This sub-collection consists of Admiral John Harvey Rainier's logbooks, 1862 to 1897, with a gap between 1874 and 1884, and loose papers about the relief of the Cretan town of Kandanos in 1897. There are orders and a sketch plan from the action between HMS SHAH and the HUASCAR off Pacocha in 1877, relating to the naval career of his elder brother Lieutenant George Harvey Rainier (1844-1906). There is also a volume of copies of letters, 1831 to 1835, relating to the promotion to the rank of commander of his uncle by marriage, Captain William Ward Percival Johnson (1790-1880).

Administrative / biographical background
John Harvey Rainier was born in 1847, the son of Reverend George Rainier and his wife Sarah Rainer née Harvey, daughter of Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Harvey (1775-1841). He joined the Navy as a cadet in 1860 and as a midshipman served in a number of different vessels on the Pacific Station between 1862 and 1866. As a sub-lieutenant and lieutenant, he served in HMS VESTAL, HMS RATTLESNAKE and HMS PLOVER on the West African Station, 1867 to 1870; then in HMS PLOVER in the West Indies from 1870 to 1871. From 1872 to 1874 he served in HMS NORTHUMBERLAND in the Channel Squadron. Rainier then specialised in gunnery and was promoted to commander from HMS EXCELLENT in 1880. He was subsequently involved in the War Office Committee on Machine Guns and the Committee on Torpedo Construction. Between 1884 and 1887 he commanded the screw sloop HMS KINGFISHER, engaged in anti-slavery patrols off East Africa. After being promoted to captain in 1887, he was appointed to the corvette HMS TOURMALINE on the North America and West Indies Station. In 1890 the ship was involved in disturbances on Tortola and the relief of Fort de France on Martinique following a devastating fire. He commanded the second-class cruiser HMS IRIS, in home waters, in 1893. Next Rainier was appointed to the battleship HMS RODNEY in the Mediterranean. He had a leading role in operations of the International Squadron during the revolt against Ottoman rule in Crete in 1897, commanding the landings at Selinos Kastelli and the relief of the inland town of Kandanos. He was made a rear-admiral in 1901, a vice-admiral in 1905 and an admiral in 1908. He died at Southborough, Kent, in 1915.