Brian Vale - The Naval Miscellany: Volume VIII

PUBLICATIONS OF THE NAVY RECORDS SOCIETY

VOL. 164

THE NAVAL MISCELLANY VOLUME VIII

The NAVY RECORDS SOCIETY was established in 1893 for the purpose of printing unpublished manuscripts and rare works of naval interest. The Society is open to all who are interested in naval history, and any person wishing to become a member should either complete the online application form on the Societys website, www.navyrecords.org.uk, or apply to the Hon. Secretary, The Mill, Stanford Dingley, Reading, RG7 6LS, United Kingdom, email address robinbrodhurst@gmail.com. The annual subscription is 40, which entitles the member to receive one free copy of each work issued by the Society in that year, and to buy earlier issues at much reduced prices.

SUBSCRIPTIONS should be sent to the Membership Secretary, 19 Montrose Close, Whitehill, Bordon, Hants, GU35 9RG.

THE COUNCIL OF THE NAVY RECORDS SOCIETY wish it to be clearly understood that they are not answerable for any opinions and observations which may appear in the Societys publications. For these the editors of the several works are entirely responsible.

Edited by
Brian Vale, C.B.E., B.A., M.Phil.

PUBLISHED BY ROUTLEDGE
FOR THE NAVY RECORDS SOCIETY
2017

First published 2017
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN

and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business

2017 The Navy Records Society

Crown copyright material is reproduced by permission of The Stationery Office.

The right of Brian Vale to be identified as the author of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested

ISBN: 978-1-138-21979-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-18433-3 (ebk)

Typeset in Times New Roman
by Apex CoVantage, LLC

THE COUNCIL OF THE NAVY RECORDS SOCIETY 201617

PATRON
H.R.H. THE PRINCE PHILIP, DUKE OF EDINBURGH,
K.G., O.M., F.R.S.

PRESIDENT
Vice Admiral SIR ADRIAN JOHNS, K.C.B., C.B.E., K.St.J., A.D.C.

VICE PRESIDENTS
Lt. Cdr. F.L. Phillips, R.D., T.D., R.N.R.
R. Morriss, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.Hist.S.
Professor N.A.M. RODGER, M.A., D.Phil., F.B.A., F.S.A., F.R.Hist.S.
Professor A.D. LAMBERT M.A., Ph.D., F.R.Hist.S.

COUNCILLORS
HON. SECRETARY , R.H.A. BRODHURST, B.A.

HON. TREASURER , P. NORTHCOTT, M.A.
GENERAL EDITOR , B. JONES, M.Phil., Ph.D.
MEMBERSHIP SECRETARY , Ms J. GOULD
WEB MANAGER AND SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR, S. WILLIS, M.A.,
Ph.D., F.R.Hist.S.

The contents of this, the eighth of the Navy Records Societys Naval 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 that of Edward VIII, its contents shine a spotlight into hitherto partially understood corners of naval history, from the maintenance and victualling of the Royal fleet of the fourteenth century to the diplomatic and personal minefields encountered by officers when escorting the Emperor Haile Selassie into exile following the Italian invasion of Abyssinia.

Thomas de Snetesham was one of the first to hold the title of Clerk of the Kings Ships. His duties covered the building and repair of royal ships, their care and maintenance when in harbour or laid up, and the supply of victuals and naval stores. The documents printed here give extensive details and enable the reader to form an impression of how mariners, dockyard artisans and royal officials kept Edwards IIIs fleet seaworthy. Sneteshams papers provide insights into the operation of shipyards, the nature of the work force, the design of the ships themselves, the nature of their equipment and the source of naval supplies. Of particular interest is the earliest documented mention of a timing device and a form of magnetic compass to be used on an English ship.

Much has been written about Mary Rose following the raising of Henry VIIIs favourite flagship from the mud of the Solent in 1982. The material found and the supporting documentation have enabled a picture to be formed of the structure of the vessel, her armament, the life of her crew and how she worked as a functioning warship. But not all the detail has been settled, and the documents which form the second contribution to this volume fill some of these gaps. The victualling account, for example, shows exactly the official scale of rations in terms of such things as bread, meat, fish and beer. Likewise, the shipwrights report not only confirms the form of Mary Rose s missing stem, but shows that alterations were being considered to the bow section of conventional English sailing ships at the time to give them the notoriously effective forward-firing capability of the galley. Other documents illustrate the command structures in place; and give lists of captains without ships; ships without captains; and appointments already made. They also provide confirmation that the captain of Mary Rose was undoubtedly Sir George Carew. Finally, Sir John Oglanders narrative of the Battle of the Solent is included a document which, although it must be treated with caution, gives much local detail.