The Durham Papers

This book is a useful reference for those interested in the late Georgian Navy and focusses on one of the leading Admirals of its day. Admiral Sir Philip Charles Henderson Calderwood Durham's illustrious thirty-eight-year career included being flag-officer he commanded the Leeward Islands and Portsmouth. He however survived the capsizing of the Royal George in 1882 and he was captain of a ship of the line at Trafalgar, where he had two enemy ships surrender to him. Durham was born in 1763 overlooking the Firth of Forth in Scotland. He entered the Navy in 1777, and soon had a reputation as a daring young master and commander. He was one of the most distinguished and colourful officers of the late Georgian Navy. and was widely considered to be one of its luckiest officers. Durham’s record of prize-taking was extremely impressive, and correspondingly lucrative. He saw service in the North American Station and the West Indies. He died in 1845. An earlier biography published a year after his death omitted several important events and this book sets out to rectify this. This collection of his papers consists mainly of letters and despatches relating to his service in the Channel Fleet, the Mediterranean, and the Leeward Islands.