Parkhurst, Peter George, Civil Servant, 1889-1968.

The collection consists of typescripts for Volumes 2-16 of Parkhurst's 'Ships of Peace', and newspaper cuttings relating to articles he wrote for the centenary of the Mercantile Marine Department in 1950. Note Volume 1 of 'Ships of Peace' published privately in 1962 covers Part 1 and the first 369 pages of Part 2 of the typescript. For the published volume see PBE9070 in the Caird Library Catalogue.

Administrative / biographical background
Parkhurst was born in Battersea in 1889. He was employed in the Board of Trade and the Ministry of Transport for forty years, starting as a clerk, and for some time in the role of librarian to the Marine Department. He was made a member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) while a staff officer in the Ministry of War Transport in 1942. Parkhurst compiled 'Ships of Peace: a record of some of the problems which came before the Board of Trade in connection with the British Mercantile Marine from early days to the year 1885' as an official history of the Marine Department. He published Volume 1 privately in 1962. It made a financial loss, so in planning for a projected further 15 volumes he approached the Ministry of Transport for support. The proposal was passed to the Board of Trade, who unfortunately turned it down. Parkhurst died at New Malden, Surrey, in 1968.