Sadly the original diaries of James Hall and William King-Hall are no longer in existence and our main source for them is the edited versions included in Sea Saga published by Gollancz in 1935. This book was edited by Lou King-Hall, the elder daughter of George King-Hall, and covers the diaries of all four generations of the family.
In the case of George King Hall we still have a nearly complete version of the original diaries. They give almost continuous coverage from 1870 to 1937 and consist of nearly a million words. The originals are now held by the Naval Museum at Portsmouth.
The naval diaries of Stephen King-Hall cover a shorter period (1909-1921) but they are amplified by other biographical material and his memoirs.
While it is tragic that the full diaries of James and William are not available, the material that still exists provides a fascinating picture of certain periods of their careers and recent research in the National Archives and British Library has made it possible to fill many of the gaps so that we have a reasonably continuous picture of their lives.
We have the least material from James' diaries, partly because he appears to have destroyed many of his entries during his lifetime.
The surviving material from the diaries of James Hall only covers a few brief periods of his 30 years service as a naval surgeon. However the scarcity of the material available is partly compensated for by the historical interest of those entries that have survived.
INTRODUCTION
Outline of Contents of Diary and Documents Sections Early days of James Hall (1784-1805)
DIARY AND DOCUMENTS SECTIONS
Click here for Outline of Contents of diaries and documents of James Hall.[PAGE1100]
INTRODUCTION
DIARY AND DOCUMENTS SECTIONS
Click here for Outline of Contents of the diaries of William King-Hall.[PAGE3000]
INTRODUCTION
Outline of Contents of the Diary and Documents section.
Early years of George King-Hall (1850-70). [PAGE5010]
An historical background to the career of George King-Hall.[PAGE5020]
Warship design in the second half of the 19th century.[PAGE5030]
Ships that George King-Hall served in.[PAGE5040]
Prices and pay between 1865 and 1913.[PAGE5050]
DIARY AND DOCUMENTS SECTIONS