pp 48 + blanks. Water-stained Gallipoli naval diary culminating in the actions in the Dardanelles in February and March 1915: 'The Captain told us were were going to take part in the forcing of the Dardenelles... a real hot time shells dropping all round us and going "plonk" against the ships side...'. Red cloth-bound manuscript book, water-damaged and lacking the backstrip although the binding is intact. Writing in pencil on the front paste-down Houghton, who grew up on the Lancashire coastline, records 'T Houghton.... Log of HMS Albion' with a preliminary page which lists dates and locations visited by the pre-dreadnought battleship between August 1914- April 1916 before continuing to the main log, also written in pencil. There are a few days to each significant date, written in an easily legible hand with a full typed transcript accompanying the journal. Houghton departed Devonport in August 1914, sailing first to South Africa where the ship supported the action against German south west Africa and then transferred to the Mediterranean where Houghton proceeds to hostilities on February 19th 1915: 'The hands called this morning at 5.30am and went to breakfast at 6.45 ship cleared for action... proceeded to sweep the Bay of Giata Pete from where it is intended to bombard the forts of the narrows overland, action sounded off at 10am the first shot fired at 10.20am, the object being a signal station which was believed to be fortified in all we fired 8 rounds of ammunition.' The bombardment of 25th February is dealt with in great detail as 'Six ships in pairs, made an attack on the forts, engaging 4 and 6, on the way in, closing to 3000 yards then turning and engaging 1 and 3 on the way out: The "Vengeance" and "Cornwallis" were the first pair... There was plenty of shells flying about and it was not known until after the engagement that a mine thrown up too soon from the shore, had saved, as as it was only 50 yards away.... ammunition used by us, 286 rounds of 6' The bombardment of 26th February describes 'a real hot time shells dropping all round us and going "plonk" against the ships side...' The diary breaks off on March 27, 1915 with a few pages that follow this torn out leaving only their stubs - possibly through censorship since it was in the following month that HMS Albion beached on a sandbank and had to be towed clear with significant injuries and damage to the vessel. Houghton certainly survived the war since a newspaper clipping laid in records his death in the 1960s. Also present, a World War II, 7th Armoured division desert-rat badge and some photographs of post-war bridge building on the Elbe in Germany.
