Duff, Sir Alexander, Admiral, 1862-1933.

The main part of the collection, consisting of letters received from Lord Jellicoe (1859-1935) and Sir Charles Madden (q.v.), 1916 to 1933, and a few letters from Jellicoe to Lady Duff, 1934, came to the Museum in 1948. A series of notes and letters, 1914 to 1919, on the convoy system were presented in 1953 and 1954. There are also papers on mercantile shipping, conferences and convoys, 1918, and some of Duff's retrospective views on convoys written in 1931. Finally, there is a private diary kept between 1914 and 1916 in this latter section.

Administrative / biographical background
Duff entered the Navy in 1875, passed as a sub-lieutenant in 1881 and as a lieutenant in 1884, after which he specialized in torpedo duties. He was promoted to commander in 1897 and to captain in 1902. In 1911 he became Director of Naval mobilization and two years later was promoted to rear-admiral. During the first half of the war he was second-in-command of the Fourth Battle Squadron, flying his flag in the Emperor of India in 1914 and in the Superb at Jutland, 1916. Duff was then appointed as Director of the Anti-Submarine Division. In 1917 he was made Assistant Chief of Naval Staff. He was promoted to vice-admiral in 1918 and from 1919 to 1922 was Commander-in-Chief on the China Station. He retired in 1925.