The entire collection relates to Owen’s research for a projected work 'Naval Aspects of the War of 1812-1814'. It consists of a series of ring binders holding notes made from the dispatches and correspondence of naval officers, military leaders and secretaries of state during the period 1812-1815.

There are many extracts from the letters of senior naval officers and secretaries of the Admiralty from the ADM 1 and ADM 2 series held at the Public Records Office, now The National Archives. Owen also made notes from the calendar of the papers of Earl Bathurst issued by the Historical Manuscripts Commission (HMC), published by HMSO, London, 1923; the despatches of Field Marshal Arthur, Duke of Wellington, edited by John Gurwood, published in 1858-1880; and the correspondence of Napoleon published by Plon, Paris, 1868.

Administrative / biographical background
Owen was born at Huddersfield in 1890 and joined the Royal Navy as a cadet on HMS BRITANNIA in 1906. As a lieutenant during the First World War he served with the submarine flotillas attached to depot ships at Harwich and Sheerness. His commands included the submarines C.5 and H.1. Later he served with the Naval Intelligence Division (NID) and the Training and Staff Duties Division (TSD). He retired with the rank of commander at the start of 1934 and then devoted himself to historical projects. He was the author of ‘War at Sea under Queen Anne 1702-1708’, published by Cambridge University Press in 1938. He was one of the editors of ‘The Private Papers of John, Earl of Sandwich’ published in four volumes by the Navy Records Society in 1932-1938. Owen was again on the active list in the period 1939-1947 and worked in the Historical Section of the TSD at the Admiralty. He died at Chichester in Sussex in 1970. His service record can be found under the references ADM 196/144/716 and ADM 196/96/18 at The National Archives.