Guide to the Journals of Commander Henry Graham Dudley de Chair (as filmed by the AJCP), 1927-1931

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Summary

Collection number:

M717

Creator:

de Chair, Henry Graham Dudley

Extent:

2 items

Language:

English

Preferred citation:

Acknowledgement of use of this material should refer to the location of the original material and to the Australian Joint Copying Project.

Items from this collection should include references to the location of the original material and to the AJCP nla.obj number, which serves as the online identifier for the digital copy.

Example: M Series: Journal of Capt. James Cook, 18 February-23 September 1770, British Library Add. MS 27885 (AJCP ref: http://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1234)

Availability:

Available

Access conditions:

Available for reference.

Background

Content Summary:

Journal, October 1927-April 1929, kept while Lieutenant on HMS Laburnum. The Laburnum served at the New Zealand Station and visited Fiji, Samoa and the Society Islands, June-October 1928. The journal records life on the ship, excursions and entertainments on shore and impressions of places visited. There are a number of watercolour, crayon, and pen and ink sketches by the author.

Journal, April-December 1929, kept while ADC to his father, Sir Dudley de Chair. It describes life at Government House, Sydney, and in country districts and includes a description of a skiing trip to Mount Kosciusko.

Journal, April-July 1930, recording portion of the journey of Sir Dudley de Chair and his party from Sydney to England and giving a detailed description of travel in the East Indies and Asia. About 13 pages at the beginning deal with de Chair's experiences as ADC to his father and there are also comments on the Chinese and Japanese as emigrants to Australia.

Journal, November 1930-November 1931, kept while lieutenant on HMS Nelson on a voyage from England to the West Indies, Balboa, Gibraltar and return to England.

Biographical / Historical:

{"persname":"Henry Graham Dudley de Chair (1905-1995)","content":"\u003cspan class='persname'\u003eHenry Graham Dudley de Chair (1905-1995)\u003c/span\u003e was born at Winchester, the son of Admiral Sir Dudley de Chair (1877-1958). Sir Dudley de Chair was Governor of New South Wales in 1923-30, a post that had earlier been held by his uncle Sir Harry Rawson. Graham de Chair was trained at the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth and in 1923 was appointed a midshipman on HMS \u003cem\u003eIron Duke\u003c/em\u003e. He served on HMS Laburnam in the New Zealand Squadron in 1927-29. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant in 1928. He was ADC to his father in 1929 and accompanied his parents on their journey back to England in 1930."}

De Chair remained in the Royal Navy until his retirement in 1955. He became a lieutenant commander in 1936 and a commander in 1943. During the War he commanded the destroyer HMS Vimy in the Atlantic Ocean (1941-42) and the destroyer HMS Venus in the Indian Ocean (1944-45). He was awarded the DSC in 1942 and 1945.

De Chair was the author of a memoir, Let go aft: the indiscretions of a salt horse commander (Tunbridge Wells, 1993). The journal that he kept in 1935-39 is held in the Liddell Hart Military Archives at King's College, London.

Access and use

Conditions Governing Access:: Available for Access.
Conditions Governing Use:: Many of the records digitised as part of the AJCP are still in copyright. Readers wishing to publish or reproduce documents should seek permission, in the first instance, from the owner of the original material.