Books

In 1930 when the Papers on the Dutch War were approaching completion, Mr A.C. Dewar was asked by the Council of the Navy Records Society, to look through the Dutch transcripts with a view to the consideration of technical expressions and Dutch seventeenth century terms of maritime geography. The emendations are chiefly to be found… Read Abstract »

The contents of this, the eighth of the Navy Records Society’s Miscellany series, chronicles the activities and adventures of the Royal Navy, its officials, its officers and its men – both in British employment and out of it – over a period of some six hundred years. Ranging from the reign of Edward III to… Read Abstract »

This valuable work of reference shows the key dates in the career of every traceable commissioned officer who served in the Royal Navy between the Restoration of King Charles II and the close of the Napoleonic Wars. Commissioned Sea Officers — Introduction Commissioned Sea Officers — Surnames A  

This edition contains documents from the seventeenth century to the Second World War. There is additional material to complement NRS Volume 116 from the Commission of Enquiry in 1608, an account of the Earl of Warwick’s voyage to the Mediterranean in 1627 and documents relating to the management of the Royal Dockyards between 1672 and… Read Abstract »

A Note on the Drawings in the Possession of the Earl of Dartmouth Illustrating the Battle of Sole Bay 28 May 1672 and the Battle of the Texel August 11 1673. ‘Of the origin of these drawings which Lord Dartmouth has so generously placed at the disposal of the Society for reproduction, nothing is known… Read Abstract »

Edited documents in this Naval Miscellany include the 14th-century repair of Bayonne Galleys, Armada correspondence, the building of Plymouth dockyard, letters of Admiral Collingwood, Nelson’s Public Order Book during his 1801 blockade of Boulogne, Louis Parsons’ journal 1882-1901, Captain Clayton’s letters from the Australia Station 1885-8, Dudley Pound’s Grand Fleet diary 1914-15, and HMS Aurora’s… Read Abstract »

To celebrate its centenary in 1993, the Society produced a special volume covering seven hundred and fifty years of British naval history, containing 535 documents carefully selected by leading experts. See the contents of British Naval Documents 1204-1960.

This edition contains documents from the seventeenth century to the Second World War. There is additional material to complement NRS Volume 116 from the Commission of Enquiry in 1608, an account of the Earl of Warwick’s voyage to the Mediterranean in 1627 and documents relating to the management of the Royal Dockyards between 1672 and… Read Abstract »

How should the Royal Navy be manned? Was impressment the best answer to this question? Was the seizure of men off the streets by Press Gangs acceptable to a freedom-loving society? What was the alternative? This issue provoked considerable debate, especially with reference to the Georgian and Victorian Navy, and attracted the attention, not only… Read Abstract »

The decade with which this volume deals saw the Navy was emerging from its adolescence, begun under Henry VIII and continued under Elizabeth, into an adulthood where a permanent fleet was maintained by the Crown with an established administration to oversee it. It developed into the largest state enterprise, indeed the largest organisation in the… Read Abstract »

In 1666 Prince Rupert and George Monk, Duke of Albemarle were appointed by Charles II to a joint command of the fleet that had been engaged in the Second Dutch War, fought largely at sea, for five years without either side gaining much advantage. The appointment of two men to share a single responsibility is… Read Abstract »

In the struggle between King and Parliament (1642-1648), naval power played a decisive role. Although the first two Stuart Kings took a keen and practical interest in the Navy -building ships, repairing shipyards, raising money though the controversial Ship Money taxation – ordinary seamen in the service of the monarch frequently found themselves without pay,… Read Abstract »

This volume presents a selection of documents dealing with the administration of the Navy in the years 1702 to 1714. It can be seen as a sequel to The Sergison Papers (NRS volume 89) which drew on similar material about the administration of the Navy in the years 1689 to 1702. Much of the material… Read Abstract »

The episode that is the subject of this volume occurred during the War of the Spanish Succession. At the time that Marlborough had completed his successful campaign in Europe, the Secretary at War, Henry St John, had for some time been under pressure to help the colonial forces in northern America and the trade on… Read Abstract »

Published in this volume are various Spanish documents concerning the Armada; a journal of one of Blake’s officers in the mid seventeenth century; Boscawen’s letters to his wife; the account of a Swedish officer who served in the French Navy during the Seven Years War; selections from the Hood papers regarding Prince William’s service in… Read Abstract »

The Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672-1674) at sea formed part of the greater conflict between France and England against the Dutch, in which the naval campaign was fought in conjunction with a major land offensive, leading to an invasion of the Netherlands by France. The war at sea saw English and French fleets both trying hard… Read Abstract »

This remarkable compilation includes both official and private correspondence and papers from a wide variety of sources both English and Dutch (the latter translated), giving an extremely detailed and complete view of all aspects of the war. The first volume extends to August 1652. The translations of many of the Dutch documents are unsatisfactory, and… Read Abstract »

This Miscellany contains several documents that were in private ownership and range from 1656 to 1815 and are mainly related to naval operations. There are documents relating to the raid on the Dutch coast in 1666 and letters from Blake to Montague on operational matters in 1756; a discussion on whether to prosecute the likely… Read Abstract »

A collection of legal cases and precedents dealing with aspects of maritime and naval law such as piracy, prizes and prize goods, letters of marque and reprisal, contraband, ransom, convoy, and impressment. The volumes cover 1205-1648 and 1649-1767 respectively. This volume covers the years 1649-1767.

A collection of legal cases and precedents dealing with aspects of maritime and naval law such as piracy, prizes and prize goods, letters of marque and reprisal, contraband, ransom, convoy, and impressment. The volumes cover 1205-1648 and 1649-1767 respectively. This volume covers the years 1205-1648.

These are mainly official papers, Scots and English, dealing with the last years of the Scots Navy when it operated as a small component of the English fleet.

This remarkable compilation includes both official and private correspondence and papers from a wide variety of sources both English and Dutch (the latter translated), giving an extremely detailed and complete view of all aspects of the war. The first volume extends to August 1652. The translations of many of the Dutch documents are unsatisfactory, and… Read Abstract »

This contains documents that date from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. The three for the sixteenth century include English piracy against the Spaniards, a Scottish document about a ship getting under way and the taking of the Madre de Dios in 1592. Two documents from the seventeenth century are a description by Rear Admiral… Read Abstract »

This remarkable compilation includes both official and private correspondence and papers from a wide variety of sources both English and Dutch (the latter translated), giving an extremely detailed and complete view of all aspects of the war. The first volume extends to August 1652. The translations of many of the Dutch documents are unsatisfactory, and… Read Abstract »