117;
  • Singapore Plywood Company: see Borneo Company;
  • Smith, Mackenzie and Company: Ms 28118-53;
  • Tanganyika Landing and Shipping Company: see Smith, Mackenzie and Company;
  • Tarrapore Tea Company: Ms 28154-5;
  • Thanai Tea Company: Ms 28156-62;
  • Upper Assam Tea Company: Ms 28162A;
  • Western Cachar Company: Ms 28169-73.

Also published history 'Pioneering Spirit: The story behind Inchcape's remarkable journey', 2010.

Records of Inchcape and Company Limited (1939-2010), including subject files belonging to Kenneth James William Mackay (third Earl of Inchcape) and other directors and seniors. Files concern the formation of the holding company in 1958 and also individual companies within the group.

Records of the British India and Queensland Agency Company, comprising articles of association, agreement, and journal.

Records of Dodwell and Company Limited, importers, exporters and shipping agents, including board minutes; register of directors; annual reports; financial accounts; private notebooks of George Benjamin Dodwell (relating to the business); correspondence; company handbook; publicity material; newspaper cuttings; photographs; and personal papers of George Benjamin Dodwell.

Records of Gray, MacKenzie and Company Limited, general merchants and agents in the Persian Gulf, including partnership agreements; articles of association; correspondence; legal papers; financial accounts; annual reports; papers relating to property; historical notes; papers relating to Euphrates and Tigris Steam Navigation Company Limited, Bahrein Slipway Company Limited and Dilmun Navigation Company Limited.

Papers covering a short period of the career of Admiral Pelham Aldrich. There are extracts from journals, 1860 to 1867, returns from the sledge CHALLENGER and notes and journals concerning surveying 1879 to 1884. There are no papers for the CHALLENGER expedition in this collection: the main Arctic papers are with the Scott Polar Research Institute at Cambridge.

This catagory contains examples of various types of ships' papers and documents relating to the operation of merchant ships. There are examples of Charter Parties, including one of 1322 between Walter Giffard, master of the cog OUR LADY of Lyme and Sir Hugh de Berham for a freight of wine; the remainder are twentieth-century examples. The earliest example of a Bill of Lading is for the TRIPLE CROWN of Bristol, 1689; there are others from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Among the examples of Bills of Sale of ships and shares of ships is one for the Dutch East India Company ship DEHELDWOITEMADE, sold to James Mather, a London merchant, 1782; and also one for the SPECULATOR, a French prize, formerly LE CARME, sold in 1810. Examples of documents relating to insurance include a Statement of General Average for the POLLY AND EMILY made after she had been damaged in a gale in 1895. There are also Muster Rolls and Articles of Agreement of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (see also entry no.13); Bills of Health, nineteenth and twentieth centuries; Safe Conducts, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; and various nineteenth-century passenger documents and papers relating to wreck and salvage, including an order issued by Sir Cyril Wyche (1632-1707) and Sir Henry Capel (d 1696), Lord Justices of Ireland, for the arrest of the pilot of the wrecked TALBOT pink, 1695.

Papers of Hood Hanway Christian. The papers refer in the main to Christian's period at the Cape of Good Hope, with the exception of an order book from Castro in 1812. There is a section of letters of congratulation on his appointment, correspondents including Admiral Keats, Viscount Exmouth and the second Earl of Malmesbury. Also, there is a lengthy section regarding a court case which arose over Christian's impounding of the Portugeuse merchant ship GRATIDAO in 1826 The majority of the collection relates to the day to day running of the station, with correspondence to and from the Navy Office, Admiralty Office and also local offices, such as the Victualling Office and the ship yard at Simon's Town. There is also correspondence with local officials, such as the Governer of Mauritius, General Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole, and the Lieutenant-Governer of Eastern Cape of Good Hope, Sir Richard Bourke, as well as his own captains - Charles Richard Dyke Ackland of HMS HELICON, and Sir David Dunn on HMS SAMARANG. Other items include the ill-fated British settlement on Mombassa, draft treaties with Radama I of Madagascar regarding the suppression fo the slave trade, as well as letters from Captain William Fitzwilliam Owen.

