Manuscript Diary.

Bookseller Notes

A diary from a sailor named Denny on the motor-launch ML.39 for 1916, with an entry for almost every day recording military and personal activities. Initially he is sub-lieutenant (4/2/16) but is promoted to lieutenant in July and given control of the ship the following month. The diary details his service around North Africa and the Suez canal, including reports of attacks by air and submarine, as well as hosting the Prince of Wales, and learning of Kitchener's death - alongside details of bridge-playing, bathing in the sea, and discomfort from the heat. The extent to which leisure and rumour govern the day-to-day existence is an interesting but not unusual aspect.