The Naval Chronicle, the Contemporary Record of the Royal Navy at War

Publisher: Chatham Publishing, 1998 Volume II, 1799 &ndash 1804, ISBN 1-86176-092-2 £ 18.00 CA 15480 Volume III, 1804 &ndash 1806, &pound 18.00

The attractive format of these paperbacks is the same as for that of Volume I, reviewed in the last copy of Cruising. They contain War Reports, captains’ letters to the Gazette, narratives from foreign sources, reports on foreign fleets, letters from serving officers on strategy, tactics, gunnery, design and professional concerns and original papers on nautical subjects.

Volume II describes the Battle of Copenhagen and many minor actions. Calder’s Action, Trafalgar and Nelson’s funeral dominate Volume III. The writers seem well educated and genteel. Their lack of secrecy will surprise those with experience of the modern armed forces. British prisoners at Verdun enjoyed remarkable freedom. The appendices to Volume III criticise the harshness of naval discipline and describe double-ended lifeboats two decades prior to the founding of the R.N.L.I.

With good charts and contemporary illustrations these are essential reading for the historian and will fascinate the amateur. - JLC

Page prepared 29 June 1999