Uncatalogued: Little, Charles James Colebrooke, Admiral Sir, 1882-1973 & Carey, Charles James, Captain, 1836-1891

Certificates and correspondence relating to examinations, appointments and honours, 1896-1945. Notebook with newscuttings from Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, 1898. Scrapbook containing photographs, theatre and music programmes, invitations, greetings cards, newspaper cuttings and signatures, mainly relating to the Far East, 1898-1901. Log book kept as midshipman on the P&O passenger/cargo liner JAPAN and HMS HERMIONE, 1 June 1898 to 31 July 1900. Journal kept as midshipman on HMS HERMIONE and HMS JUPITER, August 1900 to January 1902. Notebook on gunnery, 1902. Royal Christmas Card Wallet, 1914. Correspondence with the First Sea Lord and others on his appointment and duties as Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth, 1942-1945. Term Roll booklets and correspondence regarding reunion dinners for the HMS Britannia January Term of 1897, held in 1948 and 1962. Correspondence and script for a BBC Home Service radio programme entitled 'Recollections of Submariners', broadcast in 1960. Correspondence relating to the National Maritime Museum, The Company of Veteran Motorists and Portsmouth Cathedral. Photographs of a portrait head by the sculptor C.W. Dyson-Smith. Two framed and glazed photographs: Group portrait of the British delegation to the Conference on the Limitation of Armament, Washington DC, November 1921. Portrait photograph and letter of thanks from Rear-Admiral Roger Roland Charles Backhouse, HMS IRON DUKE, 1927.

Four items relating to the naval career of Charles James Carey (see Box 2): Notebook containing details of crew, stations, rigging and other particulars of HMS QUEEN, 1860. Night Order Book and Watch, Station, Quarter and Fire Bills book for HMS CLIO, circa 1864-1866. Certificate of appointment as Commander, 1868.

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Administrative / biographical background
Little was born in Shanghai and entered the Navy as a cadet in 1897. During the early years of his career he specialized in submarines. He commanded the submarine flotillas of the Dover Patrol and Grand Fleet during the First World War and as a rear-admiral was head of the submarine branch at HMS Dolphin in 1931-1932. As Commander-in-Chief on the China Station in 1936-1938 he had to supervise the protection of British nationals during the Japanese attack on China. He then went to the Admiralty in London as Second Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Personnel. His administration had to oversee the large scale mobilization and expansion of naval personnel during the first two years of the Second World War. In 1941-1942 he was Head of the British Admiralty Delegation in Washington. The culmination of his career came when he was Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth in 1942-1945, a period in which the dockyard was the centre of amphibious operations for the Allied invasion of Normandy. In his retirement Little was a Trustee of the National Maritime Museum in 1947-60 and Vice-President of the Navy Records Society. Little's uncle Charles James Carey entered the Navy with the rank of mate in 1856. His first appointments included the schooners HMS SAN SPAREIL and HMS ESK off the coast of China during the Second Opium War 1857-60. In reward for his service at the capture of Canton he was made acting-lieutenant (to be confirmed on passing at the Royal Naval College). His promotion to lieutenant was confirmed in 1858 and he then served on HMS QUEEN in the Mediterranean. He later appointments included HMS CLIO in 1864-1868. Carey was promoted to commander in 1868 and was placed on the retired list in 1873. He gained the rank of captain in 1883.

Record Details

Item reference: MSS/76/175; MSS/76/175.0
Catalogue Section: Uncatalogued material
Level: COLLECTION
Date made: 1860 - 1973
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London
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