Foreword 



'A FAMOUS NAME' 



THE Naval Surveying Service, a branch of the Royal Navy, 

 was established at the end of the eighteenth century and at 

 first formed only a very small section w^ithin the Admiralty. 

 The duty of this branch was to record and index the large amount 

 of surveying data which was gathered at that time by many of 

 England's navigators, including such men as Captain Cook of 

 the Royal Navy and Dalrymple of the East India Company, who 

 was chosen to be the first Hydrographer of the Navy. Very soon, 

 however, it was seen that special ships would be needed for 

 surveying duties and that officers should be specially selected for 

 this valuable work which requires devotion and endurance to an 

 exceptional degree. So the Surveying Service was formed and for 

 many years about eight ships have been maintained by the Navy 

 for surveying work, and about 60 or 70 naval officers who have 

 specialised in hydrographic surveying have gone to sea in these 

 ships with naval crews to make the Admiralty charts in many 

 and varied parts of the world. 



Surveying ships carry no guns or offensive weapons in times 

 of peace and they can be distinguished from other naval vessels 

 by their white hulls, with yellow funnels and upperworks. 

 Nothing pleases a naval surveyor more than to be greeted with 

 a word of praise for his ship: 'I saw your vessel working in the 

 bay last week. She looked just like a beautiful yacht.' He likes 

 to hear the reference to the work as much as he does the com- 

 parison of his ship with a yacht, for he prides himself on being 

 a hard worker. Every advantage must be taken of spells of 

 suitable weather and very long hours are worked by all onboard, 

 for when the gales come the ship may lie weatherbound in some 

 remote anchorage, the Captain anxiously peering from his cabin 

 windows at the wind and the rain and turning to look at his 

 barograph for any sign that moderating weather will allow him 



