War Letters 1914–1918

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GET WAR LETTERS VOL. 1 FREE

The first volume of War Letters is now available free at Amazon, the ibookstore and Kobo.

ADDITIONAL FREE FIRST WORLD WAR NAVAL EBOOK

My War at Sea 1914–1916: A Captain’s Life in the Royal Navy during the First World War by Heathcoat S. Grant.

This free ebook is published in conjunction with War Letters 1914–1918, Vol. 2. It is available as a PDF (1.3 MB)  and a free Kindle from Amazon.

For anyone interested in the war at sea during the First World War (WW1), Grant provides a highly readable insider’s view of the action at Coronel, the Battle of the Falklands and the attempt to force the Dardanelles.

Background

When researching material for the explanatory notes to accompany War Letters 1914–1918, Vol. 2, based on the letters of Philip Malet de Carteret, a 16-year-old midshipman on HMS Canopus during the First World War, I came across a series of seven articles from 1923–1924 in the Naval Review written by Heathcoat S. Grant, the captain of the Canopus between 1914–1916.

With the generous permission of the Naval Review, I have brought together all of Grant’s articles and reproduced them in a single volume to make them more easily accessible. I have also added the account given by Commander Philip J. Stopford of the Canopus which also appeared in the Naval Review.

For the first two years of the war the Canopus had as eventful a time as any ship in the Royal Navy, being involved at Coronel, the Battle of the Falklands and the attempt to force the Dardanelles.

As captain of the ship, Grant’s account, based on his service reports and diary, is a valuable source for those wanting to know more about such key naval events of the First World War. It has the added advantage of being highly readable.

The report of his conversations with Rear-Admiral Sir Christopher Cradock sheds a valuable light on events at Coronel, while his description of the measures taken on land to defend the Falkland Islands details an important aspect of the battle often overlooked in accounts which focus primarily on the battle at sea.

The Canopus also played a critical role at the Dardanelles, getting further up the Straits than any other Allied ship, and Grant’s sceptical perspective from inside the higher echelons of the Royal Navy adds further grist, if more were needed, to critics of the campaign. Later his account of the role of the navy in the Smyrna patrol and the subsequent operations against the Turkish coast following the evacuation of the Gallipoli peninsula provide a fascinating view into this frequently forgotten aspect of the conflict.

Stopford’s account is much shorter and considerably less interesting than Grant’s, but it does offer some additional insights.

There are no notes to accompany the accounts given by Grant and Stopford, and therefore a some prior knowledge of the events mentioned is useful. For those wanting to know more, there are extensive notes to accompany the letters of Philip Malet de Carteret in War Letters 1914–1918, Vol. 2.

The specific references made in War Letters 1914–1918, Vol.2 to the writing of Grant and Stopford can be found by following the links in appendix nine of My War at Sea.

 

 

 

 

 

Cover for My War at Sea 1914–1916 by Heathcoat S. Grant
“There was an overwhelming feeling of depression among us all at the fate of our comrades. There was also intense disappointment that we had not been able to be with them in their gallant fight, and it was quite open to consideration if we had been in company with Admiral Cradock, whether Admiral Von Spee would have attacked as he did. ” Heathcoat Grant, My War at Sea

RELATED RESOURCES

  • THE WAR AT SEA
  • GALLIPOLI
“As there was little time to spare, I at once went aboard to see the General and arrange for the details of the embarkation. To my intense surprise I found that he was entirely ignorant of the nature of the operations of his division, the nature of the country, in fact of anything about it.
As it was little more than 24 hours before the division would be in action, I gave General Hill all the information at my disposal. Fortunately this included the maps of the country at Suvla from the intelligence staff. ” Heathcoat Grant, My War at Sea

“At another battery I found signs of freshly slaughtered sheep. This was explained by the officer in charge as due to the efficient look-out of their sentry on whom the mutton had advanced during the night without giving any countersign and refusing to halt had suffered the penalty. I had no doubt that the Falkland Island Company would excuse this mistaken zeal if they happened to hear of it. ” Heathcoat Grant, My War at Sea

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