The Grand Fleet

“My object in writing has been to enable the shore-living citizen to understand quickly and easily those primary facts concerning the fighting force at sea, which I myself had to learn by long and devious ways.”

The Grand Fleet, formed of 32 Dreadnought and Super-Dreadnought battleships, was the primary fleet of the Royal Navy during the First World War.

In 1916, Daily Express journalist and naval war correspondent H. C. Ferraby responded to the ‘blank bewilderment’ readers described regarding the sea fighting force. Letters had landed weekly expressing unfamiliarity with the structure and operations of the Royal Navy.

Ferraby’s witty and informative narrative unravels the history and culture of the Grand Fleet, defining squadrons and flotillas, various ships, the difference between armoured and light cruisers, submarines and destroyers.

He goes on to explain the various types of artillery which informed a large part of WWI and explores the class structures and culture of the Royal Navy.

The Grand Fleet is a knowledgeable, entertaining and accessible guide to the Royal Navy during the First World War and a throwback to the maritime heyday of the British Isles.

Herbert Cecil Ferraby (1884-1942) was a journalist and naval war correspondent from Middlesex. He also collaborated with Hector C Bywater to write Strange Intelligence.