WWI Naval Bibliography

Naval Biography - Books (English)

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• -The Royal Navy List (various dates)
  His Majesty's Stationary Office
  These lists were first published in the 19th Century, and continue to this day-- typically four times per annum. The wartime volumes are often not completely up-to-date, and at least for the Second World War the "pink lists" need to be consulted. Originals can sometimes be found in used book stores (often rather expensive). Three years have recently been 'reprinted':
  • 1890 - on CDRom from Archive Britain
  • 1914 - on CDRom from Archive Britain
  • 1919 - 5 volume set from The Naval and Military Press
• -The Naval Who's Who, 1917
  J. B. Hayward & Son, 1981. (originally published 1917)
  A very useful little volume, which lists all RN and Royal Marine people who had received any awards during their career, with a "war supplement" bringing it up-to-date as of the original printing. Small biographical entries for each man listed. In addition, listed by ship sunk, there is a full list of all casualties (killed) from the Battle of Jutland, 31 May 1916.
• Agar, Captain Augustus VC Baltic Episode
  Naval Institute Press, 1983. (originally published 1963)
  (autobiography) The account of an RN officer who served in the Baltic in Coastal Motor Boats in 1919.
• Agar, Captain Augustus VC Footprints in the Sea
  Evans Brothers, 1959.
  (autobiography) Memoirs of his naval career.
• Arbuckle, GraemeCustoms and Traditions of the Canadian Navy
  Nimbus Publishing, 1984.
  Contains useful information on the naval customs and traditions of all the Commonwealth Navies.
• Arbuthnot, R. K. Details and Station Bill for a Battleship
  J. Griffin and Company, 1901.
  An interesting glimpse into the internal organization of a pre-War British battleship.
• Ash, Marinell This Noble Harbour
  Cromary Firth Port Authority (ISBN 0 859763 196)
  (courtesy of Clive Fennessy (Clive.Fennessy@btinternet.com)) A "good book on a remote RN anchorage (Invergordon).
• Auten, Lt-Commander Harold, VC "Q"Boat Adventures
  Herbert Jenkins, 1919.
  (autobiography) Stories of the RN "Q-boats" by one of their commanders.
• Bacon, Admiral Sir R. H. The Life of John Rushworth Earl Jellicoe
  Cassell and Company, 1936.
  A biography of Jellicoe by a long-time friend.
• Bacon, Admiral Sir R. H. The Life of Lord Fisher of Kilverstone , 2 volumes
  Hodder and Stoughton, 1929.
  The original "standard" biography of the man who led the Royal Navy into the 20th Century.
• Baxter, Ian A India Office Library and Records: A Brief Guide to Biographical Sources, 2nd edition
  The British Library (London), 1990.
  (courtesy of Dr. Andrew Cook (Andrew.Cook@MAIL.BL.UK))
• Bayly, Admiral Sir Lewis Pull Together!
  George G. Harrap, 1939.
  (autobiography) Admiral Bayly was Commander-in-Chief at the RN base at Queenstown, where he was involved in countering the German u-boat threat. He was highly regarded by the officers of the USN who served under him.
• Beatty, Charles Our Admiral
  W. H. Allen, 1980.
  A biography of Admiral fo the Fleet Earl Beatty by his nephew.
• Bennett, Geoffrey Charlie B -- the Life of Admiral Lord Charles Beresford
  Peter Dawnay, ltd, 1968.
  A very sympathetic biography of this famous, and in some ways infamous, Admiral: a useful companion to his own 2 volume autobiography Memoirs.
• Beresford, Admiral Lord Charles The Memoirs of Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, 2 volumes
  Methuen & Co, 1914.
  (autobiography) Lord Beresford, though he had retired prior to the outbreak of war, had a major role in the evolution of the Royal Navy and the "Fisher Reforms", to which he was opposed.

• Bowen, Frank C History of the Royal Naval Reserve
  London, The Corporation of London, 1926
  (courtesy of Leonard Barnett (Lenny@BARNETTRESEARCH.FREESERVE.CO.UK))

• Campbell, Rear-Admiral Gordon, VC My Mystery Ships
  Hodder and Stoughton, 1928.
  (autobiography) The story of the "Q-ships" of the Royal Navy by one of their leading officers.
