Thursby, Sir Cecil Fiennes, Admiral, 1861-1936.

The papers include a number of official orders and reports, some relating to Thursby's time as Captain of H.M.S SWIFTSURE in 1909. Many more concerned with the Dardenelles campaign, especially the Gallipoli landings and subsequent evacuation. Also present in the collection are British Adriatic Reports for 1916-17, reports on the 1917 Conference of Corfu, letters to Thursby during his time in the Eastern Mediterranean and reports on the use of submarine chasers.

Administrative / biographical background
Thursby entered the Royal Navy in 1874, was promoted to Lieutenant in 1883 and to Commander in 1895. Made up to Captain in 1901, he was given command of H.M.S. KING ALFRED and then H.M.S. SWIFTSURE, stationed in Asia-Minor and Crete. Promoted to Rear-Admiral in 1911, Thursby took part in the Dardenelles campaign and was in charge of landing the ANZAC forces at Gaba Tepe, Gallipoli in 1915. After this he was given command of the British Adriatic Squadron in 1916, then, as Vice-Admiral, was given the Eastern Mediterranean Squadron in 1917. Towards the end of his career, Thursby was commanding Coastguard and Reserves, followed by an appointment to Commander-in-Chief, Plymouth, before retiring as Admiral in 1920.