Admiral Blackler O.B.E.

Admiral Blackler O.B.E.

The naval letters of Admiral Blackler OBE 1889-1925,letters to his wife Margaret and others.

Letters of Admiral Blackler OBE,grandfather of Gillian Hammerton,written from 1889-1925 mainly to his wife Margaret.These display an insight of the Admirality,the inside feuds ,the court marshalls,the quarrels between Admirals and their skullduggeries,some high adventure and mentions often of his contemporarieswho he met including Winston Churchill and George the Fourth who was entertained on the ships.

The Naval Letters of Admiral Blacklers 1898-1925 to his wife.

Friday, March 13, 2009

My grandfather Admiral Blackler OBE wrote letters to his wife,Margaret, from 1889 until 1925,during their courtship and marriage, which had its genesis in Victoria,British Columbia,where they met at an Officer's Ball,during the docking of his British ship in Canada,throughout his naval service,during which at one stage he was in charge of the ships censorship(hence some letters are uncensered war time records),until the closure of the collection .The letters are assiduously and beautifully handwritten,mostly on emboshed letter paper and show a man of extroadinary humble charism and humanity with great insight towards the problems of his age.I have 1,400 of his letters which extend throughout the War,talk of meetings with the then young Winston Churchill,contain the appenditures of court marshells in which he was bounden to participate as part of his naval duties and most exciting, squabbles and skullduggery among the Admirals.Most extraordinary to me are the descriptions of that other dark side of London and the the insight of the poor which he felt almost helpless against.I also have about 100 of my grandmothers responses during her traverse from Canada,during her exploration of London as a young excited bride to be, animated with extraordinary perceptions of a metroplolis at the heart of the know Empire and with the eyes of a new commer from one of its fringes.As she dashes and jaywalkes in front of the hansom cabs with her shocked Victorian Aunt Helen on the side walks it is easy to see her as the genesis of sparks of rebellion to appear in later generations.