G. A. Rooke, a member of the Royal Navy, kept ships' logs for four different ships between the years 1891 and 1893. These ships were stationed almost exclusively around Northwestern Europe and in the Western Mediterranean. The four ships were the HMS Camperdown , the HMS Rodney , the HMS Australia , and the HMS Champion.
The HMS Camperdown was a battleship built in 1885 and commissioned in July 1889. During the time Rooke kept this log (in 1891), HMS Camperdown was a flagship in the Channel Squadron. In 1893 it was involved in a collision with HMS Victoria . It was sold and scrapped in 1911.
The HMS Rodney was an Admiral class barbette ship, launched in 1884. It was commissioned into the Royal Navy in 1888. In 1906 it was placed in the Chatham Special Reserve until it was scrapped in 1909.
The HMS Howe was an Admiral class battleship, sister ship of the HMS Rodney . It was launched in 1885. In 1893 the HMS Howe was grounded in Ferrol Bay off the coast of Spain. Rooke details this event in his log. The HMS Howe was repaired and was part of the Mediterranean Fleet until 1910.
The HMS Australia was a Royal Navy Coastguard ship built in Glasgow. It was made a first-class cruiser in 1888 and sold in 1905.
The HMS Champion , a ship of the Royal Navy, was located off the coast of British Columbia, Canada, in September 1893.