Naval Miscellany, Vol VI

The 2003 edition of The Naval Miscellany illuminates almost every aspect of naval life.'The Bayonne Galleys', edited by Susan Rose, is a contemporary 14th century account by one Thomas Driffield of his repair of two galleys for the English Crown at Bayonne. 'The Armada Correspondence in Cotton MSS Otho E VII and E IX', edited by Simon Adams, consists of 27 previously largely neglected documents from Sir Robert Cotton's library relating to events leading up to the defeat of the Spanish Armada. 'Edmund Dummer's Account of the General Progress and Advancement of His Majesty's New Dock and Yard at Plymouth, December 1694', edited by Michael Duffy, constitutes the earliest detailed description of the design and building of a complete dockyard for the Royal Navy. 'Letters from Vice-Admiral Lord Collingwood, 1794-1809', edited by Captain C. H. H. Owen, RN, comprises 30 of Collingwood's letters, covering the period from the battle of the Glorious First of June in 1794 through Trafalgar to his time as Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean which ended only with his death in 1809. 'The Public Order Book of Vice Admiral Lord Nelson, Commander in Chief of a Squadron of Ships and Vessels Employed on a Particular Service, July-October 1801', edited by Colin White, covers the period from July to October 1801 when Nelson commanded a force of up to seventy ships tasked with 'frustrating the enemy's designs' of mounting an invasion of southern England. 'The Journal of Louis Parsons, 1882-1901', edited by Oliver Walton, offers vivid evidence of the normal fabric of life in warships in the late 19th century. Parsons served as a Petty Officer on the China and North America and West Indies Stations and at home and his journal provides a wealth of insights into the world of the late Victorian navy. 'The Letters of Captain Francis Starkie Clayton on the Australia Station, 1885-8', edited by Mary Jones, consists of selected extracts from an archive of 183 letters from Captain Clayton to his wife, written while he commanded the wooden screw corvette Diamond on the Australian station from 1885 to 1888.'Dudley Pound in the Grand Fleet, 1914-15', edited by Paul G. Halpern, comprises edited extracts from the future First Sea Lord's diary covering the first five months of the first World War during which he was Commander in the dreadnought St. Vincent in the First Battle Squadron of the Grand Fleet.Finally, 'On Royal Duty: HMS Aurora's Report of Proceedings 1945', edited by Captain C. H. H. Owen, RN, describes Winston Churchill's use of the cruiser during his stay in Alexandria in February 1945 and her return of the King of Saudi Arabia and his 48-strong retinue to Jedda later in the month.