Papers relating to the careers of members of the Parks family who were officers in Royal Navy, also some papers of their ancestor Murray Thomas Parks who presented most of the material to the National Maritime Museum.

The papers from the career of Lieutenant Abraham Parks (1795-1863) numbered PKS/51-54 consist of photographs; a copy of a poem 'The Mate's Lament'; details of his service compiled by his daughter-in-law, and a copy of the 'Navy List' for 1859 with annotations.

The papers from the career of Commander Murray Thomas Parks (1827-1877) numbered PKS/1-5 and PKS/101-109 include official service documents 1843 to 1870, but are made up mainly of papers relating to the HMS ENTERPRISE and the Arctic expedition of 1851. There are also some letters received by his wife Mary Parks née Dodds, between 1862 and 1881.

The papers from the career of Captain Murray Thomas Parks (1862-1932) numbered PKS/151-158 include official service papers, 1876 to 1878; letters sent home, 1878 to 1890; and a midshipman's journal for HMS INVINCIBLE and HMS CRUISER, 1881 to 1882.

The other Parks family papers numbered PKS/201-201 and PKS/251-253 consist of magazine articles and correspondence of Murray Thomas Parks (1901-1960) on subjects relating to Arctic exploration and his family history; also records of birth, marriage and death, newspaper cuttings and ephemera.

Administrative / biographical background
See sub-collection level records.