Letters written by John Archibald Ballard to his son George Alexander Ballard. The letters cover George's childhood and his father's attempts to help fulfil his son's wish of joining the Royal Navy. Later letters sent towards the end of his father's career and during his retirement provide his reaction to events of George's early naval career while in HMS ACHILLES. These include his reaction to the forcing a passage of the Dardanelles in 1878 and tensions between Britain, the Ottoman Empire, and Russia with some reflection on his time in Ottoman service in the region.