MSS.3356-3382 comprise journals and memorandum books documenting the various phases of McCormick's career, as follows: MS.3356, sketchbook relating to West Indies and South America voyages, 1824-1825; MS.3357, journal of voyage north of Spitsbergen in the Hecla, 1827; MS.3358, notes of lectures on natural philosophy by Robert Jameson (1774-1854) at Edinburgh University, 1830-1831; MS.3359, diary of voyages to West Indies and South America, 1830-1832; MS.3360, half-pay diaries (7 volumes), 1830-1838; MS.3361, diaries covering 1823-1830, fair copy; MS.3362, sketch book covering voyages in North Sea and West Indies, 1832-1833; MS.3363, diary covering blockade of Dutch coast and voyage to West Indies, 1832-1834; MS.3364, diary of a walking tour in Devon (apparently part of a longer journey of which the other journal volumes are not extant), 1834-1835; MS.3365, diary while fitting out the Antarctic expedition of the Erebus, 1839; MSS.3366-3368, diaries written during the Erebus Antarctic expedition (15 volumes), 1839-1843; MSS.3369-3370, meteorological and ornithological logs respectively of the Erebus Antarctic expedition, 1839-1843; MS.3371, half-pay diaries (4 volumes), 1843-1845; MS.3372, memorandum book on Arctic discovery, chiefly compiled during the voyage of the North Star as part of the search for Sir John Franklin, 1848-1852; MS.3373, diary while fitting out the North Star as part of the search for Sir John Franklin, 1852; MSS.3374-3380, diaries written during the voyage of the North Star as part of the search for Sir John Franklin, 1852-1853; MSS.3381-3382, meteorological tables and sketches respectively, made during the voyage of the North Star as part of the search for Sir John Franklin, 1852-1853. MS.8682 comprises loose miscellaneous material, chiefly printed, relating to various phases of McCormick's career: evolving versions of his Narrative of a Boat-Expedition up the Wellington Channel in the Year 1852 (London: Eyre and Spotteswoode, 1854), plus testimonials, printed items by other authors including the Arctic traveller Dr. Richard King, publisher's advertisements and newspapers.

Testimonials and notebook of John Temperley Gray, 1859-1888.

Records of W Barnett and Company, including letter from Messrs Dale and Stretton, Gray's Inn Square, inviting applications for debenture stock of the London Bridge Land Company, Ltd. secured on the freehold estate of the Company at London Bridge, 1865; sales particulars of 9 Fleet Street with rear premises abutting on Hare Court, Temple, 1878; poster and handbill issued by W. Barnett and Company, advertising passages to Australia and other destinations, c 1850-1860.

Papers of William Schaw Lindsay, including Section 1 - bundles of papers or volumes which cover the whole of Lindsay's concerns and cannot be given a particular category. Section 2, 3 and 4 cover his main areas of activity- writing, business and property matters.

Lindsay had many friends and contacts in business and politics and his correspondence included many of the foremost men of his time in the fields (LND/2,3,4,6). His interest in the maritime affairs of the USA, and the civil war of 1861-5, is reflected in the compilation of 1867 of his correspondence with leading participants in the war, particularly Confederate politicians. This together with Lindsay's notes was brought together in a single volume (LND/7).

Lindsay's writings on maritime matters are represented by a working manuscript of the 'History of Merchant Shipping' (LND/12), printed proofs of the first two parts of the work (LND/13) and various notes and correspondence relating to it and other works on the navigation laws (LND/8,9,10,11). Lindsay also turned his hand to poetry (LND/18), biography (LND/19) and autobiography (LND/16).

Activities on Lindsay's estates at Shepperton and elsewhere are also reflected in various papers LND/2 23-32).