The collection includes the log of HM Ship PHOEBE from 19 March 1813 to 5 October 1814, including the capture of the American frigate ESSEX off Valpariso (Chile) 28 March 1814 ( HYL/1/1) and two accompanying letters concerning the capture of the ESSEX. The first is Captain James Hillyar's report to the Admiralty, describing the action. The second is a courteous letter from Captain Hillyar to Captain Porter of the USS ESSEX, on the subject of restoring his sword to him, 4 April 1814 (HYL/1/2).

Correspondence and press cuttings concerning Miss Phoebe Rees, great grand daughter of Sir James Hillyar, and her contact with the modern HMS PHOEBE, including 2 photographs of the model of HMS PHOEBE at Dartmouth naval college. Also includes 5 letters from John Lees while on the Royal yacht BRITANNIA (1965- 1966), letters from naval officers Terry Loughran and John Phillips, 1968-1980.

Charles Farrell Hillyar- Single sheet of Arabic writing [purpose unknown, but has Charles' name written on the back] and an envelope containing mid nineteenth century coins from Hong Kong and a Chinese token (HYL/100)

Correspondence and Commissions of Henry Hillyar, including letters from his children, 1829-1878 (HYL/200)

Administrative / biographical background
This collection covers three generations of naval officers of the Hillyar family. James Hillyar (1769-1843) was a lieutenant in 1794 on the AQUILON and several other ships. By 1804 he had become captain of the NIGER. He took command of the frigate PHOEBE in 1809 and is chiefly remembered for his action off Valparaiso (Chile) in 1814, when, in company with the sloop CHERUB, the PHOEBE took the American frigate ESSEX which had come into the southern Pacific to attack the British whaling fleet. Admiral Sir Charles Farrell Hillyar (1817-1888) was one of two sons of James Hillyar. Charles joined the Navy in 1831, became a captain in 1852 and commanded HMS GLADIATOR in the Black Sea during the Crimean war. In 1865 he become Commander in Chief, East Indies station, before the Pacific Station in 1872 and finally the China Station in 1877. Henry Schank Hillyar (1819-1893) was the second son of James Hillyar. He entered the navy in 1831, was made a lieutenant in 1842 and captain in 1854 and a rear admiral in 1872. He served mainly in the Mediterranean. Service Records available online at The National Archives: James Hillyar: ADM 196/68. Charles and Henry Hillyar: ADM 196/36. See also 'Hunting the Essex: The Journal of the Voyage of HMS Phoebe, 1813-14 by midshipman Allan Gardiner', Seaforth, 2013 [Library ID PBH 6017].