A Naval Biographical Dictionary - Volume 1

by William R. O’Byrne

2012 · Andrews UK Limited

Volume 1 of 3. Originally published in 1849, this work gives details of “the life and services of every living officer in ‘Her Majesty's Navy” who was serving or had retired by 1845 – nearly 5,000 officers in all. Generally acknowledged as the most comprehensive work of its kind, it was a considerable undertaking for one man to piece together such detailed biographies. This information was compiled from official records and from details supplied by the officers themselves. The service details found on every page reflect the centuries-old naval traditions of devotion to duty and great bravery in the face of danger. They also provide information on the many naval actions that were fought at the end of the eighteenth and first half of nineteenth centuries. Coincidentally, the original publication took place during the year of issue of what is now referred to as the Naval General Service Medal. In 1847 Queen Victoria authorised this award to be struck to record the services of naval officers and men who took part in various actions between 1793 and 1815, later extended to 1840. The award was limited to those who were alive at the time of the announcement. Over 200 Naval actions were commemorated on clasps to this medal; details of these and a considerable number of other engagements are to be found throughout this volume. Over the century and a half since its publication, this work has established itself as an essential reference work for naval historians and for a wider section of the public who are in search of their naval ancestry.

Warriors of the Queen

by William Wright

2014 · The History Press

Who were the men who commanded the British Army in the numerous small wars of the Victorian Empire? Today, many are all but forgotten, save the likes of Cardigan, Kitchener, Baden-Powell and Gordon of Khartoum. Yet they were a disparate and fascinating assemblage, made up of men of true military genius, as well as egoists, fools and despots. In Warriors of the Queen, William Wright surveys over 170 of these men, examining their careers and personalities. He reveals not only the lives of the great military names of the period but also of those whom history has overlooked, from James 'Buster' Browne, who once fought a battle in his nightshirt, to Jack Bisset, who had fought in three South African wars by his twenty-third birthday. Based on original research and complemented by over sixty photographs, Warriors of the Queen provides new insight into the men who built (and sometimes endangered) the British Empire on the battlefield.