The papers consist of twenty-eight volumes of pamphlets and newspaper cuttings, put together by Horton-Smith himself, on naval policy and the activities of the Imperial Maritime League, 1895 to 1913.

Administrative / biographical background
Horton-Smith was a barrister and joint founder and Secretary of the Imperial Maritime League, which was active between 1908 and 1913. It was founded as a protest against the British Navy League, which fully supported the actions of Lord Fisher. The Imperial Maritime League felt that the Navy League did not go far enough in its demands for the strengthening of British naval power. Horton-Smith was the author of numerous pamphlets on naval affairs.