The volume consists of a manuscript 'Sketch of my Life' interspersed with nearly five hundred inserted photographs and other items (listed below). The 'Sketch' begins at folio 6v with a description of the life of Dicken's father, the Rev. Alldersey Dickson, before proceeding to describe Dicken's own birth and childhood, including his siblings and his education. The rest of the account concentrates on his naval career, with occasional entries about family events. Much of the latter part of the memoirs is concerned with the First World War, in which many of Dicken's friends and family saw service, including his sons Edward and John. There are sections throughout the volume devoted to family history. These include 'Notes of my Father and earlier times' (f. 3r); 'Notes about my Grandfather, the Revd. Perry Dicken, by my niece Edith Louise Dicken who visited Witheridge (Devon) in 1924' (f. 3v); biographical information about the Rev. Alldersey Dicken (f. 7r); notes about George Alldersey Dicken (f. 13r); notes on Dicken's wives and children (f. 16r); notes on the locations of the birth certificates of Dicken's sons (f. 75r and f. 94v); notes on the children of Dicken's uncle, Frederick Huddleston (f. 139r); an abstract of the pedigree of the Dicken family (f. 151r); the pedigree of the Dicken's first wife's family (Cornish) (f. 151v); the pedigree of Dicken's mother's family (Croft and Huddleston), including the Gauntletts (f. 155r); notes on Dicken and his siblings (f. 206v); notes on the Dicken family's connection with the Gauntlett family (f. 208v); and notes regarding the connection of William Howley, Archibishop of Canterbury, to the Dicken family through Dicken's grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Gauntlett (f. 208v). The volume also includes lists of the officers who served alongside Dicken on various ships. These include H.M.S. 'Britannia', 1868 (f. 18r); H.M.S. 'Bristol', June 1869 (f. 20r); H.M.S. 'Phoebe', June 1870 (f. 26r); H.M.S. 'Monarch', 1871 (f. 33r); H.M.S. 'Lord Clyde', 1872 (f. 35r); H.M.S. 'Lord Warden', flagship, 1872 (f. 38r); H.M.S. 'Audacious', flagship on the China Station, 1874 (f. 40r); H.M. gun vessels 'Hornet', 1875, and 'Growler', 1875 (f. 46r); H.M.S. 'Alexandra', July 1882 (f. 78r); H.M.S. 'Australia', January 1890 (f. 99r); H.M.S. 'Australia', September 1891 (f. 104r); H.M.S. 'Australia', January 1893 (f. 111r); and H.M.S. 'Royal Arthur', 1899 (f. 131r). Other items include two sets of notes by Dicken regarding his intentions for the disposition of his memoirs, one set dated 1 November 1936 (f. 6r), and a note of a flogging performed on the 'Phoebe' (f. 24r).