Category: The Admiralty

Admiral Gretton writes what is almost a biography of Churchill, whose life was intertwined with the navy for half a century. WWII is covered in 50 pages and the view of his effect on the Navy is one of critical approval. US title: Winston Churchill and the Royal Navy.

An accomplished historian charts the stormy relationship.

The very anodyne memoirs of a successful and senior civil servant. She recalls briefly her wartime service in the accounts department of the Admiralty Secretariat.

A study of the famous relationship which helped define the future course of the war.

A somewhat offbeat theme which gives a fascinating view of the trials and tribulations of wartime travel.

Includes an article by Lord Fraser of North Cape on Churchill and the Navy, directed mainly at events in WWII.

This great historian brings a wealth of knowledge to the discussion of this eventful period.

An excellent piece of research and scholarship. Although covering well-worn ground, the author brings a fresh view to the argument on how far Churchill ignored the advice of his professional advisers both as politician and amateur naval strategist.

The famous novelist served on the Joint Planning Staff in WWII and many of the position papers he wrote are reprinted in this volume.

GILBERT, Martin. The Churchill War Papers. Volume I: At the Admiralty September 1939–May 1940. xx, 1370p., index. London: Heinemann; New York: Norton, 1993. ISBN: 0393035220.

From single-sentence instructions to voluminous reports, Churchill’s prodigious output is carefully documented and annotated.

SCHOFIELD, B.B. With the Royal Navy in War and Peace: O’er the Deep Blue Sea. xviii, 270p. Barnsley: Pen & Sword Maritime, 2018. ISBN: 9781526736475.

An excellent memoir, edited by his daughter. After serving as a midshipman in the First World War, Schofield qualified as a navigator and interpreter in French and Italian. At the outbreak of WW2 he was Naval Attache in The Hague and Brussels before becoming Director of Trade Division (Convoys) during 1941-1943. While commanding King George V he witnessed the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay in August 1945. After the war he wrote several notable works on WW2 RN actions.

JENKINS, Roy. Churchill. xxi, 1002p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Macmillan, 2001. ISBN: 0333782909.

Although this major biography has only limited coverage of his period at the Admiralty it is included as one of the finest pieces of historical writing of the last fifty years.

KLUGER, Michael & EVANS, Richard. Roosevelt & Churchill: The Atlantic Charter. 224p., bibliog., illus., index. Barnsley: Frontline, 2020. ISBN: 9781526786302.

A full account of the background to and the outcomes of this seminal meeting at Placentia Bay in Newfoundland in August 1941.

D’ESTE, Carlo. Warlord: A Life of Churchill at War 1874-1945. xix, 936p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Allen Lane, 2009. ISBN: 9780713997538.

A powerful biography with extensive coverage of his involvement in naval matters in World War 2. This is a slightly amended version of the American edition published in 2008.

LOEWENHEIM, Francis L., LANGLEY, Harold D., & JONAS, Manfred. Roosevelt and Churchill: Their Secret Wartime Correspondence. 807p., bibliog., illus., index. London: Barrie & Jenkins; New York: Saturday Review Press, 1975. ISBN: 0841503346.

Over 500 documents are annotated and a scholarly introduction to the relationship given.