• Chalmers, Rear-Admiral W. S. The Life and Letters of David, Earl Beatty
  Hodder and Stoughton, 1951.
  A very favourable biography of a controversial admiral.
• Chatfield, Admiral of the Fleet The Navy and Defence (volume 1), It Might Happen Again (volume 2)
  William Heinemann, 1942 and 1947.
  (autobiography) Chatfield was Beatty's Flag Captain at the Battle of Jutland. Volume 1 deals with his First World War service.
• Cooley, Reg The Unknown Fleet: The Army's Civilian Seaman in War and Peace
  RN Museum, Portsmouth, 1993
  (courtesy of Glen Robert-Grant Hodgins (grhicomm@SRI.LANKA.NET))
• Cork & Orrery, Admiral of the Fleet Earl My Naval Life
  Hutchinson & Company, 1942.
  (autobiography)
• Cradock, Captain Christopher Whispers From the Fleet
  J. Griffin & Co, 1907 (1908 2nd edition).
  This is a very rich source of information on seamanship and the day-to-day routine of the RN in the early years of the 20th century.
• Cunningham, Admiral of the Fleet Viscount A Sailor's Odyssey
  Hutchinson & Company, 1951.
  (autobiography) A senior officer in World War Two, Cunningham saw service in destroyers in the Med. during the First World War.
• Derham, Roy School for Seamen
  Baron Books, Buckingham, MK18 4AL, UK, 2000 (limited edition, ISBN 0 86023 661 7), poublished
  (courtesy Alan O. Watkins (alan-o-watkins@EASYNET.CO.UK)) "The story of the Gravesend Sea School, founded in 1918 to train replacements for the men lost in WW1. It was this establishment that spawned the old Vindicatrix establishment in WW11."
• D'Eyncourt, Sir Eustace H. W. T. A Shipbuilder's Yarn
  Hutchinson & Company, no date (circa 1947).
  The autobiography of the RN's Director of Naval Construction during World War One. And entertaining read, but unfortunately very little on the technicalities of his profession.
• Dewar, Vice-Admiral K. G. B. The Navy from Within
  Victor Gollancz, 1939.
  (autobiography) A very pointed book by a controversial officer.
• Doenitz, Grand Admiral Memoirs
  Weidenfeld and Nocolson, 1959.
  (autobiography // translation) The head of the German U-boat arm in World War Two learned his trade in the Imperial German Navy during World War One.
• Dreyer, Admiral Sir Frederic C. The Sea Heritage - A Study of Maritime Warfare
  Museum Press, Limited, 1955.
  The autobiography of Jellicoe's Flag Captain.
• Drummond, Maldwin The Riddle
  Nautical Books, 1985.
  A biography of Erskine Childers, the author of the classic The Riddle of the Sands.
• Ewing, Alfred W. The Man of Room 40: the Life of Sir Alfred Ewing
  Hutchinson & Co., 1939
  Sir Alfred Ewing was the engineer + professor who was instrumental in setting up the Royal Navy's "Room 40", which decrypted German signals. Unfortunately, this biography (by his son) has very little of value on Ewing senior's "naval career", and isn't worth trying to find (OR spending money on!). However, it may be of interest for anyone looking into the history of (British) engineering.
• "Griff" Surrendered - Some Naval Secrets
  Published by the author in the 1920s.
  Various accounts of actions whist in command of a Q-ship and includes the battles of Jutland, Coronel and the Falklands. (Courtesy of A. Greenway).
• Halpern, Paul G. (editor) The Keyes Papers, 3 volumes
  Navy Records Society, 1979, 1980, + 1981.
  "Selections from the Private and Official Correspondence of Admiral of the Fleet Baron Keyes of Zeebrugge".
• Hase, Commander Georg von Keil and Jutland
  Skeffington & Son, no date.
  (autobiography // translation) The memoirs of the gunnery officer of SMS Derfflinger at Jutland.
