"JOHN PEARCE" SERIES 7 VOLUMES: An Ill Wind / Blown Off Course / Enemies at Every Turn / A Sea of Troubles / A Divided Command / The Devil to Pay / The Perils of Command by Donachie, David

Navy cloth binding. Gilt ship on the front board. Gilt title and naval rating on the spine.
H.M.S. Britannia was the name given to the British Royal Navy's ship used for the preliminary education of naval officers from 1859 to 1905. It was anchored first at Portsmouth, then Portland, and finally off the town of Dartmouth in Devon. The first ship used was the 1820 three-decker Britannia, which was replaced in 1869 by the three-decker Prince of Wales, which became the fifth ship to bear the name Britannia. From 1864 onwards the two-decker Hindostan was moored ahead of Britannia and connected by an enclosed gangway, providing extra accommodation and classroom space. Cadets joining the Royal Navy were entered into a "term" in Britannia, in which they remained for two years of instruction. The number of terms started each year varied, ranging from two to four before normalising at three per annum. If cadets gained enough time through scholarly aptitude and good behaviour, upon leaving for the fleet they… Read More

Navy cloth binding. Gilt ship on the front board. Gilt title and naval rating on the spine.
H.M.S. Britannia was the name given to the British Royal Navy's ship used for the preliminary education of naval officers from 1859 to 1905. It was anchored first at Portsmouth, then Portland, and finally off the town of Dartmouth in Devon. The first ship used was the 1820 three-decker Britannia, which was replaced in 1869 by the three-decker Prince of Wales, which became the fifth ship to bear the name Britannia. From 1864 onwards the two-decker Hindostan was moored ahead of Britannia and connected by an enclosed gangway, providing extra accommodation and classroom space. Cadets joining the Royal Navy were entered into a "term" in Britannia, in which they remained for two years of instruction. The number of terms started each year varied, ranging from two to four before normalising at three per annum. If cadets gained enough time through scholarly aptitude and good behaviour, upon leaving for the fleet they… Read More

In the original dustsheet. Navy cloth binding with gilt title on the spine.
Believed to be the world's best copy of this increasingly rare book.
Waine's histories of shipping of the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries are very good indeed. The text covers a wide range of aspects, including development, design, layout, operating areas and cargoes, as well as conveying a real sense of what it was like to work on these ships. Plenty of general arrangement and other line drawings together with coloured drawn illustrations and some b&w photos.