Description
Signed first edition of The Navy and Defence: The Autobiography of Admiral of the Fleet, Lord Chatfield, with Volume II, It Might Happen Again. Both volumes in scarce dust jackets.
Octavo, [two volumes], xii, 260pp; xiv, 222pp. Blue cloth, title stamped in gilt on spine. Both volumes are first printings, with “First Published…” statement on copyright page. Both volumes complete with frontispiece portrait and 18 photographic plates in total. Occasional marginalia in pencil in Volume I, some toning to leaves, a noted “War Economy Production.” Volume II in fine condition. Both volumes with exceptionally scarce dust jackets, retail price on front flap, light soiling to both, chipping and closed tears to both.
Signed in Volume I by Lord Chatfield.
These memoirs were initially censored by Winston Churchill, who told Chatfield in 1941 that he must submit them to the Cabinet Secretary, Sir Edward Bridges, for his approval before publication. Many thought that Churchill was not acting in the national interest, but his own personal interest, to be the first to release an uncensored memoir after the war.
Alfred Ernle Montacute Chatfield, 1st Baron Chatfield (1873-1967), was a senior Royal Navy officer and statesman. He joined the Royal Navy in 1886 and served during World War I, commanding HMS Lion at the Battle of Jutland. Promoted to Admiral in 1929, he served as Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet (1930-1932) and First Sea Lord (1933-1938). Elevated to the peerage in 1937, he later became Minister for Coordination of Defence (1939-1940), tasked with addressing deficiencies in Britain’s military readiness. Known for his advocacy of naval expansion, Chatfield played a significant role in pre-WWII defense planning.