• Hewison, W. S. Scapa Flow in War and Peace
  1995 (ISBN 0 95253500 0 9)
  (courtesy of Michael Pryce)
• Hewison, W. S. This Great Harbour, Scapa Flow
  Orkney Press, 1985 (number 3 in the "Aspects of Orkney" Series)
  (courtesy of Clive Fennessy (Clive.Fennessy@btinternet.com))
• (Hohenzollern), Kaiser Wilhelm II The Kaiser's Memoirs
  Harper & Brothers Publishers (English translation), 1922.
  Somewhat self-serving, perhaps?
• Horn, Daniel The German Naval Mutinies of World War I
  Rutgers University Press, 1969.
  (courtesy of Kevin Foster (kboatman@erols.com)).
• Hough, Richard Former Naval Person - Churchill and the Wars at Sea
  Weidenfeld and Nocolson, 1985.
  Sir Winston Churchill's relationship with the Royal Navy during both world wars.
• Humble, Richard Fraser of North Cape
  Routledge & Degan Paul, 1983.
  Biography of Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fraser, who commanded the cruiser HMS Minerva at the Dardanelles.
• Isaacs, Edouard Victor, USN Prisoner of the U-90
  Houghton Mifflin, 1919.
  (autobiography) Lieutenant Isaacs was the only American naval officer to be taken prisoner by the Germans during the war- his story of his capture after the sinking of the transport USS President Lincoln and subsequent treatment as a POW and finally his escape.
• James, W. M. New Battleship Organizations and Notes for Executive Officers
  Gieves, (circa) 1916.
  A mid-war look at the domestic side of a British battleship. Many interesting drawings of equipment and sketches of life on board.
• James, Admiral Sir William The Eyes of the Navy - a Biographical Study of Admiral Sir Reginald Hall
  Methuen & Co, 1955.
  Reginald Hall was the Royal Navy's Director of Naval Intelligence during the war, and this book provides insight into the workings of Room 40.
• James, Admiral Sir William A Great Seaman - The Life of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Henry Oliver
  H. F. & G. Witherby, Ltd, 1956.
  Oliver was a fine seaman, and Chief of Staff in World War One.
• James, Admiral Sir William Admiral Sir William Fisher
  Macmillian & Co, 1943
  James was Captain of HMS St Vincent for much of the War, and later was the Director of the RN's Anti-Submarine Division. Same author as New Battleship Organizations.
• Judd, Alan The Quest for C : Mansfield Cumming and the Founding of the Secret Service
  HarperCollins, 1999 (ISBN 0002559013)
  (entry and following comments courtesy of Geoffrey Miller (manorhouse@clara.co.uk))
  I have just started reading the recently published biography of Mansfield Cumming, first head of the Secret Intelligence Service. In the first chapter alone I came across these howlers:
  • [page 1] In August 1909, when Cumming was first approached to head the new service, we are told that "the Royal Navy was by policy kept at a strength double that of its two nearest rivals combined". However the Two-Power standard was ditched in April of that year, to be replaced by "Germany plus sixty per cent."
  • [page 11] When "Victoria" was rammed by "Camperdown" in the Mediterranean in 1893, Judd claims that "One of those saved was the future First Sealord [sic], Lord Fisher." Fisher at the time was Third Sea Lord, happily ensconced at the Admiralty. The future Sea Lord who was rescued from Victoria was Jellicoe.
  • [page 16] In 1880 Cumming was appointed to HMS Hecla, which "displaced 64,000 tons", somewhat more than her actual 6,400 tons.
  These might at first seem trivial errors and similar mistakes may be found in many books. However, to quote from the dust-jacket, Judd had "exclusive access to Whitehall papers never before released into the public domain" and was given "unprecedented access" to Cumming's secret diary. The blurb continues: "The fact that neither the diary nor other papers Judd draws upon are unlikely ever to be made public makes this, therefore, not only the definitive account of the early MI6 but also the most remarkable biography of the season." If Judd is so careless with facts which *can* be checked, how is the accuracy of the remainder of the work, based on secret papers, ever to be established? Yet this book will, I am sure, be used in future studies of the Intelligence Service and quoted as gospel.
  Richard Spence (rspence@uidaho.edu) adds: "Alan Judd" is said to be the pen name of veteran MI6 officer Alan Petty.
• King-Hall, Stephen My Naval Life 1906-1929
  Faber and Faber, 1952.
  (autobiography) The naval service of a comparatively junior officer in the Royal Navy during the Great War.
