A Compendium of Articles

Written by Godfrey Dykes

© RN Communications Branch Museum/Library

  This page contains links to interesting articles about the most powerful navy in the world in 1913. All are from pre WW1 days and are in pdf format.

  The first story is to show [on paper] just how powerful the navy really was. I originally wrote the story for HMS Ganges and I have copied the file until after the first ships beginning with the letter 'G'. However, the story remains the same, namely of the sheer power of our Fleet as we entered into WW1 - Composition of the Royal Navy in 1913

  Next comes the exciting bit, at least it was exciting to crews of those long ago days. It is well recorded in the Admiralty that from approximately 1904, the navy enjoyed seeing the Magic Lantern Show: it had been very popular in civilian society from 1890 to 1900. By 1908, every Port Authority Home and Abroad had a regular supply of Lantern Slides available for loan and every ship in the many Fleets had a means of showing these slides on a manual projector. Ships would land their seen slides and take loan of new unseen slides, passing them on to other ships and to other Fleet central issuing points. The sad thing today is that we know of the Catalogues and numbers of these Slides, but it would appear that the catalogues themselves have been long lost and so we do not know the subject matter on each separate slide - Lantern Show Slides in 1913

  It has long since worried me that trained and proven School Teachers entered the Royal Navy ONLY as CPO's, this dating from the late 19th century and ongoing to the end of WW2 when many of these Chiefs had University degrees and yet lived and messed with other CPO's who were rough diamonds - Entry of Naval Schoolmasters

  Officers in the pre-war navy were robustly sorted and examined - Entry and Examination of Officers pre WW1

  Now for a look at some boring old Naval S. Forms used during and before WW1 - Naval Forms used during and before WW1

  Rank and Command - who pulls it and and who 'cow tails' ? - Rank and Command

  War Colleges and War Games were the norm in those days and Courses were arranged as required - War Colleges

  And just who were the Communication Warrant Officers in 1913? - Communication WO in the Navy

  An excellent guide to the understanding of the ultimate award. The Victoria Cross. - The Victoria Cross

  Yet another high achievers Honour - Order of the Bath

  An amazing look into the past of the long service ratings! - LSGC Medal and Gratuity and running adjacent to this subject is this - Seaman Pensions

  Next a bit of spending money - Prize Money - before we go off to see The King - Levees