British Warship Names

The naming of our warships is a
much more complex affair than it
appears to the layman. It is, more-
over, so closely bound up with the
traditions of the Royal Navy that it
holds a strong appeal for anyone to
whom the history of fighting ships
means something more romantic than
a mere recital of statistics.
Captain Manning and Commander
Walker may justly claim to possess a
unique knowledge of their subject,
which they had both studied for
many years before they found them
selves serving, between 1940 and
1945, on the Admiralty Ships' Names
Committee, for whose formation they
were chiefly responsible. Their book
opens with a history of ship-naming
from the earliest times for which
records are available down to the
present day, in the course of which
they trace the changing fashions in
names.
This is followed by a comprehensive dictionary of ship names, which
forms the main content of the book
and includes the name of every war-
ship of importance which has served
in the Navy, From this the reader learns not only the derivations of the
names themselves, but also the dates
and brief details, including war
services, of the ships which have
borne them.
British Warship Names is the only
book on the subject which is both
comprehensive and up to date. It
thus fills a gap in naval history and
will prove its value, not only as an
authoritative work of reference, but
also for the vivid glimpse it gives into
the great scope of the Royal Navy's
operations through the centuries and
the multiple hazards of the seafaring
profession.