• Kerr, J. Lennox & Wilfred Granville The R.N.V.R. - A Record of Achievement
  London, George Harrap, 1957
  (courtesy of Leonard Barnett (Lenny@BARNETTRESEARCH.FREESERVE.CO.UK))
• Keyes, Admiral Sir Roger The Naval Memoirs of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes, 2 volumes
  Thornton Butterworth, 1934 + 1935.
  (autobiography)
• Lambert, Andrew The Foundations of Naval History - John Knox Laughton, the Royal Navy and the Historical Profession
  Chatham Publishing, 1998.
  As with the papers of Knox, edited by Andrew Lambert, there isn't an immediately apparent connection between Knox and the Great War. However, his influence extended to some of the RN's officer corp and the post-war historians.
• Lambert, Andrew (editor) Letters and Papers of Professor Sir John Knox Laughton, 1930-1915
  Navy Records Society / Ashgate Press, 2002
  The Navy Records Society's 143 volume won't be of direct interest to most interested in the Great War -- however Professor Laughton had a tremendous impact on the discipline of naval history, and there is much of interest on the sailing navy. If nothing else, on page 260, one may learn the way that Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan pronounced his last name.
• Lovette, Leland P. Naval Customs Traditions and Usage of Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Keyes, 2 volumes
  United States Naval Institute, 1939.
  The lore of the United States Navy.
• Mackay, Ruddock F. Fisher of Kilverstone
  Clarendon Press, 1973.
  A later biography of Lord Fisher.
• McKee, Christopher Sober Men and True -- Sailor Lives in the Royal Navy 1900-1945
  Harvard University Press, 2002.
  Not only a fascinating read, this book is chock-full of information about the life of the RN ratings in the 1st half of the 20th century: everything from the food and the way life was lived in the mess, through rum and even sex.
• Miller, Fredrick Under German Shellfire- Hartlepool, Scarborough and Whitby
  R. Martin, 1915.
  A resident's account of the shelling of this area by the High Seas Fleet, "a little heavy on the propaganda". (Courtesy of A. Greenway)
• Miller, James Scapa
  Birlinn Press, 2001
  A look at the Royal Navy in Scapa Flow, during both World Wars. Interesting anecdotes about live in the Flow, life ashore and the harbour defences: and a very good selection of photographs.
• Munro, Captain DJ Scapa Flow - A Naval Tetrospect
  Sampson Low, Marston & Co, nd (c1921)
  Munro was the RN officer responsible for setting up the boom defences of the Flow, as well as Cromarty. Some useful information regarding submarine salvage and boom defences in general, but otherwise not all that valuable a source.
• Morris, Jan Fisher's Face, or, Getting to Know the Admiral
  Random House, 1995.
  Mostly Morris' view of Admiral "Jackie" Fisher rather than a straight-forward biography.
• Noble, Sam Sam Noble, AB - 'Tween Decks in the 'Seventies
  Sampson Low, Marston & Co, no date (circa 1919)
  Strictly speaking this autobiography describes life in the sailing navy, more than a generation before the Great War, this interesting tale describes the navy in which the senior officers of the First World War saw their start.
• Nock, O. S. The Highland Railway
  1965
  (courtesy of David Bell (vine@NILDRAM.CO.UK)) "Describes the railway workings connected with Scapa Flow during WWI. Unfortunately the book is out of print but can be obtained fairly easily from 2nd hand book dealers."
• Oliver, Dean F; Laura Brandon Canvas of War
  Douglas & McIntyre, 2000.
  Like the subtitle says Painting the Canadian Experience 1914 to 1945. Beautiful reproductions of many paintings, most of WW1 are land-based. However, this is a book worth knowing about.
• Oram, H. P. K. Ready for Sea
  Seeley, Service and Company, 1974.
  (autobiography) Entertaining account of life in the Royal Navy by someone who served in the battleships of the Grand Fleet as well as the K-class steam-powered submarines.
• Pack, James Nelson's Blood - the Story of Naval Rum
  Naval Institutue Press, 1982
  Very informative, quite entertaining -- and an important read for anyone interested in the Royal Navy's lower deck.
• Padfield, Peter Aim Straight A biography of Admiral Sir Percy Scott
  Hodder and Stoughton, 1966.
