The collection mostly consists of the research material of Commander Charles Gray Pitcairn-Jones (1893-1970). There are also items relating to his career in the Royal Navy, and that of his brother Commander Lewis John Pitcairn-Jones DSC (1890-1965).

Box 1
Two volumes containing journals kept by Lewis John Pitcairn-Jones as a midshipman on the armoured cruiser HMS HAMPSHIRE (1903) in the First Cruiser Squadron, then the battleship HMS HINDUSTAN (1903) in the Channel Fleet and Home Fleet, between 15 May 1906 and 15 July 1909.

Box 2
Items from the Royal Navy career of Charles Gray Pitcairn-Jones, circa 1906-1957.
Table with career details and fates of all the 1906 Osborne intake of cadets. Printed booklets from the Royal Naval Colleges Osborne and Dartmouth. ‘HMS Cornwall’s Magazine (4th Cruise)’, August 1910. Notebook circa 1913-1963 with loose material including certificates and extracts from a diary circa 1914 - 1915. Printed book ‘Greenwich Palace’, published by the Officers’ Mess of the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, 1939, with loose postcards, photographs, reproductions of paintings, etc.

Boxes 3-11
Handwritten and typescript notes on the veracity of various personal accounts of life at sea during the age of sail (‘lower deck memoirs’), including the narrative by Edward Barlow. Research on the Battle of Quiberon Bay in 1759, particularly the movements of the Brest Squadron commanded by Admiral Edward Hawke, with reference to relevant logs and journals. Notes on Lord Anson’s correspondence circa 1740s at the British Museum (MSS. 15955-15957) and at Shugborough. Typescript notes on the Admiralty List Books ADM 8/1-163 series 1673-1893 at the PRO. Notes on genealogy and arms (French families?) and notes on the typography of Anthony Trollope’s Barsetshire.

Box 12
Typescript copies of narratives, with annotations and notes on accuracy, in five bundles: George Watson (Parts I and II), Jack Burgess (Parts I and II) and Jack Nasty-Face

Boxes 13-14
Annotated version of ‘The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815’ by Charles Gray Pitcairn-Jones (6 volumes).

Boxes 15-17
A handwritten copy and research notes on ‘The Seamen’s Narrative…’ by William Spavens. Notebooks on ships circa 1689-1760 for a continuation of Anderson’s ships list. Rough notes on List Books (Dimensions) 1765-1782. Notes on commissioned officers and ships 1660-1815. A file of Alan W.H. Pearsall papers relating to nautical terminology. Notes on the ADM 8 series, lists of ships, etc.

Boxes 18-35 (index cards)
Alphabetical index of the histories of warships compiled by Charles Gray Pitcairn-Jones during his work on the annotated version of ‘The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815’.

Volume 1
Navigational work book kept by Charles Gray Pitcairn-Jones while in command of the river gunboat HMS WOODCOCK (1898) in China, 1923-1925. It includes notes on navigation of the Yangtze river, maps and charts, drawings, photographs and typescript excerpts from ‘The Travels of Marco Polo’.

Volume 2
Navigational work book containing notes extracted from publications and manuscript sources, etc., plus much loose material. The subjects include rigging, signalling, telegraph codes, sailing and fighting instructions, general instructions of the conduct of the fleet, and Anson’s work at the Admiralty. The loose material includes photographs and printed articles from ‘The Mariner’s Mirror’ and ‘The Naval Review’.

Photograph album
Album covering the earlier part of the career of Charles Gray Pitcairn-Jones, circa 1906-1928, including his command of the WOODCOCK in China. The loose items include watercolours by Lieutenant Oliver Richard Wace, who also served at the Dardanelles in 1915.

Oversize roll
Various printed and hand-drawn charts and tracings showing movements of warships in the English Channel and the Bay of Biscay, relating to research on the Battle of Quiberon Bay, 1759.

Administrative / biographical background
Lewis John Pitcairn-Jones was born at Greenwich in 1890, the first son of Commander (later Rear-Admiral) Edward Pitcairn Jones and his wife Rosalie Jone née Gray. He entered the Royal Navy as a naval cadet in 1904 and in the following year had a period of training on the cruiser HMS ECLIPSE (1894). Between 1906 and 1909 he was a midshipman on the armoured cruiser HMS HAMPSHIRE (1903), then the battleship HMS HINDUSTAN (1903). He passed for lieutenant in 1912. During the First World War he was a navigating lieutenant on the destroyers HMS LYRA (1910), HMS MISCHIEF (1915) and HMS GABRIEL (1915) in the North Sea. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) in 1920 for his services as navigating officer of the cruiser HMS CLEOPATRA (1915) in the Baltic. After promotion to the rank of lieutenant-commander, he had staff duties on the cruiser HMS HAWKINS (1917), flagship on the China station; then navigating duties on the aircraft carrier HMS FURIOUS (1916). Pitcairn-Jones was placed on the retired list at his own request with the rank of commander in 1932. He later worked in the Naval Historical Branch and contributed to the writing of official accounts of naval operations of the Second World War. He died at Sidmouth in 1965. His service record can be found under the references ADM 196/52/232 and ADM 196/144/588 at The National Archives. Charles Gray Pitcairn-Jones (known as ‘PJ’) was born in London in 1893, the second son of Commander (later Rear-Admiral) Edward Pitcairn Jones and his wife Rosalie Jones nee Gray. He entered the Royal Naval College Osborne in 1906. During the First World War, he was a sub-lieutenant on the destroyer HMS URE (1904) and then a lieutenant on the battleship HMS LORD NELSON (1906), flagship at the Dardanelles and in the Eastern Mediterranean. He was mentioned in despatches for his valuable services as executive office of HMS KRUGER ex PRESIDENT KRUGER (1902), flagship of the Caspian Sea Flotilla, in 1919. After the armistice he was given command of the destroyer HMS SUCCESS (1918), before she was recommissioned on loan to Australia. As a lieutenant-commander, he commanded the river gunboat HMS WOODCOCK (1898) in China, between 1923 and 1925. Pitcairn-Jones was placed on the retired list at his own request with rank of commander in 1937. During the first years of the Second World War he served on the staff of the commander-in-chief at the Nore. Between 1944 and 1957 he was librarian at the Royal Naval Staff College, Greenwich. Towards the end of his life he spent much time in the Caird Library at the National Maritime Museum, compiling lists of officers and warships, and researching the veracity of published ‘lower deck memoirs’ from the age of sail. He died in the Bexley registration district in 1970. His annotated version of ‘The Commissioned Sea Officers of the Royal Navy 1660-1815’ was published by the NMM, 1979. His index of warships with later additions by others was made available as the ‘Warship Histories’ on microfiche in the Caird Library from 1986. His service record can be found under the references ADM 196/55/194 and ADM 196/145/412 at The National Archives.