Empire Cruise: The Special Service Squadron, 1923–24

by: Daniel Knowles (Author)

Publisher: Fonthill Media

Publication Date: 2024/10/17

Language: English

Print Length: 320 pages

ISBN-10: 1781558981

ISBN-13: 9781781558980

Book Description

In 1923, the Royal Navy’s Special Service Squadron embarked on a ten-month empire tour to strengthen ties and assert British naval power.In November 1923, the Royal Navy dispatched what was named the Special Service Squadron on a ten-month tour around the British Empire. Led by the battlecruiser HMS Hood—the pride of the Royal Navy and the largest ship in the world at the time—and comprising of the battlecruiser Renown and the First Light Cruiser Squadron, the role of the Special Service Squadron was to ‘show the flag’ during a public relations exercise and to strengthen ties across the empire. Much publicized, the cruise served as a subtle reminder that in the aftermath of the First World War, Britannia still ruled the waves. Empire Cruise charts the situation faced by Great Britain and the Royal Navy in the years immediately after the First World War, detailing the origins of the cruise before charting the course of the expedition.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; Introduction; Chapter 1: Planning the Cruise; Chapter 2: The Ships of the Squadron; Chapter 3: Admirals and Captains; Chapter 4: ‘The “Floating Power” of Britain’; Chapter 5: ‘The Warmest Tribute in its Power’; Chapter 6: ‘The Navy Means Everything’; Chapter 7: ‘We Only Did Our Duty’; Chapter 8: ‘We Surrender Our City Unto You’; Chapter 9: South America; Chapter 10: ‘A Halo of Splendour’; Chapter 11: Retu of the Squadron; Epilogue; Endnotes; Bibliography; Index

About the Author

In 1923, the Royal Navy’s Special Service Squadron embarked on a ten-month empire tour to strengthen ties and assert British naval power.In November 1923, the Royal Navy dispatched what was named the Special Service Squadron on a ten-month tour around the British Empire. Led by the battlecruiser HMS Hood—the pride of the Royal Navy and the largest ship in the world at the time—and comprising of the battlecruiser Renown and the First Light Cruiser Squadron, the role of the Special Service Squadron was to ‘show the flag’ during a public relations exercise and to strengthen ties across the empire. Much publicized, the cruise served as a subtle reminder that in the aftermath of the First World War, Britannia still ruled the waves. Empire Cruise charts the situation faced by Great Britain and the Royal Navy in the years immediately after the First World War, detailing the origins of the cruise before charting the course of the expedition.Table of ContentsAcknowledgements; Introduction; Chapter 1: Planning the Cruise; Chapter 2: The Ships of the Squadron; Chapter 3: Admirals and Captains; Chapter 4: ‘The “Floating Power” of Britain’; Chapter 5: ‘The Warmest Tribute in its Power’; Chapter 6: ‘The Navy Means Everything’; Chapter 7: ‘We Only Did Our Duty’; Chapter 8: ‘We Surrender Our City Unto You’; Chapter 9: South America; Chapter 10: ‘A Halo of Splendour’; Chapter 11: Retu of the Squadron; Epilogue; Endnotes; Bibliography; Index