THE FIGHTING AT JUTLAND: The Personal Experiences of Sixty Officers and Men of the British Fleet

An extremely useful tool for those studying the events at Jutland in 1916, this was notable as the first major action between two enemy fleets since the Battle of Trafalgar. 

This is a faithful reproduction of the compilers' original privately published edition, that was abbreviated for later commercial editions. None of the later editions were as complete or attractive as this.

Lt. Comm. Fawcet and Lt. Hooper wanted to give the British public a better idea of exactly what went on during the battle. These two diligent naval officers - who had also been present at the battle - collected together accounts from those who had fought in British ships, to give the British public a better idea of exactly what went on.

The Battle of Jutland - 31 May to 1 June 1916 - was the largest naval battle of the First World War. It was the only time that the British and German fleets of 'dreadnought' battleships actually came to blows. 

The German High Seas Fleet hoped to weaken the Royal Navy by launching an ambush on the British Grand Fleet in the North Sea. German Admiral Reinhard Scheer planned to lure out both Admiral Sir David Beatty's Battlecruiser Force and Admiral Sir John Jellicoe's Grand Fleet. Scheer hoped to destroy Beatty's force before Jellicoe's arrived, but the British were warned by their code breakers and put both forces to sea early. 

Jutland was a confused and bloody action involving 250 ships and around 100,000 men. Initial encounters between Beatty's force and the German High Seas Fleet resulted in the loss of several ships. The Germans damaged Beatty's flagship, HMS Lion, and sank HMS Indefatigable and HMS Queen Mary, both of which blew up when German shells hit their ammunition magazines.