MEMORIES OF THE SEA FitzGerald Royal Navy 1854-74. Shooting Fishing Worldwide

Description: MEMORIES OF THE SEA Admiral PENROSE FITZGERALD LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD 1913 First edition. This book takes us back to the middle of the last century, when Admiral FitzGerald joined the Victory in 1854 as a naval cadet. The Author introduces us to a midshipman's berth of that era, and relates, with engaging frankness, some of the escapades of that irrepressible and lark-loving young gentleman, the British midshipman, in those happy days, before the Juggernaut advance of science, mechanics, engineering and soldiering befogged his youthful brains, crushed all the fun out of him, and turned him into a sedate and solemn " know-all " and an aspiring Jack-of-all-trades. Admiral FitzGerald tells some amusing yarns of the personal characteristics of some of his old ship-mates, though gracefully omitting the names of those concerning whom he has nothing complimentary to say. The period dealt with—1854-74—embraces the great transition epoch during which our navy was gradually and reluctantly changed from wood to iron, and from sails to steam. All those who take an interest in our first—and perhaps only—line of defence, will be surprised, if not amused, at the ultra-conservatism of those veteran seamen who advised the civilian rulers of the navy to retain masts and sails and muzzle-loading guns in our ironclads for a dozen years after these relics of a bygone age ought to have been put upon the scrap-heap; and indeed it is difficult now to understand what could have been in the minds of the men who rigged as a brig the 11,000-ton Inflexible, with her double screws, 80-ton guns, and 24 inches of armour. (Publisher's advert) The author was also a keen sportsman, and he recounts numerous episodes of hunting and fishing around the world, from elephant hunting in Ceylon to snipe in Jamaica In 1916 FitzGerald published a second volume of autobiography, From Sail to Steam, which covered the later part of his career. Admiral Fitzgerald describes his life and adventures while serving in the Royal Navy. While much of this work recounts his military experiences, he did enjoy sport in various ports of call. Of Asian interest is his elephant hunt near Kandelli in Ceylon. (Czech, Bibliography of Asian Big Game Hunting Books.) 23 x 15 cm. viii + 328 pp + 8 plates + 16 pp publisher's adverts. Good + condition, cloth worn on the edges of the boards, foxing to page edges, endpapers have been renewed, pencil annotation in margin of one page. Binding sound, all plates present. Surprisingly scarce, the second volume being much easier to find. Get images that make Supersized seem small. THE simple solution for eBay sellers.

Price: 24.99 GBP

Location: Carlisle

End Time: 2025-02-02T12:01:33.000Z

Shipping Cost: 16.16 GBP