Larking, Dennis Augustus Hugo, Captain, 1876-1970.

The papers consist of private letters to Captain Larking from Admiral of the Fleet Earl Beatty (1871-1936) and Lady Beatty (d. 1932). Lady Beatty's letters, 1914 to 1918, were mostly written from Aberdour House, Fife. The letters from Earl Beatty, 1914 to 1928, date mostly from the war, when the Admiral commanded the First Battle Cruiser Squadron, later the Battle Cruiser Force, and then the Grand Fleet. All the correspondence has been bound into one volume.

Administrative / biographical background
Larking entered the Navy in 1889, served on the Mediterranean, West Indian and China Stations and became a lieutenant in 1898. He retired from active service in 1906. On the retired list he was promoted to commander in 1916 and to captain in 1918. He was Naval Attachee in Rome from 1915 to 1919 and in the Balkans from 1939 to 1941. He was then recalled to the Admiralty until 1945.