The Admiral’s Secret Weapon
Edition: HB
Author: Charles Stephenson
ISBN: 9781843832805
Publishers: Boydell Press
Price 25.00
Publication Date: 19th Oct 2006
Publisher’s title
Information
The 10th Earl of Dundonald
(1775-1860) had as Lord Cochrane been a dashing and highly successful naval
captain (he forms the model for Patrick O'Brian's fictional hero Jack Aubrey);
he was also an inventor. In 1811 he presented details of his secret war plans
to the Admiralty, who thought them likely to be highly effective, but
uncivilised, and did not take them up; they remained secret. From time to time
throughout the rest of his life Lord Dundonald lobbied again on behalf of his
plans, without success. In 1914 the, supposedly, German butler of the then Lord
Dundonald allegedly stole the secret documents and passed them to his
government, to the subsequent consternation of the Dundonald family, who feared
that German use of poison gas in 1915 was the result of this alleged theft. Just
what were the secrets? And did the theft lead to the use of poison gas in 1915?
Charles Stephenson, who has been bracketed amongst "the world's leading
maritime historians", unravels the details of this interesting and
intriguing story.
Contents
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Introduction |
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Diabolical Engines of
Warfare |
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The Stink Ships |
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"Lord Dundonald
Thought Otherwise" |
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Laying Wood before Walls |
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Expelling the Russians
from Sevastopol |
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Different Lines of Thought |
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A National Emergency |
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Secret No More |
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Nelson The New Letters
Edition: Paperback
Author: Edited by Colin
White
ISBN:
1843832992, 9781843832997
21 colour illustrations
35 b/w illustrations
8 line illustrations
Publishers: Boydell Press: Published in
association with the National Maritime Museum and the Royal Naval Museum.
Price £14.99
Publication Date: 17th May 2007
Publisher’s Title Information
Nelson was a letter writer
of great flair and somehow, between his naval service and recovering from
various illnesses and wounds and, of course, despite his famously tangled
love-life, he managed to write an extraordinary number of them, on all subjects
and addressed to all manner of recipients. This widely-praised volume collects
together over 500 of those letters, dating from 1777 to just days before the
Battle of Trafalgar that would seal both his fate and his fame. They range from
detailed battle orders to passionate love letters, from the business of
securing - or giving - patronage to diplomatic reports for kings, queens,
politicians and dignitaries.
All aspects of Nelson's life are covered here, particularly his seldom-glimpsed
family life, so that the reader cannot fail to see him in a new light. Nor can
any reader fail to marvel at the combination of traits that made the man great:
his brilliant leadership and organisation, his daring and ruthless military
mind and, not least, his very real compassion, even for his enemies.
The Author
Dr Colin White is Director of the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth, UK. One of
Britain's leading naval historians, he is recognised worldwide as an authority
on Nelson. In 2005, he was the mastermind behind the hugely successful
'Trafalgar Festival', for which he was awarded the Longman-History Today
Trustees Prize.
Reviews to Date
Colin
White...successfully reminds us why the memory of Nelson and his achievements
has endured. THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS
In Nelson - The New Letters Colin White has brought to life a treasure-trove of
1,200 letters, creating a virtual Nelson autobiography. SEAFARER, the Journal of the Marine Society
Striking....revealing....gives a sharp insight....[the] letters give a distinct
sense of how Nelson was able to inspire so high a degree of loyalty and
devotion.....this is a work very much for scholars. MARINER'S MIRROR
In Trafalgar's bicentennial year, there have been several Nelson biographies,
but no book about this authentic English hero could surpass the fascination of
Nelson's own words...faithfully edited by one of our pre-eminent naval
scholars, this compulsive volume paints a picture of the man in all his
astonishing complexity. OBSERVER
[Robert McCrum]
They are coruscatingly vivid letters, alive with bright expressiveness. [...]