  Scott was a gunnery expert, influential in dragging RN gunnery out of the 18th century.
• Patterson, A. Temple Jellicoe
  Macmillan, 1969.
  An important biography of Admiral Jellicoe.
• Patterson, A. Temple (ed) The Jellicoe Papers, 2 volumes
  Navy Records Society, 1966 + 1968.
  "Selections from the private and official correspondance of Admiral of the Fleet Earl Jellicoe of Scapa" - one of the key leaders of the Royal Navy.
• Patterson, A. Temple Tyrwhitt of the Harwich Force
  Military Book Society, 1973.
  A readable, albeit not always detailed, biography of one of the best British admirals of the war.
• Perkins, J. David Warrant Officer Ranks of the Royal Canadian Navy
  Seaboot Productions, 1999 (available from the author jdperkins@HFX.EASTLINK.CA)
  A useful little pamphlet for all the Commonwealth navies.
• Philbin, Tobias Admiral Hipper
  Gruener, Amsterdam 1982.
  (courtesy of Stuart Haller (seydlitz@sprynet.com)). "Hard but not impossible to find."
• Phillipson, David Band of Brothers- Boy Seamen in the Royal Navy 1800-1956
  Naval Institute Press, 1996.
  Although this is an interesting read, there isn't very much that will be of use for someone looking at the 1914-1918 era. About 50% deals with the author's experiences as a boy seaman (ex HMS Ganges) immediately post-WW2, the rest being a general survey of the mostly-unchanging way of training boy seamen.
• Ranft, B. McL. (editor) The Beatty Papers, 2 volumes
  Navy Records Society, 1989 + 1993.
  "Selections from the Private and Official Correspondence of Admiral of the Fleet Earl Beatty, RN".
• Rintelen, Captain Franz von (Kleist) The Dark Invader
  Lovat Dickson, 1933 (reprinted 1998 by Frank Cass Publishers).
  von Rintelen was a naval officer in the Imperial German Navy sent by German naval intelligence to act in the then-neutral United States. Interesting reading - and the author claims to have led a very effective ring of saboteurs!
• Rodger, N. A. M. Naval Records for Genealogists
  Public Records Office, 1988.
  A very useful finding aid when researching in the Public Records Office in the United Kingdom.
• Roskill, Stephen Admiral of the Fleet Earl Beatty - The Last Naval Hero
  William Collins Sons & Company, 1980.
  A serious and critical study of Beatty.
• Roskill, Stephen Hankey - Man of Secrets (3 volumes)
  Naval Institute Press, 1970-1974.
  Colonel Lord Maurice Hankey was Secretary to a number of British organisations, both recorder of minutes and oftimes advisor. Much useful background (strategic) details dealing with the First World War (particularly in Volume 1, 1877-1918).
• Ross, Stewart Admiral Sir Francis Bridgeman - The Life and Times of an Officer and a Gentleman
  Baily's, 1998
  A biography of the First Sea Lord who preceeded Battenburgh. A decent read, but the author's views of the late Victorian Royal Navy should not be taken too seriously.
• Ruggles, Logan E. The Navy Explained
  Edwin N. Appleton, 1918.
  A humorous vocabulary of the United States Navy as of the Great War.
• Russell, E. C. Customs and Traditions of the Canadian Armed Forces
  Deneau Publishers, 1980.
  A few bits and pieces of relevance to the First World War Royal Navies.
• Saunders, David Britain's Maritime Memorials & Mementoes
  Patrick Stephens Ltd, Sparkford 1996
  (courtesy of David Asprey (david.asprey@BRITISH-SHIPPING.ORG)) It's a useful gazeteer of memorials, plaques and inscriptions throughout the UK, many in parish churches, with maritime references and providing brief notes on each.
• Schoultz, Commodore G. von With the British Battle Fleet
  Hutchinson & Company, no date.
  (autobiography // translation) "War Recollections" by the Russian attaché to the Grand Fleet 1915-1918.
• Scott, Admiral Sir Percy Fifty Years in the Royal Navy
  George H. Doran Company, 1919.
  (autobiography) Scott was a gunnery expert, influential in dragging RN gunnery out of the 18th century.
