RECOLLECTIONS OF JAMES ANTHONY GARDNER COMMANDER R.N. (1775-1814). Edited by Sir R. Vesey Hamilton, G.C.B. Admiral and John Knox Laughton, M.A., D.Litt. (Publications of the Navy Records Society. Vol. XXXI).

Large 8vo. 6.5 x 9.5 inches. xx + [2] + 287+ [1] pp. + 4 pp. list of publications. Bound in navy buckram, gilt, with gilt block of Society's seal on front board. A very good copy. Decorated by Society's seal on title page. An undated facsimile reprint of the original 1906 publication. An account of service at sea by James Anthony Gardner, as his father's servant, midshipman and lieutenant, on fifteen vessels, 1775-1802 (including the Victory, 1794-95) and subsequently as agent of transports at Portsmouth and in charge of the Fairlight Signal Station, 1806-14. He was then placed on half pay and retired in 1830 with the rank of commander. Gardner (1770-1846) attended the Naval Academy, Gosport, 1780-81 and his real sea service began on the Panther in 1782. As he did not intend his memoirs for publication, Gardner was able to provide an uninhibited account of life of board with criticism of his shipmates. At the end of each account of a ship are comments on fellow officers, petty officers, etc., e.g. Broke by court martial and rendered incapable of serving, for going on shore without leave to fight a duel. Admiral Sir Richard Vesey Hamilton (1829-1912) served in the Arctic and the Second China War and was appointed First Naval Lord in 1889. John Knox Laughton (1830-1915) served at sea as a Royal Navy Instructor and then pursued a career ashore as a teacher and naval historian. He became Professor of Modern History at King's College, London and co-founded the Navy Records Society in 1893, becoming its first secretary. NAVAL/MILITARY MEMOIRS NAVAL SHIPS 18TH CENTURY 19TH CENTURY MEMOIRS NAVAL/MILITARY.…