Notes and correspondence on Admiral Sir James Somerville and the Eastern Fleet, 1977 - 1990
Scope and Contents
Correspondence and notes on Edwards's contribution to historical papers and publications relating to Admiral Somerville and the Eastern Fleet, with correspondents including: Vice-Admiral Sir [William] Kaye Edden, Staff Officer Plans to Somerville, 1942-44; Arthur Marder [Emeritus Professor of History, University of California]; John Somerville; John Horsfield; Philip Ziegler.
Also includes: copies of letters from Somerville to Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser [Commander-in-Chief Eastern Fleet] in 1944-45 on his discussions with the Americans about British participation in the Pacific; extracts from the Somerville diaries.
Dates
- Creation: 1977 - 1990
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for consultation by researchers using Churchill Archives Centre, Churchill College, Cambridge.
Some material within the collection is closed to researchers.
Biographical / Historical
Francis Edwards was born in 1908, the son of Captain W F B Edwards (killed in action, 1915) and grandson of 1st Lord Greenway. He was educated at Clifton College and the Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, and in 1935 married Daphne Grace, daughter of Major Cooke-Hurle; they had four sons.
Edwards joined the Navy in 1922, then in 1925 as Chief Cadet Captain received the King George V Dirk. He was made Commander in 1943 and during the war, served initially in the North Sea (1939-40) with Vice Admiral Sir Geoffrey Layton. He then became Fleet Signal Officer with Admiral Sir James Somerville, Commander-in-Chief, Eastern Fleet, from 1942-44, then Chief Signal Officer to Commander-in-Chief Western Approaches, with Admiral Sir Max Horton (1944-45), ending the war as Chief Signal Officer to Naval Air Command (1944-46), with Admiral Sir Denys Boyd, Vice-Admiral Sir Thomas Troubridge and Admiral Geoffrey Oliver. Edwards retired in 1947. He died in 2003.
Extent
3 file(s)
Language of Materials
English
Immediate Source of Acquisition
The papers were given to Churchill Archives Centre by Vice Admiral Sir John Webster in February 2004.
General
This file level description was prepared by Katharine Thomson of Churchill Archives Centre in September 2004. Biographical information taken from the papers themselves.
Originator(s)
Edwards, Francis William Boucher
Finding aid date
2004-09-28 09:07:40.683000+00:00
Subject
- Somerville, James Fownes, Sir, 1882 - 1949 (Knight, Admiral of the Fleet) (Person)
- Royal Navy (Organization)
Repository Details
Part of the Churchill Archives Centre Repository
Churchill Archives Centre
Churchill College
Cambridge Cambridgeshire CB3 0DS United Kingdom
+44 (0)1223 336087
archives@chu.cam.ac.uk