Three letters (with envelopes) believed to be from Lieutenant Commander Brian Dean to Miss Muriel Ahrens.
1) A shore leave letter from 45 Henley Road, Ipswich dated 15.4.1923 containing personal information.
2) Letter from HMS WANDERER, Mediterranean Fleet dated 10.09.1923, mentioning fog, the flotilla, Malta, Dardanelles, the Bosphorus, firing torpedoes and seeing brother who was a marine on HMS RESOLUTION.
3) Letter from HMS MAGNOLIA, China Station, Amoy, dated 8.11.1927 describing details of SS IRENE incident with Chinese pirates and British submarines attacking the boat; SS IRENE catching fire; HMS MAGNOLIA arriving at 11pm and spending the night putting the fire out; SS IRENE sinking.

Administrative / biographical background
Letters believed to be from Lieutenant Commander Brian Dean DSO, Lieutenant Commander on HMS MAGNOLIA (1925-1927). On 19 October 1927 Chinese pirates took over the SS IRENE, owned by China Merchants Steam Navigation Co with 258 passengers on board. Royal Navy submarines were patrolling the area and attacked the boat, which caught fire. HMS MAGNOLIA arrived shortly afterwards, assisted passengers and put out the fire on board. The SS IRENE subsequently sank. The letter dated 8 November 1927 on stamped letter heading 'HMS MAGNOLIA, China station, Amoy' describes HMS MAGNOLIA arriving at 11pm and spending the night putting the fire out, and SS IRENE later sinking. The letters are thought to be to be from Lieutenant-Commander Brian Dean, who served on HMS WANDERER between 1923 and 1925, and was Lieutenant-Commander of HMS MAGNOLIA between 1925 and 1927. He was awarded the DSO for good services in withdrawing Allied Armies from Dunkirk, and as Lieutenant-Commander of HMS SABRE was involved in rescuing evacuee children after SS VOLENDAM was torpedoed on 30 August 1940.