• Smith, Watts & Watts Records of Merchant Shipping and Seamen
  Public Record Office Reader's Guide No. 20, PRO, Kew; 1998 (ISBN 1-873-162-49-9)
  (courtesy of Martin H. Evans (mhe1000@CUS.CAM.AC.UK))
• Stumpf, Richard The Private War of Seaman Stumpf
  Leslie Frewin, 1969.
  (autobiography // translation) The personal memoir of a seaman in SMS Helgoland, edited by Daniel Horn. Note that this may have been printed in the United States as War, Mutiny and Revolution in the German Navy: The World Wa I Diary of Seaman Richard Stumpf (Rutgers University Press, 1967 - note courtesy of Kevin Foster (kboatman@erols.com)).
• Sumida, Jon Tetsuro (editor) The Pollen Papers
  Navy Records Society, 1984.
  Arthur Hungerford Pollen was an inventor who had a major impact on the evolution of gunnery in the Royal Navy.
• Thomas, Lowell and Count Luckner The Sea Devil
  Doubleday, Page & Company, 1927.
  Tales of Count Felix Luckner's time as captain of the sailing merchant raider Seeadler. (Courtesy of Kevin Foster (kboatman@erols.com)).
• Thomas, Lowell and Count Luckner The Sea Devil's Fo'c'sle
  Doubleday, Page & Company, 1929.
  Captain Luckner recounts life in the merchant service and other yarns. He was in the dreadnought Kronprinz at Jutland (pp 218-233). (Courtesy of Kevin Foster (kboatman@erols.com)).
• Tirpitz, Grand Admiral Alfred von My Memoirs, 2 volumes
  Hurst & Blackett, 1919.
  (autobiography // translation) The memoirs of the German equivalent of the RN's Lord Fisher.
• Trayes, F. G. Five Months on a German Raider, Being the Adventures of an Englishman Captured by the "Wolf"
  Headley Bros, 1919.
  A slim volume about experiences as a prisoner of the armed merchant cruiser Wolf by a passenger from the NYK liner Hitachi Maru. (Courtesy of Kevin Foster (kboatman@erols.com)).
• Usborne, Vice-Admiral C. V. Blast and Counterblast - A Naval Impression of the War
  John Murray, 1935.
  Vice-Admiral Usborne ended the war on the Salonikan front, and then went into the Balkans during the period of the Armistice: perhaps the most useful part of the book. It's an interesting read (Usborne also is the inventor of a competitor for the paravane), but otherwise not especially noteworthy.
• van der Veer, Lt. Norman The Bluejacket's Manual
  United States Naval Institute, 1917.
  "The subjects which men should know"- explains the daily routine and much else as lived by the men of the United States Navy.
• Wallace, Claude From Jungle to Jutland
  Nisbet and Company, 1932.
  (autobiography) An African explorer who served on the Western Front, Major Wallace also managed to observe the Battle of Jutland on board HMS St Vincent, on the strength of a repeated dream he had. A colourful book, if nothing else.
• Ward, Herbert T. Flight of the "Cormoran"
  Vantage Press, 1970.
  History of the captured Russian passenger freighter Rjasan, converted into the armed merchant cruiser Cormoran. She had little success and was interned and scuttled at American Guam for lack of coal. Written by a diver who died tragically inside the wreck he loved. (Courtesy of Kevin Foster (kboatman@erols.com)).
• Watson, Commander Mark Sea Logistics
  Vanwell Publishing, 2004.
  The history of the "Logistics Branch" (formerly Accountant, Supply and Secretariat, etc) of the Royal Canadian Navy. Some useful tidbits dealing with the Great War; many of which pertain to the other Royal Navies of the era.
• Wells, Captain John The Royal Navy- An Illustrated Social History 1870-1982
  Alan Sutton, 1994.
  Some useful background on the way of life within the RN.
• Young, Desmond Rutland of Jutland
  Cassell, 1963.
  The biography of Squadron Commander F. J. Rutland, RN - the man who flew a seaplane at the Battle of Jutland.
• Young, Filson With Beatty in the North Sea
  Little, Brown and Company, 1921.
  (autobiography) A journalist's first-person account of his stay with the Battle Cruiser Fleet.

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