Manuscript letterbook with copies of correspondence between Sir John Trenchard (1649-95), Secretary of State for the North with responsibility for the Navy, and Admirals Henry Killigrew (c. 1652-1712), Sir Ralph Delaval (c. 1641-1707) and Sir Cloudesley Shovell (1650-1707), joint commanders of the Fleet, covering the Smyrna Fleet Disaster 1693.

Administrative / biographical background
The 'Smyrna convoy' disaster of 1693 was the Battle of Lagos, a sea battle during the Nine Years' War and occurred on 27 June 1693. A French fleet under Anne Hilarion de Tourville defeated an Anglo-Dutch fleet under George Rooke. The aftermath of the battle left the convoy with half it's original number, where some ninety ships were lost. The majority of these were Dutch and fourty were captured. The main objectives of the convoy were to deliver the traders to their destinations in the Mediterranean and also to establish a naval presence there. The French made a massive gain, with prizes valued at 30 million livres. It was one of the worst financial disasters of the latter half of the 17th century, since the Great Fire of 1666.