The papers consist of about 630 letters received by Foley between 1797 and 1832. Much of the correspondence concerns the promotion of young officers. There are approximately 140 correspondents; those with more than a few letters include Prince William Henry, Admiral Sir Richard Bickerton (1759-1832), Admiral Sir Richard Keats (q.v. ), Robert Saunders Dundas, Lord Melville (q.v.), Earl St. Vincent (q.v.), Admiral Sir Robert Stopford (q.v.), Admiral Sir William Young (1751-1821) and Vice-Admiral Sir William Hope (1766-1831).

Administrative / biographical background
Foley entered the Navy in 1770 and after early service in Newfoundland and the West Indies was promoted to lieutenant in 1778. During the American War he saw service in the Channel, North America and the West Indies. In 1782 he was promoted to commander and in 1790 to captain. After a period on the Home Station, he was flag-captain in the BRITANNIA at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent, 1797, and in the GOLIATH he led the Fleet into action at the Nile, 1798. In 1800 Foley was appointed to the ELEPHANT in the Channel Fleet, going later to the Baltic, where he served at the Battle of Copenhagen, 1801. Foley was then ill and unfit for service for several years until his appointment as commander-in-chief in the Downs from 1811 to the peace, 1815. He had been promoted to rear-admiral in 1808, vice-admiral in 1812 and admiral in 1825. In 1830 he was appointed commander-in-chief at Portsmouth, where he served until his death. There is a privately printed biography by John Beresford Herbert, 'The life and services of Admiral Sir Thomas Foley, G.C.B., Rear-Admiral of Great Britain' (Cardiff, 1884).