A chronological listing of all British naval vessels lost through accident or enemy action from 1860 to the end of the First World War, with full descriptions of the circumstances. A sequel to David Hepper's highly valuable British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, which is now the standard reference on the subject, this volume carries the coverage forward from the first ironclad to the end of the First World War. All losses down to the smallest vessels are included, whether caused by accident, stress of weather or enemy action, and full details of the circumstances are given, based on courts of enquiry, senior officers' reports and other primary source material. Many incidents in this volume have never previously been studied in any depth, including scores of sinkings during the First World War, so the book represents a real and substantial contribution to the subject. But it is more than a bald recitation of facts, with highly readable entries containing fascinating and little-known details. There is also a representative selection of photographs showing the variety of fates suffered by warships in this era. The organization is basically chronological, but there are full indexes by ship name, by commanding officer and by ship type, making thematic research that much easier. In summary, the book is an important new source of reference for the naval history of this period.