On important matters, he writes with gripping verve; the letters giving
accounts of engagements, especially those to the Duke of Clarence, are
extraordinarily exciting. [...] This is
an important addition which the general reader shouldn't overlook. SPECTATOR
Adds a new dimension. [...] This is the
closest we will ever get to reading Horatio Nelson's autobiography. EASTERN DAILY PRESS
There is much fresh evidence here to illustrate Nelson's virtuosity as a
leader. INDEPENDENT
Impressively wide-ranging.... A Nelson
fan's delight and a welcome addition.
DAILY EXPRESS
In so far as Admiral Nelson has a representative on earth it is Colin White.
[...] SUNDAY TELEGRAPH
[An] important addition to the printed Nelson sources [by] perhaps the
best-known "Nelsonian" of our day. TLS
Standing far above the bicentenary fanfare...White has significantly added to
our understanding of Nelson's tempestuous personality. MAIL ON SUNDAY
Nelson's character and conduct, his tactical ideas and strategic insight emerge
from his correspondence, in essence in the form of autobiography.....White has
served his subject well. COUNTRY LIFE
By any standards, Nelson The New Letters is a distinguished scholarly
achievement....Colin [White] has done real service, including printing riches
which are still not in the public domain...[he] is a judicious and widely-read
editor and he presents his chosen letters with explanation and caution. THE TRAFALGAR CHRONICLE
It is a fact that because we read Nelson’s letters we are as Colin White points out able to, as it were, stand behind the great man and look over his shoulder. Truly, there is no substitute for his own words for revealing his heart and mind.
What these letters also
reveal is how others, and in many cases his own family sought to use him to
advance themselves. To this end his
brother William, who gained the most is shown in a bad light. He was prepared to let Horatio commit fraud
on his behalf, by falsifying a ship’s Muster Book to claim money for time not
spent on HMS Boreas. If submitted it
would have been a false document. Under
the common law, to be false a document must not only tell a lie but tell a lie
about itself. He was always seeking
something and finally after he gained so much, at his brother’s death he worked
even harder to shape his own place in history by deliberately suppressing a
number of letters, which reveal how he pestered his brother for preferment. He
writes, "My Dear Brother
I have received your letter of the
16th: in answer to the first part what ever may be repeated in the Coffee
Houses I am totally ignorant of any influence I have over the mind of His Royal
Highness. Should that ever be the case and it is in my power to Serve any part
of our family nothing could possibly give me greater pleasure.
In respect to the 2nd: part from
the day you sail'd for England you cannot be paid as Chaplain of the Boreas. I
have this day been to the Navy Office about it & have seen the Order of the
Admiralty against paying any Chaplain who is bore on a Ships books if he is
absent from Her. Prince William being arrived will prevent my coming into
Norfolk so soon as I intended....
Your Most Affectionate Brother
Horatio Nelson"
This was
in fact a false claim -William had returned to England in September 1784 and
had never served at sea again. The fact that the certificate is still among
William Nelson's papers shows that the claim was never submitted.
What must strike you about
Nelson must surely be, how one man has written so much. However by doing so, he has certainly left
us with a treasury of words and thoughts to help us understand his mind - as
Colin White says, a wonderful wordsmith and this is truly a treasure trove of
new material and a deep insight into a great mind.
He was from a young age a
very confident person, Writing to Admiral Sir Peter Parker 18th Jan
1780 he says,
"Sir, I am much oblig'd to you for
the Good Opinion you entertain of me which I hope will always continue. The
Hinchinbrooke is ready for Sea, and will Sail when ever the Troops are
Embark'd. I beg you will give me leave to represent to you, that in my opinion
it will be much for the Good of the Service, that all the Seamen in the
Transport Service be left entirely to my direction and that orders be given to
the Commanding Officer of the Land Forces for all Applications for Seamen be
made to Me, as I shall then be Enabl'd to Send Good Men and Officers instead of
their taking Raw Undisciplin'd Men, and also that the masters of Transports be
Order'd to follow only my directions
I am Sir
Your Most Obt: Humble Servt:
Horatio Nelson"
He was 21 when this was written.
Colin White hopes that Nelson
would approve of his latest 'honourable undertaking', I am sure he would.
Rob Jerrard