Publisher's Synopsis
From the time the guns fell silent at Trafalgar, few doubted that Britannia ruled the waves. She continued to do so throughout the 19th Century, although several other countries maintained strong fleets. By the 1880s both Russia and France seemed to be a threat to her supremacy and Britain started to enlarge the Royal Navy. The next challenger was Germany whose attempt to share the sovereignty of the seas, resulted in a massive acceleration in the enlargement and modernisation programme: more and better ships were built at breakneck speed. This book is about a youth who joined the Royal Navy in 1891 and left it at the age of sixty-five in 1942, nine months after the United States entered the second world war. In addition to being a successful officer who rose to high rank he was from his early days a beautiful artist. This book consists of a written account of his career illustrated by his paintings and a number of photographs mainly from his own albums. Frank Kitson is the elder son of Vice Admiral Sir Henry Kitson. He has himself enjoyed a long an illustrious military career, becoming Commander in Chief of UK Land Forces.
