1939 - 1940 ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT DIARY DETAILING THE ONSET OF WORLD WAR II AND THE ROYAL NAVY'S RUSH TO ENGAGE THE ENEMY FROM THE UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE OF A CAPTAIN OF THE ROYAL MARINES

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On offer is a sensational 1939 to 1940 manuscript relic of Britain's naval war with Germany at the immediate outset of World War II being an original diary handwritten by Captain G .P.D. Pease, Royal Marine aboard the ill-fated HMS Hermes. The diary begins October 7th a mere month after the declarations of war between England and Germany 1939 with sporadic entries from October until mid-December and then another long entry in June of 1940 covering 19 folio sized 8" x 13" pages. [Two later pages have damage as if glued pictures were removed with some small loss but not terrible.] The ship arrives in Dakar, French West Africa to cooperate with the French Navy in hunting German raiders, which they then proceed to do. At one point, he is invited to go up in an aircraft as an observer. Upon returning they slide across the deck and crash upside down in the sea below. He and the other two aboard were able to escape into a life raft and were rescued. He has a very long entry about this as well as a photo of them being rescued. The long June 1940 entry is interesting as it details the confusion as to what to do with the French Naval ships around them as they don't know what their allegiance is after the capitulation of the French government at that time and the establishment of the Vichy French government loyal to Germany. The Hermes was later sunk in action in 1942. Tucked in are two telegrams from the Admiralty announcing destruction of Graf Spee off Montevideo, another regarding HMS Ajax, ten Captain's remarks certificates all highly complimentary of his of his abilities dated 1940 - 1957 and his 1938 report card and successful passing to rank of Captain of the Royal Marines. Later he served on the HMS Superb, St. Angelo and Implacable. Included are a few miscellaneous photos as well. Overall G.; Manuscript; Folio - over 12" - 15" tall; KEYWORDS: HISTORY OF, HMS HERMES, CAPTAIN G.P.D. PEASE, WWII, BRITISH ROYAL NAVY, AIRCRAFT CARRIER, ROYAL MARINE, NAVAL, NAUTICAL, SEAFARING, ROYAL NAVY, WORLD WAR II, WW2, WWII, WAR AT SEA, KRIEGSMARINE, SUBMARINE HUNTERS, HANDWRITTEN, MANUSCRIPT, AUTOGRAPHED, AUTHORS, MANUSCRIPT, DOCUMENT, LETTER, AUTOGRAPH, KEEPSAKE, WRITER, HAND WRITTEN, DOCUMENTS, SIGNED, LETTERS, MANUSCRIPTS, HISTORICAL, HOLOGRAPH, WRITERS, AUTOGRAPHS, PERSONAL, MEMOIR, MEMORIAL, PERSONAL HISTORY, ARCHIVE, DIARY, DIARIES, antiquité, contrat, vélin, document, manuscrit, papier Antike, Brief, Pergament, Dokument, Manuskript, Papier oggetto d'antiquariato, atto, velina, documento, manoscritto, carta antigüedad, hecho, vitela, documento, manuscrito, Papel, Show more