1882–1883 Collection of 18 Manuscript Navigation Charts by Victorian-Era Naval Cadet H. W. Armstrong, Exploring Naval Education Aboard the HMS Britannia, Predecessor of Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC)

On offer is a collection of eighteen hand-drawn manuscript navigation charts signed H. W. [Henry William] Armstrong, HMS Britannia, and dated from August 10, 1882, to November 5, 1883. Executed in pen and ink, the sheets combine carefully constructed coordinate grids, compass roses, decorative cartouches, coastal outlines, and plotted navigational problems. Preserved together, they document a young cadet’s progression from drawing chart frameworks to solving practical problems involving positions, bearings, courses, distances, and currents.

Henry William Armstrong (1868-1901), whose name and birth date appear in the recorded Britannia cadet history, entered the naval cadet training establishment aboard HMS Britannia at Dartmouth in January 1882. His drawings therefore extend from his first year of instruction to nearly two years into his training, offering a sustained view of his developing skills. 

The six sheets dated August–December 1882 feature coordinate frameworks, compass roses, and cartouches recording geographical limits, scale, Armstrong’s name, and the date. The scale is generally given as “1.2 inches to a degree of Longitude.” Without coastal features or plotted courses, these appear to be exercises in constructing the chart itself: establishing its bounds, dividing and lettering the margins, and accurately positioning the compass rose. Their unplotted state need not indicate unfinished work. One example, dated December 7, 1882, spans longitude 178° east to 178° west, carrying the coordinate framework across the antimeridian.

The twelve sheets dated February–November 1883 introduce worked navigational problems. Hachured and stippled coastlines, islands, rocks, and ports provide settings for intersecting plotting lines, while the cartouches contain three numbered answers. These address the ship’s calculated latitude and longitude, true or compass bearings, courses to port, distances, and the direction and displacement caused by currents. Generic labels such as “Port,” “Rock,” “A,” and “B,” together with the repeated answer format, identify these as instructional scenarios rather than records of voyages undertaken by Armstrong.

Individual sheets reveal the variety of his assignments. The February 17, 1883 chart combines a calculated position with the true bearing of a rock and a compass course to port. The March 15 exercise records a position of 55° 25′ south, 43° 36′ west, a current setting northwest with a drift of eight miles, and a course to port over a distance of 155 miles. By September 22, an exercise incorporates eighteen miles of current drift and a ninety-six-mile course to port. The final sheet, dated November 5, 1883, combines a plotted course with answers addressing position, a northeast-setting current with twenty-nine miles of drift, and a sixty-three-mile course to port.

A particularly revealing connection occurs between two sheets labelled Chart P. The unplotted example dated October 17, 1882, and the worked example dated March 9, 1883, share the same geographical bounds: latitude 48°–52° north and longitude 45°–49° east. Their recurrence suggests the use of an established chart framework at different stages of instruction, linking the earlier construction work with its later application.

The drawings also have considerable visual appeal. Decorative cartouches, including Greek-key designs, accompany precise lettering and compass roses, while the coastal hachuring, stippling, and angular plotting lines give the later sheets their distinctive character. As a group, the eighteen drawings bring together manuscript cartography, Victorian naval education, and the early life of a cadet whose subsequent military service ended in South Africa.

Biographical Notes:

HMS Britannia was the shipboard predecessor of today’s Britannia Royal Naval College (BRNC). Originally launched as HMS Prince of Wales, she was renamed Britannia in 1869 and served as a cadet training ship at Dartmouth. Armstrong’s work belongs to the period before the opening of the shore-based Royal Naval College in 1905, when cadets received their initial education aboard the training ship.

Henry William Armstrong (1868-1901) was born to Major Arthur John Armstrong (late 16th Lancers) and Helen Armstrong of Morville, Warwick, England. Born in Kineton, Stratford-on-Avon District, Warwickshire, England, he was thirteen and fourteen during the period covered by these drawings. His naval career reportedly ended in 1890, when he was discharged as an acting sub-lieutenant after failing examinations. He subsequently served with Lord Strathcona’s Horse and became a captain in the 27th (Devon) Company, 7th Battalion, Imperial Yeomanry during the Second Anglo-Boer War. He was killed at Vlakfontein on May 29, 1901, aged thirty-two. His memorial at All Saints Church, Sherbourne, Warwickshire, records his full name, exact birth date, army rank, and death in action.

Condition:

Eighteen unbound manuscript sheets on a thicker paper stock. Scattered minor ink smudges, surface soiling, and small marks are present, including more noticeable dark ink marks on the October 17, 1882 sheet. The group remains well preserved, with the lettering, chart frameworks, and navigational drawings clearly legible. Overall Good to G+