Tim Le Grice has now agreed that the journals of Commander
Andrew Downes, RN may remain at the Museum of the Royal Navy at Portsmouth on
long-term loan.
Dr Duncan Redford, of the museum, writes: “the Jutland journal is being displayed in
our new permanent gallery … Diaries of this quality and length are few and far
between. His diaries are of vital importance to our ability to put a human face
to the Royal Navy’s story in the Edwardian and First World War period and in the
most sympathetic manner to tell the Royal Navy’s story to the widest possible
audience. … Scholars working on the field have been advised of their existence.”
The Journals can all be viewed in the library Monday to
Friday 1000-1600 (by appointment only as it is within the secure area of the
Naval Base). If anyone wishes to make an appointment they should email: library@nmrn.org.uk or ring 02392 725795.
The museum has given Tim two complete scanned copies on suitable
portable hard drives to ensure that he and the wider family can continue to
refer to the journals. Tim has now kindly passed one of these to me and has
given me permission to loan it to any interested family members. Please don’t
hesitate to ask me for it or ask Tim for the other copy. I have downloaded a
copy to my own computer, so that I can read it at leisure.
Perhaps one day this will enable me to add the missing early
1914 and late 1918 volumes to the summaries of seven wartime journals which appear
in my book The First World War Journals
of Commander Andrew Downes RN. The scans, which are of excellent quality,
would also enable me to improve the rest of the book with more illustrations
and further extracts from the journals.
