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G.A. Rooke log book, 1891-1893

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Summary

Creator:
Rooke, G. A.
Abstract:
Log book kept by G.A. Rooke of the Royal Navy while aboard four different ships: the HMS Camperdown, the HMS Rodney, the HMS Australia, and the HMS Champion. Various manuscript maps, watercolors, and sketches of scenery and ships illustrate the log.
Extent:
266 pages
Language:
English
Authors:
Collection processed and finding aid created by Cheney J. Schopieray

Background

Scope and Content:

This log, spine marked "S. 625 Log Book for use of Junior Officers Afloat," is a 266-page manuscript volume written by G.A. Rooke. Rooke maintained the log from August 1, 1891 to September 30, 1893 while aboard four different ships: the Battleship HMS Camperdown; the Admiral class barbette ship HMS Rodney; the Royal Naval Coastguard ship HMS Australia; and the HMS Champion. The log itself consists of entries made three times daily and includes information regarding wind, weather, barometric pressure, temperature, and additional remarks. A typical entry reads "Mustered by Divisions. Read Prayers. Training class at gun drill. Exercised maneuvers. Ordinary Seamen at Seamanship…" (pg. 108). Within the volume are 58 illustrations and 2 photographs. The illustrations include 15 original watercolor paintings of Flagships (Philadelphia, Charleston, Baltimore, and Newark, among others), seven watercolors of mechanical equipment and machinery, 29 maps of ship routes, one pencil sketch, five ink drawings of ships and scenery, and one ink drawing of a person. The maps are almost exclusively of shipping routes around Northwestern Europe, with the exception of three: one from Gibraltar to Bermuda; one map of Bermuda; and the third from Bermuda to the Chesapeake Bay. The text written on the maps matches the handwriting of Rooke, though none of the illustrations are signed. Most of them are initialed by both a Captain and a Naval Inspector. One of the photographs is of the HMS Rodney, and the other is of the half-sunken HMS Howe. Included in the log is a four page description of the stranding of HMS Howe and the methods used to lighten its load and remove it from the rocks (pgs. 160-163).

Biographical / Historical:

G. A. Rooke, a member of the Royal Navy, kept ships' logs for four different ships between the years 1891 and 1893. These ships were stationed almost exclusively around Northwestern Europe and in the Western Mediterranean. The four ships were the HMS Camperdown, the HMS Rodney, the HMS Australia, and the HMS Champion.

The HMS Camperdown was a battleship built in 1885 and commissioned in July 1889. During the time Rooke kept this log (in 1891), HMS Camperdown was a flagship in the Channel Squadron. In 1893 it was involved in a collision with HMS Victoria. It was sold and scrapped in 1911.

The HMS Rodney was an Admiral class barbette ship, launched in 1884. It was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1888. In 1906 it was placed in the Chatham Special Reserve until it was scrapped in 1909.

The HMS Howe was an Admiral class battleship, sister ship of the HMS Rodney. It was launched in 1885. In 1893 the HMS Howe was grounded in Ferrol Bay off the coast of Spain. Rooke details this event in his log. The HMS Howe was repaired and was part of the Mediterranean Fleet until 1910.

The HMS Australia was a Royal Navy Coastguard ship built in Glasgow. It was made a first-class cruiser in 1888 and sold in 1905.

The HMS Champion, a ship of the Royal Navy, was located off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, in September 1893.

Acquisition Information:
1988. M-2421 .
Rules or Conventions:
Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open to research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright status is unknown.

PREFERRED CITATION:

G. A. Rooke Log Book, William L. Clements Library, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

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Collection

G.A. Rooke log book, 1891-1893
Total components 6
Last indexed 2025-02-09