Library Results | Royal Museums Greenwich

Anson : Royal Navy commander and statesman, 1697-1762 /Anthony Bruce "George Anson, Baron Anson (1697-1762), circumnavigator and First Lord of the Admiralty, entered the Royal Navy in 1712 and progressed rapidly, achieving his first command in 1722. He benefited from the patronage of his uncle Thomas Parker, later the Earl of Macclesfield, who served as Lord Chief Justice and Lord Chancellor until his impeachment for fraud in 1725. Anson first saw action at the Battle of Cape Passaro (1718) under Admiral Sir George Byng but most of his early career was spent as captain of the station ship based at Charleston, South Carolina. In 1737 he was appointed captain of the 60-gun Centurion and sent on patrol to West Africa and the Caribbean. It was in this ship that he circumnavigated the globe (1740-1744) during the war with Spain. Ordered to attack the Pacific coast of Spanish South America, the expedition almost ended in disaster when half of Anson's squadron disappeared as it encountered 'huge deep, hollow seas' during the passage around Cape Horn. Despite further heavy losses, Anson was able to carry out a limited number of raids against coastal targets, but his capture of the Spanish treasure galleon Nuestra Seänora de Covadonga off the Philippines was a real victory that secured his reputation (and wealth). On his return Anson, welcomed as a national hero, soon revealed his political ambitions: he joined the opposition Whigs, was elected MP for Hedon and appointed to the Admiralty Board. Although he entered the Board while still a captain, he secured rapid promotion to Rear-Admiral, Vice-Admiral and then Admiral of the Fleet. Anson returned to sea in command of the Western Squadron in 1746-1747 and his notable victory against the French at the Battle of Cape Finisterre was a rare example of a British naval success after seven years of war. Anson, who was then raised to the peerage, returned to the Admiralty Board, working with the Duke of Bedford as First Lord and with Lord Sandwich on a series of naval reforms, which included ending political interference in courts-martial, introducing compulsory retirement, innovations in ship design and the formation of the Royal Marines under Admiralty control. In 1751, Anson succeeded Lord Sandwich as First Lord of the Admiralty and served until his death in 1762 (except for one brief interruption in 1756-1757 following the loss of Minorca). The reform programme continued, but his main priority on returning to office (and the Cabinet) in the Pitt-Newcastle coalition was the Seven Years War: its strategic direction, planning operations and preparing naval forces. Although he died shortly before the conflict ended, Pitt later said of Anson: 'to his wisdom, to his experience the nation owes the glorious success of the last war.' Horace Walpole inevitably took a more critical view: 'Lord Anson was reserved and proud, and so ignorant of the world, that Sir Charles Williams said he had been round it, but never in it.' Anson's earlier biographers have focused on the story of the circumnavigation, which has largely defined his reputation, as well as his victories at sea. However, other aspects of his career, particularly his roles as a naval reformer and wartime strategist, deserve to be given greater weight in reassessing his position as a leading figure in British naval history. As one commentator has pointed out, 'there is an increasing cultural valuation of administrative skills that allows an Anson to be remembered in the same arena with, but still distinctly from, a Nelson. Whereas Horatio Nelson is certainly the most well-known and enduring example of a naval hero, others followed different paths to success during their lifetimes.'"--Provided by the publisher. 2023. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 941.07092

The Royal Navy, rum, rumour and a pinch of salt / by Tom Hayward and Keith Ashton. An autobiographical account of life in the Royal Navy and Coastguard service, with contributions from both authors. 1985. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 92Hayward

London Division RNVR navy week : official guide and souvenir / Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve. 1939. Great Britain.-Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve 1939 • PAMPHLET • 1 copy available. 355.16(421)"1938"

Copper and other sheathing in the Royal Navy Bingeman, John M 2000 • PAMPHLET • 1 copy available. 623.82(42):629.12

The history of the navy during the rebellion Boynton, Charles B 1867 • BOOK • 2 copies available. 355.49"1861/1865"(73)

Portsmouth and the Royal Navy / by Oliver Warner. Warner, Oliver 1965. • PAMPHLET • 2 copies available. 355.49:942.27

Ships of the Royal Navy / Parkes, Oscar. ca1926. Parkes, Oscar ca1926 • BOOK • 2 copies available. 623.82(42)"1926"

The merchant navy fights : tramps against U-boats Divine, A D 1940 • BOOK • 2 copies available. 629.123Firby

Corvettes of the Royal Canadian Navy, 1939-1945 Milner, Marc 1994 • FOLIO • 1 copy available. 623.832.2(71):940.545

Strategy and war planning in the British Navy, 1887-1918 / Shawn T. Grimes. Grimes, Shawn T. 2012. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 355.462(42)"1887/1918"

Fifty years in the Royal Navy Scott, Percy, Sir 1919 • BOOK • 3 copies available. 623.55

Navy against the Axis : surface combat, 1941-1945 /Vincent P. O'Hara. "The U.S. Navy against the Axis tells the story of the U.S. Navy's surface fleet in World War II with an emphasis on ship-to-ship combat. It advances the thesis that the fleet's role in America's ultimate victory was more crucial than commonly realized and that it holds many lessons for today's Navy and the nation as a whole. The book refutes the widely-held notion that the attack on Pearl Harbor suddenly rendered surface combatants obsolete and that aviation and submarines dominated the Pacific War; it demonstrates that the battleships, cruisers and destroyers made major contributions to America's victory and played decisive roles at critical junctures. The U.S. Navy against the Axis offers a cautionary parable relevant to today's Navy. It demonstrates how swift adaptability and intellectual honesty were fundamental to the Navy's success against Japan. The book's underlying premises is that we cannot assume that in a conflict against conventional or asymmetric enemies, the nation holds title to the same virtues demonstrated by the Navy three generations past. Instead those lessons need to be constantly studied and validated in the face of postwar mythologies, lest they be forgotten."--Provided by the publisher. 2007. • BOOK • 1 copy available. 940.54/5973

Explore our Collection